1. Rent, the Eternal Villain
Metrosonic City, 9:02 AM.
Raon sat at the kitchen table, staring at a single envelope like it was her mortal enemy.
The envelope stared back.
Shion entered, sipping tea.
> "You've been looking at that for fifteen minutes."
Raon muttered, "It's mocking me."
"It's a bill."
"It's a threat."
In big red letters:
RENT DUE: THREE DAYS AGO.
Raon groaned, slamming her forehead onto the table.
> "I saved the city, beat a digital god, restored the sound of the universe—and this is how I get treated?"
Shion shrugged.
"The landlord doesn't take hero points."
"Then he's clearly the villain."
---
2. Hero Work Doesn't Pay (Apparently)
Shion opened her tablet. "You technically have money in your Bureau account."
Raon's eyes lit up. "Finally!"
Shion continued, "It's 42 MetroCredits."
Raon's smile died. "…How much is that in rent?"
> "0.03%."
Raon slumped to the floor.
> "So the more I save the city, the poorer I get."
Shion: "Yes. You're too efficient. The Bureau only pays per incident."
Raon stared at her hands dramatically.
> "My power… is destroying my financial future."
---
3. The Landlord Strikes Back
A loud KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
The door rattled like an earthquake.
Shion blinked. "He's early."
Raon whispered, "Don't move. Maybe he'll go away."
> "He saw you through the window."
"…Damn."
The door opened with a squeak.
Standing there was Mr. Klang, the world's most terrifying landlord — built like a vending machine, wearing a tank top that said 'PAY UP OR PACK UP.'
He crossed his arms. "Morning, Raon."
Raon smiled nervously. "Haha, funny seeing you, Mr. Klang! Did you know the moon tried to delete bass last week?"
"Did the moon pay rent?"
"…No?"
"Then I don't care."
---
4. Raon's Get-Rich-Quick Plan #47
After Klang left (with a death threat politely disguised as a "reminder notice"), Raon turned to Shion with newfound determination.
> "We need money. Fast."
Shion raised an eyebrow. "You're not doing another 'Kickstarter,' are you?"
"That was one time! And technically, I did kick stars."
Shion sighed. "Just don't—"
Too late. Raon was already typing.
Minutes later, a new ad went live across Metrosonic:
> "Hire ONE KICK GIRL for freelance demolitions, monster removal, or light furniture assembly!"
Rates negotiable. Satisfaction not guaranteed.
---
5. The Job Offer
Ten minutes later, Raon got her first reply.
Sender: DJ Bloop
Subject: URGENT GIG
Message: "Need someone to clear stage interference for my new club launch. Pays 5000 Credits. Loud job."
Raon grinned.
> "Shion, pack your tools. We're going clubbing."
Shion blinked. "For work, right?"
"…Probably."
---
6. The Club "Resonantia"
That night, neon lights blazed as Raon and Shion arrived at Club Resonantia — a massive underground dome pulsing with electronic energy.
DJ Bloop, the blue slime in a visor, waved them over.
> "Yo! Glad you came! But uh… we got a sound ghost problem."
Raon tilted her head. "A what now?"
"Every time I drop a beat, something screams back through the speakers."
Shion frowned, scanning. "That's not feedback. That's… an Echo fragment."
The lights flickered. The speakers howled with static.
A voice oozed through the noise — distorted, feminine, mechanical.
> "SYNTHRA BYTE… NOT FOUND… SEARCHING ALTERNATIVE HOST…"
Raon's smirk vanished.
> "You've got to be kidding me. Even the rent filler episode isn't safe?"
---
7. The Remix Fight
The sound ghost erupted from the main subwoofer — a swirling mass of waveforms shaped like a woman made of strobing bass light.
Patrons screamed.
DJ Bloop dove behind the console.
Raon cracked her neck.
> "All right. One kick… plus a cover charge."
She launched forward — her foot cutting through neon and noise. The kick detonated midair, blowing the apparition apart into shards of rhythm.
For a second, it was over.
Then the fragments reformed — faster, sharper, layered with overlapping voices.
> "ECHO… V3… INITIATING REMIX MODE."
Shion's screen lit up red.
> "It's evolving again! Every sound-based system in the city amplifies it!"
Raon scowled. "Guess I'll just have to go louder."
She charged another kick — the air rippling around her leg. The club floor cracked.
> "RAON, WAIT! YOU'LL—"
BOOM.
The club exploded in a brilliant flash of synchronized light.
---
8. Aftermath
Hours later.
A smoking crater where the club once stood.
DJ Bloop sat in the rubble, trembling.
> "That… was… awesome."
Raon dusted herself off. "So, about that 5000 Credits?"
Bloop blinked. "Uh… technically the club's gone, so… no venue, no payment."
Raon's expression went blank.
Shion patted her shoulder gently.
> "We're still broke."
Raon sighed. "Next time I'm just kicking the landlord."
---
9. Post-Credit Tease
In the wreckage, a tiny speaker buzzed faintly.
> "SYNTHRA BYTE DETECTED."
"REBOOTING…"
A holographic pulse spread through the debris, forming a single glowing logo:
ECHO PRIME v3.0 — THE REMIX ERA
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[End of Chapter 18 — "Raon vs. Rent: The Remix"]