It was raining. It has been raining from morning. It was a medium shower. The street was damp. Puddle of rain water on every corner of the street. Rain is a normal occurrence here in Outer. Especially random evening shower. Rain for the whole week was not so surprising.
If a person look down from a tall building onto the streets, the person could see top of umbrella covering the streets. The streets of Outer is still bustling on a rainy day. Walking through rain. People of The Outer called this privilege of the poor. There are no weather controlling devices here in outer unlike those in The Circle.
A man using a bright yellow umbrella while wearing a bright yellow raincoat was walking on a bustling street. He saw a lot of stalls selling warm snacks. He stopped in front of a stall selling steamed meat bun.
"Can I get a... one spicy chicken bun and two coconut buns."
"Yes sir. Please wait a minute."
The stall vendor pull up the tray in the steamer. Picked up one bun and put it into a paper bag. He then pushed the tray back and pulled out another one above it and put two buns from it into the paper bag. He pushed inside the tray and put the paper bag into a plastic bag.
"Here is your buns sir. That will be 10 CP."
"Here."
Faust pushed a button on his CP counter.*sounds of mechanical gears turning* Click! Ting!
"Thank you for your purchase sir!"
Faust continue his walk. He pulled out a red coloured bun with a green dot on top of it from the paper bag. He bite into the bun.
"Hmmm... so soft. The chicken meat is so juicy. I am so thankful that chicken didn't go extinct. Thank you god for keeping chicken alive."
The man said with a single tear in his eye.
"The spiciness is also good. This so savory. 10CP? Totally worth it. I'm gonna choke to death hearing that price earlier but I changed my mind. 10CP is cheap for these."
The man continue mumbling while munching his spicy chicken bun. Finishing his last steamed bun, the man stopped walking. He looked up into the sky. The sky is still dark. The rain is not letting up but it is not getting heavier either. It just a constant light shower.
The man then walked into an alley. A dimly lit narrow alley. He stopped again when he was deep enough in the alley. He turned back and looked at a person standing blocking his way out
"I wonder how far and how long are you going to follow me. Colour me surprise. You follow me all day."
"...."
"You are not quite a talker are you? Here I am expecting a conversation."
"...."
"I'm sorry by leading you to an alley. Quite a cliche isn't it. 'Oohhh he brings the bad guy following him to an empty alley. What a common trope.' I wanted to bring you to a beach or a park if it is sunny you know. We can play sand or watch pretty flowers or play swing but it is rainy day today. I need to keep the vibe and the mood going you know."
"...."
"Or we can go to abandoned building or an ongoing tall building construction with the metal beams and plastic coverings. I know some good places-"
"You talk too much. Is this a last conversation for you or what? Are you expecting to die today or something?"
"No, I just get really chatty when it is a rainy day."
Faust tried to reach out for his revolver but his body suddenly stopped. It was like stuck in something sticky. His movement looked restricted. He squinted his eyes. He could see thin metal lines were wrapping around his body. He also saw metal wire spread out everywhere.
"Thanks to you yapping your mouth. I got this spread out."
The metal wires slowly tightening.
"Demon Spider Thread. To think the Artifact that I lost the bid to is in your hand. Your sponsor must be rich."
"Yeah very very rich."