The Deadman

Made an archive out of the information that had been obtained. Robert went and got himself roaming in Chinatown, trying to locate the one of the only places that still had real authentic meat in their dishes.

King Chao’s place, they said. It was one of the few restos in the area that was invite-only. He had earned a place after the Boss had given him.

Place was calm with an odd techno-bamboo flute mix playing in the background. One thing that you do notice the first time you enter King Chao’s place is the smell of the food coming from the kitchen. The other thing was the mercs gathering in the place. It was Maze or King Chao’s place where they gathered to cook up some schemes. It’s a neutral place where two parties could eat some real food and 

Chen, the manager of the place, told the waiter to take Robert to see him. Robert had approached the booth on the right wing of the restaurant and introduced himself to Chen.

“Mr. Oswald. I have heard good things about your work ethic. Pei told over a bottle of Ao Yun how you have earned him a lot. A Freelancer that got into premium this fast – you have no affiliation with, Pei?”

“Freelancer. Don’t plan to sign a contract.”

Chen interlocked his fingers and looked Robert through it.

“I may call for delivery jobs. But I must ask how are you in a fight?”

“I can protect myself,” Robert sagged his shoulders. “But I can be aggressive if need be. I don’t fancy getting into fights. Bullets are expensive, sir.”

Chen smiled wide, “True. True. Work that needs no killing should be done as cleanly as possible. This is your first time in this place, you can eat in the house. Go on.”

“Appreciate it, sir.”

“No problem.”

Robert got his seat and ordered some pork dumplings with a peking duck. The smell of the stuff made Robert feel like tearing up and the taste was like finally getting some real thing after eating all those synthetic-shit.

The difference in taste was noticeable. It didn’t have that processed taste that most food he got from the market. The food was expensive, about two weeks of salary, but it was addicting. He’d go broke if he eats here everyday which was a shame. He could order the shumai and the tempura at least. Get some food for days and not suffer the taste of synth-meat.

If there was one thing he missed was the real fool. The non-replicated meat that they served and the natural food they served didn’t cost a small fortune to order. He missed it. Not enough to squander his freedom away or get marked as ‘scorned’ ever. Had enough of being shredded and waking up a century later.

Place had iced tea so he finished the meal with the cool drink and then left after leaving a tip on the table for the good food. He needed the good food to somehow endure the next few hours he’s going to spend finding a certain place.

He had geared himself up with rebreathers and exploration tools. The maps and information he had found in Carol’s place was enough to give him a rough idea of where the place he had been looking for.

He had suspicion that the mega towers moved the place. But some of the tidbits he could remember from Robert’s enlightening made him recall the certain tunnels that Robert used when descending the sewer systems before he got his soul marked. The info he got from Carol, from the constructions, the documentaries, and clippings had him discover some of the markings he needed to follow.

The state of the sewer system alone was enough to worry him. Compared to how it was before he slept for a hundred years. The sewers could probably contain enough water to endure a tsunami or a tidal wave. The space underneath was awesome. One could fit a 35-story building inside the damn place. Not to mention that there were drones and all sorts of security systems placed in the sewers.

He had bought info regarding this. It seemed that there were sewer-bots manning the space underneath the city because of the wiring and all other problems. Most of the city’s infrastructures such as water treatment and electricity lines were underneath.

The more Robert descended in the sewers. The more he saw the cables and wirings that were filling the place like it was a jungle made of copper and aluminum. There was a chasm in the middle of the sewer tunnels and one wrong move could kill him.

He had the appropriate tool and the patience. His digital cloak was also holding out well. If it wasn’t for his all-sense detecting the spider drones crawling around. He was sure that he’d be chased after by whatever security was in the sewers. The more he went deeper, the more he realized that under the city there was another form of community in regards to the workers and the wage slaves working their ass off in this dark and damp place.

Their appearance is pale. Their gear is meant to navigate the large gaps and spaces. One of the few perks of being in the future compared back in 1997 was how smaller the chips are and how could craft some of the tools he used in his other life. Jump boosters that could give him some air time. Grapplers that could allow him to grab on and pull himself up and disruptors that mask his presence totally.

The cloak he wore had been modified. One could say that he had put some spin on it and improved on them. It wasn’t some tech that could be considered so advanced, and in a way it was still enough to give him an edge. There was a reason that he could stay undetected and avoid trouble when delivering. The lightshield that he got also made things easier for him.

