Life on Trash-Dragon was endlessly varied. It wasn't just humans or robots.
Madam Root - The Mechanical Tree Woman:
A strange entity with the upper body of an old woman and a lower body consisting of a mass of roots made from cables and wires. She was "healing" a broken drone by plugging her cable-roots into it and humming an ancient tune.
"This little one just has a software glitch... It just needs a bit of music for its soul and it'll be fixed! I used to be the WiFi router for an entire luxury apartment tower, you know? I know all the communication protocols!" she groaned, the cables vibrating with the music.
The Intelligent Nebula Wisps:
A few faint, person-shaped clouds glowing soft violet-blue floated around an area with a leaking energy conduit. They left behind incredibly beautiful, snowflake-shaped radiation patterns on the metal walls, which were also extremely dangerous to touch.
The Mirror Wraiths:
In a stall selling old decorations, a broken mirror reflected Ember's image. But the reflection was two seconds slower, and when Ember frowned, the "copy" in the mirror grinned back with a weird, toothy smile.
Gravity Weavers
Suddenly, a noisy commotion mixed with laughter erupted from a wide corner of the market. A group of Gravity Weavers had gathered. They were creatures shaped like octopuses, but their bodies were made of a transparent, jelly-like material, inside which countless tiny magnetic particles shimmered, constantly spinning and rearranging like a living quantum computer.
They were "playing" with a giant rotating staircase that led to the market's upper levels. Normally, this staircase operated based on weight: step on a stair, and it becomes heavier and rotates downward.
But with the Gravity Weavers, everything became chaotic and fun.
One octopus stretched a tentacle towards the staircase. The magnetic particles inside its body immediately scrambled. GRAVITY FIELD INVERTED. The step a hundred-kilo Cyborg had just stepped on suddenly became weightless and shot upward, sending the man screaming and flung towards the ceiling (where, fortunately, there was a safety net).
Another created a horizontal gravity field. A row of stairs suddenly turned sideways, becoming a vertical path leading to a different stall. A small robot walking on it promptly fell... but then landed gently because the gravity on that "wall" had now become its "floor."
A third seemed to be showing off. It created a swirling gravity field. The stairs spun like a windmill, gently lifting an old woman carrying a heavy load from the ground right up to the ceiling, leaving her both terrified and delighted.
Newcomers or transient visitors looked terrified, clinging to the handrails.
However, most of the long-term residents of Trash-Dragon were highly amused. They cheered, encouraged, and even threw "food" for the Gravity Weavers—nearly depleted Essence of Magnetic Field.
"Go on, you idiot! Give it another vortex!" - a man shouted.
The Gravity Weavers absorbed the residual energy from the Essence, their bodies glowing even brighter and creating even crazier gravitational effects.
This wasn't just play. This group of Gravity Weavers was actually "hired" by the market management itself. They performed an important task:
Clearing Blockages: When the traditional rotating staircase jammed due to overload, a Gravity Weaver could easily solve it by inverting gravity, "throwing" the crowd and goods elsewhere quickly (albeit a bit roughly).
Creating Shortcuts: They could instantly create new "paths" horizontally or vertically, making moving bulky goods much easier.
Entertainment: And of course, they were a tourist attraction (for adventurers). Who wouldn't want to experience walking on walls?
Celeste stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the spectacle. "I want to go play with them!" - she said, taking a step forward.
"NO!" - Ember and Teron shouted in unison. Ember grabbed Celeste's coat, while Teron emitted an extremely urgent warning beep.
One of the Gravity Weavers suddenly turned its head, its tentacles pointing towards Celeste. The magnetic particles inside its body scrambled wildly. The strange energy radiating from the girl seemed to have attracted its attention. It began generating an intensely strong gravity field, pulling everything around the Black Storm group—towards itself.
Ember quickly pulled Celeste back, silently thankful she had stopped the girl in time. They hastily left the area, leaving the crowd behind to continue cheering on the chaotic and dangerous gravity display.