Kai's mouth hung open, his eyes wide as he stared at the wall that seemed to split the world apart.
Kai swallowed hard, then asked, "Hey, Diogenes, what is that massive wall?"
Following Kai's gaze, Diogenes chuckled before answering.
"Its name is Great Wall. That's the wall separating two sectors: Sector 10, the Iron Forge, and Sector 13, the Refuse, where we are. There are a lot of guard robots at its gates, so be careful if you ever get close."
Kai narrowed his eyes, trying to see it more clearly, but his view was obstructed by piles of trash.
"Alright, listen closely," Diogenes said, breaking his focus.
"After this, we split up. You go right, I go left. Also, try opening the O and S logos on your tool-box; there's a clock inside. At twelve noon, we head back to my workshop," Diogenes added quickly, pointing at the logo on Kai's tool-box.
After he finished speaking, Diogenes opened his tool-box, taking out a fragment scanner and a pair of gloves. After putting on the gloves and extending his fragment scanner, Diogenes began to climb the mounds of scrap that seemed to form a new layer of earth due to their sheer volume.
Kai realized he hadn't put on his gloves yet and hurriedly slipped them on.
After that, Kai mimicked Diogenes' method of climbing the scrap heaps and walked slowly, aiming his fragment scanner downward.
...
Bzzzt. After some time, Kai's fragment scanner finally vibrated and glowed.
"Finally, after 20 minutes," Kai said, wiping away his sweat.
Kai remembered checking the clock shortly after parting ways with Diogenes, noting it was 9:23. He had been optimistic about getting his first scavenged crystal within half an hour.
"Hah, and this is only one piece of scrap," Kai sighed, setting down his fragment scanner and tool-box.
The detected scrap turned out to be a medium-sized speaker which, fortunately, was near the surface.
Carefully, Kai pulled it out from the pile of junk.
The speaker looked terrible. Its front was shattered, exposing the circuits inside.
Kai opened his tool-box and immediately grabbed the compressor.
Good thing this scrap is already busted, so I don't have to bother dismantling it.
Kai aimed the compressor at the glowing insides of the speaker, then pulled the trigger.
Sssssh— a soft sound could be heard as the data fragment particles were sucked into the mouth of the compressor.
After a few seconds, all the data fragments were finally extracted. The inside of the speaker, which had previously glowed faintly, now went dark.
"Heh, this barely filled it at all," Kai frowned, seeing that his compressor's bar was only about a fifth full.
"What a troublesome job," Kai complained. He packed up his tool-box, stood up, grabbed his fragment scanner, and resumed his scavenging.
1 hour later.
Plop. Finally, Kai's fully loaded compressor ejected a data crystal.
"Finally! A data crystal!" Kai shouted gleefully.
After an hour of relentlessly navigating the trash heaps and dismantling five more pieces of scrap, Kai's compressor bar was finally full.
Excitedly, Kai caught his first data crystal. Full of hope, he opened his hand.
The crystal was small and gray, its surface rough like a pebble.
"Low-tier..." he muttered, almost like a curse.
Disappointed with the result, Kai spontaneously opened his mouth, popped the newly acquired low-tier crystal inside, and chewed it hard.
The sensation of the crystal shattering and quickly dissolving filled Kai's mouth. After swallowing it, his body felt renewed, fresher and stronger.
Kai closed his eyes and savored the tingling sensation in his body, when suddenly a number flashed in his mind.
27%
"Eh, what is this number?" Kai frowned.
"Could this be my body's stability percentage? Just like Diogenes said, when humans don't consume data crystals and their body stability percentage drops to zero, they turn into Null-Servants, forever thirsty for data and never satisfied."
Feeling enlightened, Kai packed away his compressor and took out his lunch ration, leaving the extra ration inside his Tool-box.
Observing his surroundings, Kai spotted a pile of iron desks. He approached it and leaned against an overturned desk.
After setting down his Tool-box and taking off his gloves, Kai opened a water bottle and gulped it down until it was half empty.
"Ahh, this is the best!" Kai yelled happily.
Kai then carefully set the water bottle aside and opened the gray food can.
Inside, a soft, brownish substance could be seen. Skeptically, Kai scooped out a small amount of the mush and put it into his mouth.
The substance had the texture of clay; it was hard to swallow and stuck to his teeth. It tasted bland, with only a faint hint of saltiness.
Heh, Diogenes' taste is truly awful, Kai thought, having finally managed to swallow the lump with great difficulty.
For a while, Kai struggled to finish his lunch, alternating back and forth between eating and drinking.
Finally, the contents of the can and his water bottle were empty.
"Argh," Kai burped.
Kai then stood up and tossed the empty can and bottle behind him.
Well, let's get back to it, Kai thought, trying to muster some enthusiasm as he put his gloves back on.
...
The clock inside Kai's Tool-box read 11:44.
"Finally, it's all over," Kai sighed as he gripped a gray crystal.
"I swear, this job is a massive pain and highly unprofitable," Kai complained while tracing the path back to Diogenes' workshop.
Currently, Kai held a total of two low-tier crystals in his hand. They were the spoils of his post-lunch scavenging.
After slipping the two crystals into his robe pocket, Kai retraced his steps to head back. After a while, he finally made it back to the beaten path.
A few moments later, Kai spotted Diogenes' workshop. Next to the door, Diogenes stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall.
Noticing Kai's presence, Diogenes opened his eyes, met his gaze, and slowly walked over.
"So, how was your scavenging today?" Diogenes asked flatly.
Kai reached into the inner pocket of his robe and revealed the two low-tier crystals.
"I actually got three, but I already ate one."
"Not bad," Diogenes replied.
Diogenes then reached into his own inner pocket, revealing one red-orange crystal and two grayish ones.
Smirking, Diogenes continued, "In terms of quantity, we're tied, but not in quality."
Kai froze. He had assumed that with Diogenes' frail, old body, the man wouldn't be able to secure good data crystals. The image of the old man before him climbing mountains of scrap and dismantling them crossed his mind.
"...You're a terrifying old man."
"Haha, nice sarcasm," Diogenes quipped. He then placed his hand on the panel and opened the workshop door.
Kai followed him inside.
"Kid, sit on your cot. I'm going to explain a few things to you," Diogenes said suddenly.
Hearing that, Kai perked up. He had been meaning to ask a few things about this world, and it seemed Diogenes was going to tell him unprompted.
Kai walked over to the corner of the room where his iron cot was located and sat down, stowing his Tool-box underneath it.
Diogenes began rummaging through his workbench, searching for something.