If you want to explore the expanded universe of Tsutomu Nihei, I can break down how , NSE: Net Sphere Engineer , and the prequel Noise connect to the main 10-volume timeline. Would you like a reading order guide or a breakdown of the Silicon Life factions ? Share public link

The result is "The City": a chaotic, Dyson-sphere-like Megastructure that has expanded so wildly it has swallowed the Moon and now expands past the orbit of Jupiter. Within this endless maze of steel, concrete, and cables, Killy must navigate hostile AI, mutated cyborgs, and the Safeguard—an automated defense system designed to exterminate any human lacking the Net Terminal Gene. Architectural Brutalism as a Character

The endless, undifferentiated Megastructure can be read as a metaphor for modern urban existence – a life of repetitive corridors, loss of orientation, and the feeling of being trapped in a system you cannot escape. Some academic papers have focused specifically on Nihei’s representation of “architecture as a narrative medium.”

In this dystopian future, humanity is nearly extinct. The city is guarded by the , a ruthless security system programmed to eliminate all "unregistered" humans (which, due to a system error, is essentially everyone). The Megastructure is also inhabited by Silicon Creatures, cyborgs who hunt humans for sport or food.

The story follows Killy , a mute, stoic cyborg of immense durability and firepower. He wanders endlessly through "The City," a gargantuan, chaotic, multi-layered labyrinth of steel, concrete, and forgotten infrastructure that has expanded so far that it has engulfed the entire solar system. Humanity has been reduced to scattered tribes hiding in the deepest recesses, hunted by a malfunctioning security system known as the Safeguard .

The manga is set within "The Megastructure," an artificial, chaotic labyrinth of steel, concrete, and polymer that has grown completely out of control. Driven by automated, rogue AI construction drones known as Builders, the Megastructure has expanded exponentially. It has swallowed the Moon, engulfed the planets of the solar system, and stretched out into a hollow sphere millions of kilometers wide.