The new Shanghai City in 2157 is like a forcibly bent stainless steel ruler. Half of it is a neon city-state suspended in the clouds, and the other half is an abandoned industrial area sunk in the shadows. The rusty pipes snaked into ferocious veins in the dusk, and the remains of giant machinery were half-buried in waist-deep mountains of garbage. When the wind blew, the sound of metal friction was like the neighing of countless dying cicadas. Binteng went to the island and wrapped himself tightly in his white-washed work jacket. The soles of his boots made a sharp and crisp sound when they ran over the broken glass. There were beads of sweat on his forehead. He had just removed a usable energy core from a scrapped maglev train, and the burning sensation of metal still lingered on his fingertips.
