As it turned out, "hunting" was the name given to the process of sourcing parts that are invoice chips for cyberdecks, components of a machine, or even cyberware. Parker was a kind of scrap dealer and Aurelia was now his help. Great. A little annoyed, Aurelia asked after Parker had finished all the explanations: "And what else do you do here? So except to work?" "Oh, hehe, there's all sorts of things. You already know Bär's stall and inn, then there are a few others that also have food where you can eat. At CL30 you can party, drink and gamble. Theodora is something like our seamstress, she can fix anything that is made of fabric or synthetic leather, you can also shop for a little clothes with her. Marianne over there is responsible for organizing resources, but there you can also play dice with the others for valuables. And apart from that, there are a lot of spontaneous things that we do here. Tomorrow, for example, there will be a competition to see who is the most athletic. You are welcome to join in, you look fit. But don't get your hopes up too much for victory, Thor has been the undisputed champ here for almost two years." "Thor? Just like the god Thor?" "Yep, that's exactly him. No one knows his real name, like many here, but when you see him, you'll see why we call him Thor."

Aurelia continued to listen to Parker with half an ear as he drifted into a tirade that Thor should let someone else win, when she noticed a person who didn't fit into the overall picture of this commune. Black long hair, with a bright pink underside. Elegant but high-quality and color-coordinated cyberware and an expensive looking outfit consisting of a techwear jacket, like from a combat unit, a crop top, leggings and high heel boots, which seemed to merge directly into the cyber legs and looked like this one pair would cost more than a hoverbike. But what fascinated Aurelia most were her black and pink cat ears made of metal slats, which came out of the dark hair on her head. They seemed to be real, or at least movable, ears, as she listened to her surroundings with her ears like a cat and moved to the side again and again twitching when a fly or the like came too close. In addition to her ears, she also had a cat's tail, as Aurelia now noticed when she focused all her attention on the stranger.

"Hey Parker. Who is that in front?" interrupted Aurelia to the still complaining hunter of the Commune. She followed Aurelia's eyes and after a short look he answered: "She is a provisional part of the commune, like you. It's called Blue or something like that. But she is only passing through. Before he could finish his sentence, Aurelia was already moving across the large courtyard with a tree of massive cables, directly towards this Blue. Strange name considering there was nothing blue about her. Her clothes were black, gray and purple, so that couldn't be the reason. Blue was apparently just about to rummage through the local arms dealer's selection. When Aurelia got close enough to be within earshot, she heard Blue ask the dealer, "What if I have to turn someone off quietly? My sword is not very good at a distance." "Then I recommend this one," he pointed to a small pistol with an extended barrel that seemed a bit too bulky. "The only thing you hear from this sweetheart is the sound of the sleigh going back. It doesn't get any quieter without switching to one of these modern tech pistols. Pah!" the salesman spat something dirty brown into a small bucket. "Perfect, then I'll take them. And if you want to tell me something, don't sneak up like that, but come here like a normal person!" The salesman seemed confused, but then Blue turned to Aurelia and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Aurelia marveled at the accentuated muscles of her counterpart and looked at the Cybernetic eyes with which Blue looked at her. Pink irises on anthracite sclera looked at Aurelia with a gloomy look.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your purchase. I'm Deus Ex." She raised her hand in the direction of Blue, but the latter only turned around and looked at the range of weapons again. She took the weapon to which the salesman had recommended and had the sled strapped back several times to be able to assess the noise. "Hm. Still too loud for my taste. Anything else?" "I'm sorry, but the only way to get quieter is with one of these knives here." The arms dealer pointed to a small table on which various blades were spread. From small survival knives, to ancient daggers, to machetes. Blue took a small thin blade in her hand and looked at it. "Ah, a good eye. A neurotoxic knife that is no longer sold in most countries. The small capsule there has enough toxin in it for about 20 cuts or stitches. The capsules are a little expensive, but the money doesn't seem to be a problem with them when I look at their monoblade."

As you could see, a long katana with a monocut hung from her hip. The blade was sharpened to a single molecule to damage all sorts of things. How exactly this worked or how to make sure that it was always sharp, Aurelia was not clear. What Aurelia did know, however, was that such a sword cost a fortune. Even among the most famous cyberpunks and operators, there were only a few who owned such a weapon.

"Why is the knife no longer sold here? Was it too bad at killing people?" Blue asked interested, but the man immediately answered, "No, the opposite! There have been too many humanitarian concerns that the pressure against the Corp that manufactures these knives has decided to take them all off the market. Now there are only those that were bought before that moment and most of them are in some kind of war zones." "I like it. That's what I'll take, how much?" Blue asked as she began to let the small but dangerous-looking knife fly around in her finger. "Well, since it's such a famous weapon and there are only a few copies left... 20,000 neuros." The blade stopped spinning as Blue turned to the seller. "Are you kidding me? I'll give you 3000." "THREE THOUSAND?! That's ridiculous! This is downright insulting! So the knife is worth at least 15 thousand!" "5" "DEAL!" With that, both hit and the transaction seemed to be complete, because Blue turned around and began her way towards the center of the courtyard.

