Dense fog filled the air, oppressive heat mixed with a rancid stench drifting all around, as skyscrapers that blotted out the sky blocked the purified sunlight of the biosphere, leaving behind only bottomless darkness.

Pedestrians rushing back and forth nearby could be seen with the naked eye undergoing extensive heteromorphic modifications, continuously mechanizing their frail natural organs, to the point that compared to humans as a species, they were closer to machines.

Ashen-faced contract workers, rookie martial artists fresh out of training, free mercenaries who lived by the blade and gang tycoons who exploited and squeezed others dry…

This was the Lower City.

A place where everything existed for survival and survival was everything.

It was also where Li Chen had once settled temporarily after finally clawing his way out of the hell that was the Bottom Hive slums.

If the Bottom Hive was the Hive City’s garbage dump, dedicated to collecting all kinds of hazardous waste, then the Lower City was the consumables production zone, endlessly supplying raw materials to keep the Hive City running.

Glancing at the factories lining both sides of the street and the numb expressions on people’s faces, Li Chen subconsciously pulled his cloak tighter, slightly concealing his face.

A man—especially a handsome young man—coming to a place where all kinds of people mingled was bound to attract unusual attention.

Li Chen had no intention of inviting unnecessary trouble.

After cautiously checking several times to make sure no one in the surging crowd was paying attention to him, he pretended to do so casually and turned into a dim little shop hidden in an alleyway.

The shop had no signboard at all, only an owl symbol painted at the entrance and from inside came intermittent zzzzt sounds of metal colliding.

Ding-a-ling.

Unlike other stores that plastered advertisements everywhere and aggressively promoted themselves, this inconspicuous shop hidden in a bustling market truly had miserable business.

Even though it was early evening—the busiest time before shift workers rotated—there were hardly any customers inside, aside from a red-faced middle-aged man shouting loudly at the counter, with not another soul in sight.

Yet when Li Chen saw this scene, he instead relaxed.

‘Looks like I didn’t remember the location wrong. This is the place.’

In the game, this was a master craftsman with exceptional skills who, after offending powerful figures and being wanted, had no choice but to hide in the Lower City while masquerading as an ordinary cybernetics doctor.

This was the only path available in the beginner stage to obtain transcendent equipment.

Well, although it required completing a whole pile of messy tasks to grind favorability.

‘But I have nothing except time.’

“Hey, is your shop a scam or what?”

The ordinary-looking man with a face full of fat didn’t notice Li Chen at all and continued yelling red-faced at the frail, freckled girl behind the counter.

He spat as he spoke and slammed the counter hard, “Call your boss out here! You dare charge me four hundred credits for this piece of trash?”

Clatter.

The bearded man dumped a basket of worn-out cybernetic parts from his backpack, grabbed a random screw and shoved it in front of the flustered, panicking shop clerk whose mind had gone completely blank and who couldn’t utter a word.

“I only bought this a week ago and it’s already completely broken.”

The man gripped the screw on the counter threateningly, then exerted force.

Crack.

The screw shattered instantly.

“Do you know who I run with?” Seeing the clerk already trembling in fear, the man grinned, his eyes full of menace, “You know Black Tiger Construction, right? Their security department manager is my big sis.”

His greasy face twisted strangely sweet when he said “big sis,” using an oddly syrupy tone.

“Bl-Black Tiger Gang!”

When the clerk heard him identify himself, her face turned deathly pale, tears welling up in her wide eyes as she staggered back several steps.

“Heh heh, judging by your reaction, you’ve heard of our Black Tiger Company’s reputation too.”

Seizing the opportunity, the man pressed on, “But hey, we’re all from the same district and I’m not unreasonable. How about this—if you compensate me properly, I might consider forgiving this offense.”

The clerk shrank back anxiously, her small face full of terror, trembling hands picking up the parts on the counter. After carefully examining them, she murmured, “B-but sir, these parts… they don’t seem to be from our shop.”

Even though she was completely overwhelmed by his presence, the girl’s calloused hands still deftly assembled the cybernetics. After running a quick test, she said firmly in a low voice, “Aren’t you mistaken? This batch of steel was produced by Black Tiger precision machines. My master said their quality is poor and they often cut corners, so he always refused their sales pitches…”

Bang!

The man, who had been smug just moments ago, froze briefly, then turned ferocious as he swept all the parts off the counter with one arm. Several screws even struck Li Chen’s cloak.

“You bitch, are you crazy?” He grabbed the clerk by the collar, raging, “You dare say our company’s products are low quality? You lowly trash—show me your citizen ID.”

Thud.

She fell heavily to the ground, her slender body bruised, yet despite the fear on her face she stubbornly shook her head, “I-I don’t have a citizen ID. I’m from the Bottom Hive. But… but I won’t let you smear my master’s reputation!”

She rebuked him forcefully, “With my master’s craftsmanship, he would never make unqualified products like this!”

“Hah, so you’re a rat from the Bottom Hive after all.”

Hearing her background, the man’s fury vanished instantly, replaced by pure mockery and disdain.

Pinching his nose in contempt, he spat, “No wonder this black shop smells like sewer rot. So it’s you, a gutter parasite, causing it? Heh, as a proper Hive City citizen, I should report you, an undocumented illegal, to the Security Bureau.”

In the eyes of Upper Hive residents, both the Lower City and Bottom Hive slums were worthless trash.

But in the eyes of Lower City citizens, they were just like the Upper Hive—employees of various “companies,” differing only in scale and position.

As for Bottom Hive slum dwellers, they were parasites who produced nothing and survived only by scavenging what the elites discarded.

“I-I’m not a parasite. My master said I have talent…”

Hearing the word “parasite,” something in the clerk snapped, fear overtaken by anger. She struggled to her feet and glared at the man.

“Hah, a piece of gutter trash dares glare at me?”

Whoosh—

The man threw a punch without hesitation.

Rattle rattle rattle.

His cybernetic arm went into full power, dense components spinning rapidly, steam billowing as it shot toward the clerk’s frail body with blinding speed.

“Mmph.”

The clerk squeezed her eyes shut, lips pressed tight, bracing herself with the resolve that even if it hurt to death, she wouldn’t cry out.

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

Huh? Where was the punch?

The clerk blinked in confusion.

The fist the size of a sandbag was frozen right in front of her face, unable to move, with only the mechanical clacking echoing through the small shop.

‘What was going on?’

She looked up in confusion, only to see another person who had appeared out of nowhere beside the man, gripping his arm tightly with one hand.

‘Such beautiful hands.’

Accustomed to the disproportionate, exposed machinery of Bottom Hive and Lower City modifications, seeing a completely natural hand with no alterations made the cybernetics repair girl subconsciously marvel.

‘No, no, what am I thinking at a time like this?’

“Sir, I-I’m very sorry.” Seeing the man’s face darken as his attack was stopped, the clerk hurriedly spoke up, not wanting an innocent bystander dragged into trouble, “This is a consumer dispute between our shop and this gentleman. If you’re in a hurry, you could try another store on the main street…”

“No, I want this shop.”

Li Chen calmly checked the strength in his palm with satisfaction. Though he hadn’t trained in real combat for a long time, after recuperating in the well-nourished Upper Hive, his combat instincts were actually sharper than before.

He might not measure up against other martial artists, but dealing with an ordinary person without combat cybernetics was effortless.

“Heh heh heh.”

Staring darkly at his arm that kept increasing output yet wouldn’t budge, the man, realizing he’d hit a hard wall, glared at the cloaked figure for a long moment before threatening, “May I ask who you are, friend? I’m a supervisor from Black Tiger Company, enforcing discipline on our turf. Don’t interfere lightly…”

“Discipline?” Li Chen yawned indifferently, speaking lazily, “Sir, I’ve only heard of City Hall law. As for whatever Black Tiger Gang you’re talking about?”

Whoosh.

Planting his feet, Li Chen twisted his body slightly and applied force.

Boom!

With a rush of air, the man was flung away, crashing to the ground in an utterly pathetic heap.

“I don’t care.”

Li Chen pointed outside from above, “Get lost.”

“You—you…” Fear flashed in the man’s eyes, his burning face twisted with hatred, “Fine, I’ll remember this. I’ll have my big sis deal with you later!”

He scrambled up, shoved open the door and fled in a panic.

“Th-this…” Looking at the customer who clearly had no idea what trouble he’d just caused, the clerk anxiously warned Li Chen, “Sir, please leave our district quickly. That man seems to be a kept man of a Black Tiger Gang executive. I don’t know if he was bragging earlier, but it’s best to be careful.”

“Leave? Why would I leave?”

Having already decided to cause trouble for the Black Tiger Gang, Li Chen casually pulled over a chair and sat by the counter, enthusiastically examining the dazzling array of cybernetics on display.

‘Saving this clerk should raise the shop owner’s favorability a bit, right? Maybe I can get a bigger discount. If I can buy transcendent equipment, I’ll be rolling in it.’

At first, everyone had disliked the shop owner’s eccentric temper and bizarre tasks.

But once they used the cybernetic gear forged here, the shop owner’s popularity skyrocketed, rivaling the main heroines, with players chasing her everywhere calling her “Mom.”

“Huh, this looks interesting. By the way, what’s your name?”

Li Chen, fully focused on grinding favorability and saving money, chatted up the clerk kindly, “Did that bastard hurt you just now?”

He pulled down his cloak and spoke gently to her.

‘Ah…’

Seeing the face revealed before her—beautiful enough to ruin nations—the clerk forgot how to breathe.

‘Name, name… He asked my name and even showed concern.’

Aside from her master, this was the first person who didn’t look down on her Bottom Hive origins—and he was such a beautiful man.

“Luna. My name is Luna.”

The clerk named Luna blushed deeply and lowered her head sharply, not daring to meet Li Chen’s eyes.

‘Luna?’

Hearing this ordinary-sounding name, Li Chen’s calm expression changed instantly, his attention snapping into focus as he stared intently at the shy girl before him.

‘Could she be that Luna? The super genius who later developed a revolutionary nuclear-fusion perpetual-motion cybernetic core based on pre-civilization technology?’

Come to think of it, there had indeed been rumors on the forums that the “Mom” shop owner had a female clerk who was a hidden character with a special quest, though no one paid attention after later version updates.

It wasn’t until the super genius Luna officially debuted that people discovered from her character profile that she had once worked under the Mom shop owner.

Hoo.

A sharp gleam burst from Li Chen’s eyes.

‘This time, I really struck it rich.’