He did spend time as a Venator back in his other life while in the army. Then he became a Merc who made great use of stalking and hunting like some puma in the dark.

He felt natural here. Maybe it was the dangerous wiring and the web of pipes and crisscrossing metal that made him easily able to stalk in the dark. And that he was able to see clearly despite even the under-city dwellers needing light to see.

He spent hours in the dark. He had packed some dry rations and water for the journey, but he was starting to wonder if it was enough.

It was around the eight hour of his searching that he found a lone worker trying to head back to his post. Robert got a drop on the worker, disabled his movement, pinned him flat on the ground, and asked for some things.

The worker was scared to death by his sudden lunge. He was talkative for a guy who got his face planted on the dirt. After chatting a bit, downloading his database, Robert choked the guy and went back to exploration.

The worker had his database full of the known maps. His messages and emails alone made it clear that there was also a sale on the maps here as well.

The place was like a labyrinth and as the mega-towers expanded. The bigger the sewers became. Robert was even doubting whether it was still okay to call this place the sewers.

The data he got from that worker showed a lot more to this place than he expected. Factions, groups, and even figures who were trying to change this damp place for the better. There were messages and emails in the database he downloaded regarding oasis and places where most of the surface-world seems ignorant about.

Robert did read that Lux City had one hell of a population. Didn’t expect that some of those folk found their way underground and had formed communities.

From the looks of the containers and the stuff he found in the underground. He had deduced that the corporations were paying them to maintain the infrastructure while also keeping them in here.

There were mentions of dangerous mutated creatures in one of the worker's messages. He didn’t have the time to download the video feed that the worker had and watch all of them, but he did get a description of these mutated creatures that had been changed.

It was only later that Robert found one of these creatures deeper into the underground system. The appearance of the creature made it clear that it was a variant of a stray dog that had changed its appearance from lurking the underground. The appearance of the deformed creature was like a crossbreed of a dog and a rat. It was around 25 inches tall and was muffled while moving. At first Robert thought it was some abomination from hell or a hell spawn, but he didn’t feel the sensation he should have felt when facing creatures such as this.

He encountered three more creatures like this. He had avoided them and got deep underground. Most of the lights that the workers had set up were not around. Even the sewer lights keeping the tunnels lit were burned out and he had to fully rely on his smart glasses and his own vision to navigate the place.

After spending, god knows how many long hours underground. Robert found a familiar marking. Trusting his instincts he found a smaller tunnel leading to a new area.

He had expected some sort of presence, but one single look at the place made him immediately wonder if something had happened here. A great battle that made scars on the walls and even unnatural markings.

The area had a thick layer of dust. There were some bullet markings and even vertical scars around. The further he got in, the harder it was to breathe in the dust.

He found no bodies. No leftover equipment. Any signs of presence were not around and if there was. He doubted that anything other than the bugs and the rats were around.

Dried up droppings of feces and all sorts of filth were around. Even the interior rooms had been caked up with all sorts of disgusting leftovers. Not to mention that the place was emptied. He could at least tell that this was one of the places that CASE used.

But considering the sensitive nature that CASE had. It was too hopeful to think that they’d leave behind clues. And it had been a hundred years, Even the ice coffin that he had been sleeping on had any indication or clue to it. No records or any kind of information that would give anyone a damn clue about it.

They were too damn careful for their own good and had covered everything up.

Still, Robert was already underound. He didn’t want to fancy spending time leaving without finding anything so spent more time underground, searching for markings, identifying them, and hoping for any clue on what happened to the place.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t easy.

There were no signs.

Not anything that pointed out any clue to whatever he was looking for. It wasn’t that he was searching for their existence. Robert just wanted to know if they were still around. If they had even one proof of their existence in the tunnels and places where they hid.

But Robert’s search was fruitless.

No knowledge was found.

No satisfying conclusion that would somehow allow him to learn what had happened to them. He doubted that he could find them after so many years.

It was only after checking the place he had suspected to be CASE’s former headquarters that Robert finally got his answer. All that was left of CASE’s headquarters was rubble. Nothing more than a dusty and ill-repaired ruin that had been lost in this vast underground network.

Robert wanted at least one proof that they were still around.

And yet despite all the payment and exploration he did.

There was not a single thing that Robert Oswald found underneath the city.

And so he could only leave behind a mark.

Scarring the walls of the ruined headquarters with ten of his wind blades.