The lower commercial district was drenched in a kaleidoscope of neon rain. A virtual beauty, broadcasting a stream of fabricated news, danced madly between the neon glow and the darkness of the night, casting a bewitching smile toward the laborers below to lead them astray.

  "To wit: Today is a clear day," she announced. "The stock index has been forced into a downward correction by the hand of the *List of the Dead*. A minor skirmish in the Pleasure District has caused significant damage to the sex industry controlled by the Crucible of Carnal Desire. Furthermore, due to a malfunction in the Residential District’s gate mechanism, the elevator leading to the Ruins is now a one-way ticket to hell. Ruins excavators and laborers, please have a wonderful day."

  The virtual beauty read the news and streamed the ads. Unlicensed dental surgery, machine-mad doctors making a living installing illegal prosthetics... advertisements for the Mechanical Cult. After projecting the weather forecast for the lower city—sky obscured by steel plates—into the corner of the spatial display and flooding the entire commercial district with lies, the beauty blew a kiss and vanished, dissolving into the neon light.

  In the Commercial District, if there is no day, there is also no night. The only thing that exists here is time carved by long and short hands. This district, colored by neon twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year, could well be likened to a sea of electrons.

  Electronic LAN cables connected to every building, internet lines crawling through the earth, countless surveillance cameras serving as the eyes of the *List of the Dead*, worker codes engraved to receive wages... Everyone living in this district utilizes the infrastructure maintained by the *List of the Dead*, immersing themselves in an invisible ocean. Even without fins to swim the electronic sea, even without gills to extract the oxygen known as 'credits,' one can still become flotsam drifting in the ripples. Small fish that have forgotten how to swim, swaying left and right, surrendering their bodies to the economic currents. That is what they are: the laborers living in the lower commercial district... drowning in the sea of electrons.

  ***

  Two girls were making their way through this commercial district, adorned by its invisible, beautiful dead sea.

  Lilus, her hands thrust deep into the pockets of her white coat, the light of her HHPC illuminating her face. And Eve, brushing back her shimmering silver hair with one hand, beautiful silver wings pressed tight against her body. While almost every laborer walking the street was stained with oil, their bodies blackened with grime, these two were clean beyond measure... so pristine they seemed to have manifested from an entirely different dimension.

  "Lilus, where is the meeting place with Tefila?"

  "Just a little further. She won't run away, Eve. No need to rush."

  Lilus shrugged, laughing lightly. Eve, ignoring her remark, gazed at the streets, her eyes following the text scrolling across the electronic billboards installed everywhere.

  *Organ Deficit Insurance, Limb Amputation Warranty, Mechanical Prosthetic Repair Insurance...* Occasionally interspersed with the darkly humorous ads of mass-market stores. She knew that dumplings made of human meat were being produced, but discount coupons for deep-fried winged insects and whole-roasted cockroaches were a grotesquerie she could barely stand to look at.

  They sold whatever could be sold; anything was available if you could pay the price. Remembering the shop located deep in the back alleys of the commercial district, beyond the dim darkness lit by a lonely naked bulb, Eve knew the advertisements crossing the electronic billboards were no lie, and she heaved a deep sigh.

  "What’s wrong? You look thoroughly appalled."

  "...I just thought that nowhere ever changes. Not the Pleasure District, not here."

  "Is that so? I prefer the Commercial District."

  "Oh? Do tell me why."

  "Because there are no annoying touts or creeps trying to target my body. Eve, you know it too, don't you? How terrible the Pleasure District is."

  Of course, she knew. The sweet, rotting stench that enveloped the entire district, the abnormality of boys and girls being bought and sold as merchandise, the reality of physically modified prostitutes selling their bodies for narcotics... she had seen it with her own eyes. Perhaps that was why she found herself inwardly nodding at Lilus's words.

  Compared to that, the Commercial District seemed to have a vague order constructed within it. Laborers walking with regulated steps and spatial projection clocks announcing the time. Everyone stared ahead with hollow eyes, an indescribable dissonance where even if someone collapsed from overwork, the others kept walking. Although she was somewhat surprised by the inhumanity—no one stopped to help a laborer sent flying in a spray of blood by a runaway car—it was still better than other districts where gunshots rang out constantly.

  "..."

  The smell of machine exhaust heat and laborer's sweat tickled her nose.

  "...What about Danan?"

  "Hmm?"

