One of the most annoying things about having an OAM, besides all the ads, was the notifications. Having something pop up in your field of view was never a pleasant experience; that’s why everyone learned very early on to adjust their NIMs and OAMs so nothing would scare the life out of them.
For example, some turn off their OAMs entirely when they go to sleep, but if they wanted a quick way to wake up-
[YOU HAVE A NEW MESSAGE!]
The small box appeared over a blurry landscape, giving Dante’s mind something to focus on. For the past few minutes, he had been hanging on the thin line between the waking world and the dreamland, forced to remain in the former while wishing to visit the latter. The notification came just in time to stop him from leaving, and with a resigned sigh he slowly pushed himself up.
Sitting on the side of the bed, he gazed at his surroundings, the fog clouding his mind yet to disappear. The room he was in felt identical to the one he had rented for the past three years, and the bed was no different as well, but they weren’t the same.
After everything he went through in the past week, staying in his old apartment wasn’t too smart. That’s why he moved to a different part of Hollowgrid. Nearly every Megacomplex in the district was built by the same construction company, and since another one handled all the furnishing, it wasn’t so strange that they all looked the same.
[Victor: Get over here right now.]
Staring at the message for a few seconds, Dante glanced at the clock in the corner of his vision and sighed. It was 17:48.
[Dante: I will get some dinner first.]
Sending that, he turned muted the fixer and made his way to the shower. A few minutes later, he put on some new clothes, his shoes, and walked out.
The megacomplex he moved to didn’t have a train station on its roof, so one had to go all the way down to the street below for transportation. One of its perks, however, was how close it was to one of his favorite locations in the whole district.
After a short walk, Dante arrived at the Bowl of Fortune. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open and went in. More than a few eyes immediately turned in his direction.
"Oooh! If it isn’t Dante!"
"Dante, ma boi! Where have you been!?"
"Hey! It’s been a while!"
With the workday having reached its end a while ago, the restaurant was full of patrons stopping by for dinner on their way home. Dante was familiar with most of the regulars, being one himself. He put on the best smile he could produce and walked over to the counter, greeting the others on the way.
"It has been a while, huh?" He high-fived a middle-aged man in construction gear. "I’ve been away for some work, that’s all." He bumped fists with a younger man in a suit. "Don’t say you missed me just because I was gone for a few days." He struck arms with an older man in a police uniform.
"You don’t disappear for an entire week, kid." The police officer said. "I was going to fill a missing person’s report, you know?"
"C’mon, Mr. Johanson." Dante took the seat between him and the much younger man in the suit. "Why would you waste your time on that?"
"To put our minds at ease." The old officer grinned. "It takes a while to sort through the corpses, you know?"
Jonah Johanson had just settled in his sixties and the last black strand on his hair had long since turned white, same as for his beard. His dark brown skin had gained a few more wrinkles as well, but that might have been. He was one of the senior officers working the substation at the end of the street.
Despite having had many opportunities to rise in the ranks and leave the dumpster called Hollowgrid, he chose to remain where he was, somehow satisfied with what he had in life.
"C’mon, Mr. Johanson!" The second youngest in the group cried out. "We’re trying to eat here!"
"Get yourself a tougher heart, Glenn," the old officer smirked. "How in the world do you expect to survive here with that one?"
"I’m doing just fine, thank you."
Glenn Yeun was a young office worker lucky enough to get himself a post in one of the smaller companies somewhere near the city center, which made his choice of lodging quite strange. Apparently, he came to Hollowgrid just for the cheap rent. His financial habits, along with his strong Eastern features, didn’t help with the stereotype surrounding his people one bit.
"Things have been relatively clean lately." The man in construction gear said. "Haven’t found anybody down there in a week!"
The third one was Ross Dixon, a tall white man whose hands were full of cuts and calluses. He was a maintenance worker who spent his days underground fixing what’s wrong with the district’s old infrastructure. He made a habit of telling people his job didn’t involve the sewers, seeing as everyone tended to avoid him the moment after hearing what he does for work.
"I seriously didn’t need to hear that, Mr. Dixon." Glenn slumped his shoulders and sighed.
"Why not?" Ross pointed a pair of chopsticks at him and frowned. "It’s good news, you know? Fewer people are dying!"
"Bah! We’re just running out of bodies, that’s all." Nobara stepped out of the kitchen just then and her gaze turned to Dante right away. "About time you showed up, boy."
"What? Is it your bedtime already, old hag?" Dante said with a smirk.
"You think I would wait for you if that were the case?"
"Guess not." He shrugged. "I will take the usual."
"Of course it’s the usual." The old woman scoffed. "When are you gonna pick something else?"
"Can you blame me? You make the best spicy ramen in the town."
"In the world, boy. In the world!"
Scoffing, the old woman disappeared into the kitchen and returned less than a minute later. Though she made it seem like she was in a bad mood, the bowl she placed in front of Dante had an extra slice of beef swimming in the broth.