The screech of metal on metal pierced the predawn gloom.
Ling Yun dragged a rusty magnetic crowbar and trudged forward among the mountains of discarded parts and building debris. His boots made a squelching sound in the mud mixed with engine oil and rain. Above the head, a huge shadow shrouded everything - Lingxiao City, this future city suspended three thousand meters in the air, was like a cold and ruthless metal god, overlooking the devastated land on the ground known as the "scum area". The densely packed thruster nozzles at the bottom of Lingxiao City occasionally flickered with a faint blue light, maintaining the suspension of this giant city. The occasional drops of condensate or incompletely treated waste liquid were like cold raindrops, falling on the shed roofs and garbage mountains in the slag area, making a ticking sound. This is "Tianlin", the collective name for all falling objects from the city above them that the residents of the slag area refer to. It may be acid rain, or it may be randomly discarded garbage in a wealthy area.