  "He's diving into the Ruins right now, isn't he? Taking Stella with him."

  "That’s right. If things are going smoothly, he should be there by now."

  "I wonder if that girl is alright."

  The horn of a runaway vehicle blared. Of the laborers walking across the faded white lines of the crosswalk, about ten were sent flying.

  "Probably fine, don't you think?"

  "Is there any guarantee?"

  "Danan wouldn't kill without meaning."

  "..."

  She wanted to believe that, but neither Eve nor Lilus knew what action Danan might take. Would he kindle his murderous intent and sever Stella's head, or would his mind be tormented by madness as he wielded his blade...?

  "...Just speaking hypothetically. I wanted to hear your take."

  "I see. So even you get anxious sometimes."

  "I am human, you know. Even if I am older than you."

  "I wasn't talking about age, Eve."

  "It's called communication. Don't take it so seriously, Lilus."

  Giggling with a teasing smile, Eve swept her silver wings to the side, obliterating the runaway car that had barreled toward them, reducing it to scrap. She narrowed her eyes, gazing at the sea of electrons.

  This neon was not merely lighting up the space. Information invisible to the naked eye flowed upon the electrons coloring the neon, constructing a communication network separate from the internet across the entire commercial district.

  An Aquarium... yes, that was the easiest analogy. A small-scale, artificially created ecosystem. The Commercial District itself was one aquarium, and the laborers were the entities surrendering themselves to the currents of economic activity. They offered up their time in exchange for the credits that served as air, while the *List of the Dead*, managing the aquarium, observed the district.

  Why was the infrastructure here so perfect compared to other districts? The answer was simple: to increase the efficiency and rationality of management. They grasped the state of the district through developed internet lines, and if a situation arose that threatened to destroy this perfectly adjusted aquarium, surveillance cameras were placed to ensure a swift response.

  Management, observation, adjustment, disposal... The Commercial District, maintaining a temporary order while leaving behind empty humanity, was an aquarium that had taken the information society to its extreme. There was no human warmth there; only a mechanical, chilled air that could be thought of as the bubbles filling the tank.

  Eve’s iridescent eyes tracked a connection line invisible to the naked eye, watching a girl swimming in the electrons. Dancing through the air like a bird in flight, the girl landed on the ground and parted the waves of laborers.

  "Good evening, stranger."

  With a dignified voice audible only to Eve, she offered a faint smile.

  "Stranger... indeed. In this city, I am nothing but a stranger. Who... are you?"

  "I believe I sent work details to your partner, but do you require an introduction?"

  "Hey, Eve, what's wrong all of a sudden? Is someone there in front of us?"

  "By 'someone'... ah, I see."

  The girl whose smile never faded, and Lilus wearing a confused expression.

  *Electric Signal Simulacrum.* The girl standing before Eve was likely a fictional existence reacting only to her iridescent eyes. Because she was formed of electrons, she could not be seen with the naked eye, nor could she be touched.

  "Lilus, do your glasses have an information analysis function?"

  "If I connect them to the HHPC, yes."

  "Then you'd better use it. This job..."

  *Certainly, it's impossible for anyone but you and me.* Eve crossed her arms and spread her silver wings, staring at the girl wafting in the air... Tefila.

  ***

  Lilus plugged the connect-cable into the HHPC’s socket and deployed the information analysis function on her eyeglass lenses, reflecting the visualized sea of electrons in her eyes.

  The web of internet lines flying across the Commercial District, radio waves emitted by infrastructure, particles of electrons flowing from information terminals... Wrapped in neon, the Commercial District revealed the aspect of a dazzling aquarium, showing her the city's other face through illusions born of human hands.

  *Advanced Information Society*... the words crossed Lilus's mind. An information society developed to a degree incomparable to the Pleasure or Residential Districts—a world of virtual augmentation existing between reality and unreality. This world, which only those versed in information technology were permitted to see, was a sea of electrons possessing both beauty and pity.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Hello. You must be Lilus. Nice to meet you, I am Tefila. My brother was indebted to you previously."

  "..."

  Floating freely in the electronic world, Tefila cast a giggling, amused smile at Lilus.

  Invisible to the naked eye, an existence visible only through lenses with activated analysis functions... an Electric Signal Simulacrum. Someone who separates body and spirit via the net environment, living only within lines and information. A relic of the past; technically possible, but abandoned due to the need to address mental load issues and the high cost of equipment to preserve the physical body.

