Deep beneath the Free City Alliance.

In the thick darkness, there was a place where Object prosthetics, having lost their hosts, gathered.

These things, resembling spiders woven together from tangled fingers, flowed through complex tunnels deliberately dug throughout the city.

At the end of these tunnels, there was a massive cylindrical Object tank.

This tank was as vast as the area of the entire city alliance.

It was deep, but its width made it feel as though it were as flat as a pancake.

Its sheer size was impressive, and its "rank" was comparable to that of a "moon."

Inside the tank, long, multi-jointed fingers, vastly different from human ones, writhed like worms.

These fingers contained transparent cyst-like structures scattered throughout, inside which fetal-like beings squirmed and moved.

This grotesque sight was the fate of the prosthetics that had entered the tank.

Around the tank, voices that no human could hear continuously leaked out.

"I should have seized the opportunity..."

"I'll become a legend in the city alliance."

"I can't die just yet..."

Regretful laments from the dead.

"I must eat humans, consume more humans."

"I still hear voices, I need to eat more, more!"

Manic mutterings of scavengers were also among the chorus.

Occasionally, radiant golden chunks would fall into the tank.

Each time this happened, the finger-worms swarmed toward the gold like a school of fish to bait, or like parasites burrowing into their host’s muscles, devouring the gold.

The worms craved the warmth, joy, and benevolence that the gold possessed, but these desires were never satiable.

A particularly large, elongated finger-worm circled the entire tank.

Its appearance was monstrous, as though it had fused with shining gold and dull metal wires.

Each of the giant finger-worms had a monitor attached to it, with a red light flashing as it conveyed a message.

[Mission failed.] [Mission failed.] [Mission failed.]

The red lights blinked intensely, like warning signals.

They seemed to broadcast shocking news.

The lights shone vividly even in the darkness, making the area feel even more ominous and foreboding.

The message on the monitor kept changing.

[A new operation is needed.]

It looked as though the monitors were having a conversation, or perhaps these messages resembled thoughts or soliloquies.

[Difficulty level of the target has been upgraded to “special.”]

The light gradually turned a viscous red.

[Planning an operation suited for the target.]

After this message, the monitors began displaying a series of incomprehensible characters.

Under the warm sunlight at Sehee’s lab.

A cloud whale soared into the sky, carrying me and Tyranno.

My precious Tyranno had completely changed from before.

It was now covered in magnificent metal!

Moreover, its appearance was vastly different from what James had originally designed.

According to James' original plans, Tyranno would have been clad in armor, but now, this glowing Tyranno had fused perfectly with the armor, down to its bones.

At first, I followed the design and put the armor on it, but I wasn't satisfied.

It felt like I had dressed up a scruffy donkey in a fancy saddle.

Since the glowing Tyranno had been created purely from my imagination, it lacked a bit of detail when viewed up close.

So, I boldly used the Halo to transform the armored Tyranno into the perfect mecha Tyranno.

“Hehe, looks amazing.”

I smiled in satisfaction as I admired the newly reborn, incredibly cool-looking Tyranno.

Thanks to James’ armor complementing my limited imagination, the result was a mecha Tyranno that looked twice as awesome.

Furthermore, its "rank" had become significantly stronger. It wasn’t at the "special" level yet, but it had reached the level of a typical Object.

After a few minutes of endlessly admiring the mecha Tyranno atop the cloud whale, I had finally arrived near the Free City Alliance.

As I got closer to the Free City Alliance, the air began to reek with a stench so harmful it made me dizzy.

“Wow, this is really bad.”

Once I arrived, I understood why the mini reapers were reluctant to come with me.

All but one or two of the mini reapers hidden in my hair had fled to the mini reaper garden to escape the terrible stench.

Just how patient must the mini reapers who remained in this city be?

I slowly lowered the cloud whale’s altitude and landed on the outskirts of the Free City Alliance.

“Let’s go!”

And with that, I boldly rode the mecha Tyranno toward the Free City Alliance.

The air was full of pollution.

Cars with strange designs created using Objects.

People with bizarre appearances, diverse enough to blend in easily, even among the three-headed, six-armed Asuras in the crowd.

That’s why the city's reaction was a bit different from what I had expected.

“?”

When I had lifted my invisibility in the heart of Seoul, people had made a fuss.

And given that this city was filled with harmful Objects, I expected to be attacked...

