South District 1, Dark Night Electrical Zone.
In the streets at night, a young man wearing a black short shirt was running in embarrassment. While he was looking for a narrow alley to hide in, he looked around nervously for possible pursuers.
"Hoo, ho--" Holding the wall, his chest heaved, and his back was already wet with sweat.
"Aren't we chasing him?" He whispered to himself, then raised his head and looked at the narrow sky in the alley.
The floating boat decorated with neon lights and signboards floats slowly in the sky. It is not only an entertainment venue, but also a conspicuous advertising position. It is said that the annual advertising fee of a floating boat is tens of millions of federal dollars.
"Damn capital and rich people!"
He hammered the wall, and then stumbled forward again, walking in this remote alley full of stains and garbage.
——————
Edes Academy, combat training room.
A sturdy young man was sweating. He looked to be about eighteen years old, with his upper body bare and his lower body wearing loose trousers. He was punching in the practice room, exercising his muscles, and getting familiar with the recently advanced job.
As time slowly passed, he became more and more proficient in this new advanced ability, and the extraordinary core in his body became more and more stable and fierce. The boiling magic power was evaporating with sweat, and bursts of white gas came out of his body.
Finally, when his momentum and the magic power in his body reached their peak, he shouted loudly, then punched out, and an explosive sonic boom sounded in the practice room.
The dummy that was originally wrapped in rubber cracked, revealing the thick broken steel bars inside. The surrounding rubber even partially melted, and the air was filled with an unpleasant burnt smell.
After training, he walked out of the practice room, and a slightly younger boy immediately came forward. He held a towel in his hand, helped him wipe his sweat, and then spoke enviously.
"Brother Valk is so awesome. He just advanced this morning and he is able to use the power of a job agency so skillfully! I just looked at the records in the practice room. The explosive power of that punch is almost unmatched in Sequence 4. Even the freshmen Avni, the goldfish girl who is generally favored in the movie, is not as good as my eldest brother!"
"Don't brag too much. I'm two years older than Avni, so I actually wasted a lot of time." Valk shook his head and didn't care about the compliment. Instead, he thought about consulting the nutritionist in the school tonight. He doesn't have much time to waste on what needs to be added in the next period of time, and there are still many things waiting for him to complete.
…
"Do you want to report to Teacher Sima?" The young man asked after listening to Valk's arrangement.
Sima is the Edes Academy teacher who dug Valk out of the slums of the North 9th District. She is also the person in charge of Valk's life at school. Generally, you can report and negotiate with him on anything.
Although Valk delayed several years due to his background and was lucky enough to enter high school until now, his talent is indeed extraordinary. In a short period of time, he advanced to Light Feather Sequence 4: Sun Fighter and was rated as a perfect level. Difficult and extraordinary job placement.
Such a talented person has gained the respect of many people even in Edes Academy, where all kinds of elites gather, and his life here has gradually stabilized.
"Go and talk to the teacher. It's his care and support after all." Valk threw the towel he had wiped off his sweat to the boy behind him, then walked into the shower room nearby, ready to rinse off and change into clean clothes.
"Okay." The boy replied happily.
————
At night, after finishing the celebration banquet, Valk walked out of the brightly lit restaurant. The night breeze seemed particularly cool. He recalled the compliments and praises given by the school teachers and senior officials in the restaurant just now, and felt a bit unreal.
Finally, he touched his pocket, took out a credit card he just got, inserted it into the slot of his personal terminal, and soon the amount was displayed.
[Federal Coin: 3000000]
This was a reward given to him for Advanced Sequence 4. Edes Academy has always been tolerant and supportive of geniuses.
Three million federal coins. If he were in the North Ninth District, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to earn that much in his lifetime. Valk thought to himself that the worldview formed over the years had the illusion of collapse and reconstruction.
This is South District 1, the world of the rich, and the world is uneven. He silently recalled this feeling in his heart.
In this way, he was immersed in this kind of thinking until the personal terminal in his pocket rang, waking him up.
He took out his personal terminal and as soon as he opened it, he heard an urgent call from the other side.
"Hello, Valk, it's me, Greed." The voice was mixed with tension and various noises, and the other side seemed to be running.
"What's the matter?" Valk's voice was still calm.
"Come and save me. I'm being chased. I'm in the Dark Night Electrical Zone. Let me take a look. It's the alley south of No. 8 Street. Come on!"
"..." Valk was silent for a few seconds before the voice from the other side rang out again.
"You're not going to die without saving me! We grew up together. If it hadn't been for me, you would have died in the slums!"
"I know, that's why I didn't hang up." Valk said slowly.
"I will come, just try your best to avoid it." Then he hung up his personal terminal.
