KON POV
Neo Nexus is a bustling megacity, home to approximately 70 million residents. The city is divided into 36 sectors, with 13 forming an inner circle around its core. These inner sectors are known as the inner ring, while the remaining 23 are classified as outer sectors or outer domains.
While the power dynamics and area divisions of the inner sectors have remained relatively consistent over time, the outer sectors tell a different story. Six of the original 23 outer sectors now lie abandoned due to rampant Rogue AI infestations.
Despite the dangers, some individuals still choose to reside in these prohibited areas, attracted by the lax government regulations and lower taxes. However, these sectors are often frequented by gangs and unsavory characters, making them akin to sector-wide slums occasionally plagued by rogue AI attacks.
To combat the threat posed by Rogue AI, periodic purges are necessary, often carried out by hired individuals or government forces when the situation escalates. Living in these areas requires either bravery or financial necessity.
As for me, I fall into the latter category. Dealing with taxes has been a lifelong struggle ever since I left the orphanage. To avoid the burdensome tax collectors, I’ve opted to live frugally in Sector 31, saving whatever money I can.
Navigating the dangers posed by rogue AI is manageable as long as you understand their behavior patterns. This skill has served me well in my job as a danger zone courier, allowing me to make a decent profit thanks to my efficiency in delivering goods.
However, the real headache comes from dealing with the local gangsters. Somehow, they’ve managed to claim the authority to collect taxes in exchange for their so-called “security services.” It’s a constant source of frustration and annoyance in my daily life.
PEH. What a load of baloney.
I once watched them from a vantage point, trying to understand their approach to the periodic Rogue AI purge. I was utterly baffled by their disorganization. It seemed like they had the discipline of a headless chicken on caffeine. The sloppy lot can’t even wipe their bug-riddled ass if their life depends on it.
This left me in a dilemma: should I pay the tax or not? While I could easily outrun those idiots, it wouldn’t take them long to track me down and make my life miserable. So, reluctantly, I paid my dues and hoped they wouldn’t escalate their harassment.
However, the constant harassment from the local gang ceased abruptly when Gramps appeared out of nowhere and decided to settle in the junkyard. Claiming to be a researcher, he repurposed the Rogue AI to defend his research from anyone who dared to disturb him. His unexpected intervention brought a welcome relief from the gang’s harassment.
I witnessed it firsthand when a hot-headed fool dared to threaten Gramps. In an instant, Gramps delivered a sudden uppercut, sending the guy flying two meters in an arc. The rest of the crew met a similar fate, introduced face-first to the asphalt. Overnight, the entire gang was wiped out. Since then, life in Sector 31 has been relatively peaceful, aside from the occasional appearance of rogue bots.
Thanks to Gramps’ intervention, I was able to save up enough money to start a new life in the inner sector. The closer I am to the Nexus Center, the better, as that’s where businesses thrive, and the standard of living is higher.
But beyond its flourishing economy and self-sustaining livelihood production, what truly piques my interest is gaining access to the sector that houses a mobile city. Neo Nexus’s ability to accommodate four mobile cities at once sets it apart from other cities.
Neo Nexus boasts two mobile cities of its own: the Alvangard and the Highwind, each occupying the west and east city ports, respectively. The north and south ports remain vacant, poised to welcome guests if the need arises. It’s an entire sector on wheels, and Neo Nexus proudly claims ownership of two of them.
Boarding one of those mobile cities and embarking on a pilgrimage to other cities has long been a dream of mine. I yearn to see the world beyond what a street urchin like me can imagine.
So, when Zack likened this world to a cage, I couldn’t help but resonate with his sentiment. The idea of being confined in a safe haven while the rest of the world is plagued by hostile environments and colossal murder bots the size of buildings can feel incredibly stifling.
Zack’s narration of the distant lands beyond Neo Nexus sparked a sense of wonder and longing within us. To the east lay Victoria, the Oasis kingdom celebrated for its steam technologies. In the west, past the colossal sentinel, awaited Udan, the temple city renowned for its cultural diversity and archaeological treasures. To the south, beyond the desert, stood the Tower of Emperium, the ultimate destination for those seeking glory.
