Splendor City. The bustling metropolis of the human race here in Novus. From the commercial centers to the most narrow alley ways; From the sky high elevated walkways to the hidden underground tunnels; From 00:00 of midnight until 29:59 of the day. Work doesn't stop. So does the parties, the restaurants, the services and even the bloody fights. Each place is crawling with people as if no one liked to rest.
The estimated population of humans in Novus is currently 800 million and a fifth of those resides in Splendor city. Which Includes myself. It doesn't seem much compared to the old world but humans have only lived here for a millennia. This growth was actually pretty fast considering the colony started with a few million people. Thanks to the modern technology and human evolution.
This place would seem to be a dream come true for a lot of people. There is an opportunity for everyone as long as one knows where to find it. The place is something far from being stagnant. It is possible that in just a month, the place you previously visited would have a totally different look. Private groups occasionally organize events for people's productivity or entertainment. Each one of these put together allows its resident people to be satisfied or just not being bored.
I personally approve of Splendor city but sometimes, I just wanted a quiet place to rest. Moreover, it is also a huge distraction for a greater issue that we actually face. Even the crimes inside the city are insignificant to what is happening outside the city. People have seem to forgot that we are an invasive specie in this new planet. We have only occupied a small part of this world and the cities on the outskirts are constantly scouting or defending against this world's natives.
Honestly, I have no right to criticize whoever are governing this place since I also have no plans to volunteer myself to fight whatever is out there; so I guess if Splendor city was made to distract the people then it actually did it right. Anyway, I just arrived at my destination. I rode a cab towards the district of Mayris; its name is said to mean "where rice is found". It is probable that the first people who started occupying this part of the city were southeast Asians.
My reason for coming here is to actually have my lunch and meet a friend. As having one of the best choices for a variety of cuisines and just being a district away from where my friend lives, this has became the usual place for us to meet.
This place is like a train station. It has a long cylindrical roof and multiple floors but instead of terminals, it has stalls on just about everywhere in which most of it are food related. The cuisines from the old world are still present here which is actually admirable. They might have preserved some plant seeds and cloned animals from their DNA. In addition to the vegetables and meats, there are unique food that is only found in Novus. The most popular one are the stameres; these are the bodies of plant-like creatures but have a meaty texture on the inside. The problem with stameres though is vegans and vegetarians not agreeing whether they can or they can't eat it.
I finally entered the tunnel-like marketplace. As usual, this place was filled with people. For one, I was greeted by vendors from different stalls trying to sell me their products. There are also multiple groups of young people scattered around the place. Just also looking at the clothes, this place was quite popular for laborers who work during weekends. As for the non-humans, there are robots scattered around for cleaning the place and androids that scout the area for security.
I continued through a side way leading to a convenience store. I could already see my friend sitting inside; drinking some juice while waiting for me. She has a short green hair and wearing a red lens smart eyeglasses. I put on my metallic blue colored visor glasses, which complements my blue hair, before entering the store.
"Boo!" I placed my hands on Jasmine's shoulders, giving her a scare.
Jasmine jerked before looking towards me. She pouted, looking really cute. "Come on Lizette! Can you not always scare me?" She then stood up and gave me a hug.
I returned her hug back. "So where are we eating today?" We then let go of each other.
"Oh! I heard there is a new good restaurant and it is quite cheap!" She then scratched her head. "But it is located in the underground markets."
"How far and secluded is this restaurant?" I asked. The underground market in the district of Mayris is a different thing from the ground and upper ground markets. The security starts to decrease as you go down. Those sold below also change. From food to cyber implants and illegal drugs.
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"Its just one level below though I am not sure how far is it." Jasmine replied.
"Then that's fine. No need to be scared."
We then went out of the store and walked towards a staircase leading to the underground market. There were some people hanging and smoking around the staircase but they only stared at us. As we reached the underground floor, we luckily saw a patrolling officer. He has a long blade at his back and a holstered gun.
"Excuse me. Do you know where the restaurant Nova's Spice is?" Jasmine asked.
"Oh yes. That's just the newly opened restaurant. Pretty good if you ask me. You just need to go straight there then go left on the third alleyway." The officer then rubbed his chin. "Be careful though, there are some gangs who hang out in those alleyways but I doubt they will have courage to do anything in a very open area."
