"Aaaaaah—!"
The person being chased had been modified through prosthetic surgery into the form of an animal. They sprinted frantically ahead of the sports cars but could not shake the vehicles behind them no matter what they did.
People who had lost their proof of identity were common in Dusk City. Some had sold their identity information to others, while others had voluntarily erased their identities because the information attached to them could not be exposed.
Once they lost these Human Identity Credentials, they ceased to count as human in the eyes of Link Entity AI. Instead, they were classified as animals.
This was also a new form of entertainment that the "companies'" middle managers had recently discovered. Hunting ordinary little animals was not exciting enough. Hunting modified humans was what made things fun.
"They really have too much free time. It's working hours, yet this many people are out street racing together. Bronya, we'll use them."
Bronya understood immediately. Before long, the sports cars inexplicably slammed on their brakes, throwing the occupants forward so violently that they saw stars, as though they had just witnessed some Heliopolis Life Sciences advertisement they had never seen before.
"What the hell... I'm firing whoever maintains this car! A system malfunction right when I was having the most fun?!"
The wealthy woman in the lead clutched her nose and cursed furiously. The nose she had just gotten augmented had been knocked crooked. If her dear sugar daddy saw her like this, he might dump her on the spot.
When she finally looked up after finishing her tirade, she found Vill-V and the others staring at her with decidedly unfriendly expressions.
"Trackers, seize her identity information!"
"Huh? Like hell I'll—Aaaaaah—!"
After Bronya used her hacking ability to electronically lash her nervous system, the wealthy woman let out exactly the same scream as the person she had been chasing moments earlier.
For people equipped with brain-interface chips that allowed them to freely adjust sensations of pleasure and pain, hacker Bronya could easily let them experience the absolute pinnacle of agony. It worked far better than any physical torture device.
Before long, the privileged woman lost her proof of identity while unconscious. Perhaps her future would be no different from that of the person she had just been hunting.
You could call it poetic justice.
"A top-tier hacker really can run rampant in a cyberpunk city like this. By the way, Odin, you have a brain-interface port too?"
Vill-V had noticed that while Bronya was altering everyone's authentication information, she had also conveniently dealt with the security certification on Odin's brain-interface chip.
But would this guy, who seemed to have lived for thousands of years, really allow someone else to install a brain-interface port in his body?
Could this body of his be fake?
Odin did not directly answer Vill-V's questioning gaze. Instead, he deliberately spoke in a mysterious tone. "The company Misteln Club has invited us. They're on Thirty-Third Street."
Indeed, besides basic identity authentication, another condition for entering the Time District mentioned earlier was endorsement from a "company."
That was also why people from the outer districts would scramble desperately for the chance to become a "company's" dog.
With a "company's" backing, one effectively became a member of high society... Even being a dog in high society meant living more like a human than the people outside.
There were even plenty of people in the outer districts who would rather be hunted by corporate elites than remain where they were.
At the very least, people selected for hunting were usually fed and cared for for some time beforehand, fattened up nicely. That was still better than immediately starving to death outside.
It showed just how hopeless life in the outer districts had become.
Looking at the prosperity filling the streets, Hua clenched her fists, anger showing in her eyes. "This place is completely different from the Engraving District just one street away. It's like crossing into another world. You can't see any trace of gangs or the Honkai at all."
"Of course. Everyone here is among the elite. They enjoy ninety-nine shares of the entire city's resources while the other ninety-nine shares of people shoulder all the trouble for them. Naturally, they can live comfortably amid peace and prosperity."
Pardo spoke proudly, immediately showing off something she had only just learned.
As a resident of Dusk Street, she had long since grown accustomed to such extreme wealth disparity. To her, this kind of distribution of wealth had always seemed like the natural state of life.
Only after receiving Mad Hatter's enlightening education had she come to understand just how detestable these elites who hoarded enormous fortunes really were.
Of course, what Pardo cared about most was not fairness. It was learning that those elites were so obscenely rich they practically leaked money... One burglary there was worth ninety-nine burglaries outside!
Damn it! If I'd known earlier, I would've visited their homes a few more times.
"Uh, Pardo, I think you mean ninety-nine percent, right?" Hua shook her head.
"Speaking of which, Vill-V, what's with that locksmith outfit you're wearing?"
Vill-V's long hair curled slightly beneath a black bowler hat decorated with gears and wrenches.
A dark crimson vest edged with waves complemented the black soft-leather trim along the jagged locksmith-pattern cuffs and hem.
Vill-V brushed a hand over the broad leather belt at her waist. A massive ring of keys suddenly appeared in her previously empty hand as she declared proudly, "When it comes to keys, naturally it's time for veteran locksmith Vill-V to make her grand entrance."
Is there actually a veteran-locksmith Vill-V personality?
Magician: 'None other than yours truly! A veteran locksmith can open locks, and my magic can open locks too. If I'm not a veteran locksmith, then what am I?'
Bronya questioned her as well. "But the Himeko in Heliopolis Life Sciences's records never dressed anything like this."
This operation required "Himeko" to serve as their point of entry. Even if the real Himeko was not present, someone still needed to disguise themselves as "Himeko" and use that identity to infiltrate the company.
Vill-V planted her hands on her hips. "Heh-heh. As the saying goes, clothes are fixed, but people are flexible. As long as someone looks like Himeko, that's good enough."
"Besides, I'm not the one who's going to play Himeko."
"Then who is...?"
Vill-V tilted her head, signaling for everyone to look at Odin.
"From this point onward, I'll be playing the role of Key."
"You? You're planning to dress as a woman?"
Hua, dressed in sharp men's clothing, looked puzzled. Forget his figure, even his sheer build was completely different from Himeko's.
Himeko might have been tall too, but she certainly was not a little giant over two meters tall.
The metal on Odin's face began to writhe, transforming his features into Himeko's appearance.
After passing behind an advertisement board, even Odin's body had somehow shrunk into Himeko's voluptuous figure.
Hua examined him closely and discovered that every aspect of Odin was completely identical to Himeko. Even the fine hairs on his skin looked perfectly lifelike.
Vill-V clicked her tongue in amazement. "Star Silver really is a convenient material. It's even stranger than soulium."
It'd be incredibly convenient for making figurines. Whatever wife you wanted a figurine of, it could just turn into her.
You could even use it for cosplay. Just put it on and you're ready to go.
The Star Silver in Odin's hand transformed into a cube, after which patterns normally unique to soulium surfaced across it.
"Rather than saying it resembles soulium, it would be more accurate to say that soulium technology originated from Star Silver. Why do you think MOTH has refrained from wiping us out for so long? Because the core of this technology has always remained in our hands."