In the dim Underground City, where daylight never reaches and sewage flows everywhere, a makeshift home leans against a rusted pipeline. Inside a small partition of this home, a seventeen-year-old is sprawled face down, snoring away. Whatever he might be dreaming of, drool trickles down from his lips.
"Li Xin, Li~~~ Xin~~~ I'll count to three, and you'd better come out right now!" A shrill soprano voice threatens to lift the barely sturdy roof off, while the room resounds with an echo, shaking dust loose in this poorly constructed house made from discarded wood planks and building debris. Despite the house's patched-together nature, the owner has clearly tried hard to make it as aesthetically pleasing as possible.
"Three~~~"
The sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy tumbles out of the room, looking obsequiously at the furious woman with her hands on her hips.
"Aunt Fei, Sister Fei, don't be angry, let's talk about this calmly, or you'll get wrinkles." Li Xin spread his hands, wary of the woman's sudden outburst.
"Did you take your sister's fruit candy?" The woman, referred to as Aunt Fei, appeared to be in her thirties, sporting a typical frizzy 'auntie' hairstyle. Her skin was graying and pockmarked, not exactly unattractive but certainly not beautiful, with a fierce demeanor suggesting she wasn't to be trifled with. Beside her stood a delicate young girl, her large eyes filled with tears. Despite her simple and slightly dirty clothes, her innate charm was undeniable. Although Aunt Fei claimed she was her biological daughter, many remained skeptical.
Li Xin looked bewildered at the little girl, "What candy?"
"The one Karto from next door gave me. Brother said he would perform a spectacular disappearing magic trick, and then he gulped it down, boohoohoo, if brother wanted it, I could have given it to him." The little girl appeared wronged, her tiny hand dabbed with saliva vigorously rubbing at her eye corners while secretly peeking through her fingers to gauge the situation.
Karto was the boy next door, always under this girl's thumb.
"Aunt Fei, it scared me. Too much candy isn't good for kids, especially when you don't know where it came from. I'll take her into the city to buy something better, right, Xueyin?" Li Xin chuckled, employing his usual tactic to placate minor troubles whenever Xueyin wanted to go out and play.
"Okay~~~" Lin Xueyin immediately jumped up with glee, dragging Li Xin towards the door. The Underground City's security wasn't great, and only with Li Xin did Aunt Fei feel comfortable letting Xueyin go out to play.
"Have fun, but be careful in the city and don't get into conflicts with city folks, and come back early in the evening." Aunt Fei called after them, shaking her head as she watched the siblings' retreating figures, thinking how one who ought to venture out preferred staying home, while the one who should stay home itched to explore outside.
Celestial City of the Li Long United Kingdom, a powerful kingdom in the eastern Dao Yuan Continent, is a multi-ethnic amalgamation of over a dozen federations. Celestial City is a well-known city within the Kingdom, located on the coast.
Li Xin considered himself an orphan, wandering near Celestial City after departing from a strange place, severely injured and starving to the point of losing consciousness. When he awoke, he found himself in Aunt Fei's care, fortunate to have been adopted. Lin Xueyin, seven years his junior, was Aunt Fei's daughter.
They lived in an Underground City district called "Blackwater." This area had almost ten thousand inhabitants, with most structures built against underground walls and pipelines. As the population grew, it gradually turned into a large shantytown, and rudimentary facilities began to appear. Several large epidemics and riots eventually caught the City Hall's attention, and they provided essential survival facilities, like potable water, helping to establish a stable social structure in the Underground City.
Similar residential areas are scattered around Celestial City, attracting failed businessmen, the impoverished, criminals in exile, and destitute outsiders seeking refuge and scraping by. The pollution from Hex-Tech and city garbage ending up in surrounding areas worsened the environment. However, these resources are a lifeline for shantytown inhabitants—materials can be reused or recycled, with some extracting gold and mithril, though it's a filthy, inefficient process often accompanied by toxicity and pollution. While city-dwellers showed no interest, Underground City people pursued these jobs fervently as they were considered high-class.
In the Underground City, resources, even trash, are managed by various gangs controlling the order, something the city tolerated as long as it didn't escalate or impact them.
Li Xin didn't scavenge; not due to pride but a lack of talent. He usually hunted in Celestial City's outskirts, providing for the family. Game meat had a market, yet this wasn't sustainable, mainly selling nobles' favored pets fetched high prices. Predators, hawks, falcons, ornamental birds, and rabbits with good fur could live better than people when bought by nobility.
Aunt Fei had remarkable sewing skills, combined with her enthusiastic yet fierce nature, their family of three led a frugal yet stable life. Xueyin was the family's joy, adored by everyone around, being a clever and mischievous little girl.