  "What is the matter? You have a look on your face like you’ve seen something impossible... Is an Electric Signal Simulacrum that rare? Miss Lilus."

  "Rare doesn't begin to cover it. How long have you been watching us?"

  "Since you arrived in the district."

  "I see. Then that makes things fast. Talk about the job."

  Ignoring Tefila, who looked visibly dissatisfied that her surprise was met with such a dry reaction, Lilus cast a glance at Eve.

  "Eve."

  "What?"

  "Did you know?"

  "Know what?"

  "That we were being watched."

  "I felt a gaze, but I couldn't catch a distinct presence. Satisfied?"

  "I suppose we'll leave it at that for now."

  "I hate it when you doubt me, Lilus. We're partners, aren't we?"

  "Yes, partners. That's right, Eve, we are partners. So..."

  *While I wasn't noticing... if Tefila tries to pull anything funny, tell me immediately.* Lilus stared at the girl swaying left and right like a ghost, tapped Eve on the shoulder, and took a step forward.

  "Ah, wait a moment, yes, just a little."

  "Time is finite, Tefila. We aren't free either."

  The girl's body blurred as if mosaicked, her existence thinning. Her expression, previously composed, turned to one of anguish as Tefila pointed to a building facing the main street.

  "Head to the *Coffin*. I can talk there..."

  Saying only that, she wrapped her arms around Eve's shoulders and closed her eyes.

  "...What do we do? Lilus."

  "...We can't get the details with the client in this state. Let's go to the Coffin for now."

  ***

  Following Tefila's instructions, the two parted the waves of laborers and stood at the entrance of the "Coffin." What met their eyes was a cheap lodging house with an ostentatious signboard shaped like a casket leaning against it. One thousand credits an hour, including internet access, terminal usage, and an electronic-lock sleep capsule. Lilus paid the maximum daily rate of ten thousand credits for two people to the reception machine—a bargain price compared to other places—and climbed the dark stairs to the private room space on the second floor.

  If the first floor was single-occupancy capsules, the rooms lining the second floor were private spaces for two to three people. There was no discount, and the terminals and sleep capsules were still for one person. Why pay the same rate to use a private space that felt overpriced? There was only one reason: so you could entrust your physical security to someone who wasn't sleeping.

  Even in a Coffin in the Commercial District, where public safety was relatively better and the scent of death was fainter than in other districts, the safety of a private room was not guaranteed. There were those who would break electronic locks, and naturally, those who would kill sleepers to loot their valuables. The people staying in the first-floor capsules were laborers living day-to-day with no home to return to; those who rented a room on the second floor were people who hired guards.

  Lilus input the unlock code displayed on the reception machine into the electronic lock terminal and entered the room with Eve. It was a space with a black mattress spread out on about four and a half tatami mats. Lilus turned on the single sleep capsule and the information terminal, sat down on a cushion, plugged her HHPC charging cable into the power strip, and confirmed the green light had turned on.

  The first tasks in a Coffin were checking for backdoor programs and rebuilding security. Connecting her HHPC to the information terminal and activating her ICE, Lilus subjected every computer program within the terminal to quarantine.

  One second, two seconds, three seconds... over ten thousand viruses and hack programs were detected. The ICE repelled every program trying to eat into the HHPC, and her software conversely took control of the information terminal.

  "Done? Lilus."

  "Yes, it should be safe now."

  "Still..."

  "What? If you have something to say, say it clearly."

  "It's awfully cheap-looking. I expected more solid facilities."

  "Don't be unreasonable, Eve. It's a Coffin, after all... a category of cheap lodging. Comparing it to the hotels near the gate is insulting."

  "Is that so... Hey, Tefila? How long do you intend to sleep on my shoulder? We've arrived at the Coffin, so wake up."

  Tefila's eyelids snapped open. She yawned and rubbed her eyes with her fingertips. The question of whether an Electric Signal Simulacrum could feel sleepiness drifted between the two of them via their gazes.

  "About the request."

  "..."

  "Tefila? Are you listening?"

  Tefila, motionless with her eyes open, vanished into layers of mosaic. Then, appearing on the LCD monitor of Lilus's HHPC connected to the terminal, she smiled and combed her white hair with her hand. "It's quite comfortable. You seem to have a wonderful terminal."

  "...Anything goes with this girl, huh."

