What greeted Osian and David was a world of deep yellow.
The gently blowing wind carried loess soil, and in that hazy world, a massive silhouette filled their view.
"This place remains the same even after all this time."
David muttered, seemingly nostalgic as he looked at the mountain of scrap metal before him.
The two who came out through the door looked behind them.
Though they thought they had come through an underground tunnel, that place too was a mountain piled with all sorts of scrap metal.
'So this is why even if someone sneaks in and out, they can't find the rat hole in this irregularly piled metal.'
District 49 was a desolate place.
This was true even considering that this area was particularly remote with few people.
Scattered scrap metal and soil reminiscent of wilderness. And sandstorms.A tumbleweed could be seen rolling pitifully, swept up by the wind.
"The air isn't good. Let's put these on first."
David handed Osian items he had prepared in advance.
A straw mat coat to cover Osian's coat and a gas mask.
Masks were essential in places where sandstorms blow.
Although Osian, who was resistant to poison, wasn't affected by District 49's environment, the mask served more to hide his face.
After all, in a place like District 49, Osian's refined appearance would be an admission of being an outsider to anyone who saw him.
-Click.
Osian put on the mask. The brass metal mask had sophisticated filter canisters on both sides.
With it covering from his nose to his entire lower face, only Osian's eyes were visible.
Osian added to this by wrapping his body in a ragged cloak and wearing a wide-brimmed hat.
With a large red scarf around his neck as well, he became almost unrecognizable.
'This makes me look like a cowboy from a Western.'
If you just looked at the design of the clothes he was wearing, it probably wouldn't be too different.
The only difference would be drawing a sword instead of a gun from his waist.
David, who had changed into similar attire, took a deep breath.
"I never thought I'd come back here again. The air here remains the same even after all these years."
"Is all of District 49 in this state?"
"Not all of it. This area is particularly severe. If you go further in, there are places you could call a city. After all, people live here too."
That's when it happened.
With a thunderous sound, countless pieces of metal could be seen cascading down the mountain of scrap metal.
Even though they were quite far away, the massive vibrations could be felt all the way here.
It felt like watching an avalanche made of steel.
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"No. It's fine. That's just garbage being dumped into District 49 from the outside."
Looking closely, huge airships could be seen dumping metal through the sandstorm.
"It wasn't like this at first, but at some point, District 49 became a dumping ground for scrap metal. That's still true today. Like that, periodically, garbage from the outside comes in."
"Come to think of it, you said you were from here."
"Yes. Well, it's memories I'd rather not recall."
Having come this far, there was no need to hide anything, so David nodded.
His eyes were filled with regret as he watched the collapsing pile of scrap metal.
"These piles of garbage built up to create today's District 49. But we can't blame them. Because there are people who survive on the garbage they throw away."
"You mean the people here."
"As you can see, it's a desolate place. Since self-sufficiency isn't possible, they have no choice but to bring in things from outside. Or earn money."
Those outside items could be brought in directly, or they could be obtained through the garbage that outsiders dump, like now.
What might be garbage to them could look like treasure to maintain livelihood for the people here.
"District 49 wasn't originally like this. Since it's a district connected to the outskirts of the city, it was selected as a crucial location for Tirna's future expansion. You could call it an advance base, so to speak."
"How did a place like that end up in this state?"
"That's..."
Just as David was about to explain, a thunderous roar echoed from afar.
-Vroom! Vroom! Vrooooom!
-Screech!
Along with intense engine sounds that pierced the eardrums, tires screeched and metal screamed.
The ground rumbled and nearby scrap metal began resonating with the vibrations.
"Oh dear. It seems we need to take cover for a moment."
The two quickly hid near a pile of scrap metal.
Soon after, the culprits of the noise revealed themselves.
"Ha! There's scrap metal over there!"
"First come, first served!"
"You know we're all dead if we don't meet today's quota!"
They were speed demons, a biker gang.
They rode motorcycles and vehicles modified with all sorts of illegal alterations, advancing toward their target with crazed looks.
Their attire was equally unique. Many wore punk-style clothes, with dyed hair or piercings.
That was actually rather fortunate.
The motorcycles had been modified somehow to shoot red flames from the back, and one guy was madly beating a guitar while standing on a moving truck.
The guys raising dust clouds as they rode seemed like they would just pass by, but when someone at the front stopped, the rest followed suit.
"Hey! What's the sudden stop for!"
"Shh! Wait."
The man at the front was shirtless with tattoos densely covering his body.
He removed the goggles on his face and sniffed the air.
The rest of the gang quietly watched him. When that guy reacted like that, it meant there was something nearby.
'This is troublesome.'
From Osian's perspective, the guy sniffing now wasn't an ordinary human.
After all, his strangely distorted appearance indicated that he was a mutant.
His eyeballs, which bulged out as he removed his goggles, moved independently as he surveyed the surroundings.
The guy who was crouched down on all fours slowly approached where Osian and David were hiding while sniffing.
Osian and David exchanged glances.
Just as the two were about to draw their swords,
"Found it!"
The biker who had been sniffing around pulled something out from right in front of the scrap pile and held it up with both hands.
"I thought I smelled money, and someone threw away a piggy bank!"
When he shook the piggy bank, a clear jingling sound rang out.
"Hey, you idiot! You stopped for a few measly coins?!"
"Shut up, you morons! Try digging! See if you find money!"
