In a dilapidated building on the outskirts of District 13, a group of people stood around a bonfire, playing music as they indulged in alcohol and mutated meat.
From their clothing to the nature of their celebration, everything about them was in great contrast to the poverty the surface was known for.
The reason why was simple…
"Haha, good news boys, just got off the phone with Big bro, he said he'll be with us by tomorrow." A man with a red mohawk rushed in holding a glass tablet.
"Nice!"
"Finally, what took him so long?"
They were Scavengers.
Ever since the creation of the Floating cities, the Demirs couldn't bring themselves to remain on the surface, thus several treasures from the Cultivation age of humanity that were hidden on the planet were left for anyone lucky enough to find them.
That's how Scavengers came into the picture.
Some were free birds that tried their hardest to secure the treasures and use them for their benefit but after a few uncanny incidents, few people dare to follow that path.
So the second option came to be… to become a licensed trash collector under the Demirs.
This involved getting branded by the Enforcers, after which they'd receive equipment and the likes to search for treasures in a world tainted by radiation and prowling with mutated beasts.
This option was also dangerous since the probability of a normal human winning against a mutated beast in the wilderness was close to zero.
The third option however was one that only a select few could enjoy and sure enough, this ragtag group of seven men and three women currently dancing around the bonfire was one of those lucky few.
They recieved bionic attachments from a benefactor in one of the floating cities and in return, they had to bring back a treasure at least once every three months.
So far they had done their jobs properly, having gathered over 12 treasures for their benefactor but even rivers ran dry when their sources get cut off and so they had to look for other alternatives to appease their boss.
They weren't keen on going too far out since the danger increased the deeper they moved into the wilderness.
When all seemed lost, a sliver of hope came in the form of a crazy old man trying to score brownie points with them.
He spoke about a lady that was the wife of a descendant of a powerful martial family that had existed during the Incursion.
Her family was gone and she was all alone.
He swore on his life that he had seen her with a chest that seemed to hold some secrets.
They were tempted, after all, they weren't confident in winning in a face-off against mutated beasts despite their enhancements.
Laziness and fear were prime factors in that regard.
So they decided to check it out.
It wouldn't hurt to check and if there was nothing, they could always flay the old bastard.
Their operation happened two weeks ago.
They barged into the woman's house and subdued her easily.
Ransacking her home, they finally found what they were looking for in the bedroom.
A mysterious chest with drawings of flying swords and floating dragons.
They instinctively felt something from the chest and from that moment they knew… they had hit jackpot.
"Thankfully we managed to get that chest from that crazy woman." A green-haired girl with a glass eyeball tonally said.
The fatso in their group aggressively rubbed the sauce on his lips. "That crazy bitch just had to be troublesome."
"It doesn't matter as long as we got what we want from her."
"Do you think those smelly Enforcers have found her yet?"
"What does it matter?... If they make a fuss, we can always pay them off."
It was a simple solution to a rather tricky problem.
It was an accident if they were being honest.
The lady exploded when they tried to take the chest and attacked without warning.
Even though she was meant to be normal, she managed to give one a black eye and even broke the arm of another.
Truly crazy.
Alas her efforts were largely in vain as she was struck hard at the back of her head.
At the end of the day, they got what they wanted but had to leave out of fear of getting into trouble with the Enforcers for killing a person.
Of course, compared to the floating cities, the rules of the Demirs were not so stringent in the Districts.
The only times when the Enforcers took things seriously was when it either involved terrorism, dungeons, or their bellies.
Anything else and a good enough compensation could do the trick.
Thus this group of Scavengers also known as Black Axe weren't worried about being found out by the Enforcers.
What worried them was the lateness of their boss when resources ran low and thankfully, he was on his way down.
"I wonder how much he'd give us this time for such a treasure." The redhead made himself comfortable as he picked up the chest and admired the design.
He was tempted to figure out what was within but for some reason, the chest couldn't open.
They had tried everything from pick locking to brute force but it remained unscathed.
A testament to just how valuable it was.
"If the chest is so strong, just what could be inside?" greed flashed through his eyes for a moment before he discarded any thoughts and threw himself into the celebration.
Tonight everything they had saved up would finish and tomorrow, a new batch would arrive!
So they partied to their hearts' content, enjoying their pitiful lives as rats that had to scavenge to survive.
But because of their unrestrained partying, they had no idea that a certain figure was currently staring at their location with an empty gaze from across the street.
With a sword in hand, Felix made his way to the group.