"In this city, every inch of land is ruled by a gang. Their members are stationed there, collecting protection fees while also defending their territory."
"Only the territory of the Ghostfire Syndicate is never stable. They never intended to protect any land they've plundered, so naturally, there are no gang members stationed there to collect rent."
"That is the truth behind those 'free' areas."
"Of course, the actual situation is more complicated, because it involves agreements between Heliopolis Life Sciences and the Ghostfire Syndicate, which exempt certain districts as 'free zones.'"
"Hua, you just need to know that in this city, all so-called free districts are essentially land belonging to the Ghostfire Syndicate."
Vill-V brought Hua to a reinforced alloy security door.
Knock, knock.
Vill-V tapped on the door with a stick.
Creeeak—
Accompanied by the grinding of rusted metal, a narrow crack opened.
A man with a scarred face and a mohawk peered out cautiously through the gap.
This man was a well-known "black broker" in the area. A Mad Hatter Party informant had previously arranged a visit with him online.
He glanced at the Shenzhou-style clothing on Vill-V and Hua, then slowly raised his gaze, revealing a look of surprise.
In this city, beautiful girls were rare. Beautiful girls without prosthetics or masks were even rarer.
What followed was a look of pity. "You must be the 'travelers' who made the appointment. What a shame—coming to this damn city at such a bad time."
Compared to other brokers who would sell out their clients, this one had a bit more professional integrity and wouldn't do anything just because of Vill-V's appearance.
But as for moral standards, he wasn't exactly high either.
He wasn't a legitimate broker at all, but a mid-level member of the gang "Hall of Yama."
And that gang specialized in funeral services.
"If you buy our full-service package now, I can give you a 20% discount. The second tombstone is half price."
The mohawked man pulled out a sheet of paper filled with recent news.
Most of it consisted of obituaries and reports of gang shootouts around the area.
"No, thank you."
Vill-V had not brought Hua here to arrange funeral services.
Vill-V led Hua straight into the room, and after passing through a hidden door, the scene suddenly opened up.
Rows upon rows of goods were neatly arranged on two-meter-high shelves.
Living supplies, food, clothing—each section was orderly separated by metal partitions.
Many nearby residents pushed shopping carts or carried baskets, hurrying between the aisles.
These black brokers sometimes ran small businesses, selling "extra items" collected from clients' homes.
For example, second-hand basins, rice, flour, and so on.
Although all of it came from the dead, in this city, no one cared about bad luck anymore.
As long as you could use it and not become a corpse yourself, that was enough.
The mohawked broker's office was just one small entrance to this supermarket. There were many other entrances elsewhere.
There was even a main gate for welcoming VIPs.
Hua continued, still confused. "So if we're looking for a free district, why come here?"
"Shh." Vill-V mischievously pressed a finger to Hua's lips. "You'll find out soon. Fate brings wonderful encounters~"
The mohawked man, equipped with augmented ears, had sharp hearing. From afar, he said, "If you're looking for a free place to stay, you should be going to 'Twilight Street' or 'Meteor Street'—those so-called 'free districts'—not here."
"Twilight Street?"
Whistle—
The broker blew a whistle and looked at the puzzled Hua with a meaningful grin.
"That's right, Twilight Street. Heh... that's quite the place..."
Hua realized that the broker seemed to be scheming something.
Could it be something like a red-light district?
Vill-V made no attempt to hide her face, so it wasn't surprising she drew attention.
But seeing Vill-V's completely fearless expression, Hua could only continue following her around the food section aimlessly.
After wandering for a short while, an old woman was suddenly knocked over by Hua.
"Oh my aching back..."
Hua froze. With her keen martial instincts, she could tell that the old woman had deliberately bumped into her.
However, when she turned to look, Hua noticed that the woman's legs were actually two metal prosthetics.
It seemed likely that her mobility was limited and she had failed to avoid Hua in time.
Hua, who respected the elderly and cared for the young, couldn't just ignore her. She crouched down and helped the old woman up.
"Grandma, are you alright?"
Fortunately, the old woman had no intention of extorting her. "Ah... ah... I'm fine, I'm fine. Good boy, handsome young man, just help me sit down over there for a bit... that's enough, that's enough... cough cough cough—"
...
On a street that looked like the aftermath of an apocalypse, dry, cracked earth blew with a wind that carried the stench of sulfur, the burning sensation making one's throat ache.
These were the remnants of the city's violent destruction.
The roadside trees had probably witnessed everything to the very end, but in the end, they could not survive the loss of water and withered away.
Missing-person posters were still plastered on them, rustling loudly in the wind.
The desolate scene made one half-expect some bandits straight out of a post-apocalyptic martial arts world to jump out of the ruins.
This was what the streets looked like after being "visited" by the Ghostfire Syndicate.
"Young man, you're strong indeed... really, thank you so much for helping us, good boy, thank you, thank you..."
The silver-haired old woman pushed a small cart, repeatedly thanking Hua with great emotion.
Meanwhile, Vill-V was struggling with a gas canister, her face flushed red as she failed to lift it.
If Magician hadn't casually broken her mechanical arms, she wouldn't have had to endure this embarrassment.
In the end, Hua lifted the gas canister effortlessly with one hand.
As expected of you, Miner Hua!
Vill-V learned that the old woman's name was Tao, a resident of Twilight Street.
After some probing and coaxing from Conductor, the old woman lowered her guard and agreed to take them to Twilight Street.
Only then did Hua realize that Vill-V's true target was the old woman's residence.
But why was it such a coincidence?
Did Vill-V already know that residents of Twilight Street would come here to shop?
...
The old woman's legs were both mechanical prosthetics, clanking as she walked.
They didn't look refined—clearly cheap models.
This made her gait uneven and limping.
From what they had learned earlier, her legs had been replaced a few years ago when her mobility declined, arranged by her son.
In this city, you could be poor and powerless, but you had to be able to move.
Especially in such a lawless place.
Those who couldn't move well were already dead—either shot by gangs or devoured by monsters.
Her son had some ability, managing to climb a bit within a company and arrange prosthetic legs for her.
But the good times didn't last long. After gaining a bit of status, he was "assigned" to die by the company.