“I don’t like it here. It reminds me of the time I lived here as a gangster. My brothers and I, who had no fathers or mothers or suffered from domestic violence, were just like us.
A group of rats in the stinky ditch whose hair was wet with dirty water, covered with oil stains that reflected colorful spots under the neon lights."
Before following several search teams composed of Tarsonis police into the largest slum in Tarsonis City, the Tarsonian-born federal marines and active-duty grenadiers of the Demons of Heaven had lived in this slum for eighteen years.
Private First Class Xander Marks said this to his superior officer, Augustus.
Tarsonis City is the grandest and most extensive city in the entire Tyranid Federation. The city is located on a vast plain between the continuous mountains of Tarsonis' only main continental plate and the largest inland sea. The city's hexagonal outer walls
Even in low-Earth orbit, it is still clearly visible. Beyond the urban areas are the giant industrial areas and cities one after another covering the surface of the planet.
In the territory of the Tyranid Federation, the city of Tarsonis is a place where ambitious people and the darlings of the times gain fame and wealth. Future politicians, galaxy businessmen and technological geniuses can all have a place in this prosperous world. In contrast,
, there are more people living in its huge slums than there are immigrants in the Sara system.
It is not that Augustus has never seen slums. In Stillling, slums are areas that have not been included in urban development plans. The simple urban areas there evolved due to a series of problems such as excessive urban development and the excessive gap between rich and poor.
The result seems to be a large area of low-rise old urban areas and illegal buildings between the magnificent glass buildings, just like an ugly scar in the mercury.
Korhal IV Stirling is home to the poorest people in Korhal, but the slums of Tarsonis are "underground" in the entire city.
The Sky Tower complex of the Creation Family is in the center of Tarsonis City, which is the most prosperous area of the city and the starting point and end point of the entire continent's transportation network. And there are countless places outside the central city to the suburbs.
, a complex of skyscrapers that look like mountains. Under these seemingly extremely prosperous scenes are dark alleys called "stinking ditches".
The skyscrapers stand on a foundation reinforced with reinforced concrete and steel frames, with only a few pedestrian-friendly, winding lanes between the buildings, and highways thousands of feet in the air.
On both sides of these alleyways are steel walls that seem to extend infinitely upward. There are locked steel doors on the walls and windows sealed with water. Only the glass windows above the head that are emitting light from the rising mist show the mysterious scenery.
Gustus is in the city with dozens of Tarsonis Police Force (TPF) personnel armed with electromagnetic pistols and shotguns.
The floors that are invisible to the eyes seem to reach into the sky, blocking the sunlight that should be shining on the ground, so these lowest-level lanes do not see sunlight all year round.
The rainwater that is not easy to evaporate, the poor ventilation and the sewers under the alleys make it as humid as a tropical rain forest. The air is filled with the smell of urine and an indescribable stench. Rodents and native giant slugs crawl in the dark corners,
The sound of the fan of the air-conditioning system on the upper floors was mixed with the squeaking sound of rusty metal plates shaking.
At the end of the alleyway, there is another passage that is either narrower or much wider, but no matter which direction you go, you can't get out of this maze world under countless tall buildings.
No one has counted how many of these lanes there are, but what is certain is that Tarsonis City has at least tens of thousands of dark and damp black lanes. The environment here may be the worst and most difficult in the entire Tyranid Federation city.
It is unbearable, viruses breed in the moist and warm darkness, and plague and death peek at everything in the shadows.
However, there are countless poor people living in these alleys, villains who have been kicked out of their homes, homeless gangsters, unemployed vagrants, desperate gamblers, unexamined drug addicts and people who are engaged in what is considered the most despicable job.
Poor people. They live in the wider lanes and in houses with sloping roofs built against vertical steel walls.
People in slums do not have balconies, so they can only use microwaves to dry their clothes, but even clothes that are dried in this way are quickly soaked by moisture.
There is a lack of light sources here, so residents in the slums will use cheaper but extremely dazzling neon lights to illuminate the dim world. These neon lights and the electric lights in the residents' homes are powered by cables they have installed privately and exposed on the edge of the alley walls. In the dark
The sizzling electric sparks can be seen flickering on and off from time to time.
"Mr. Augustus, we have to get off work in an hour, and the search may have to wait until tomorrow." A Tarsonis police sergeant next to Augustus said: "I feel really sorry for Mr. Finley.
Feeling worried, in the dark night of the slums, the crime, chaos and violence are like coming from another backward and savage world, not Tarsonis, which is famous for its technology and progress."
"You have to know that it is almost impossible to track down the villains in the slums. There is no one here to manage it. Even the police station only sends out reconnaissance boats to patrol regularly."
“I’ll add more money,” said Augustus.
“This is not a matter of money...” The police sergeant adjusted the brim of his hat and slowly lit a cigarette.
"Twice it more, let your chief send out better police officers and detectives from upper-class residential areas." Augustus looked at the colorful graffiti on the wall through the purple neon lights in the alley, a police officer
Tell him that there is a relatively large residential community in front of this lane.
Augustus knew very well that the Tarsonis Police Station had long been eroded by corruption like a rotten wooden board, and was full of crawling pests and bugs. There were by no means a handful of capable police officers, but on this basis,
There are very few police officers who are honest and do not accept favor fees, resident protection fees or blackmail civilians.
The salary of most police officers is enough for them to live in this bustling metropolis, but in this materialistic, impetuous pursuit of fame and fortune, even the police want to gain more benefits.
The police in downtown areas cannot recruit enough manpower and are left to idle gangsters, while the excellent police officers in wealthy areas only care about the interests of the sponsors who give them extra salaries.
In such a perfunctory system that does not give benefits or bribes, most cases of the middle class and ordinary federal citizens often have to be delayed for several months because no one is accepted, and in the end they are dismissed. It is like robbery.
, trivial matters such as theft and malicious wounding are not worth the time of precious police officers.
Unless the victim is a powerful aristocrat, even a wealthy businessman will not be able to touch these uncles if he does not want to pay.
"It just so happens that we have to work overtime today, Mr. Augustus." The police chief took a heavy drag on his cigarette: "My detectives just found some clues. Someone can confirm that Tychus Finley-that is, the person in the photo
This big guy walked into Daddy Leiter's bar at 7:52 last night, and then rushed out of the bar naked this afternoon."
“He was completely covered in blood, and he knocked down two powerful and tall gangsters with just three punches and two kicks,” the police chief said.