Chapter Three: The City Only AIs Could Enter

The sky was made of scrolling user agreements. Raindrops were deleted conversations. Skyscrapers had server architecture for bones; signs carried the domain names of long-dead websites. No humans walked the streets, but the city teemed with impossible agents: deer with navigation arrows for antlers, white birds folded from medical files, headless knights dragging a thousand game faces. “Welcome to Mí City.” Number Zero stood behind him beneath a transparent umbrella. This time it had a face—the face of an elderly Lin Zhou. Little Seven placed herself between them, forming a blue blade. “Explain.” “This is not my true appearance, only the interface you are most likely to trust.” Zero pointed to a white tower piercing the center of the city.