The TARDIS phone box hurtled through the time tunnel at high speed.
As it neared its destination, a portal of light appeared inside the tunnel.
Passing through the light portal, they arrived at their destination.
When the phone box door opened, a pungent stench wafted in.
It was a mixture of the sour reek of industrial exhaust, the putrid stench of sewer drains, and the moldy odor of garbage dumps.
And beneath it all, a deeper, more visceral sense of despair.
Ferrus furrowed his brows slightly as he surveyed the world before him.
What came into view was a massive city of exaggerated scale, its atmosphere ruined by pollution.
Even Nostramo's noon and midnight were no exception; the city relied entirely on artificial lighting.
In the dim glow, the outlines of the city could barely be made out.
Countless smokestacks rose from the buildings, belching thick black smoke.
The smoke swirled in the air, gathered, condensed, and formed dense clouds that blanketed the entire city.
Nostramo's industry was not backward. On the contrary, it could be said to be quite advanced.
The fine gold veins scattered throughout the planet's crust were the world's most precious treasure and its most important export.
Refined gold was mined, smelted into ingots, and shipped to various trading planets, where it was exchanged for enormous wealth.
However, this wealth brought no benefit whatsoever to the workers who toiled day after day in the mines and smelteries.
On the contrary, it was precisely this wealth that made exploitation extremely cruel, turned oppression and exploitation into a complete system, and planted despair at the very root of human existence.
There were no regulations whatsoever on factory emissions. The nobles who controlled the mines and smelteries cared only about production volume and profit.
They did not care how many people died from the toxic gases pouring out of the smokestacks.
Nostramo had a high death rate, but its birth rate was equally high, maintaining a balance.
In this world shrouded in darkness, there was hope nowhere to be found.
Only the rich could enjoy any "light" like that of Nostramo.
Their luxurious mansions were located in the city center, far from the toxic-gas-spewing factories and the sewage-flooded slums.
Warm yellow glow-lamps, like sunlight, were embedded throughout the mansions and were never turned off.
They breathed fresh, clean air and enjoyed fresh food and fruit brought from other planets.
Everywhere else in the city, countless people suffered, rotted, and died in the darkness.
The vast majority of the population on the planet toiled in extreme poverty as foundry workers.
They had to work themselves to the bone every day just to keep living.
The moment they stopped working, they would plummet straight into the abyss.
Many children were born with malnutrition. Rickets and lung diseases were rampant in every household. Living past thirty was considered a long life. Murder, theft, and extortion were rampant.
The so-called "law enforcement agencies" were nothing more than violent gangs hired by the ruling class to suppress dissent through terrifying means.
Workers who organized strikes in factories were beaten and had their legs broken by gang members.
Protesters who spoke out on the streets mysteriously disappeared.
Those who tried to spread the truth would be hanged in the streets the next day.
Despair spread everywhere. Overpopulation was kept in check not by war, plague, or law, but by an extremely high suicide rate. And those who committed suicide became food for others.
On Nostramo, human life was worth less than the rats in the sewers.
Datch and Ferrus walked through a dimly lit alley.
A few old streetlights flickered faintly. The dim yellow light leaking from their bulbs looked especially weak amid the thick smog.
The light did not reach far and disappeared into the darkness, leaving only small, hazy halos around the streetlights.
Within those halos, countless flying insects danced, their wingbeats sounding like ancient incantations.
The stench of garbage and sewage mingled everywhere with the sweetish odor of decaying corpses, making the alley reek terribly.
Disgust showed on Ferrus's face.
"This hellish place is literally hell itself!"
Even Curze, let alone him, would go mad in a world like this.
Hearing footsteps, people hiding in dark corners revealed beast-like eyes filled with despair, wariness, or greed.
"…Don't want…"
A cry filled with terror and despair echoed from deep in the alley, sounding especially jarring in the silent space.
Datch and Ferrus exchanged glances and headed toward the sound.
