Rust Town

Rust Town is the nickname of New Rome's poor northwest neighborhood.

The corporations controlling the city put all the industrial plants there, turning the area into a dumpster. They had even built a wall to prevent vagrants from moving into the other districts.

The Junkyard is a landmark of Rust Town. It is called the Junkyard, although it is not officially named that. It used to be an old coal mine, but it was transformed into an open landfill. Many rogue Geniuses and adventurers exchanged stuff there before the Meta-Gang moved in.

Dynamis uses knockoff Genomes, probably Genomes that used the knockoff elixir Tempest which gives minor aerokinesis, to keep the pollution in Rust Town. These trained Genomes occupy watchtowers along the walls and push clouds of pollution away from the touristic areas and into Rust Town with wind manipulation, so rich people won't breathe the same air as the lower classes. Their powers produce currents of air.

The Private Security guards at the gate are very obviously corrupt, and accept bribes to allow you to enter the town. Officially, there is no entry without authorization or a work permit.

The fortifications separating the district from the rest of New Rome are not so much walls as a mix of tall steel cylinders, wired fences, mounted cameras, and surveillance systems.

The air quality drops drastically once you pass the checkpoint to enter Rust Town, and the smell of rust and chemicals becomes very pervasive.

Almost every house and three-floor apartment buildings had fallen into a state of disrepair, windows were broken, cinder block walls were covered in graffiti, some even crumbling. The neighborhood was positively claustrophobic, narrow streets forming a labyrinth of alleys almost too small for his car to move in, fire escapes casting them in shadow in spite of the daylight. Streetlights didn’t work well, and a thick layer of smog colored the world in sickly yellow. Every piece of metal seemed to rust, probably due to the pollution.

Even Ryan, who had seen it all, felt appalled by the locals’ living conditions. Squatters had overtaken everything, dealers openly peddled Bliss  to homeless people, and the locals avoided Ryan’s gaze when he looked at them. They all wore scarfs, face masks, or other protections against the gas, even the children.