Night had fallen.
Suddenly, a pair of pupils as blue as brilliant sapphires shimmered open in the darkness.
"I can't sleep. No matter what I do, I just can't sleep!"
Cipher sat up irritably. For some reason, she didn't feel the slightest bit drowsy. On the contrary, she felt a lingering buzz of excitement. After staring blankly at the ceiling for a while and letting her mind go empty, she tossed the covers aside and stood up.
"Since sleep is out of the question, I might as well head out. This is the perfect chance to scout the area."
Muttering to herself, Cipher pulled on her clothes and boots. In no time at all, she was fully geared up.
"Let's go!"
She tidied her hair, pulled her hood low over her ears, and prepared to leave. But just as her hand touched the doorknob, she paused and drew back.
"Wait, if I remember correctly, Cipher's Secret Technique is invisibility, right? Might as well test it out now."
With a quick thought, a soft purple glow began to coat her body.
"Ehhh... did it work? This feels a bit sketchy."
To be honest, seeing herself shrouded in a purple glow didn't exactly scream "stealth." If anything, she felt more conspicuous.
'Eh, whatever. I've already mastered Chrono Surge; there's no way I'd mess up a simple invisibility trick. Good enough.'
Cipher didn't dwell on it. She eased her door open and slipped out.
The living room was pitch black, and the only sound from the other rooms was the steady rhythm of snoring. After confirming everyone was deep in sleep, she opened the front door and approached the crawlspace.
★ ★ ★
At the entrance of the underground parking lot ruins.
"Made it!"
A muffled girl's voice drifted through the rubble. A steel plate resting quietly against the debris was shoved aside, revealing an opening.
Out popped a girl with catlike ears—Cipher herself.
"Freedom at last!"
She stood up and stretched with a satisfied sigh, then she turned around to slide the steel plate back over the hole, hiding the entrance once more. Turning toward the city, she looked out at the ink-black sky and fell into thought.
So... where to now?
After a quick mental replay of the day's events, she decided on her destination. Naturally, she had to check out the Mercenary Association—she still remembered the way, after all!
With her Secret Technique active, Cipher doubted anyone could spot her. She began to wonder if she could pull off those "wall-running" stunts she'd seen in movies and anime.
She tapped a toe against the ground and launched herself upward without a sound, landing lightly atop the opening's rim. Looking out over the uneven cityscape of various heights, the urge to move grew stronger.
"I have all this power now. It's pathetic to hesitate over something this small! Since when did I become so indecisive?"
Her eyes sharpened with resolve. She scanned the buildings ahead, and a mental map naturally formed in her mind, plotting an optimal route.
Target locked.
Cipher took a light step and landed on the first balcony. Then came a series of rapid leaps—she landed on eaves, skimmed over rooftops, and caught the edges of structures to stabilize herself before kicking off the walls to soar again.
As she bounded through the air, wind whirred past her ears, buoying her weightless form; a sense of weightlessness filled her.
However, while her dynamic vision was maxed out, this was her first time doing this. The world blurring past was almost too much for her brain to process. Cipher simply closed her eyes, letting her hearing and physical instincts take the wheel.
In that moment, she felt like a bird that had finally broken its chains. The wind was her wings; the sound was her eyes. She was flying, free and untethered, through the sky.
A short while later, she skidded to a halt on the roof of a specific building.
"Mnn~"
She stretched again and slowly opened her eyes. Looking at the large sign that read "Mercenary Association," she nodded in satisfaction.
"That was fast. A ten-minute walk only took me about a minute."
She hopped down from the roof. Seeing that the place was still open for business, she slipped inside. Of course, her Secret Technique remained active.
Inside, the familiar, pungent scent of alcohol hung in the air. Cipher wrinkled her nose but didn't retreat. She had returned her mask to Lin Wei after her earlier confrontation, so she just had to endure the smell.
"Hm? That mercenary is actually still here?"
Speak of the devil. There, in a corner, was the mercenary she'd beaten earlier. His face was a mosaic of bruises and swelling, and he was currently mopping the floor.
"Couldn't pay the damages, so he's forced to work it off?"
Amused, Cipher drifted toward him. Once she was right beside him and confirmed he couldn't see her, she began rummaging through his pockets. Soon, her fingers brushed against a cold object.
'Heh, this should be it. System Inventory—Collect!'
The moment the item vanished from her hand, she knew she'd succeeded. She slipped out of the Association and headed back into the night. Once outside, she opened her System Inventory and found a device that looked like a smartphone.
[NPC_1's Personal Terminal] (White Grade Item)
A former member of the Wolf Fang Squad. Due to some... major trouble, he has incurred a massive debt. He has been kicked out of the squad and is currently working hard to pay it back.
Credit Points: -527
"Credit Points... negative 527?"
The item description had shifted to show his financial status directly. Cipher tapped her chin thoughtfully.
'So the System can directly read the finances on a terminal? That's convenient. Saves me the trouble of hacking into his balance.'
She gave the system an imaginary thumbs-up, then reread the description.
Putting two and two together—she'd wrecked him in a fight, the damages were his responsibility, he couldn't pay, so the management likely tried to hold his squad accountable. But the Wolf Fang Squad wasn't stupid—seeing the trouble he'd caused, they cut ties immediately and kicked him out.
Left with no backup, that left the mercenary with two options: high-interest loans or working off the debt.
He'd clearly landed on the latter. Or maybe he just couldn't get a loan.
"Either way, does this mean I'm going to run into this unlucky guy every time I come here?"
Cipher leaned back instinctively, her eyes filled with mock disgust. This guy must absolutely loathe her now. After all, she had effectively ruined his life.
Every time she stopped by in the guild, would he glare at her with contempt? Would he plot her demise, or maybe join some dark cult and mortgage his soul just for a shot at taking her down?
She wasn't afraid, not even close.
But the thought of being stalked every time she came to turn in a quest along with the Ember Squad made her skin crawl.