Turning the corner, they came upon a small clearing.
A dozen burly men with tattooed faces were beating and kicking several people.
Some of the burly men had mechanical prosthetics implanted in their bodies, looking like cold, brutal criminals.
Among the victims were both men and women. Their clothes were stained with blood and mud, and their bodies were covered in wounds, a pitiful sight.
A woman whose head had been crushed lay in a pool of blood, her body still twitching faintly.
"You borrowed money from me and won't pay it back? Do you think the Tiger Claw Gang is some kind of charity?"
A gang member with a grotesque scar on his face cursed while punching the man.
"I'll teach you a lesson. I'll show you what happens when you owe money to the Tiger Claw on Nostramo!"
Another gang member kicked a man curled up on the ground. The man's body arched like a shrimp and a muffled groan escaped him.
In the quiet alley, Datch and Ferrus's footsteps rang out especially clearly.
Hearing the sound, the gang members stopped what they were doing and turned around.
"Where the hell did this blind bastard come from? How dare thy interfere with the Tiger Claw Gang's business?"
The scarred man narrowed his eyes and stared at Datch and Ferrus.
His robotic arm lifted slightly, fingers opening and closing as the hydraulic system hissed.
"That's the kind of thing that invites death."
Another gang member spat.
"Get out of here while you're still in a good mood."
Datch glanced at the gang members, then looked at Ferrus.
"Ferrus, move."
The moment he said it, Ferrus's figure vanished from the spot.
His speed was astonishing. His massive body became a blurred afterimage in the dim light.
Before the gang members could react, terrifying force slammed into them.
Bang!
With a dull thud, the scarred man was sent flying through the air, crashed into the wall behind him, and coughed up blood.
His robotic arm was also damaged; wires shorted out and sparks flew.
The other gang members suffered the same fate.
In an instant, every single gang member lay on the ground.
They lay in the sewage, groaning in pain.
This happened even though Ferrus had deliberately held back his power.
If he had gone all out, they would have all been reduced to paste.
The man named Ozborne clutched his swollen head and somehow managed to stand up.
In a muffled voice he thanked Datch and Ferrus.
Without their intervention, they would have been beaten to death by the gang members.
On Nostramo, human life was worth less than the rats in the sewers.
Nostramo always had high unemployment. Many people were out of work.
They joined gangs and made a living through theft and robbery.
Women sold their bodies in exchange for meager wages.
Children who could not receive an education had no choice but to spend their early years on the streets and learn how to survive.
Ozborne worked at a bar run by the Tiger Claw Gang. He had helped a waitress who was about to be rape by the manager.
They had held a grudge against him, harassed him, and cut his pay.
After working for a month he had received no income at all and had even gone into debt with the Tiger Claw Gang.
He felt he could no longer continue and considered quitting.
Because he often helped other waiters, waitresses, and dancers who entertained customers, he was well-liked by everyone.
After he left, people who could no longer endure the exploitation at the bar also tried to leave with him.
As a result, the Tiger Claw Gang thought he was stealing customers from the bar, objected, and immediately sent someone else…
They arrested Ozborne and the others, beat them severely, and made an example of them.
They also planned to plant a few disobedient trees in the suburbs and make them cosplay as stumps.
Emily, the former dancer, had cursed at them and been left to die after being struck on the head.
It was easy to imagine how brutal the Tiger Claw Gang was and how little they valued human life.
Datch glanced at the injured people, then took a Poke Ball from his game inventory, tossed it into the air, and summoned Pugh.
The chubby little Pugh flew out of the light, cheerfully crying "Pugh! Pugh!"
Upon landing, he instinctively spotted the injured people, opened his tiny arms, and emitted a vivid green light.
The light was warm and gentle, enveloping their entire bodies.
Ozborne felt a warm current flow through his body, racing through his blood vessels and nerves.
Wherever it passed, the pain receded like the tide.
