Catching the Thief
After wolfing down the hand-fang sandwich, I stepped out of the building feeling a bit awkward. No matter how you sliced it, I was 22 this year—being held in the arms of a girl five years younger than me, sobbing my eyes out... I must've been under a ton of mental strain.
Valentina's nose was red at the tip, and her eyes were puffy from all the crying. Kali pulled her close like she was adorable, hugging her tight.
"Don't..."
"What's wrong? We're friends."
Watching Kali turn sly and teasing now that I'd try to argue back, Valentina wondered what the hell she should do anymore.
Since I was the one possessing Valentina's body, I wouldn't go on drunken rampages killing people who pissed me off or causing scenes. But there were still problems—even assuming we skipped the Spiderweb and the Smoke War, there were three big ones.
First: finger clashes. These could happen anytime, anywhere, without warning. As long as I was in Thumb, inter-organization friction like finger hangings was inevitable. Where there's turf and people, conflict brews—an endless vicious cycle. The only way to protect myself? Raw power.
Second: the Index massacre on Thumb. What's that? The Index's god-like Director orders her Agents and Executors to slaughter Thumb members en masse. From Thumb's perspective, getting attacked out of nowhere means fighting back is only natural. But Index can't disobey the Director, so they'll crush any resistance, snapping necks to prevent it. Bottom line: to survive Index, you need at least Capo-level strength—or better yet, Underboss tier. The Agent is Underboss-killer up close, but from afar with a sniper rifle? Just another meat target. Survival demands high rank to boost your odds dramatically.
Third... Library-related missions or invitations. Note: if the Library hires Thumb, you must accept—no refusal option. Fail, and trust cracks. Pay the price: lose an arm or leg if you're weak; eyes, head, vital spots if worse. They only send invites to high-rankers, and the pay's huge, so it's hard to say no... Wait, hold up—the Library's an exception. We can pass on that. Time passes, and you auto-exit thanks to Angela's whim before she becomes the Perfect Book. No EXP loss—in fact, you gain some and unique experiences. Pure win. Honey pot.
For reference, even without the Perfect Book, Angela hangs with Roland and the Librarians in the Outskirts, gradually turning human-like. Probably the E.G.O. Library's influence. Nothing lacks emotion—that's my conclusion. Humans and machines both draw energy from electricity, have heart-engines, thoughts as programs and systems. The difference? They live in the internet's "mirror" world; we in reality's outside. Maybe she's humanizing because robots and humans aren't so different. Back in my mech engineering days, everyone obsessed over AI with silly thoughts—probably why. Will robots one day replace a humanless world, missing us? Or humans turned robo, nostalgic for flesh days? Either way, robo life seems less cold. Profitable. District 23's nights are brutal—I'm freezing every damn time, so Kali pulls me into her arms... Ahem. Enough of that.
A bit into our walk, Kali sensed something off and picked up speed.
"...?"
Valentina matched her pace. We'd done fixer jobs together, so my body synced to hers—not quite her level, but probably no one else could keep up. Sticking close, I asked,
"What's up?"
"Some guy's been staring at us since back there."
Sure enough, something fleeing fast veered away as we sped up. A glimpse, but we knew.
"That... yellow clothes...?"
"Yeah. Probably the thief."
"You sure...?"
"Chase and find out."
We pursued the escaping silhouette relentlessly. Thanks to Kali's absurd physique, we cornered them.
"You're the one who's been watching us, right?"
To Kali's growl, the yellow-clad woman grinned.
"Yeah, I was keeping an eye on you. But so what? I didn't harm you."
"Oh-ho... Look at this bitch, caught red-handed and still yapping."
I drew my bastard sword and rapier; she backed off.
"Both of you fight with swords, huh."
The blonde pulled a bow from her back.
"Blue hydrangea said not to cause trouble... Eh, whatever."
She nocked and loosed a barrage of arrows. Kali glanced, then cleaved them all in half with one horizontal swing. One stroke's power.
"What the...?"
The blonde looked shocked. Me too, first time I saw it—chills down my spine.
"No way... Must be fatigue..."
Another volley. Kali halved them again with one swing.
"How's that even...?"
As the blonde muttered internally in panic, a brutal kick slammed her gut.
"Gahk...!"
It was Valentina.
"What? Meant to knock you out, but you're still standing?"
True—she clutched her stomach in agony but stayed conscious.
"Tough build."
Kali blocked her front with her greatsword. Valentina cracked her knuckles, approaching the cloth-masked woman.
"We'll know who you are once we rip that rag off."
".....lol."
"Laughing...?"
Another kick—but it hit empty air. Nothing there.
"What the...?"
We looked up. There she was, waving and grinning from the sky.
"Flight...?"
"Hehe, you think I'd get caught that easy...?"
She bounced on clouds like solid ground.
"Didn't expect a 'toy' from the Outskirts to perform this well. Gotta hit the Outskirts more often."
She hopped away mid-air.
"See ya!"
"Damn it..."
No catching a sky-fleeing human, so I was about to give up—when Kali exhaled, stretched, crouched, and leaped.
The taunting blonde, mid-escape, sensed danger and turned. Kali hurtled at her, greatsword raised for a downward smash.
"Ah."
Her last memory.
...
The blonde woman came to, scanning an empty warehouse.
"Where... am I?"
Looking down, she saw herself trussed head to toe in tight ropes—unbreakable.
"We're gonna ask you a few questions."
Valentina spoke like a cop-movie interrogator, shining a light on her face.
"Aaaah! Hot... Move that light!!"
"What... overreacting much?"
Kali doused it. The woman sighed in relief.
"Talk. Name? Where from?"
She clammed up.
"Fine... Not talking? We got ways."
Valentina pulled something from a box.
"That's..."
"Pizza."
She plopped it on the table.
"Just woke up—must be starving. Spill everything you know, and you eat."
She tore into a slice with a big bite.
"How's that? Ready to talk?"
But the woman just tilted her head, ignoring the pizza.
"That's it? No pulling nails or anything...?"