"Hurry up and get ready to grab the goods! We need to move before others take it!"
The bikers disappeared into the distance, yelling at each other at the top of their lungs.
Only the echoes of their rowdy commotion remained.
"Phew. Finally got a breather. I thought we were about to be discovered."
"The biker gang seems quite dangerous."
"They're just a scouting party. The real main force has far more numbers. They're one of the major powers in charge of District 49. As you can see, their rather unique style is one of their characteristics."
That much was obvious. The biker gang had very intense, unique appearances even from the brief glimpse earlier.
You could say they looked like people who had desperately survived through the end times.
With crazy guys like that everywhere, it made sense why District 49 was considered a dangerous place.
"It would be troublesome if we're discovered, so let's move. I know a place to stay nearby."
"Let's do that."
The two quickly left the area and the desolate sandstorm erased their footprints.
*
David said there was a place to stay nearby, and true to his words, there was a city just enough for staying.
'You can hardly call this a city. At this point, it's more the size of a village.'
Gas stations, cafes, and shopping streets piled with all sorts of structures and barricades.
The two stopped in their tracks when they saw something under the rusted sign at the entrance.
─It was severed human heads.
The sight of 5 decapitated heads placed right at the entrance felt beyond eerie, it was grotesque.
The heads still bore their twisted expressions. They weren't killed instantly but were tortured to death.
"They seem to be people who snuck in from outside. As an example, that is."
"People like us, you mean. Are you sure it's safe?"
"Should we go somewhere else, though the distance would be quite far?"
"We've come this far, might as well go in and see."
The people wandering the streets all either had fierce looks or were completely wrapped up like Osian.
They would glance at Osian and David and deliberately keep their distance while passing by.
An old man in a rocking chair would watch with sharp eyes, or a sturdy housewife would glare at them.
The place the two finally entered was a pub with lights on.
When they opened the Western saloon-style sliding doors, everyone inside talking immediately turned their attention to the two.
'This scene feels strangely familiar.'
Osian recalled when he first came to Tirna, entering a pub wearing armor.
It's not an illusion that the situation oddly overlaps with then.
The two naturally sat at an empty corner seat.
The pub that had gone quiet became lively again, but subtle suspicious glances toward the two remained.
"Though they're not welcoming, it's fortunate they're not trying to drive us out."
"Yes. First, we should try to gather information about where this automaton was supposedly sighted."
The most important thing in this job was finding the automaton's whereabouts.
Though its existence was doubtful, since they received the request, they should at least look around.
The sighting location was surprisingly specific, so Osian calculated that once they got there, they could figure something out somehow.
'However, this isn't exactly a friendly space for gathering information.'
In other parts of Tirna, they could have bought information with money somehow, but the District 49 Osian saw was different.
Rather, showing money would be admitting they were outsiders.
They'd likely be ambushed and killed somewhere, then stripped of all their belongings.
'Maybe that's what happened to those guys at the entrance too.'
That was mentioned in the materials Basilio provided as well.
You could call it the basic way of life in District 49. Those who survived in this harsh environment had no choice but to be tough.
"Your order?"
The one who put down the menu with a thud was a tough-looking middle-aged woman.
Her subtly exposed forearms were unfeminine with lots of thick muscles, and even had tattoos.
"You folks. Where are you from?"
She had noticed something suspicious about Osian and David since they entered.
"If you're outsiders, you'll have to leave this settlement right now. The atmosphere around here isn't good these days because of outsiders."
"Even if we order food?"
Osian's voice resonated low from inside the mask.
"Ha. If we accept you and the Dead Wheel gang spots you? Then we're in danger. Didn't you see the decapitated heads at the entrance?"
"Quite sufficient decoration for intimidation."
"That's the Dead Wheel gang's doing too. They've been hunting down rat bastards sneaking in these days. Well, you seem lucky not to have run into them, but you better be careful. Never know when they might come back."
The proprietress seemed fully intent on driving Osian and David out.
"What if we refuse to leave?"
"Then you won't see anything good, I'd say?"
-Click. Click.
The soft sound of people at tables around the pub loading their guns echoed.
Their gazes were all focused on Osian and David.
Osian shrugged and looked at David instead.
After all, David was the one who volunteered to be a guide in this place.
"It's been a while, but that fierce personality hasn't changed."
"What? You know me?"
"How could I not?"
David said that while pulling down his face cover and pushing his goggles up onto his head.
The proprietress's eyes widened when she saw him.
"Good Lord. Could you be David?"
"Long time no see, Mary."
"My word, how long has it been?"
"Let's see. About 25 years if we're counting?"
"I saw you leave with Mark and the others, but you were alive? And no word all this time? You bastard!"
The proprietress Mary grabbed David's collar with her sturdy arm and lifted him from his seat.
After glaring at David for a while like that, Mary let go of his collar and hugged him tightly.
"So damn good to see you!"
"Yeah, yeah. Good to see you too."
"What on earth brings you back here? No, before that, you've gotten quite fit? Getting older made you even more handsome."
"I worked hard at it."
"Hey, everyone put away your weapons and drink your beer."
At Mary's words, the customers put away their weapons and chatted among themselves.
Unlike just before, there was surprisingly no sense of wariness.
That alone showed Mary's influence in this village.
"This won't do. Both of you, follow me quietly to a separate place."
"What's going on?"
"Didn't you hear earlier? The Dead Wheel guys are nearby. And there are still their lackeys in the area."