“Before I answer the doomsday prediction, I must ask you, friend, do you ever doubt whether the emergence of the eight major corporations is a necessity in human history or merely a coincidence?”
“In our analysis and predictions, the eight major corporations are not normal phenomena of civilization’s development but rather twisted, deformed cancerous cells. Their existence is destined to lead to the decline of civilization, pushing humanity towards an inevitable doomsday endpoint at full speed.”
“Undoubtedly, we currently do not know the form that doomsday will take. Perhaps it will be a global hot war on a scale dozens or hundreds of times larger than the ‘Silent War,’ or it may take another form.”
“However, at the very least, we can do something for the continuation of human civilization before all that comes.”
“I sincerely hope you can become our comrade.”
After reading the message from the Fire Wielder, Yvette felt a momentary hesitation.
As one of the sole survivors of the Origin Civilization, she knew very well how the apocalypse unfolded—it was a process initiated by the leakage of a mutation virus similar to a contaminant that first polluted the oceans before destroying land civilizations.
The perspective of the Civilization Continuance Society seemed quite basic, even somewhat conspiratorial. They simply perceived the eight major corporations as evil forces that would inevitably destroy all humanity, thus preparing for the coming destruction.
From this viewpoint, it seemed that the Civilization Continuance Society couldn’t provide genuine clues to the source of the apocalypse… but it didn’t rule out the possibility that the Fire Wielder might not want to disclose their secret for now, opting for a different excuse.
“Wait… how does this relate to me?” Yvette suddenly realized that her interest in the Civilization Continuance Society didn’t stem from this reason.She merely hoped that the Civilization Continuance Society was truly preparing for doomsday, gathering various knowledge and resources so that upon leaving the dream, she could take advantage of it in reality.
As long as the Civilization Continuance Society was genuinely working toward an ideal, even if their motives were rooted in an ordinary conspiracy theory, what did it matter?
Thinking this through, she messaged back, “I’m willing to help ensure civilization’s continuity, but how can I trust you aren’t frauds? If you possess substantial technical information, perhaps we could start with a knowledge exchange to gradually build trust.”
Her “Elemental Decay Completion Technology” could be copied and pasted at zero cost. Since the Civilization Continuance Society dared to collect all sorts of information, even at the risk of “intellectual property infringement,” she had no problem utilizing this opportunity to trade away what she already possessed for something else.
…
In Agash, within the affluent district, along a section of the Lorn Riverbank.
By the time Yvette arrived here by taxi, Irene and Tennyson, the old classmates, were standing by the river, gazing at the night scenery. Beneath the illuminated night sky, a massive blue holographic whale gracefully swam, while busy shuttles darted back and forth around it. Neon signs flickered across the street, reflecting purple-red ripples on the river’s surface.
Upon spotting her, Irene rushed over with excitement. “Miss Nameless! Are you alright? The AJSP told me there was nothing over there, and there were no nearby cameras. They asked me to wait for the investigation results. I seriously suspect they’re colluding with Linthou Biotech to kidnap you!”
“If I want to leave, they can’t stop me,” Yvette replied.
What she didn’t mention was that she had handled the cleanup herself. Although she hadn’t consumed the blood and flesh of those Beast Warriors, she didn’t want to leave any traces for Linthou Biotech, so she had burned everything to ash.
Furthermore, using Hewlett’s ID card and magical terminal permissions, she disguised the parts related to “Zero,” crafting a narrative that, if Linthou Biotech investigated, they would likely treat the incident as an unfortunate event during an experimental process—Hewlett had acted recklessly, conducting evil tests and clashing with a mysterious expert, ultimately facing retribution and vanishing without a trace.
Even though Linthou Biotech would still notice her, by then, she would have certainly changed her identity information to lower the risk and possibly left the dream altogether.
Yvette turned her gaze towards Tennyson, observing his silence. “How are you feeling?”
