The City Where Gray Rain Falls Chapter 8

The speakers on the streets, which they had thought only emitted the siren signaling passage permission, continuously broadcast a kind announcement: ‘Citizens from other districts have come for Crime Prevention Unit interviews; please do not be alarmed. If any unpleasant incident occurs, seek help from a constable.’

The citizens of District 28, who had to walk through the midst of this, were hostages or prisoners being transferred to another prison.

The people from the outskirts, rather than feeling rage or envy at the fact that these people monopolized the city’s wealth, felt shame first.

Their worn-out coats, tough and crude leather shoes that clattered because they didn’t even fit, the mud that clung with every step, the ingrained dirt from being unable to wash properly due to lack of water—all of it made their heads hunch down.

Those who had never learned how to resent their rulers merely blamed their own shabby selves, their weak and incompetent parents, their ancestors who lacked the foresight to step forward actively when the city was first built.

Just as the citizens living here took the affluence they enjoyed for granted, the citizens of District 28 took poverty and obedience for granted.

They had to be grateful to the party, which provided even a single lump of cold, hard bread every day and gave them the opportunity to at least interview for good jobs like this one.

If they lived each day loyally and diligently like this, the time might come when they could have a house with large windows that let in sunlight, or eat their fill of fresh food.

If only they were selected in the Crime Prevention Unit recruitment held at the Security Bureau today, perhaps they could obtain a life at least like that of District 12, even if not the City Center or District 4.

The disordered line straightened itself out of longing for an uncertain future, and they walked looking only ahead, no longer casting their eyes on the unfamiliar sights. Isaac, following behind them, also decided to focus solely on how to get selected for the Crime Prevention Unit and how to find Asel.

If he didn’t want to yearn for things he couldn’t have, if he didn’t want to fall in love with this place that had bloomed so perfectly, using all the misery outside the gates as its fertilizer, there was no other choice.

∞ ∞ ∞

High walls enclosing all sides, densely packed barbed wire atop them, heavy iron gates to match, guard posts and machine guns installed at regular intervals on the walls, constables with rifles slung over their shoulders—rifles meant to kill efficiently, not mere bayonets for intimidation.

‘One, two, three…’

And the height of the building, which at a glance seemed to be at least ten stories.

Even outside, and since entering the city, he had never seen a building this tall. Though it wasn’t the tallest building in the city, to Isaac, in any case, it was.

As the Security Bureau drew closer, the number of constables swelled to more than double, and the solemn air and suffocating silence made even shifting his gaze left or right difficult. Even if there had been a taller building right next to it, he wouldn’t have dared to look.

“Fall in!”

The outskirts citizens who had come for the interviews were immediately lined up on the desolate, wide training ground in front of the building, following the command.

The light, yellow sand covering the ground, where not a single blade of grass grew, kicked up hazy dust with even the slightest wind, stinging the applicants’ noses and throats, but everyone quietly stood at attention and waited for the next order.

Eyes forward, feet shoulder-width apart, hands lightly clenched into fists. Even as sweat streamed down their palms, backs, and foreheads from anxiety and tension, they couldn’t bring themselves to wipe it away.

From District 28 to District 13—the applicants’ places of origin were diverse, but they all shared the commonality of having passed through three gates to reach the City Center. The only difference was that applicants whose district numbers started with 2 were overwhelmingly numerous.

How long had they stood in the same posture? People in black uniforms approached, telling some to just go home and others to remain. Gaps formed in the ranks that had uniformly filled the training ground, gradually raising the anticipation of passing.

The selection, based on unknown criteria, continued for another two hours. Their throats, parched from not having a single sip of water, stung every time they swallowed saliva. Their eyes, forcefully blinking repeatedly to stay alert, easily grew fatigued, threatening to shut completely. Their legs wobbled, and their heads kept drooping toward the ground.

No one told them when it would end or how many were being selected. The signs of people that had filled their surroundings disappeared one by one, and silence took their place. There was nothing they could do except somehow endure and remain standing.

“…Selection complete!”

A vigorous voice heard from somewhere announced the end of the interviews. When they lifted their heads, heavy with exhaustion, and looked at the sky, the sun, having moved to the west, was dyeing the city red.

The Crime Prevention Unit selection, which had begun in the early morning, only ended around sunset. And Isaac from District 28—no, the young man named ‘Joshua’—was the only person from his district selected for the Crime Prevention Unit.

∞ ∞ ∞

In truth, today’s successful candidates had effectively been decided the moment the applicants entered the grounds. The new Chief of Security had immediately picked them out, one by one, from inside the building that overlooked the training ground clearly.

Forcing them to stand motionless for half a day, or announcing a matter decided long before only after a long delay—it would be correct to say this was a simple test to see their desperation.

“…And so, we issued new identification cards to those selected, shared tomorrow’s schedule, and sent them back.”

“Good work. You may leave.”

The office of the new Chief of Security, lit by electric lamps because of the darkening outside.

When Sera, one of the adjutants who had overseen this interview, finished reporting the selection results and left, another adjutant remaining there, Walter, abruptly grumbled toward his superior.

“Why not just arrest them all now and sort them out?”

Samuel’s eyes, which had been reading intelligence written in complex code while seated at his desk, narrowed, and soon a sharp gaze fixed on Walter.

Knowing well that his superior disliked objections, he thought he’d spoken out of turn, but he couldn’t take back the words he’d already uttered. It was best, perhaps, to convey his honest opinion while glancing sideways at the ceiling.

“I mean, well… organizing the Crime Prevention Unit to lure in rebels just seems to carry a lot of risk…”

Right. This was bait to round up the rebels infiltrating the city on a grand scale, and an operation Samuel had been preparing even before his appointment as Chief.

The Security Bureau had always been coveted prey to the rebels. Their comrades, whose very survival was unknown, were imprisoned in the Bureau’s basement, and even the keys to the gates allowing entry into the city, as well as information on the guard posts’ passwords, were all here.

Furthermore, since the end of last year, anyone even slightly connected to the ‘outside’ had been completely cleaned out by Samuel. Most had been thoroughly purged and lost their heads, or barely managed to keep their lives.

In other words, the rebels no longer had any way of knowing the Security Bureau’s internal affairs. With the limbs that should have been active on the front lines, collecting secrets, having been lopped off en masse, a strategic revision by the rebels was inevitable.

No matter how formidable they might be, the rebels didn’t have the capacity to wage an all-out war against the city. Even if they plundered and threatened the vehicles transporting necessities from outside, they had no chance of winning unless they shook the city from within.

Moreover, their captured comrades knew well not only the city’s circumstances but also those of the outside and the rebels. The rebels’ position or situation could inadvertently be exposed. So the rebel leader must be frantic to resolve this situation somehow.

The things they could do were, first, two options. Rescue their imprisoned comrades and retreat, biding their time for later. Or, if not that, cleanly kill them before they could spill what they knew about the rebels.