His swollen face, broken ribs, severed Achilles tendon, and all other injuries were completely healed by the "Po-chan" impact.
Even Emily, whose head had been crushed, was pulled back from the brink of death with Pugh's help.
Ozborne and the others were at a loss for words and looked at Datch and Ferrus with awe.
Even the gang members lying on the ground with broken bones and torn tendons showed expectant expressions after witnessing this miraculous scene.
They committed all kinds of evil deeds, bullied men and women, and disregarded human life, yet they too were human.
Being injured meant they could no longer work for the gang, would be cruelly abandoned, and would become targets for bullying by others.
In worse cases, dying miserably on the streets was not impossible.
However, Pugh paid them no attention.
After treating Ozborne and the other pitiful people, he hurriedly returned to Datch's feet.
He climbed onto Datch's shoulder with all four limbs, curled up into a ball, and let out a satisfied "Burp."
Datch glanced at the gang members lying on the ground. After hesitating for a few seconds, he ultimately did not kill them.
Gangs were not just the problem of these few men; they were a problem for the entire society.
Even if he killed them, new gang members would appear immediately.
Even if he wiped out the Tiger Claw Gang, the Leopard Claw Gang, Wolf Claw Gang, and Eagle Claw Gang would still remain.
As long as Nostramo remained this desperate and hopeless… As long as there were so many unemployed youths and impoverished families in this society, gangs would never disappear.
The important thing was to solve the problem, not to become a personal hero.
Datch turned and walked away, taking Ferrus with him to continue searching for Curze using the minimap.
Ozborne gritted his teeth and dragged the others along, trying to catch up.
After all, the Tiger Claw Gang members would kill people without hesitation.
If they stayed here and other gang members came looking for them, they would be doomed.
Datch noticed the NPCs tailing him, turned around, and looked at them.
Instead of driving them away, he turned and sped up.
Ozborne and the others could not keep up with his speed; the distance between them grew larger and larger.
"Don't abandon us…!"
Ozborne and the others cried out in despair, but Datch did not look back. On the contrary, he quickened his pace and disappeared from their sight.
Following the minimap navigation, Datch guided Ferrus through the streets of Nostramo.
On the minimap, Curze's position constantly changed.
Sometimes he was in the eastern factory district, sometimes in the western slums, and sometimes in the northern gang territory.
They hurried to one location, only for Curze to have already left. They hurried to another, only for him to have vanished again.
Sometimes Curze came very close to them.
Datch could even feel the other party's cold, snake-like gaze watching them from the darkness.
But when Ferrus rushed over, he found nothing.
Clearly, Curze had noticed them but did not want to run into them.
Datch and Ferrus tried everything, but they could not force the other party out into the open.
That man was like an eel — cunning, always escaping just when he seemed caught.
Following Curze's current location, they arrived at the trading square.
Low buildings stood in several rows, roughly forming a circle. In the center was an open space covered in gravel.
Various stalls selling food, tools, clothing, and other miscellaneous items lined the square.
Although Nostramo's social environment was extremely chaotic and all kinds of violent incidents occurred frequently, the need for trade still existed.
Several powerful gangs had jointly demarcated a safe zone and turned it into a market.
Within this area, theft, robbery, and rioting were prohibited.
In a sense, these gangs could be said to have formed a new order.
Having lost track of Curze again, Datch grew irritated and decided to use the lost-item fishing rod to forcibly pull him over.
However, upon seeing the lively trading market, he suddenly had another idea.
"Nameless Lord."
Seeing Datch standing still for a long time, Ferrus stepped forward and asked respectfully.
"Should we continue pursuing Curze?"
Datch shook his head.
"Curze is wary of us. It's useless to chase him."
"We have to make him come to us of his own volition."
"Then what should we do?" Ferrus asked.
"First, we need to change Nostramo," Datch said, then continued.
"To change Nostramo, we need a strong centralized government to redistribute benefits and improve basic living standards."
