Happylaugh, Zero District.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
"Ugh…" Henry woke up amid loud noises. His groggy eyes slowly opened, and he heard the everlasting sound of fighting and shouting.
Clack, clank!
Garbage littered the floors, and by moving his legs, the mountain of garbage bags rolled down to the floor.
After he slowly stood up with his feeble bones crackling, he began moving towards the kitchen.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The walls shook like someone was hitting them with a sledgehammer.
"Shut up…" Henry murmured with annoyance. He pulled a drawer open and grabbed an ordinary-sized kitchen knife.
He made his way over to the door and slowly opened it. As he slowly walked out of his stinky apartment, he saw the dirty hallways of the apartment complex and bustling streets with citizens walking past.
This apartment complex was in Zero District. It was the so-called Poor District, where everyone, from the homeless to the dirt poor, was living.
The Districts went from Zero to Ten.
Like his clothes, everyone in the streets wore rags, and the pedestrians treated the ones with slightly better-conditioned rags with respect. In Henry's opinion, calling this place Happylaugh was the world's greatest joke.
Maybe the ones above District Five were happy, but everyone below was miserable.
"District Ten…" Henry murmured as he looked towards the horizon. District Zero was under the shade of massive District Ten skyscrapers. It was like the government built the skyscrapers that way to make residents of Zero more miserable.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The loud sound seeped through the next-door apartment door.
Henry dragged his feet behind as he stopped next to the door. Then, he lifted his right hand and knocked on the door three times.
Knock, knock, knock.
The shouting stopped momentarily. Then, sharp footsteps closed in on the door, and soon the lock clicked, and the door opened.
A lean man, almost two meters in height, with a body covered in tattoos, appeared while a cigarette was between his lips. He wore a tank top that revealed his dragon, lion, tiger, and skull tattoos.
"What do you want, bastard?" He said while letting out a puff of smoke. It landed straight on Henry's face, forcing him to cough.
"COUGH!" Henry waved his hand while steering his head away, trying to get fresh air into his lungs.
"Hmph." The tattooed man smirked with disdain.
"Fuck…" Henry hid the knife sneakily behind his back as he shouted, "Keep quiet, you are fucking loud!"
The tattooed man's face turned freezing cold.
"Hey, who is it?!" A blond-haired woman with a face full of make-up appeared from the depths of the dirty apartment. She wore a revealing dress that showed her skinny and malnourished body.
"Some bastard, I will handle this." The tattooed man said and suddenly swung his fist.
Thwack!
"UGH!" Henry's eyes shook as he suddenly got hit on the cheek. He fell to the floor with a shocked expression.
"Fine, be quick. The movie is about to end." The blond-haired woman said while caressing the tattooed man's arm.
She expected a word from her boyfriend. However, didn't receive any.
"Honey?" She frowned as she raised her head. Then, her eyes widened in shock.
The tattooed man was sweating furiously while holding his right fist. There was bone poking through his wrist where his hand got broken!
"A-A-AAAHHHHH!" He screamed in agony as the pain registered.
"HONEY!" The blond-haired woman screamed and held her boyfriend, who was about to fall down. The stream of blood trailed down his tattooed arm and stained the floor below.
"Hahahaha…" Henry suddenly laughed as he rubbed his cheek.
The blond-haired woman and the tattooed man looked at him like he was a devil. Their eyes showed fear, panic, and anxiety.
Henry slowly stood up with a maniac-looking grin, "You are stupid… loud… and annoying."
"Rgh…" The tattooed man grimaced as he held his broken hand, "W-Who are you?"
"You can call me… Jack." Henry grinned menacingly and revealed his kitchen knife.
The blond-haired woman paled and spoke with fear, "P-Please, w-we will be quiet from now on, I swear!"
"Yes… you will be quiet from now on." Henry said while grabbing the tattooed man's hair and slitting his throat!
"NO!" The blond-haired woman screamed as her boyfriend fell to the floor while coughing blood and bleeding dry.
The tattooed man twitched and squirmed while holding his throat. Slowly, his eyes lost their light, and he died.
"No…" The blond-haired woman started crying with the teardrops mixing with the blood on the ground.
"Well then…" Henry stepped into the apartment with the bloody knife on hand, "You next…"
"NO!"
…
Happylaugh's Airport.
The plane that left Snowstar finally landed on the runway. Shortly afterward, the passengers started deboarding the plane.
In addition to them, Luna and Isaac exited the plane with their bags in hand. Soon, they left the terminal and arrived outside, where their taxi was waiting.
After placing their bags in the trunk, they entered the taxi and gave directions to the taxi driver, who began driving towards District Ten.
"This place is…" Luna didn't know how to describe the things she saw. There were parts of the City that were filthy, and some were luxurious.
The taxi driver saw their wondering expressions, "First time here?"
"Yes," Isaac replied.
"Then, you must be curious about these Districts then." The taxi driver checked from the front mirror and saw their confused faces. His hunch was correct, and he began calmly explaining the Districts.
"The airport was in District Four, and we just crossed District One." The taxi driver checked out the windows and saw the dirty streets, "It's not exactly the best view possible for tourists, that's why this place isn't that famous.
"However, the Government officials don't really care. Anyway, soon we are in District Five, and from there, we will get to District Ten, where you two apparently are headed."
"Yes." Isaac nodded while crossing his legs.
"I gotta warn you. It will be expensive." The taxi driver said, "District Ten is only for the wealthy. One night in a 1-star hotel would be enough to live in District Zero for one year."
"Yeah, do you know any hotels nearby?" Isaac asked.
"Yes, many. Do you want 1-star or 2-star hotel recommendations?" The taxi driver asked.
Luna looked away from the window and looked at Isaac.
"5-star," Isaac said calmly while checking out the dirty streets.
"Cough…" The taxi driver accidentally swallowed his saliva and ended up in a coughing fit.