He dialed the number again and soon received a positive reply from the other side. A high-speed hover vehicle would arrive at his location within three minutes.
While waiting, Valk looked at the cold night sky above his head and thought of some things from his childhood.
That's right, he was an orphan since he was a child and grew up in the underground world of North Ninth District. At that time, he was almost like a rat, looking for food in garbage dumps to survive. It was also at that time that he met Greed.
The situation of the two of them was similar. At the beginning, they were fighting for a intact lunch box and fighting with each other.
Greed said that he saved Valk. Although this is true, it is not complete. In fact, because of their young age at the time, when they faced those adults who were also wandering and evil, they could only stick together and save each other. We talked several times and couldn't tell who owed whom, but since the other party had spoken today, Valk would not refuse or deny it.
Soon, a dark and high-end hover car came from the sky at high speed, then lowered and hovered in front of Valk.
The car door opened, revealing the empty seat inside. Valk jumped up from the ground, stepped on the frame of the suspended car, pushed it down a few minutes, and shook it slightly before regaining stability.
After closing the door, Valcke entered the approximate location, and the hover car began to rush to the location. It also shuttled through the bustling city of South District 1. Along the way, you could see many similar high-end hover cars, as well as the ubiquitous advertisements. and signs.
Dark Night Electrical Zone, Lane 13, South of No. 8 Street.
In the dim alley, a hemispheric autonomous unit rolled over on its side, with a torn gap on the side, and the internal components flashed with sparks. Opposite it, a young man in a black short shirt was holding a purple ionized short blade, his eyes Sweeping around, he crouched slightly to deal with the ensuing attacks.
Above the alley, the lights of three suspended four-wing drones flashed, and the cameras were constantly focusing and locking on the young people on the ground.
[Discover the target and start checking...]
[After checking, it was confirmed that it was the thief No. 1721, and the arrest operation began]
[Requesting support, the net is ready]
[emission! ]
A drone launched a fine net with a hook lock, covering the young man on the ground. Electric light flowed in the fine net, and bursts of electric sparks exploded when it touched objects in the alleyway.
"Damn it!" The young man in black shirt on the ground cursed, then dodged with all his strength, swung the short blade in his hand, cut the rope blocking the front, and continued running forward, but he slipped on the garbage on the ground and fell. A fall.
Taking advantage of his immobility, a second drone descended and approached, spraying fine netting and ropes.
Although the young man in black shirt tried hard to dodge, he was still covered by the fine mesh, and then the electric current hit him, causing his body to tremble continuously, his teeth to collide, and he made painful sounds.
Holding back the current, the young man waved the ionizing short blade in his hand, cut open the fine mesh on his body, and climbed out again. However, after a few steps, he collapsed due to soreness and exhaustion. At this time, he could only hide in an abandoned and old vehicle. Behind your back, avoid being trapped by the drone unit in the sky.
The side corners of these UAV units have a unified logo, which is three pointers pointing inward, with the outline of a gear on the outside.
The 'Three Pointers Workshop' is a well-known company in Jade Skirt South District. Although it is not large in scale, the timers it produces are extremely special. They can slow down the flow of time around the timers. They have great advantages in some special fields. Many wonderful uses.
Because of this, this small-scale workshop is extremely profitable, and many people are spying on the company's patents and technical secrets. If it weren't for the fact that the limit of the retarder of the 'Three Hands Workshop' can only slow down the time by 20%, It can even enter the ranks of giant companies with this technology patent.
The one who truly possesses the singularity of time technology in the Rose Federation is the giant enterprise 'Alice's Pocket Watchmaker'. Its logo is a hat decorated with bunny ears, flowers and a pocket watch. Its 'Alice Pocket Watch' can freeze time in the surrounding space. .
"Valk, if you don't come, I'm going to die here." The young man fed himself a few excitement capsules that suppressed pain and enhanced physical strength. After taking a breath, he ran out again, avoiding the suspended drones in the air. In pursuit, he jumped on the blocking autonomous unit, inserted a knife into the head of the autonomous robot, tore it apart, damaging the internal components, and then continued to run forward.
Finally, he rushed out of the narrow alley. Just as he was about to run away, dazzling lights illuminated in front of him, and then a stern shout came from the front.
"Stop! We are members of the 'Raincoat Office' with legal gun licenses. If you still want to run away, we will shoot you under video surveillance!"
Hearing this voice, the young man had to stop running temporarily and cover his eyes with his hands. After a while, he gradually adapted and saw clearly the six office members in front of him who were uniformed, wearing body armor, tactical sunglasses and headphones. Each person has an automatic aiming pistol in his hand, and the red dot of the laser indicator converges on the young man.