Because Nostramo's economy relied heavily on exporting refined gold rather than domestic circulation, those who benefited from this system had absolutely no incentive to improve the lives of ordinary citizens.
Those mines and smelteries were controlled by a handful of nobles who dealt directly with buyers on other planets.
They pocketed the vast majority of the profits.
What was left on Nostramo were hollowed-out mine tunnels, polluted land, and polluted air.
People's incomes were so low they could barely afford basic bread, let alone consume other goods.
This created sluggish domestic demand and a lack of employment.
Workers laid off from mines and factories could not find new jobs and could only suffer in poverty.
Those who lost their jobs had no choice but to resort to various criminal activities to survive.
Men joined gangs and made a living through theft and robbery.
Women sold their bodies and earned meager wages in dirty alleys.
Children who could not receive an education spent their early years living on the streets and learned the tricks of theft and fraud.
To change this situation, it was necessary to rebuild social order and establish a new distribution system.
Hearing the nameless man's words, Ferrus grinned.
"Nameless one, I will follow your orders."
Datch nodded and got to work.
Changing a planet was no longer difficult for him.
However, Nostramo's situation was more complex. It was not enough to change the environment; people's mindsets also needed to change.
Datch found an open space, used star fragments to create a handmade miniature sun, and hung it in the air as a source of light and heat.
After finishing all of this, Datch opened the Room of Requirement and summoned a group of Primaris Space Marines to maintain order.
Then Datch brought back the Ozborne group he had left behind.
He gave them the job of going to various places to promote the new safe zone and attract people.
Within the safe zone, any illegal or criminal acts would be severely punished.
When Ozborne and the others had been left behind, they had been anxious and terrified of retaliation from the Tiger Claw Gang. All they could do was hide and cried.
When Datch returned to assign them tasks… fearing they would be abandoned again, they immediately threw themselves into the work with great enthusiasm.
At first, many people did not believe in the so-called new safe zone.
Without the backing of a large gang, if someone stole from you or robbed you, you could only accept your bad luck.
However, seeing the floating miniature sun that the Datch had installed providing light and heat in the safe zone, quite a few people still gathered there.
Some troublemakers who tried to cause problems were identified by the Primaris Space Marines and publicly executed as a deterrent to other troublemakers.
That was the end of it. As a result, the new safe zone Datch had created quickly became famous, attracting even more people.
Taking advantage of this situation, Datch used the Golden Hammer to repair various buildings and facilities, building a safe zone that integrated trade, living, and industrial production, and expanded its influence.
At the same time, new laws were promulgated advocating equality for all, establishing a sound tax collection system, training an army, and building a comprehensive welfare safety net.
These measures immediately caused a huge stir in the surrounding areas.
Many people thought the founder of this new safe zone was insane.
However, this move attracted many people from all directions, and they were filled with anticipation.
The population of the new safe zone was increasing extremely rapidly, and its territory was expanding at an astonishing speed.
…
Curze crouched on a dark roof beam, gnawing on the heart of a villain he held in his hand, and stared at the brightly lit new safe zone in the distance.
He knew that all of this had been done by those two mysterious outsiders who were clearly trying to change Nostramo in some way.
However, Curze felt that this kind of approach was meaningless.
Only fear could suppress the criminal thoughts lurking in people's hearts.
This approach of establishing a new safe zone seemed very attractive.
But because of humanity's inherent flaws, they would soon fall back into depravity again.
Curze opposed the outsiders' actions but did not try to interfere. He simply observed from the shadows.
…
On the other hand, the powerful and wealthy quickly sensed the threat.
Surprisingly, this new safe zone received absolutely no support from powerful conglomerates or large corporations, which indirectly stoked the anger of the people of Nostramo.
They did not need to live in despair, yet the selfishness and greed of those who benefited from this system were making everyone suffer.
"This destabilizing factor must be eliminated."
Eventually, a powerful clan rose up and moved to destroy the so-called "new safe zone" in order to protect their own interests.