"Thanks!"
We gave our thanks before following the path that the officer told us and as he just said, a group of people were hanging around the third alleyway. One was a large fat man wearing a metallic knuckles. Another one was a short guy wearing a binocular glasses. The third one was a thin tall guy drinking some kind of beer. The last one is a fairly bulky man and he was the one who first approached us.
"Oh! What do we have here? What are pretty rich ladies doing here? Are you guys looking to have fun with us? Hahaha!" The bulky man started laughing and the other three followed as they stood behind the bulky guy.
"Move! Don't waste our time!" I shouted furiously. These disgusting thugs are really not worth our time.
"How brave! *Hick!*" The tall guy shouted. He seems to be pretty drunk.
"Are you fearless because of the cameras surrounding this place?" The short guy chuckled. "Well, I actually already took those things out."
"Do you actually think that you would be able to take out all the hidden cameras here?" Jasmine innocently asked before grinning. "Are you stupid?"
"You!!!" The short guy got furious. His eyes opened wide.
"Enough! Go capture these arrogant ladies!" The bulky man shouted.
"You better think twice or you will regret this." I warned. I don't really enjoy fighting weaklings.
"Hehe! You don't scare us milady!" The tall man chuckled.
"I'll have this feisty one!" The fat man licked his lips.
The group of four tried to surround us. Me and Jasmine looked at each other momentarily before we knew how we would divide the fight between the two of us. I reached out my hand, palm facing up and she slapped down towards it. That clap was a signal that we are about to whack some ass.
I then turned towards my right while Jasmine turned towards the left.
I was facing the bulky guy and the short guy while Jasmine faced the tall guy and the fat guy. The fat guy charged towards Jasmine from her left while the short guy took out his knife and charged towards me from my right. I immediately somersaulted backwards causing his charge to miss me and continue towards Jasmine but Jasmine crouched then swept her legs towards the fat guy causing the fat guy to fall towards the short guy. "Bam!" The two guys crashed on each other.
The bulky man and the tall guy then attacked. Before the tall guy could even reach us, he was suddenly pushed back by an invisible force causing him to fall flat on his ass. For the bulky man, he was stopped on his track as he felt a sharp object almost pierce his neck.
"Evolved humans!" The bulky man shouted, regret started to fill his eyes.
"Psychics!" The tall man added. His body started shaking out of fear.
There are quite a few people that should be avoided in Novus. These are the true evolved humans. Technically, all humans in Novus have already evolved but even the evolution of each people differ from each other. Those who have reached a higher level of evolution were able to alter their own body or even bend the laws of the world with their minds. As for me and Jasmine, we are part of those group.
The short man who was lying in the ground was looking at the bulky man. The knife in his hand was missing so it was clear that it was his knife that was floating below his boss' neck.
"Please don't kill us!" The fat man started crawling away.
"Break one of your fingers then scram!" I shouted. I hated scums like these but I have never really killed anyone. Still, I need to at least make them responsible for their actions.
The bulky man immediately broke his right pinky finger. He was scared that the knife in front of him would suddenly move again.
"What are you all waiting for? Break your finger or I will break it for you." I repeated.
The fat man and the tall man also broke their pinky finger causing them to groan in pain.
"I--I can't" The short man was shaking as he touched his left pinky finger.
Jasmine walked towards him then smiled. "Then let me help you!"
The index finger of the short man slowly bended backwards. Jasmine was using telekinesis on the man. Unlike what the other 3 felt, the slow process of his finger bending caused him an excruciating pain.
"Stop! Stop! Please stop!" The short man started to cry out due to the pain.
"Now leave! I'll give you 10 seconds-" I shouted but before I could even start counting, they started running away.
"Don't come back! If we ever see you again then it would be much worse." Jasmine joyfully shouted before turning towards me. "Shall we continue to Nova's spice?"
"Of course! I got even more hungry after that!" I replied. Just thinking about the food, little obstacles like this is nothing. I just wish that it really is worth it.
The two of us continued to pass through the alleyway. Looking far in front of us, we could already see a building with large Neon lights which says Nova's spice.