Chapter Ten
As they walked down a ground-level street in the Shadow Zone, Jia wrinkled her nose against the assault of the acrid scent of garbage and pollution filling the air. Flitters zoomed past, both parallel with them and in the vertical lanes above; it was even more densely packed down here than Uptown.
Jia shook her head in disgust. No one should have to live in a place that stank. A few months ago, she would have blamed all the people living there for their own plight, but now she considered the continued existence of the Shadow Zone the fault of the council and any corporations conspiring with corrupt politicians and criminals.
After all, in a city as wealthy as Neo SoCal, there was no reason for there to be a pocket of poverty and open criminality. People were obviously lookin
