"Sigh, forget it. If I hadn't shut him up then, my ears would still be suffering. What's done is done."
Cipher let out a weary sigh, quickly putting the matter out of her mind. After all, most of her worries were just things inside her head.
Tucking the personal terminal back into her system inventory, she stepped once more into the Mercenary Association, intending to return the item. It wasn't doing her any good anyway—just wasting a slot in her inventory.
Not that space was an issue, considering her backpack slots were technically infinite.
What she didn't expect was how fast the guy would notice it missing, despite having been gone for only a minute or two. As soon as she walked through the door, she saw the mercenary who had been peacefully mopping the floor earlier.
He was frantically patting down his clothes, muttering to himself about where his terminal could have gone.
"...Talk about bad luck," Cipher grumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes.
Slipping it back unnoticed was out of the question now. She quickly scanned the room, spotted a shadowy corner nobody was paying attention to, and darted over to leave the terminal there.
"Whether you find it or not is on you. This cat's got places to be!"
After whispering that to the distracted mercenary, Cipher slipped toward the area behind the counter. She wanted to see what was so special about this "elite-only" area they made such a fuss about.
Cracking the door behind the counter just wide enough to slip through, she slipped inside and gently closed it behind her.
"Phew..."
One breath, and Cipher's eyes lit up.
The air here was incredibly fresh—a complete world of difference from the outside!
The air in the Association's main lobby had been thick with the stinging scent of cheap alcohol and the choking stench of low-grade tobacco. Even the air outside, while slightly better, was tainted by the smell of rotting animal carcasses and piles of trash.
Simply by crossing a single doorway, Cipher felt as though she had been transported from a dumpster-fire pub straight into a pristine meadow. It was intoxicating. Her poor nose, which had been suffering for so long, finally felt alive again!
She stood there for a moment, eyes closed as she savored the clean air, before looking ahead. Beyond the door was a staircase leading upward. The quality of the wood was significantly better than the rotten, battered tables downstairs. Running her hand along the smooth solid-wood handrail, she observed the stairwell with curiosity.
"I didn't expect the Mercenary Association to have a hidden side like this. It's like two different worlds..."
At the top of the stairs lay the mission area for the so-called elites. The second-floor hall was immaculate—vastly cleaner than the first floor. Plush sofas and low tables lined the sides, delicate pastries arranged neatly atop them. At the center hung a massive LCD screen displaying various commissions.
A middle-aged man with solid, well-defined muscles sat on one of the sofas, scrolling through his personal terminal.
Cipher glanced his way.
Seeing he hadn't noticed her, she shifted her focus to the big screen.
'Clean up local gang... Eliminate cultist groups... D-rank bounty... Hunt D-rank Mutant Beasts...'
Cipher paused at the term Mutant Beast. So those exist in this world too? Why didn't Luo Lin and the others mention them before?
Although confused, she continued reading.
'Apprehend C-rank fugitive (AMA), Eliminate D-rank Mutant Beast pack, Investigate the origins of Cipher'.'
Wait—nani?
Cipher froze. She had been in this world for what—less than half a day? How did she wound up on a list already?!
"Is it because of that mercenary I beat up last night?"
It was the only explanation that fit. The sum total of her activities here could be counted on one hand.
"I really want to see the details of that request... but if I do, any normal person would realize something is wrong."
She rested her chin in her hand, contemplating the situation. To see the details, she had to click on it. However, she wasn't exactly here legally. Sneaking in was easy, but interacting with the terminal would expose her presence.
Hold on…
Then it hit her. Xiong Lei was allowed to come up here to pick missions. SShe could just have him check it for her. Or better yet, tag along next time he came up!
With that settled, she looked away from the screen. There was no rush. She wandered over to the middle-aged man and leaned in curiously to see what he was looking at on his terminal.
After just a couple of glances, she realized the truth. It was literally just the same commissions shown on the big screen!
Cipher looked at the giant LCD display with an expression of utter disbelief. If everyone could just check commissions on their terminals, what was the point of the big screen? Was it for people who couldn't afford a terminal?
She wasn't sure how many Credits a terminal cost, but considering everyone she'd met so far had one, they couldn't be that expensive. If someone was so poor they couldn't even afford a terminal, how strong could they possibly be?
Wait...
A sudden realization hit her like a lightning bolt. She was currently one of those people who couldn't afford a terminal.
'Was I just insulting myself this whole time?!'
After a brief mental debate whether that counted as self-insult, Cipher reached a firm conclusion: There was no way this cat would be stupid enough to insult herself! The bottom line was that she was just new here and broke. Once she made some money, she'd get a terminal.
Thinking of money, her eyes drifted back to the man's device. He looked like he belonged to a higher tier of power, which meant his terminal likely held a decent amount of Credits. At the very least, he wouldn't have a negative balance like that mopper downstairs.
If he was a bad guy, she'd swipe some Credits as initial funding. If he was a really bad guy, well, then business was officially open!
A familiar itch stirred in her fingers. It had been over half a day since her last transaction. Her wallet was practically crying.
She focused all her attention on the man, waiting for the split second he would put the device away. That would be her moment to strike.
Finally, after about five minutes of waiting, the man moved to put the terminal back. Cipher tensed, ready to move.
"Brother Tan? What a rare guest! What brings you to my place tonight? I didn't even have time to prepare a proper welcome."
Just as he was about to put it away, a voice rang out from behind the LCD screen. Both Cipher and the middle-aged man froze, turning their heads simultaneously toward the source of the voice.