  "That's just how Electric Signal Simulacra are, Lilus. But this girl is certainly abnormal. Usually, the ICE would bounce them and fry their brain, or their ego would collapse."

  "Please don't call me abnormal, Eve. I am restricted in reality, so I want to be free in the virtual. Don't you agree?"

  "Who knows? You and I just met today; we aren't exactly close, are we? Don't mistake me for a life counselor."

  "Don't be so cold. Is Mr. Danan doing well? Is he not on this request? After what happened..."

  "Danan is irrelevant, isn't he? And what do you mean by 'after what happened'—"

  "Never mind Danan. Is your brother... Metieria doing well? Tefila."

  A silence as if the air had frozen. An illusion where only the exhaust heat sound of the terminal could be heard. Within the HHPC, Tefila, who had opened her eyes wide and pressed her lips into a thin line, pursed them as if to check Lilus's words. "Miss Lilus, bringing up my brother's name in the Commercial District... is not admirable."

  "Then the talk of Danan is over too, Tefila. He isn't participating in this job; he's processing a separate request. Let's be good business partners, shall we? Tefila."

  "..."

  *A difficult woman...* Spitting the poison in her heart, the girl sighed deeply, shrugged, and operated the monitor on the desk.

  "Very well. Good business partners... let us remain in such a relationship. Now, let's move to the discussion of the request. Agreed?"

  "Feel free."

  "Summarizing the main points would be helpful."

  "..."

  Sighing deeply, Tefila displayed information on the monitor, put on a pair of glasses in the virtual space, and retrieved a document.

  ***

  "This request has two parts: the destruction of existing servers and the complete erasure of extant information records. The *List of the Dead* has already completed the construction of relocation servers and, after distributing various information records, is transitioning to the next stage of the organizational plan."

  "I know. I know the request, I know where the target goods are, and I know what the *List of the Dead* wants us to do. Tefila, I'm the one who said let's talk business, but that isn't the part I want to drill down on."

  Lilus tapped the chrome-plated table with her fingertips. A dangerous smile played on her lips as her slit eyes pierced Tefila on the monitor.

  "The reward, the compensation, must be commensurate with the risk we are shouldering. Don't you think?"

  "I believed that matter was already agreed upon? Miss Lilus."

  "No, Tefila... you kept blurring the lines in the emails. Well, I suppose this counts as work talk too? What do you think, Eve?"

  Suddenly addressed, Eve didn't show it on her face, but she was inwardly surprised, her fingertips twitching slightly.

  She wasn't good at negotiations. Lying and deception weren't her specialty. A bloodless slaughter where you probed the opponent's gut and stabbed their weak points with knives of words... Nodding back at Lilus's gaze, Eve leaned her back against the wall of the private room, crossing her arms to suppress her agitation, wearing a vague smile.

  "...Negotiating with the *List of the Dead*? I question your sanity, Miss Lilus."

  "I believe business always begins with negotiation, don't you? Ah, regarding the work, I'll listen to your side, and I intend to concede as much as possible. But... regarding the reward, you will swallow our conditions. Alright? Tefila."

  "I shall do my best, Miss Lilus."

  *Liar.* Both of them were surely hiding knives in their bellies, flashing the blades occasionally, plotting to slit the other's throat. Plastering smiles on their faces, gripping knives hidden under the cloth of words... she was far from a young girl. She reminded Eve of an old, cunning vixen.

  "First."

  "Let's talk about the reward."

  "Go ahead."

  "One: The *List of the Dead* will give us a residential apartment near the gate. Two: You will lend me and Eve the illegal servers and private network managed by the *List of the Dead*. Three: We will continue to get along as business partners... How about it? Can you swallow that?"

  "The third point is attractive to us as well, but the first two offer no benefit to the *List of the Dead*, even subtracting from the content of this request. Miss Lilus, I am very sorry, but I must refuse."

  "Oh, and I thought they were such attractive conditions. Truly a shame, Tefila."

  *The shame is yours,* Tefila smiled thinly. Responding in kind, Lilus also smiled and yanked the HHPC connect-cable out of the information terminal.

  "Is the negotiation over? Miss Lilus."

  "If you have no intention of complying, there's no point, is there?"

  "It's a pity. I thought we could have more fun."

  "Fun or not... I'm saying I have no use for someone who falsifies the client's identity and cannot pay the price for the work."

  Lilus dusted off the cushion, wiped the dust from her lenses with a cloth, and glared at Tefila.