Tennyson nodded; Irene interjected, “Miss Nameless, he still can’t speak normally, only able to communicate indirectly…”
“I’ll help restore his state,” Yvette said, and recited a series of incantations with parts resembling commands, interspersed with unintelligible sounds.
This was a spell obtained from Hewlett designed to free the Beast Warriors, working together with a safe word. With minor alterations to the surrounding content of the safe word, it could lift all restrictions, restoring their freedom.
As expected, upon hearing the incantation, Tennyson’s eyes sparkled with vitality. He reached for his throat, took a deep breath, and excitedly said, “I’m back… thank you, Miss Nameless!”
“Just like that?” Irene said, astonished.
“You don’t have to thank me; just accompany me to the police station and help me claim the 1 million bounty, and I’ll be satisfied,” Yvette replied.
“…”
Tennyson was stunned for a moment, soon realizing everything that had just happened. His earlier excitement quickly morphed into bitterness as he solemnly stated, “Don’t worry… I will.”
…
Late at night, after leaving the police station and returning to her rented apartment in the Bayard District, Yvette was about to receive a deposit of 1 million credits. However, considering tax issues, after navigating the lengthy procedural formalities, she’d likely end up with only 700,000, not even enough to purchase the newly obtained magical terminal.
Afterward, she contacted Welding Gun and paid a small fee for him to help her obtain a new ID card. This time, her name would change to “Ice Rain Sheen”—a move meant to prevent anyone from associating her with “Yvette Loxivia” through such a simple identification method.
Of course, this was primarily to guard against Linthou Biotech. Black Tower Pharmaceuticals wouldn’t mistake her, given that four years ago, when she was active in the Black Water District of Ish City, the then-Zero was merely a four-year-old child with genetic disorders, an orphan from a welfare institution. How could that child possibly be the same person as an adult?
Considering this, Yvette suddenly recalled her earlier claim of being sixteen to Hewlett, and she found herself chuckling softly.
Had she registered her ID card four years ago as sixteen and still claimed to be that age now?
Perhaps it would be more honest to say she was twenty in the future.
…
Days went by, and with the impending bounty arrival and her intention to sell the semi-liquid biological armor, Yvette didn’t venture out much. Instead, she scoured the dark web for buyers while selecting items she might need.
As for the magical terminal, she planned to keep using it until the cache increased by 10,000, since black market prices surged exponentially; she preferred seizing an opportunity to steal rather than pay exorbitantly.
The biological armor was a good item, but the armor available on the black market, including what she had seized, had defensive capabilities that didn’t surpass her defensive spell, “Crimson Armor,” meaning spending that extra money felt unnecessary.
Perhaps she could buy a batch of low-end elemental chips?
In reality, when scavenging, the majority of things—like magical hoverboards or magical motorcycles—tend to fail due to chip damage, often rendering them unusable even after fixing the energy board. Capitalizing on that, she could secure a batch of low-end elemental chips from the manufacturers, resolving the issue.
Including the alloy battle blade, which utilized elemental chips of rather low precision since military weapons focused on durability rather than cutting-edge performance…
Thus, after spending a few days sorting through potential acquisitions from her apartment, compiling a shopping list, the following morning, a voice message from Custer, the intermediary from the Floating Light Bar, interrupted the tranquility of her rental room.
“Miss Nameless, did you really catch the Werewolf Killer?”
Though invisible to him, Yvette could practically envision the astonished expression on Custer’s face as he stammered in disbelief.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“You’re in the news, Miss Nameless! It’s a major story! Front page headline! For your debut job, you captured the serial killer Werewolf Killer and thwarted Linthou Biotech’s dark conspiracy, forcing Chairman Old Cyrus to personally apologize to the public!”
Perhaps due to the transaction process involving a shared intermediary, Custer’s tone was particularly euphoric as he boasted, “You’re not just known in Agash; even across all New Eden’s mercenary world, you’ve achieved renown and made a name for yourself in one battle!”