“Yet, despite all this,” Zack continued, “it still feels small compared to what the word ‘world’ has to offer. Despite all our efforts scouring Gramps’ library, we still haven’t unraveled the mysteries beyond the tower. We’re essentially clueless.”
“So what? Mr. Zack is too big for this city now?” Venti quipped.
“Yes.”
We both turned our heads at that, surprised by Zack’s claim. His reply was instant, leaving us unsure whether he was joking or not. Even Venti had to do a double-take at his display of ego.
“See that building there?” Zack pointed to a skyscraper in the inner ring, one of the tallest in the vicinity. “I climbed to the top once.”
“You serious?” Venti looked at him incredulously, as if Zack had suddenly sprouted an extra head.
“Yep.”
“You bribed the guard or something?” I asked, skeptical of Zack’s feat.
“Nope, I just brute-forced my way through. With a little sneaking.”
Holy smokes. The balls on this guy. I’ve heard people get killed for even attempting to trespass on a corpo building, especially those from the inner sector. How did he survive to tell the tale?
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“You’re nuts, so why did you get up there?” I questioned, still trying to wrap my head around Zack’s insanity.
“I wanted to see what the view is like up there.”
If only Momo could see our faces right now, she’d be rolling on the floor laughing. We were both dumbstruck by the sheer lunacy of Zack’s actions. It was no longer a matter of courage; this guy had a few screws loose.
“Hahaha! And here I thought I was the crazy one for daring to aim big,” Venti chimed in, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Zack,” I interjected, unable to contain my curiosity, “what’s the view like? Up there, I mean.”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Yep. Nothing. Just a vast plain of emptiness and outposts beyond the sectors. There’s the occasional Rogue AI that wandered too close and got shot every now and then.”
We fell silent, contemplating Zack’s words and the emptiness he described beyond the confines of Neo Nexus. It was a stark reminder of the limitations of our world and the dangers that lurked beyond its borders.
What was I expecting? Of course, the view out there is nothing we haven’t seen on TV before. Why else would Neo Nexus build two mobile cities and call it a pilgrimage every time they intended to travel to other megacities with it? The distance is not something that our eyes can cover, after all.
“But I felt light,” Zack continued.
“Light?”
“Yep. The wind was surprisingly gentle up there. When I reached my hands up, the sky felt closer. If the record is to be believed, the Tower of Emperium is higher still. It gets my blood pumping knowing that there are higher views out there.”
So, he wants to make it into a pilgrimage in the future? I’m not sure how climbing up to the top of a building has to do with seeing the world beyond the map. I’m guessing he plans on climbing to the top of the Tower of Emperium next? If so, then Zack is truly a glory seeker. A daredevil one.
“I don’t get it, but you know what you want, yeah?” Venti asked, breaking the silence.
“Mm-hm.”
“That’s nice, I guess. In my case, I just wanted to get stronger.”
“Stronger?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah. Strong enough that everybody will think twice before messing with me.”
“But Zack messes with you all the time,” I pointed out. Venti fell silent, unable to come up with a response.
I held back a chuckle. I’m well aware of Venti’s battle lust, so his aspiration has always been the simplest one among us. It’s refreshing in a way. Every time he had a beef with Zack, the two constantly fought it out. Last I checked, it’s 241 vs. 242 in Zack’s favor.
One time, they beat each other up black and blue until they both couldn’t stand up. Then the next morning, they treated each other normally as if nothing had happened. Such fascinating creatures. It’s like looking into a documentary of two rare breeds of alpha animals cohabitating with one another.
“This idiot here doesn’t count. He is an anomaly.”
“Mr. Venti is using big words now? Next, you gonna try speaking in a janky bi’ish accent?” Zack retorted.
“Screw you, dopamine junkie monkey. Go take a pole dance lesson if you wanna go higher up,” Venti shot back.
The two arm-wrestled for a while before Venti dropped it down with a sigh.
“I once stood at the top too, ya know. It’s different from this idiot’s kind of top. I created a gang. Dunno how that happened, but back then I thought I could do anything I wanted. I had the strength and people who pissed me off simply got the boot in the face. One loser grovels to the next, and it didn’t take long for me to form my group.”
“Ventis together strong. Ouk Ouk,” Zack teased.