  "I don't know what you mean."

  "Feigning ignorance is useless. The organization called the *List of the Dead* is supposed to be a gathering of secrecy obsessives. They don't give their names, they don't give out more information than necessary, so why did *you* alone give a personal name like Tefila? Indeed... your brother would have handled things more skillfully, without leaving openings for me to pry. Therefore..."

  *This is a waste of time, Tefila.* Lilus waved her hand and reached for the doorknob, but Eve grabbed her arm.

  "What is it? Eve. We have no more business here."

  "Lilus, do you know about winged insects?"

  "You mean like fruit flies? What is it all of a sudden... do you have business with Tefila?"

  "I'll say just one thing."

  "Hmm?"

  "Get down and get away from the door."

  In that instant, the door exploded into splinters. The mechanical parts of the electronic lock were blown to smithereens, and beyond the rising white smoke stood a black hulk. Emitting heavy drive sounds, its artificial muscles—reminiscent of steel pipes—creaking, the hulk reflected Eve and Lilus in its single crimson eye and loaded a new charge into the ammunition-type pile bunker attached to its right arm.

  "Targets acquired... two unidentified females. Requesting instructions, Boss."

  A muffled voice leaked from the multi-purpose armor covering its head, and the single eye fixed on Tefila.

  "Yes, yes, yes... Understood, Boss."

  *Whirrrrr*—the barrel of the chain machine gun hanging from its left arm spun, gradually gathering heat before unleashing a torrent of bullets like hellfire. Each shot was a lethal round capable of piercing bulletproof glass in a single hit, turning the room into a literal beehive in an instant, reducing the sleep capsule and information terminal to twisted scrap.

  The Black Iron Raider... the assailant clad in a powered exoskeleton stepped into the black smoke, placing a hand on the neck of the sparking information terminal to insert a connect-cable. Even with the terminal destroyed, if he could recover Tefila... the sister of the *List of the Dead* leader Metieria... all problems would be resolved. With this girl's ability, everything would go well.

  The moment the connect-cable was about to be inserted into the socket, a silver flash severed the exoskeleton's right arm in a single stroke.

  "Lilus, are you okay?"

  "...Can I say one thing? Eve."

  Black artificial blood flowed from the severed surface, along with steel muscle fibers twisting like living things. The raider, eyes wide at the unexpected counterattack, felt an indescribable terror fanned by the iridescent eyes of Eve, who flapped her silver wings.

  "Unlike you or Danan, I'm bad at rough stuff. See? Look at my hands shaking. Don't you think it's pitiful?"

  "I don't think it's pitiful, but I think it can't be helped. Lilus, is Tefila safe?"

  A human who could survive taking chain machine gun rounds head-on was either someone clad in a powered exoskeleton like himself or a fully mechanized monster. But the girl wielding the silver wings looked like flesh and blood from every angle, with not a single trace of enhancement surgery or mechanization.

  "Safe... by a hair's breadth. No, I have no idea how you'd kill an Electric Signal Simulacrum on the spot anyway, but it's not as serious a situation as you think."

  "I see, then that's good. Changing the subject, Lilus, what do you think should be done with a human who points a gun at a girl?"

  "A foolish question, Eve. Half-dead... no, dead for sure."

  "What a coincidence. I share the same opinion, Lilus."

  In a split second—*thwump*—the raider's vision fell to the ground, pierced through the head armor and all by a silver wing. The raider died without even recognizing the fact that he had been cut, disassembled into pieces along with his exoskeleton by Eve, reduced to nothing more than scrap iron.

  "So, what now? Lilus."

  "..."

  "Personally, I'm fine just eliminating this trash and ensuring your safety... but that's not the case for you, is it? You have something else... something in mind, don't you? Speak up. We're partners. Right... Lilus?"

  Lilus wiped the foggy glass window of the Coffin with her hand, looked down at the group of powered exoskeletons gathering in the street, and quietly asked the HHPC: "Tefila, could you speak honestly? I know it seems foolish in the lower city... but trust is the first priority in business."

  "..."

  "I'll at least listen. I'm making a significant concession here, you know? So..."

  "The Shivering God."

  "..."

  "My brother is being used by them. This request... the true content of the request is the destruction of the secret servers of the cult of the *Shivering God*... to erase the name of the *List of the Dead* from their transaction ledgers. Can you do it? Both of you."

  The girl finally opened her heavy mouth.