Chapter 76: The Concrete Maw and the Club of Teeth

Chapter 76: The Concrete Maw and the Club of Teeth

The ride southward was, against all odds, strangely serene. Nestled in the backseat beside Kimchi with one hand lazily curled around her thigh and the other propping up my chin, I watched the world slink by through vision not meant for mere mortals — night-vision sharpened by cybernetic clarity and mild boredom. The arid grasslands stretched like dying fingers across the landscape, waving their farewell before civilization devoured them whole.

The transformation came quickly — too quickly. As we neared the planetary equator, the wilderness evaporated like an old dream. It was replaced by polished urban sprawl: glass-paneled buildings gleaming with smug architectural precision, lights flickering like smug little lies, and roads that looked as though they'd been laser-etched by gods with OCD. The contrast between the untamed frontier and the surgically clean north-side development was jarring, to say the least.