"Love, Death & Robots 2024: Where Carnal Desires Meet Mechanical Nightmares"

On this planet, water is worth more than life itself. Only the truly wealthy can indulge in the luxury of an ice-cold Coke, while water thieves are locked inside glass boxes, left to bake under the scorching sun until their bodies are drained of every last drop. The parched sand becomes their final resting place.

Yet Norton, a white-haired man, seems utterly unfazed by this brutal reality. He unlocks a case and retrieves a box of freshly imported strawberries, plucking the reddest one and popping it into his mouth. The sweet, juicy burst of flavor feels like a deliberate taunt to this desiccated wasteland. After all, the price of these strawberries could cost an ordinary person a lifetime of labor.

Water scarcity has turned this place into a barren, lawless frontier where humans and creatures alike fight tooth and nail for survival. Glass prison boxes litter the landscape, their occupants hollow-eyed and resigned to death. But for Norton, luxury is simply a given. He strides through the black market, indifferent to the predatory gazes lurking in the shadows, and casually purchases exorbitantly priced goods from a portly merchant.

"Well, well, look who it is." The merchant, a notorious smuggler, can procure anything—for the right price. Norton buys an extravagant Earth-made luxury item, proving that wealth commands power in any world. But Norton isn’t just rich—he’s also a fugitive with a 2,000-ton water bounty on his head.

He settles into an upscale bar, ordering an ice-cold Coke, eager to savor the sensation of the chilled drink sliding down his throat. But then he feels it—the piercing stares from the shadows. A jolt of unease shoots through him.

"Your snow deal, beau."

Three figures emerge—the infamous Bounty Hunter Trio. Their presence means only one thing: a fight to the death.

"Someone paid a fortune for your head," the woman snarls, her voice dripping with menace.

Norton moves faster than expected. In the chaos, the last hunter manages to shoot him in the arm. Outnumbered and wounded, Norton is at a severe disadvantage. Just as the hunter reloads for the kill shot—

A stranger intervenes. A woman.

"I mean, you know harm."

The strangest part? Despite his sleeve being soaked in blood, Norton merely wraps the wound with eerie calm, as if pain is nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

"Thanks for the help."

Though the immediate threat has passed, Norton knows danger is never far. Exchanging a glance with the woman, he slips away. But another pair of hunters, hidden in the crowd, has already locked onto him.

Unaware, Norton sits beside a massive skeletal remains, lighting a fire to cook preserved rations. Night falls, and the desert comes alive with nocturnal creatures. Then—footsteps.

The woman from the black market has followed him.

Norton watches the blue flames in silence, waiting. Finally, he glances at the skillet.

"Sorry, not in the mood for company. I’m not hungry."

"But I want to travel with you."

The truth is, Norton possesses an unmatched regenerative ability. No matter the injury, he heals like a lizard regrowing its tail—an ability that borders on immortality. This makes him the most coveted specimen in the universe, hunted by factions willing to pay any price to dissect him.

The woman, Anna, reveals herself as an Earth Intelligence agent.

"Come back to Earth with me," she urges. "It’s the only way to escape. Out there, you’ll just end up on an operating table. There’s a better future beyond this wasteland."

"Will you come?"

Norton doesn’t answer. Trust is the rarest luxury of all.

As dawn breaks, the air turns blisteringly dry. Norton unfolds a makeshift tent made of beetle shells, shielding them from the heat with a nuclear condensation unit.

After surviving the scorching day, Norton leads Anna to a place he’s never shown anyone—a hidden sanctuary behind a reinforced stone door. An elevator of his own design lifts them to a breathtaking sight: a thriving oasis in the middle of the wasteland. A crystal-clear stream flows endlessly, defying the planet’s drought.

On the cliffside balcony, Norton savors his Earth-imported strawberries, the red fruit glistening in the sunset. Anna, freshly washed, joins him.

"My wife… she killed herself 123 years ago."

Norton has lived over a century alone, carrying the weight of endless time. Anna realizes that to convince him, she must find what truly moves him. She vows to use every ounce of her skill to prove that Earth is his only refuge.

But at 2:30 AM, alarms blare—five bounty hunters have surrounded the canyon.

Norton ambushes them in the dark, his movements lethal. Yet one hunter, desperate for the reward, shoots his own fiancée in the crossfire, framing Norton.

In the ensuing chaos, Norton is gravely wounded—but his regeneration kicks in. Just as the final hunter moves in for the kill, Anna intervenes.

But the true mastermind steps forward—the hunters' employer.

"You’ve lived for centuries… yet you chose this hellhole. No more running. You’ll die here."

Norton, barely conscious, notices something shocking—Anna’s arm is mechanical.

She’s not entirely human.

When he wakes in a cave, Anna confesses: "After my accident, I was rebuilt. Only my brain remains organic. My body is titanium."

In that moment, Norton realizes—Earth’s technology is beyond anything he imagined. His sanctuary won’t stay hidden forever.

So he makes his choice.

"I’ll go with you."

Two lonely souls, bound by survival, embrace.

And what awaits them?

A future worth fighting for.