A Recruitment Drive
Opening your mouth while you were on the outskirts of Changye City, especially near Alloy Springs, makes you taste the grease and smell the smog pouring out from the chimneys of their factories.
Two weeks had passed since I got out of quarantine. I had been working for Kei's Office for three months and two weeks. My job had now somewhat changed, and with Kei trusting me after a three-month probation period, I was able to work on independent investigations on behalf of the office. I even had business cards to give.
My current location was on the outskirts of the city, under a district they call the Abyssal Abodes because of how dark it becomes when you head down the caverns below, where they rely solely on the light produced by the city above. Make no mistake, however. This place was full of militants—combat-oriented OB affiliates who made their living dealing with things most people never wanted to see.
I was visiting one of the offices that had requested a meeting with ours. Kei told me she would only meet the clients after I took a look at them. This change in attitude came after the last request. Facing a demon had almost cost us our lives. Yes, she had been motivated by revenge to kick down one of the fragments of an Okinawan devil, but she also realized how reckless they had been in doing their jobs. I was tempted to say they were using me as the one to test the waters. I could excuse them for now, considering they had just gotten their asses kicked facing a CODE ORANGE.
"Your wits are still there, Mister?"
"I am listening."
A wrinkled face full of scars, paired with a prosthetic body. The man in front of me was one of those old men who had seen eras change. He carried a pressure that would make someone faint if they didn't hold on to their senses.
"So you fellas handled that devil fragment. Impressive. How was it?"
He glanced at our résumé and business card.
"Demons… have quite a way of handling the weaknesses of humans. We can't fly."
"Blinked you into the clouds, eh. That's why you get strong legs. How did you survive?"
I told him.
"Eh. Guess you got lucky if you didn't manage to dive into a canal."
The old man swung his left arm into blade mode. I squinted at the edge of it. My eyes nearly crossed just looking at it.
"Good. Well, we can work something out."
My purpose here was to associate this combat office with Kei's Office. We were a three-person office, and there was no rule saying you couldn't have extra people working with you without formally hiring them. At least, that was what Kei told me as she savored the subsidy money from Sato-san.
"So, Assistant, you want to associate with us."
"That's right."
I wore my professional demeanor and prepared to present the pitch to the old man. But first, I thought to remind him who he was.
"Aidan Riva. Served in the Euro-Africa death marches. Logged 18,600 hours in the field during an incursion. Completed two full combat tours in the Siberian Outbreak and accumulated enough combat wealth that you were rated MD Grade in your prime. Not to mention, you and your comrades handled ORANGE-level risks in the provinces of Anhui and Fujian, and participated in the Hebei-to-Hunan marches. You… have quite a reputation for a man who sits below EX Grade."
LS-Graded Agents usually handled creatures that posed minimal threats — things that could be easily contained and neutralized.
MH-Graded Agents were more trained, just above LS.
Most Agents who reached that level were moderately augmented or had participated in contracts that pushed them beyond normal human limits. MD-Graded Agents were rated to handle creatures with unpredictable behavior.
HG-Graded Agents like Vaun and Sato stood at the top of the surface ranks — heavily augmented and capable of going toe-to-toe with ORANGE-level entities alone.
EX-Graded Agents were something else entirely. They were the ones who kept devils and demigods at bay — humans who had stepped beyond their evolutionary shell.
SP-Graded Agents were anomalies in their own way — seers or individuals equal to devils and demigods due to certain circumstances.
UN-Graded Agents were simply unclassifiable. Even the Otherside Bureau couldn't categorize them.
Aidan Riva sat somewhere between HG and EX. A top HG Agent in his prime, but age and accumulated damage had forced him to settle.
I was sure he thought we wanted a glass cannon. But what Kei really wanted was the office he managed. Although it was a combat-oriented office, the old man ran a freelancing hub, he contacted his trainees and assigned them jobs as a broker. Kei wanted a partnership where his freelancers could operate over a wider radius under our coordination.
"Well-researched. I guess you learned about the freelancers under my office. May I see the contract?"
I handed over the contract Kei had written. He read it slowly, carefully, not missing a single word.
"Oh. I was hoping you'd hire my lads and lasses as combatants, but you're looking for scouts instead."
"We personally handle the investigation of anomalies."
"In other words, you want the data for yourselves. The contract's not bad. But I'll make it clear—you are not hiring me, but the freelancers under my care."
"Of course."
Freelancers were unaffiliated. They didn't belong to any group or faction and tended to prefer syndicates because of the "freedom" they offered. You could say Mr. Riva provided structure for those who still wanted decent work without tying themselves down.
You might ask why I still called them Agents. If you wanted to fight monsters, you had to be graded by the Otherside Bureau before you were authorized to deal with them.
Agents were all-rounders compared to Hunters, who specialized in hunting monsters outside fortified cities. Still, at this point, calling everyone an Agent felt appropriate.
"You've got a deal, then."
He extended his left hand. I took it, and for a moment, it felt like my hand was caught in a hydraulic press.
He grinned.
"It's a pleasure working with your office, Mr. Assistant."