“Shut up. Anyway, we made the district area into our backyard. People didn’t like it and came looking for trouble. I smacked them down. More people groveled. The area got bigger. Rinse repeat. Being treated as a leader had me on high back then. I thought I was getting closer to what I always wanted. Power.”
“Dude, did you just watch that one Yakuza movie and decide to make it your lifelong compass or something?” I joked.
“Yea. I wanted that power, that respect. In a way, I got what I wanted.”
I guess it’s true. The saying is that people with power will always desire more power. In a sense, he had gotten a taste of it. But ever since I hung out with him, I never once saw him hanging around with his gang. I can kind of guess what happened next.
“Turns out the so-called power that I had built up crumbled like cheap toilet paper in the face of real strength. A guy came and mopped my gang in less time than it took for me to buy some drink and head back to our hideout,” Venti explained with a snort.
“Funny thing is, seeing my gang laying on the ground like a bunch of beaten dogs, I felt nothing. I wasn’t even thinking of avenging them or paying back all the respect they had given me. Instead, all of my attention was focused on that one guy who had KO-ed all of my people in less than 10 minutes, thinking how strong he must be.”
“Did you manage to beat him up?” I asked.
“Nah, I got my ass handed back to me. Kahaha!”
“Lemme guess, you felt happier ever since?”
“Yeah, I didn’t even realize how miserable I had been feeling. The whole time I played house with the gang, I kept snapping at people who looked at me the wrong way. Always felt so discontent no matter how far our influence spread or how many members our gang grew. Looking back, I owed the guy for the eye-opener.”
Huh, this is unexpected. The hard-noggin Venti experienced enlightenment. Must have been a life-changing experience if it could get him to think hard like that. Or maybe the blunt force to the head did it for him.
“That’s why when I meet him again, I will make him eat dirt as thanks,” Venti declared with a manic grin, clenching his fist until his knuckles turned white.
So now, instead of pandering to other people who might not share his view, he simply decided to ditch everything and start back from zero. I can respect that. So, after finding the guy and smashing his face in, he will aim to surpass the likes of Aika and that Magician next? Cool.
Still begs the question as to why he decided to stick with me though.
Zack I can understand since he is the only person I know who can keep up with Venti. The guy has an appetite for problems. Whenever he is not picking a fight with Venti, he is off to do God knows what and bring back a portion of the problem he instigated and turn it into ours. Well, at least Venti seems to have fun bashing the problem in.
Me, on the other hand, recently I have had to fork out my ID when we went to a R16+ movie. Given a lollipop once by a stranger while I was waiting for Venti and Zack. Had to ask for a ladder when I visited a library. The librarian even had the gall to head pat me after giving me the book I wanted. The more I go on, the more depressed I feel.
Don’t even ask how I fare with martial arts. Students treated me like a fragile egg, afraid to accidentally fall on me. One time, while practicing judo, my practice partner was breathing so hard with a weird glint in his eyes, that it creeped me out. Since then, I only practiced the bare basics with Venti or Zack when they have the time.
As much as it pains me to say it, they are not wrong for treating me like an eggshell. No matter how much I tried to physically toughen myself up, my belly remained squishy. My six-pack plan has been put on hold for such a long time, and my twig-like arms look as if they will snap the moment people grab it the wrong way. At least my leg has gotten a bit of muscle since, so I know I can run faster. I just hoped Zack and Venti were not sticking with me out of pity.
......
Why is everything silent? I turned my head to see the two of them were looking back at me. It’s kind of spooky.
“What?”
“What What? We shared ours. Now it’s your turn.” Venti offered.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Nothing is interesting about me.”
“Venti, it’s fine. Even though we shared our heartfelt worries hoping to find solace in our camaraderie, If Kon is not comfortable with sharing his, there is nothing we can do about it.” Zack elbowed Venti off with a gentle face while giving me an understanding smile. This guy…. Solace my foot. He is doing it on purpose, isn’t he?
......
Sigh, fine.
“Don’t laugh, and don’t call me crazy. Ok?”
“Cross my heart.”
There he goes with his shit-eating grin. I swear, each day I’m getting closer to understanding how Venti feels when he wants to punch him in the throat. It took me a while to formulate what I wanted to say.
Then for the first time in my life, I just let out what’s on my mind.
“I see two skies.”