Each of these firm members has a level of Sequence 4. Although the job agency does not rate them as excellent or outstanding, with the addition of sophisticated equipment, it is extremely difficult for ordinary people to fight against them.
Because of the existence of extraordinary abilities and the development of industry, it is not difficult for individuals to possess violence and guns. Faced with such a vast territory and complex environment in the federation, it is impossible for the official police to cover everything, so local governments will be allowed to maintain some security forces. And some offices exist.
These firms are hired by large companies to provide security forces, protect the safety of company employees, and protect trade secrets from being stolen, etc.
Although the original intention is good, because they are too close to the gray area, there are also firms that will assist certain large companies to undermine their opponents' competition, steal their secrets, etc., under the temptation of huge returns.
When someone points a gun at him, the young man in black clothes raises his hands to show that he is not a threat. This is not a very weak approach, but an extremely wise behavior. If he is provoked by the other party, or still resists despite being warned by the other party, , then the other party can 'legally' shoot himself without having to bear too much legal responsibility.
"Hmph!" The members of the opposite firm were very disdainful for such a habitual offender, but they did not relax their vigilance.
The captain tilted his head and asked the members on both sides to step forward to disarm the black-shirted young man and prepare to tie him up.
Although they have no law enforcement power, they can send the black-shirted young man to a cell in the police station. Then there will naturally be a specialized lawyer assigned by the company to accuse the other party of the crime.
Seeing that two members of the agency were about to approach, the young man in black shirt frowned and backed away slightly. He would not be taken lightly. With his status, entering the police station was not a good thing.
His current identity is a forgery and he is not a real legal citizen in the federation. This also means that once his file is exposed, there will no longer be any 'human rights'. Even if he dies in prison, no one will care about him.
Because without 'human rights', it means they do not exist and cannot even be counted as human beings. This is the underlying rule of the federation.
Time passed by second by second. Although the young man in black shirt showed an indifferent expression of contempt on the surface, his legs and fingers were trembling slightly, always ready to attack.
However, in the end, he did not wait for the opportunity to resist, because someone interrupted the process.
The black hover car lowered, and a burly man walked out. He saw the young man in black shirt illuminated by the lights, blocking the members of the office with one hand.
"I think, maybe we can talk first." What was revealed in his hand was a special card with the logo of Edes Academy on it.
After the scanner in the sunglasses confirmed that the key on the card was checked against the official website, the captain dispatched by the 'Raincoat Office' frowned, waved to his companions and stopped temporarily.
Although Edes Academy is only ranked fourth in the Star Territory, it is a member of the first ladder. The gap between it and the first place is not big. If it is just an ordinary student in the academy, the 'Raincoat Office' He didn't take it too seriously, but what this man took out was a special black card, which represented his status and certain influence in Edes Academy.
"Do you want to protect him? I want to remind you in advance that he is the criminal designated by the 'Three Pointers Workshop' to be arrested, and he is also a dangerous person involved in the patent war. The 'Three Pointers Workshop' will not compromise easily."
For many companies in the federation, their technology patents are as important as life. If any opponent dares to pry and steal, they will spare no effort to retaliate, regardless of whether the means are legal or illegal. The resulting patent war, It was also brutal and often caused headaches for federal authorities.
"Although we don't want to offend Edes Academy, if you can't communicate with Three Pointers Workshop within an hour, we still won't give up on arresting him."
"I know." Valk took a deep breath. Although he was a little depressed, he looked at the young man in black shirt opposite him, and finally picked up the personal terminal at hand.
"Hey, is this Teacher Sima? I'm sorry to disturb you at night. It's like this. I have a friend..." The words spread slowly in the night. The people around him listened quietly to Valk's conversation until a long time later, He just put down his personal terminal.
The call lasted only 16 minutes, but Valk felt it was longer than ten years. When he hung up, he was sweating again without realizing it.
He rarely asked for help, even asking for help so unreasonably, but this time was an exception. Such behavior made him very ashamed and humble.
But as long as he's still alive.
After a long time, a member of the 'Raincoat Agency' received a call. The captain nodded and looked at Valk. After hanging up the phone, he came over and patted Valk on the shoulder.
"You are very much favored. It would be great if I had a talent like you back then."
After saying that, he led his men into the office's special hover car and left in the night, leaving only the two of them under the night sky.
The black-shirted young man was in an extremely embarrassed state, his body was in tatters, covered with stains and blood, and there were many wounds on his body. On the other side, Valk was wearing clothes made of high-end fabrics. He was clean and tidy, strong and stable, even though they were not separated by each other. Three meters, but extremely far away.
The two boys who used to dig through the garbage together now stand in two different worlds.
(End of chapter)
