When Durin walked out of the Fish Market District, huge airships floated in the dark sky, bright lights swept back and forth across the various districts, and the white smoke billowing from the tall chimneys, filtered by the bright incandescent lights, draped Piltover in a thin, white veil under the night sky.
Even though Piltover enforced a curfew, the industrial steam whistles still sounded before the designated time.
The tram Durin was on was the last one of the night, and he was now heading to the cable car district in southern Piltover, where the buildings were constructed with rough textured rock and wrought iron pillars.
It couldn't compare to the Harbor District where Durin lived, but one thing had to be admitted: all the buildings in Piltover were uniformly equipped with Alchemy-developed door lamps, and the flickering flames added a dry, chemical scent to the night air.
This drew Durin's thoughts along with it; he also wanted to buy a house in Piltover, including the land, that belonged to him, so he wouldn't have to live under someone else's roof, a place of his own where he wouldn't have to worry about being driven away.
But… why was the housing price in Piltover so damn expensive!!! If he wanted to buy a house with land, the price was simply outrageous!
After about half an hour of travel, he finally reached his destination.
The entire cable car district was made up of wide platforms protruding outwards from the cliffs, and the overall forest cover had significantly increased. Houses were mostly built without destroying the integrity of the forest, and the roads were somewhat winding.
After getting off the tram, the first thing that came into view was the Cantex Tower Cable Car, which traversed the entire city.
It had incomparably huge gears, mechanically operating dozens of track cables simultaneously, like elevator cables, transporting port goods between the upper and lower cities with giant cable cars.
Green cable cars ascended and descended on the track cables, making clanging sounds as they passed through a dense forest of steel, and they would whistle as they passed each station.
Not far away were arch bridges connecting the various wide platforms, and these arch bridges were constructed from steel and stone. There were people coming and going on them, and because many wine vendors and candied fruit dessert hawkers occupied both sides of the arch bridges, the path in the middle of the bridge became extremely narrow, causing a shoulder-to-shoulder situation.
…
"Hey, hey! Don't block the way, let me through!"
"Pale ale for 3 copper circle coins a cup, cheap and approachable, your best choice! You won't get drunk easily even if you drink a lot, so drink to your heart's content!"
"Last sweet potato bread, melt-in-your-mouth caramel, a bite reveals crispy nuts, don't miss it! Now only 5 copper circle coins!"
"Don't act drunk here, or I'll arrest you. Or do you want to sit on a tiger bench in the interrogation room?!"
…
Noisy hawking, and some drunken individuals who had run out of the pubs were being pushed forward by patrolling Enforcers.
Durin even saw a couple with Hextech Augments strolling on the bridge; they were adorned with various small and exquisite mechanical Augments.
A lady had an implanted mandibular plate on her face and wore a jewel-shaped monocle. Her arm was linked with a well-dressed gentleman who wore black gloves, and beneath the glove was a pure gold watch, its flat surface reflecting dazzling white light.
After retracting his gaze, Durin stopped in front of the stainless-steel-cut turquoise platform. He then looked eastward, where a tributary branched off from the Piltover River and a dark river flowed into Zaun's Undercity. Fishing boats slowly sailed across the shimmering water.
If he just looked down from the edge, even a strong man would feel his legs tremble and weaken.
The city below was very, very vast, as if it naturally had such underground caves, spreading out on the rugged and winding rocky ground, surrounded by emerald smoke wafting from Alchemy furnaces, lingering and swirling.
Looking down from above, before his eyes was a mirage of light and shadow, and the flickering lights in the night seemed to correspond to the dense stars in the sky.
The spiky rooftops, if one was not careful, were enough to skewer a person or leave a gaping hole in their stomach.
And in the distant underground, a vast and boundless platform faintly shimmered; that should be the Entresol Level.
Durin surveyed the route and quickly determined that if he wanted to return to Piltover, he would have to first walk into a street on the edge of the cliff, then wind along the cliff to the railings and pipes under the iron bridge, following the route of the cable car all the way down.
In this process, Durin might need to constantly run and jump across different rooftops. Sometimes he would need to use platforms for leverage, which, in a sense, was very similar to extreme parkour before his transmigration.
Or rather, Assassin's Creed in a League of Legends setting.
And what Durin needed to pay attention to during this run was to avoid being scratched on his arms or thighs by those sharp iron spike guardrails.
After confirming all this, Durin felt his stomach begin to rumble. There wasn't much time left until the curfew, so he needed to find a pub to eat something to fill his stomach.
And stay there temporarily, as the tram he took to get there was already the last one.
Before leaving, Durin took another look at the familiar appearance of the city below. It wouldn't be long before he would return!
…
The moon, like a jade disc, was embedded in the deep blue sky. Enforcers holding Hextech ethylene guns began to drive pedestrians off the streets, and the giant airship once again broadcast the curfew announcement: "Piltover citizens still on the streets, please return home as soon as possible. Curfew has begun. Citizens, please return home in groups, and do not take alleys!"
"If you get lost, please find a street patrolled by Enforcers as soon as possible, and the Enforcers will safely escort citizens home. Do not linger outside!"
While searching for a pub, Durin passed an open area where there were many buildings with foundations already laid. Dense makeshift shelters were arranged around the construction site, and countless building materials had been piled into many small mountains.
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