Chapter 101: Debrief
As the squad stepped outside, they were met with the rather chilly predawn air of Beta City.
The metropolis was a shiny mixture of 21st-century lifestyle and modern AI, as well as tech advancements, proven through the towering skyscrapers with glass exteriors that shimmered under the neon glow of digital billboards.
The streets, though not overly congested at this hour, were alive with automated electric vehicles, sleek medium-range taxis that would have been high-range cars 20 years ago, and a few early risers making their way to their destinations while walking briskly to take the sky metro.
Streetlights cast a bluish hue over the pavement, flickering occasionally as a mixture of privately owned and government drones zipped overhead, the private ones delivering messages and packages while the government ones monitored the city strictly.
Even at this hour, the air carried the scent of burnt rubber from tires, fried street food from vendors all over, and a faint metallic aftertaste from the omnipresent surveillance tech humming in the background.
Captain Warren gestured to a row of waiting black armored SUVs, their tinted windows reflecting the cityscape.
"Your transport," he said simply, opening the door to the lead vehicle.
Kaizer slid into the backseat with Rina beside him, her fingers still idly tapping away at her phone, while Maria, Julia, and Sophia took the other available seats with Warren and the driver taking the front. The moment the doors sealed, the subtle hum of noise cancellation activated, cutting off the outside world.
The convoy pulled onto the main arterial road, cruising through the city’s various districts. The Neon Strip, Beta City’s entertainment sector, pulsed with vibrant holo-displays advertising everything from high-stakes E-sports tournaments to virtual reality pleasure domes.
VR was the hottest thing this decade, especially with Keith Lunin about to commercially produce the ’Full Dive’ technology that would allow direct brain connection to Virtual Reality, which was why Kaizer and Rina were even so rich in the first place.
Massive screens along the way on the boulevards displayed news updates, one of which caught Julia’s eye: