[Current Stack: 1 Mythic Chest, 6 Fragments, 2,700 Tokens, 75,000 Vita-Fragments, 1 Hydro-Core, 1 Tear, 3 Dev-Strings, 1 Platinum Keycard, 1 VIP Ledger.] [Multiplier: 1.65%] [Vault Pressure: 50%. Status: External physical environment warping to accommodate Host.]
The rain continued to pour, hissing as it hit Yuto's scorching right arm. The wet alleyway in Sector 4 was illuminated by the sterile, blinding headlights of the black corporate hover-car hovering just inches above the pavement.
Three men stepped out. They weren't wearing the dramatic, glittering armor of the Ouroboros Guild or the geometric admin-code of Director-General Mammon. They wore impeccably tailored, waterproof charcoal suits. They held sleek, matte-black suppression rifles that hummed with real-world, weaponized electromagnetism.
The man in the center adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses. His mana-detector, a bulky device strapped to his wrist, was smoking and sparking as it tried to read Yuto.
"Target acquired," the lead agent spoke into an earpiece, his voice utterly devoid of emotion. "We have located the primary data leak from the Babel Server collapse. Subject: Yuto Kurosawa. He is currently carrying roughly four trillion dollars' worth of proprietary digital assets inside his central nervous system."
"Four trillion?!" Shion shrieked, floating up to grab Yuto by the collar. "Master, you're a walking GDP! We need to hire an accountant!"
"Who are they?" Rin whispered, clinging to Yuto's good arm. She was still weak from three years of digital stasis, her eyes wide with terror as the men raised their rifles.
"Debt collectors," Yuto rasped. He gently pushed Rin behind him, stepping forward to shield her. "Just a different branch."
"I am Agent Sterling of Omni-Corp, the primary financial backer of the Zenith Bank project," the suit said coldly. "You have illegally downloaded the Tower's Central Reserve. That is corporate property. Surrender the VIP Ledger and open your Vault for asset forfeiture, or we will physically extract the hard drive from your corpse."
Isabella stepped in front of Rin, her twin water-blades materializing with a sharp shing. The glowing blue weapons looked incredibly out of place against the backdrop of a dirty, real-world dumpster.
"You want his Vault?" Isabella snarled, her red eyes flashing. "You'll have to go through the Vanguard first."
"Fascinating," Sterling murmured, looking at Isabella, Kurenai, and Ayase. "The server crash spat out unregistered, premium NPC assets. Kill the boy. Capture the digital girls for vivisection. Their code is highly valuable."
The agents opened fire.
They weren't shooting bullets; they were firing high-density EMP rounds designed to instantly crash a digitized nervous system.
"Scatter!" Yuto ordered.
Kurenai didn't scatter. The Oni grinned, a feral display of fangs, and lunged directly into the line of fire. An EMP round struck her square in the chest.
Bzzzt. Kurenai blinked. She looked down at her chest, then back at the agents. Without the Babel System's physics engine dictating that an EMP should stun her, the real-world attack just felt like a mild static shock against her raw, biological Oni muscle.
"Is that it?" Kurenai laughed, her voice echoing like thunder in the narrow alley. "Your weapons don't have stats!"
She closed the distance in a single bound, grabbing the front bumper of the hover-car. With a roar that shook the rain from the rooftops, Kurenai heaved upward, flipping the two-ton corporate vehicle entirely upside down.