Leaving behind the neon glow and clamor of the Pleasure District, Danang and Eve navigated the desolate cluster of abandoned buildings, looming like tombstones. They arrived at the structure housing Lilith’s hideout.

  “Hey, Danang, what’s Lilith like?” Eve asked.

  “About your age.”

  “Oh, so she’s over a hundred, huh?”

  Ignoring Eve’s absurd remark, Danang pushed open a cracked glass door. The faint smell of blood wafted from the corridor. Drawing his assault rifle, he pressed his back against the wall, scanning the building’s interior.

  “What’s wrong?” Eve asked.

  “…Traps have been triggered.”

  “Traps?”

  “Yeah… not just one or two—multiple traps, all at once. Eve, don’t step forward carelessly. The traps here—”

  But Eve, ignoring his warning, brushed past him as if returning home, casually glancing around.

  “There’s nothing here, Danang. You’re too paranoid. Relax a little.”

  The moment she extended her hand, her silver wings automatically unfurled, deflecting, parrying, and shooting down a barrage of Gatling bullets fired at her.

  “…” Danang stared.

  “Told you so,” he muttered. “Eve, you okay?”

  “Of course. You think a few bullets could clip my wings? More importantly, who uses a Gatling turret as a trap? Isn’t that a mid-level defense system?”

  “You never know what kind of people might show up. Step back—I’ll disable it.”

  The turret, programmed to fire until it detected no life signs, spun relentlessly, its barrels glowing red-hot, scattering empty casings into the air. The corridor filled with the acrid scent of gunsmoke and dust rising from chipped concrete.

  Donning a gas mask and goggles, Danang connected his mechanical arm to a hidden control panel in the wall. Coughing through the smoke, he entered the deactivation code, and the turret fell silent, as if nothing had happened.

  “Some security system,” Eve remarked.

  “It’s what keeps her alive.”

  “…Hmm.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing. You really care about this Lilith girl, don’t you?”

  Danang shot Eve a glance, her mischievous grin grating on him, and climbed the stairs littered with corpses, kicking aside a severed arm rolling in the corridor.

  In the undercity, the number of killers was too vast to count—nearly ninety percent of its people survived by taking lives. Children sinned to survive the day, adults to see tomorrow, all steeped in evil. No one mourned the unwillingness to kill, and no one dreamed of a world where everyone could live. They used each other as a matter of course, clawing desperately to survive. A city of iniquity, where deceit, immorality, evil, and death intertwined. In the undercity, everyone gasped under the weight of sin, denied punishment, and accepted death as universal.

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  No one wanted to die. Everyone wanted to live. And for that… they wouldn’t hesitate to kill. The bodies littering the corridor had come for Danang’s or Lilith’s life. Their deaths were no loss—refreshing, even.

  “Hey,” Eve said.

  “What?”

  “You don’t even flinch at the sight of corpses.”

  “Used to it.”

  “Even if you’re used to it, most people would gasp or wince. You’re like a machine, Danang.”

  “…”

  “If I offended you, I’m sorry. But you should show a little more emotion. Talking to you is no fun otherwise.”

  “Is that so?”

  “There you go again, shutting down the conversation with one word. Don’t you ever share more than you need to?”

  “Guess not.”

  Eve let out a deep sigh, pressing her fingers to her forehead and shaking her head.

  “Danang, were you always like this?”

  “No need to say.”

  “But what do you really think? About the state of the undercity, about yourself. Talk to me, Danang.”

  “…”

  Without answering, Danang stopped before the door to Lilith’s hideout. Following a specific sequence, he turned the knob and pushed it open.

  “Lilith, it’s me. Here to report on the job.”

  “Me? I don’t have any work buddies named ‘Me.’ Who’s this?”

  “…Danang. About that request.”

  “Alright, alright, give me a sec. Oh, one question?”

  “What? No, I didn’t buy the supplies you asked for. Sorry.”

  “That’s not it. Who’s the person behind you?”

  “Eve. She helped me out in the ruins.”

  “Gender?”

  “Your cameras broken? Probably… female. Around your age, maybe. What’s wrong? You sound off.”

  A heavy silence followed, the distant clamor of the Pleasure District echoing unnervingly.

  “Danang, switch with Eve.”

  “Explain why.”

  “I need to verify her identity and adjust the authentication settings. You alone, I’d let in no problem. But I want to minimize unnecessary risks. Got it?”

  “…Fine.”

  Danang stepped aside, positioning Eve in front of the door’s built-in microphone, then leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

  “Nice to meet you, Lilith. I’m Eve. I met Danang in the ruins—”

  “I’ll cut to the chase. Who are you?”

  “What do you—”

  “Your info doesn’t show up in the undercity’s facial recognition, biometric code, or gate management systems. Your image on the cameras is blurred, like it’s cloaked in fog. No signs of a counter-hack. You’re not from the undercity or the mid-levels. Frankly, I don’t trust you.”

  Danang’s gaze pierced Eve, his assault rifle’s muzzle quietly aimed at the base of her neck, his finger slowly tightening on the trigger.

  “Eve… Eve, IVE… I’ve heard that name somewhere. Where was it? Is that really your name? It’s awfully… symbolic.”

  Lilith’s taunting chuckle crackled through the microphone. Eve responded with a bold, defiant smile.

  “Lilith, let’s make a deal.”

  “Oh? What kind?”

  “I’ll offer you information and tech.”

  “And what’s my price?”

  “Data manipulation, analysis, and backup support for me and Danang. How’s that?”

  “Don’t get greedy. Do you even have the means to buy my skills? I don’t see any physical or digital assets on you.”

  “If you’ve got an info panel, bring it up. I’ll show you a glimpse of my worth.”

  How is this woman so calm with a gun pointed at her? Lilith thought. I’m supposed to control this conversation, but somehow I feel like I’m the one being tested. Wary and suspicious, Lilith activated the control panel embedded with an offensive firewall system—ICE.

  “Don’t try anything stupid. It’ll fry your brain.”

  “Relax. This is a deal for mutual agreement… mutual satisfaction. No beast bares its fangs from the start, right, Lilith?”

  “…Fair point. Glad you’re reasonable.”

  Eve’s silver wings brushed the panel, glowing with faint electronic light.

  Data manipulation, communication, transmission… After a deep silence, the elevator to Lilith’s room shot open with a jolt. “Come in,” her voice echoed.

  “Lilith, you sure?” Danang asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Reason?”

  “She’s valuable.”

  “Not satisfied with just me?”

  “For combat and exploration, Danang, you’re my top pick. But we need tech and support, don’t we? Eve’s the kind of asset we need. Isn’t it great to have someone reliable lending a hand?”

  “…”

  “Danang, looks like Lilith’s given the green light. Shall we go to her room?” Eve said.

  Danang, visibly displeased, sighed and stepped into the elevator with Eve.

  “Don’t pull anything weird.”

  “Obviously. I know how to pick my moments.”

  And so, they descended to the hideout.