—
There was a skewer shop nearby. I contacted Kei about the contract and sent a message to Sato informing him that they would be reaching out sooner or later.
"Do you mind if I sit here?"
"Not at all."
The man was a Hunter, judging by his attire — leather made from monsters, equipment fashioned from their remains.
"How is the hunt going?"
"Good. Too many Volkolak in the area. You, how's the city?"
"Too many anomalies and the usual shit."
"I see. The city is too complicated. You find the outside more peaceful than this."
"Lonely too."
"That is correct."
He took a large bite out of the turkey wing he ordered. I ate my skewers and took a drink from the tap beer.
"Still in business?"
"Yeah."
"You should go out more, friend. Happy hunting."
"Счастливой охоты."
I replied as I exited the caverns.
–
I was watching a Syndicate group boasting about themselves in the train station. The tattoos on their bodies told me they weren't Ji Ceng. They seemed to be Japanese diaspora who had settled here in Changye.
Proudly displayed on their arms was Ame no Ohabari clad in a lightning bolt. That meant they were Kurogane Renmei—the Iron Brotherhood, as they were known locally and beyond Changye.
"What did the guy do?"
"Stole from them."
The man in question was in his forties. He had a balding head and a large stomach. This was near the service station, but since it was the outskirts, these people were probably the only real authority here. The OB and the LCDP barely bothered to come unless it was for some publicity stunt meant to convince people they still cared.
"Kono dansei wa watashitachi kara nusumimashita!"
The man leading the punishment spoke abruptly. Realizing his mistake, he cleared his throat and shouted again.
"This man has stolen from us! He has forsaken his good deeds and thrown them into the gutter! This is a warning from the Kurogane Renmei!"
He made a gesture. The man holding a katana stepped forward and swung his blade down. The head rolled to the side and kissed the stone.
A woman, likely the man's lover, lunged forward and grabbed the severed head as if it might be taken from her as well. She clutched it tightly, staring at the Kurogane Renmei members with wide, trembling eyes.
"Take the head of your husband and bury it. The rest of his sinful body will remain as a reminder!"
They tied the "sinner" with manila ropes around one of the station's pillars. His limbs were pulled taut and bound behind him. What remained of him was barely held together by the collar of his clothes. A sign was hung around his neck.
I am a thief.
After the gruesome display, I joined the flow of people and headed toward the service train. The Kurogane members had set up a toll booth. I fished out a few bills and paid them without complaint.
One of the commuters pointed toward a homeless man trying to relieve himself by the side. A Kurogane member dragged him away and warned him to leave before they decided to draw blood.
I passed the toll and entered the service train. Inside, it was packed with vendors selling all kinds of food, narcotics, and pills.
"Nii-san, you want some?"
A woman in a skimpy outfit sat beside me and showed me her goods. I looked over her tray. She sold similar items to the other vendors, though she seemed to carry fewer drugs and more tobacco products. Flavored ones too. She also had smoking pipes on display.
One of them caught my eye, a briar pipe.
"How much for the smoking pipe?"
"Good eye, Onii-san! That one is only fifty dollars!"
It was about five inches long, with intricate symbols engraved along the bowl and stem. I checked the craftsmanship. Decent weight. Balanced. I handed over the fifty after a brief inspection.
She also sold tobacco in small cases. I asked which ones were pure tobacco. She tried to upsell me, but a five-dollar tip made her answer honestly.
After buying the pipe and a case of tobacco, she relaxed beside me and watched the blurred landscape pass by. Not that there was much to see, just rows of apartment blocks stacked into towering grids.
"Don't you have to fulfill a quota or something?"
"Aiya, Nii-san, I already made it. You don't look like you smoke."
"Not every day, at least."
"Really? No wonder. You're an Agent?"
"Something like that."
She leaned a little closer.
"Interested in fun, Nii-san? I can give you a discount."
"Oh, so you work nights too?"
"This is my day job."
"Well, I have to respect the grind."
"Thanks. So, are you visiting?"
I checked my watch.
"Don't think so. By the way, Miss, what's your name?"
"You can call me Mai!"
"Alright, Mai. Do you usually travel around the outskirts' trains? Do you hear a lot of rumors? Things about anomalies and the like?"
"Depends."
Quick. She caught on immediately. The moment she realized there might be money involved, her posture shifted just slightly—subtle, but noticeable.
"I collect rumors," I said. "Anything at all. I'll pay for anything I find interesting."
"So… urban legends?"
"Something like that."
She grinned.
"Then you can count on me, Nii-san! Mai here will bring you the juiciest rumors I can find. I'll even throw in some spicy ones. I can tell you about fresh young girls too if you want."
"Haha. I'll write down my contact number. And here, something extra. Think about it seriously."
"So generous, Onii-san!"
I put on my best business smile, wrote down my contact number, and handed her a few extra bills to make sure she took the offer seriously.
There was something off about her.
Her posture. The way she moved. The way her eyes scanned without seeming to. She carried herself like someone who could pull a weapon out of nowhere and use it without hesitation.
As I stepped off the service train, the air shifted.
Rain began to fall over Changye City.