Chapter 80

William had no recollection of ever seeing this kind of apartment. It was safe to say that no camp would go this far in size, quality, and work for anyone. The whole apartment was roughly the same size as Roshwell Camp’s rather impressive kitchen segments, which fed hundreds of people at any given time. Or was this the size of some storage facilities?

This impression hadn't lasted that long after he pinched his arm.

Facing the reality of his six weeks, he thought about his unknown fateful Examination and learning. From the looks of it, he was his decision-maker and no one was around to stop him from being lazy or trying really hard. Will someone offer him something else? Kaufman already did, yet how great did that feel?

He refused many offers when he was younger to feel fine. There were many organizations to mind, as well as those Divisions, yet since he came here, he wasn't even what was real anymore. So William went out, leaving his bag behind, and bringing with him Kaufman’s library card that remained in his pocket. Like Luke, he completely overlooked the key to this home.

He rather wondered about that card, which should give a lot of things, if what Kaufman and Luke said was right. With a map and some credits, he had everything. Opening the doors outside, he slammed the door shut before he even realized that he screwed up.

“Crap… I've forgotten the key, haven't I?” Sighing, he put his hands in his pockets and walked outside, bringing with him his best jacket.

When he looked at himself, he was unassuming and probably fine. His expectations were his, so he should've looked through Luke's clothes and borrowed something better since Luke wasn't too bigger than him.

Outside, there was a burst of morning sunshine, and not a lot of people in the street. It was silent, with birds chirping on occasional trees near the pavement roads.

How to carry on? I have no friends or people around me. In such a situation, having someone like Dann sounds surprisingly useful. William thought to himself and took the map out of his pocket.

If there was anything right about this map, those were Federation Districts. At one point, this whole place looked like half of a circle, or a crescent moon might be a better analogy. Now, it was nothing like that.

Central District was an unsurprising part of the center, with other Districts around it, connected by canals, or roads. West and North Districts used to be known under different names before South and East Districts were created.

William saw an outline of the streets, with a red mark on what should be Luke’s apartment. If he went right, he would get to a bridge leading south. That sounded simple, so shoved the map back into his pocket and walked in the direction of the Central District

Rows of buildings were on other streets, parting with many alleys and pedestrian paths. One could easily walk between them from time to time, or even between the streets.

Unlike most of the camps, William found this place marvelous. Trees and patches of grass littered every few corners, yet there was nothing natural about it, since the buildings were cold, including the ground that was full of generous tiles. It was a strange contrast coming from the outside, but the kind that William didn't hate. There were no vehicles around and most people used bicycles, canals with boats, or walked around for free.

People took good care of everything, and there wasn't any garbage around, causing the streets to stay clean. That surprised William once again, even when he had already gone through this episode yesterday. He watched it at night, so it left a different impression that most citizens must've long forgotten.

Minutes went by and people started to spread and appear out of nowhere after William walked into more bustling streets, which gave him an outlook of what regular life was like. There were many kinds of people. Race was irrelevant. There were all sorts of people and each had common goals or completely different ideas.

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They walked, going by their day, and didn't regard one another too much. Work provided by the Federation was essentially endless, while the Federation was not endless. Residential complexes were in all Districts, including West Avenue, which was more like a corner of the North District that was close to the Central District.

There was no death weight around here. Everyone had to take part in building this place through their action, or indirect support. One way or another, whether one went with the regular path of a cook, planter, or anything else, one had a job to do. Forcing themselves to become a citizen was common and many people gritted their teeth because of it.

The same will probably go to Marcus and his group that was rescued by Luke. Their fate was theirs, unknown by William, who did not need to know about them. He will most likely forget about them in a couple of weeks, or perhaps not so much since the whole experience was memorable because of that helicopter and Luke.

“Oh, there is that bridge!” William said and pointed forward. The central bridge sign was not that far, showing him that he was walking in a good direction.

“Alright, since there are writings all around, I should have a much easier time. Luke mentioned it.” William laughed, devoid of any embarrassment or how people around him looked at him.

Unfortunately, this idea went to dust as soon as he entered Central District. Hundreds of people walked everywhere, while the streets were much narrower because of much larger buildings and tighter streets. He felt crushing pressure as if he faced the whole Herds of Darks. It was so crowded that William felt like turning and running away.

Hundreds of people walked so close that they could touch. Head to head, William could tell they were busy and not friendly people. Why was it an important question in his heart? It wasn't, so he minded his business. Bustling was a weak word to describe what he watched. He completely underestimated the potential of the Central District or this whole place.

Silently, he cursed Luke for ditching him. He ought to care for real problems, but Luke found it more bothersome even if those were Mi-Yung's words. It wasn't even that necessary to do much; he just had to do a little work and deal with the rest. Unfortunately, Luke wasn't aware of everything, including where she was, or what had she done.

Unknown to everyone, there was a figure stalking William. Yungmin had a lot of time in hand. He grew up in the Federation, so he knew what was up with the people and places, let alone some streets.

Looking at that brat who stole the attention of his elder sister was as easy as it could be. He could even walk behind his back and that brat wouldn't notice him. Wasn't that way too funny? Yungmin could tell he was too preoccupied with watching everything like a lost kid who knew nothing about this place. It was laughable, so he smirked and wondered what William was about to do next.

William still went onto the people and acted like a fool.

That angered Yungmin. He hated useless people the most. He was Song. He was from a great family. Death family, however. There was no South Korea anymore, and what became of it was like many others that fused with the Federation. Now, Walkers ruled. They were of no singular nationality. They were protectors and didn't need nations.

Yungmin didn't care. His position and arrogance were still alive! He was a Walker! That was important, and he was devout to his sister, the youngest member of Assembly Island.

Just wait and see, I will see how useless you are, brat. You are a mistake. Fraud! My sister has been too busy and couldn't see the truth. I will tell her how terrible this whole idea is. You went through so much trouble and for what?! I swear, this is not about Mister Viltor. It is... unfortunately false. She is wrong. Wrong! Yungmin had an endless internal monologue to appease his stalking.

Unbeknown to him, perhaps he was also watched.

There were a lot of people. A lot of interest was all over the place. William was oblivious to everything. He walked into the Central District at a busy time, and so far it was alright, but forward? Should he dive straight into those people or shout like a maniac?

Dann would be great at it, William believed. This was the beginning of the greatest District, which wasn't the biggest due to the nature of the Federation. It was increasing in many layers. Mostly wider than vertically, thus the other Districts increased in mass more than the Central District because it was in the middle of everything.

It wasn't as obvious, but the main streets were broad. The access paths and many following side streets weren't, hence many people walked around in seamless packs. Tight passages were fine due to the business ongoing on many side streets with tall buildings all over the place. Most of them had more than five floors and were quite sturdy.

These were shopping venues, workshops, and manufacturers, loaded with many businesses. People needed tools, food, and clothes. Businesses around these streets were full of them, and that was what William saw at the moment.

“I have no time for this shit…” He gave up, dived into people, and forgot some shops he was curious about. He went through the main wider street after fighting through people.

Then, he caught a much-needed break when dense shopping venues disappeared from his sight. The whole place widened, yet people remained. He no longer felt crushed, while the street he wanted to see was right around a small strand of the river that was a part of the Atlantic Ocean.

He couldn't tell it, though the water was mild, weather hot, and he wasn't even sure if he was walking on earth or if this was some artificial land. He enjoyed it nonetheless.