Chapter 345: don city the sewers district

As he didn’t have a specific destination in mind, Clark just decided that he used this opportunity to go on a tour around the city. He would have loved going along with his student, but he found it right to hire a local guide.

Quickly browsing the internet through his implant because of his laziness to operate his phone, he discovered where the local guides were.

“Oh, I already drove past them, they were in the airport”. He was speechless, he finally knew why some men and women kept on waving at him as soon as he drove out of the airport.

Pressing at the brakes to bring his car to a halt, he made a U-turn before driving back in the direction of the airport to find a local guide.

As soon as he stopped before them and wound his window screen down, a loud sound bombarded his ears.

“YOUR LOCAL GUIDE, SIR!”

“I offer the best service there is in the whole city, I have over 10 years experience doing this sir so don’t be afraid. Trust me, I’m the real deal”.

Clark looked carefully at this young man. From what he could see, this kid was probably of the same age as Albert, from 18- 20 so how the heck did he have 10 years of experience doing this?

That alone put him off, but perhaps due to pity because of the shabby clothes worn by the young man, he opened his door and let him in.

“Where is your destination sir? I know virtually every nook and cranny of the country; I can even take you into the Presidential villa if that’s what you want”.

“Is it the Cold Villa Park, the Land of beasts, the Men of culture restaurant, The relaxation pool, whichever one you want to go to first, I know them all? So don’t be scared, and I charge very little too”.

“How much?” Already beginning to get irritated by the blabbering young man, Clark turned to face him.

“I don’t know money sir; I only take 10,000 Radan credits”.

Clark turned to look at the young man again, who stiffened and looked back innocently while pressing his hands to his legs. His big eyes only reinforced the speculation in Clark that this was a kid of Albert’s age.

Before coming here, Clark did a little research and knew that the normal price taken by local guides was a thousand Radan credits. Only the experienced and well-known ones take up to 2000 Radan credits.

This young man was clearly trying to scam him. He didn’t mind though; he had the money and Radan credits were a far lesser currency than Spartan credits.

“Ok”.

“Umm?” The young man was stunned.

Getting no response, he quickly confirmed the answer himself. He couldn’t believe his eyes; he finally met those filthy rich spoiled kids that his friend always bragged of having met. Praise be to God.

Clark saw the euphoric gleam in the kid’s eyes but he didn’t give a damn. “So, I want to go on a comprehensive tour around the city, where should I start from? Mind you, I want to go to the more peculiar locations”.

“Oh, for an esteemed sir like you, I recommend that you start from the government district. I’m sure that it’s peculiar enough for your tastes if you want luxuriousness”.

Clark turned to face him again. “I’m not here as an esteemed sir, I’m here as the regular people moving about. Got it?”

“Oh, got it”. The young man nodded vigorously. “If you want it like that, then take the common lane leading to the district of the sewers”.

“Sewers?”

…

Cain didn’t lie, like he said, following the common lane really led Clark to the district of the sewers. Cain was the name of the young local guide, after traveling with Clark for minutes, he became even more of a blabbermouth.

When he just came in, Albert originally kept quiet throughout, but after observing from the dark for some minutes, he suddenly erupted and started blabbering along with the young guide.

Clark was astonished by the speed at which they both got along. They didn’t seem like people who just met today, rather they looked like old friends who finally reunited after being separated for years.

Clark already heard of it before, but hearing it again from Cain’s mouth and seeing it himself reinforced the notion into his head.

When he visited Leo’s city when they just became soldiers of the Python military division, he thought that the city was the most awful place on earth but here in the sewers district was far worse.

According to Cain, the name of this city was Don City, and it was just like most other cities in the Radan republic.

The rich got richer every year, and the poor get poorer every year here. The district where the rich reside is as luxurious as heaven, while the district where the poor reside is as filthy as shit.

Driving through the sewers district gave Clark a new impression of what poverty was. He didn’t expect that coming to this city, would be the 3rd dominant scene that gave him the most impression.

The bumpy and dirty roads were just the least of his worries. Emaciated adults, children with deficiency diseases, children begging on the streets, and a lot more, the sight left him stunned.

It was not all like this, they were decent people moving in the streets too but the ratio of the decent people to the poor suffering ones was too vast to be compared.

As he listened to Cain explain, his senses as a high-grade soldier enabled him to observe more. He knew that a group of bandits was already tailing him, the crime rate here was equivalent to poverty.

It seemed that the government actually didn’t give a damn about this district at all, everywhere seemed bleak and desolate.

He could feel no optimism in the air, he could feel no hope, he could feel no happiness, just that urge to survive deep inside humans was the only reason why most of the civilians were still standing.

His exotic car in its jeep configuration attracted a lot of attention, but he was just too distracted to pay attention to all that.

Driving further a little while trying hard not to splash the mud water on the road at the pedestrians, he finally saw the first cars in this district that looked luxurious.

When he began feeling relieved a bit, he frowned as he noticed government emblems on the cars and the soldiers forming a defensive perimeter around them. He turned to face Cain.

Cain shrugged. “It’s the local district leader, he’s come to enforce the law of tax again. With such many soldiers always following him, this is more of a threat than a diplomatic enforcement”.

Hearing that, Clark frowned more, his distaste for this region becoming even more severe. He drove his car to a corner before parking it, following Cain’s direction he quickly located a restaurant and led them in.

He wanted to see how this law enforcement would go. He still wanted to keep a low profile and not provoke anyone, but he wanted to observe and see how this would end.

A waiter suddenly came to meet him from inside the restaurant. “Want do you want? This is our menu, select your choice”.

Clark waved his hands casually to show that he was not in the mood to eat, but what the waiter said next stunned him.

“If you’re not eating, leave sir before we call the police. This is a restaurant, we accommodate only those that want to eat, not those that want to enjoy the cool breeze of the air conditioner”.

Stunned and speechless, Clark turned to face Cain who only shrugged. Seeing this, he quickly guessed the reason for this, perhaps the waiter thought of him as a miser who came just to have the experience of the A.C.

Well, looking at the people outside, suspecting him was not wrong. He bitterly shook his head before speaking. “Give us any beverage that you have”.

“How many?”

“1 for each of us”.

Ok, sir”. The waiter left.

Clark sighed before turning to look outside, at the soldiers who were currently surrounding the local leader in a tight blockade as he spoke loudly with passion.

After the waiter walked some distance away, he muttered softly. “Miser”.

“…”