"I think... this chip is the reason."
Lucia pulled the terminal back to her chest, clutching it tight as she continued in a voice thick with tears.
"An engineer I’ve known for years introduced it to me. He said that by building a new system, we could fundamentally rewrite the faulty parts of her code. He even said that if it worked, we might be able to apply organic parts... I never imagined it would end like this."
Fresh tears welled in the corners of her eyes, blurring the light reflecting off her trembling lashes.
I snorted and rested my chin on my hand.
From the sound of it, it’s an Erosion-Type Virus.
It was the kind that slowly ate away at the body from the extremities, systematically stripping away functions. Normally, if you excised the infected area and replaced it with a prosthetic, the progression would stop. But in very rare cases, it didn't. Her sister must have been one of those unlucky few.
"So—what happened to this engineer?" I asked, my voice dropping low. Nine times out of ten, the middleman was the one to blame.
"Yes... my father took him away immediately for questioning. But apparently, he claimed the chip was supplied to him by another corporation."
"Took him away," huh?
I muttered the words under my breath. If the guy was still alive, I might be able to squeeze some information out of him, but if he was already at the bottom of the harbor in the belly of a fish, that was the end of that lead.
"And which corporation was that?"
"Vira Corp. The general trading conglomerate. I heard they recently acquired a few medical tech firms... I suspect it originated from one of them."
"Vira, huh?"
I let out a sharp breath. A mega-corp. That was a name that screamed "trouble" just by mentioning it. Poking that nest was going to be a massive headache.
Well, finding the culprit could be shelved for now. The immediate issue was the request: fix the sister.
Given the woman's appearance, she was clearly from the Upper District. This was bound to be a messy case. But the matter of the chip was nagging at me. If the hardware I’d delivered to Cordeaux was the same as the one this woman was describing, then I was already involved whether I liked it or not.
Whatever. It’s not like I’ve got any other big scores lined up.
My mind was made up.
"I’ve got the gist of it."
I leaned back into my chair and stared straight into her eyes.
"I'll take the job. But first, we need to negotiate the terms."
Lucia’s face brightened instantly, her silver hair swaying with the sudden movement.
"T-Thank you! Thank you so much!"
"Don't thank me yet. If the conditions don't match, the deal's off. Furthermore, I take no responsibility if the repair fails. Are we clear on that?"
The moment the words left my mouth, I felt a dry smile tugging at my lips. In this city, a written contract was worth about as much as scrap paper. If I failed a job for people like her, "appropriate consequences" would surely follow. But I’d cross that bridge when I burned it. If they sent cleaners after me, I’d just have to knock them flat.
Lucia’s voice trembled, but her answer was firm.
"Yes... Everyone else I asked told me it was impossible. So please, I'm begging you. Save my sister... Save Cecily."
She bowed her head deeply. Her shoulders shook with small tremors, and I heard the faint pat-pat of tears hitting the floor.
"First—the reward."
I picked up a water bottle, took a sip to wet my throat, and continued.
"For high-risk jobs like this, I require an advance. No exceptions. What’s the total offer?"
Lucia looked down for a moment, then raised her head. A strange, fierce determination had taken root in her eyes.
"I will give you every share I own in the corporations managed by my family."
Her voice didn't waver. I found myself raising an eyebrow at the sheer weight of that confession.
Wait. Come to think of it, I hadn't even gotten her name yet.
"By the way—who exactly are you?"
She looked stunned for a second, as if she'd forgotten she hadn't introduced herself, then she hurriedly straightened her posture.
"O-Oh! How terribly rude of me! I... I apologize for the delay. My name is Lucia Rainburg. I don't know if you're familiar with Rainburg Corp... it is my father’s company."
Rainburg.
The name set off alarm bells in my head. Food, logistics, transportation—they controlled the infrastructure of the land, sea, and air. They were a titan of a corporation with massive influence even among the elites of the Upper District.
I pulled out my terminal and did a quick search.
The results popped up instantly. Lucia Rainburg—the CEO's second daughter. She was active in the company's management and had been appointed as an executive director at the age of twenty-four. An attached photo showed the woman sitting in front of me, smiling and waving at some high-society ceremony in the Upper District.
I see. I’d considered the possibility of a body-double or some kind of prosthetic fraud, but there was little reason for someone to go through that much trouble to trick a guy like me.
I closed the screen and locked eyes with her.
"The real deal, huh? What’s a big shot like you doing in a place like this all by herself?"
"I-I’m sorry... I heard rumors about your skills, and I just couldn't sit still any longer..."
The Speech Bubble floating above her head began to wobble.
<Aaaah... that’s right, I came here without even bringing a bodyguard...! Oh no, what is Father going to say to me...!>
Yep. She was the real thing.
Still, it was surprisingly reckless of her. Usually, someone of her status would have at least two reinforced guards shadowing her. Or perhaps they’d all been diverted to watch over her sister. Regardless, their family drama wasn't my concern.
"I see. A bit of a headstrong girl, then," I remarked sarcastically, crossing my arms. "So, about those shares... what are we talking about in numbers?"
Even one percent of Rainburg Corp stock was enough to live like a king in the Upper District for three lifetimes.
"Yes. My personal holdings amount to five percent of the total shares. I will transfer all of them to you. Additionally, for the advance, I can transfer one million Credo to your account immediately."
I couldn't help it; a low whistle escaped my lips. You could build a mansion on the advance alone. It was the kind of money that made you want to laugh.
"Next question. What’s the deadline?"
I already knew the answer, but I had to hear her say it.
"...Ideally, right now. If it were up to me, I’d ask you to come with me this very second."
Lucia stared at me with pleading eyes, making no effort to hide her desperation.
Figures.
Her sister’s life was likely hanging by a thread. The areas being suppressed by her cybernetics had probably reached their breaking point, allowing the erosion to run rampant. If an Erosion-Type Virus isn't contained, it consumes everything in a flash. We were out of time.
"Hmm... fine."
I exhaled a sigh and grabbed a large terminal from the side table. I tapped in the necessary details, pulled up a standard contract template, and handed it to her.
The moment she saw it, her eyes widened, and a look of pure joy washed over her face.
"Is this...?! Does this mean—!"
"Yeah. Sign that, and once I confirm the advance hit my account, the contract is finalized. We’ll leave immediately."
I downed the rest of my water in one go. The cold liquid slid down my throat and settled in my gut. I crushed the empty bottle in my hand, the plastic letting out a sharp, rhythmic crunch.
"Th-thank you! Thank you!"
Lucia’s voice was louder than it had been the entire meeting. With trembling fingers, she signed the terminal while simultaneously authorized the transfer from her own device. Her movements were practiced, but her fingertips were vibrating with nerves.
"There... it's done. I've sent the payment. Can you check it?"
I took the terminal she offered and reviewed the display. Voice authentication, vein scan, retina match—a triple-secured signature. The deposit log was clean and verified. Looking at the number of zeros on the screen, a genuine smile touched my lips.
"Yeah. Payment confirmed."
Alright then.
It had been a while since I'd visited the Upper District. Time to see what the view was like from the top.