But there was no attack, nor any particularly special reaction.

Instead, they carried on with their normal daily lives, even as they watched me ride atop the magnificent mecha Tyranno.

“Gray Reaper. It's a special Object that’s destroyed several cities! Be careful.”

“Don’t provoke it!”

“It’s beyond a mercenary’s ability. Call in the family members!”

It was in Chinese, so I couldn’t understand exactly what they were saying, but they were definitely impressed.

I sensed fear and awe in their voices.

They all respected Tyranno.

Hehe, anywhere in the world, Tyranno deserves respect.

Cars passed by slowly, without honking, solemnly moving around me.

Pedestrians walked along as they normally would.

As if it was completely natural to see someone riding a Tyrannosaurus.

This city stank horribly, and the people inside weren’t exactly sane, but it seemed like a comfortable place to live.

Hehe.

At Cheong’s group’s hideout in the Free City Alliance.

“Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, PIG was already...”

Cheong spoke in an exaggeratedly sorrowful voice.

“This is his keepsake.”

Cheong pulled out the exoskeleton she had ordered from PIG with a mischievous smile.

It was a custom-made exoskeleton for Cheong, who didn’t use any Objects.

The exoskeleton was convenient, as it took the weight off her legs and supported her shoulders to help absorb the recoil from firearms.

The mercenaries of the Free City Alliance would prefer to enhance their muscles and bones with Objects rather than use an exoskeleton, but for Cheong, who refused to use Objects, it was an essential tool.

“Sob, sob. I’ll make good use of this exoskeleton.”

Cheong humorously sniffled, and the Orange Scion on her head swayed in a sad rhythm.

The woman holding a cigarette also exaggeratedly joined in on the act.

“Sob, sob.”

Meanwhile, a man with four arms watched their behavior with a "What kind of nonsense is this?" expression on his face.

But when the woman jabbed him in the side with her elbow, he had no choice but to mimic their “sob, sob” stance.

“He’s not dead yet!”

Amidst the playful atmosphere, a stranger sitting in the corner of the hideout yelled out irritably.

It was the woman who had once gone by the name PIG and used the snail prosthetic.

Cheong responded in a teasing tone.

“No, the snail prosthetic PIG died back then.”

Then, with a more serious expression, Cheong asked the question.

“So why did you walk around like that?”

PIG, looking troubled, answered.

“Well… I suppose I should explain since my life was in its hands.”

She began to explain her circumstances.

From how there were too many shady characters around, so she met people through a remotely controlled robot, to how her resistance to Objects was so low that she would hear the “red voices” with just a little exposure.

PIG explained that only her stomach, lungs, and skin were Objects, just the bare minimum for survival.

After hearing her explanation, Cheong grinned and curiously asked another question while sitting nearby.

“But why did you choose a snail robot form?”

“Huh? It’s my style.”

PIG responded matter-of-factly, causing Cheong to freeze her smile and subtly scoot a little farther away.

“It’s peaceful.”

Cheong sat, holding the Orange Scion, quietly watching her companions as they bantered.

Though PIG had gone from being "Uncle PIG" to "Sister PIG," it seemed she was blending well with the group.

Well, even though she had always been a little off her rocker, she did handle jobs well enough, so maybe that was it?

Besides, Cheong herself felt much closer to PIG now that she had shed the snail prosthetic.

Maybe the others felt the same way.

Cheong thought, “Yeah, that snail prosthetic was definitely the problem,” as she pinched the Orange Scion’s cheek and made it nod on her behalf.

At that moment, a sharp “beep” sounded from the computer set up in the hideout.

“An assignment?”

The man, hearing the noise, muttered curiously.

He checked the assignment on the computer, and his expression hardened as he approached Cheong.

“Cheong, you should check this out.”

“?”

Cheong tilted her head in confusion as she looked at the assignment.

Her expression turned serious.

This request was clearly directed at Cheong.

The assignment details stated that the information was confidential and would be disclosed only in person, with an advance payment upon acceptance of the job.

Moreover, the reward was none other than her parents' keepsake, which she had longed to reclaim.

When Cheong saw the name of the client, her eyes widened.

It was the King of the Mercenaries in the Free City Alliance, Colossus.

And the meeting place was at the "Central Tower," towering in the center of the city.

This assignment was anything but ordinary.

The fact that Cheong was specifically targeted, as well as the mysterious keepsake reward, made it all the more suspicious.