"Hey, wait a minute" came from Aurelia, who was walking next to her. "How did you manage to get him so far down with the price? That was impressive." "5000 is actually way too much, but I need something I can trust as long as I'm here in nothing." "But he had said there were few and had asked for 20,000?" in the meantime both had arrived at the tree-like structure, made of cables, wires and wires, in the middle of the square. "Don't be so naïve, only idiots buy for the first price they hear." Blue sat down on one of the concrete blocks that were spread around the strange tree. "And you look like you're an idiot," came from her. "I'm not! I'm just not from here," Aurelia replied, indignant and ashamed. "Street rat?" "Something like that," Aurelia confessed and also took a seat.

Blue leaned over to her and lowered her voice: "Listen, little one, you can't trust people here any more than you can in the city. Here they are not like in the gutters, but still just as deceitful. If I were you, I would go back to where you come from, at least you know your way around." Aurelia thought about how far she could talk to the person next to her about her situation without revealing too much. Cautiously, she finally said: "I don't know my way around the city either, I was separated from the outside world since birth. This is the first time I'm really alone and free. So I can't go back."

Blue looked into Aurelia's eyes for a long time and then asked, "Daughter of a corpo?" "No, but that doesn't matter." came from Aurelia. "Then you really have a problem. Just let me tell you: Don't trust anyone!" "Ok, thank you..." Aurelia leaned back a little and looked up at the smog-darkened sky. "Deus Ex was your name?" "Yes, or just ex" "I'm a blurr." Aurelia lowered her gaze and stared at Blurr. "That makes so much more sense than Blue." "Blue? How do you come up with that?" asked Blurr, laughing. "Parker, the guy with all that scrap metal over there told me that was your name," Aurelia replied, giggling. Blurr looked over at Parker, who was examining his inventory inconspicuously when he noticed the look. There was something in Blurr's gaze that Aurelia couldn't interpret, a certain hostility that was expected of children who had grown up together and couldn't stand each other, or Corpos who had been working towards the same spot for a long time.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Well, he looks like someone who sees me and doesn't question why my name should be Blue. Have you known each other long?" finally came from her. "No, not really, we only met this morning. I only arrived here yesterday. Actually, I just wanted to eat something and move on, but hey, now I'm here." Why did Aurelia's words bubble out of her so uncontrollably? "Aurelia. I perceive an increased dopamine level. You should talk to people like this blurr more often, it's good for you!" came from Raya, while Aurelia was just taking a breath.

"And you're already here with the people? Have you thought this through?" Blurr asked with a slightly worried undertone. "Bear and I got along quite well and Parker is nice too. And when I slept here nothing happened, so it should be ok I think. Besides, I need a place to stay for a while, I've only been on the road for a few days and I'm as exhausted as if I've been on this journey for years," Aurelia poured out, but Blurr didn't seem to notice. "Just be careful. Many people still believe that women are weak and easy prey. Even if your weapon is a good deterrent." "I will," Aurelia assured.

After the two sat together for a while, they got something to eat from Bär. "WOW. This is incredible! And for the price?!" came between bites of Blurr, but Aurelia wasn't sure if she was just saying that to please her or Bear, because for a split second she could see something dark in Blurr's eyes that she couldn't place. Aurelia wasn't sure if she had just imagined it, because now Blurr was smiling from ear to ear and almost devoured her food. This look of pleasure in her eyes as the Techcurry sausage was gulped down made Aurelia sure that she had only misunderstood the expression on her face before. She herself had decided today to test one of the other meals. Falafel with real vegetables and a strange gray sauce. It wasn't quite as good as the sausage, but still better than anything Aurelia had eaten. And probably many times healthier. "I understand now why you want to stay here," Blurr said as she finished her meal. "This is like heaven." "I'm not just here for the food," Aurelia laughed, "I needed a place where I could be part of a group. Ok and the food" "I knew it!"

"Tell me, is that really a monoedge katana?" Aurelia asked curiously, looking at Blurr's hip. "Oh this?" she asked with a broad grin as she drew her sword. The blade looked like it was made of crystal with light flowing through it. "This is my baby, I've had it for a few years. It cuts as well as it is always said in the stories." "Why does it glow pink?" asked Aurelia, who couldn't help but smile. Blurr was so color-coded that even her weapon was colored. "That's so you can see the blade, without the light it would be almost completely transparent. Super dangerous for yourself and the opponent doesn't care if he can see the actual blade, he usually dies when he's close enough."

"And you set it pink to match your style, huh?" Aurelia asked with wiggling eyebrows. "Uh... No... D-That's the only color there is." "And then what does this button do with the color on it?" Blurr looked down at her sword. "Oh fuck. Well ok. I like pink. And many Operators have certain colors and outfits on top of each other." "So your color combo is matched to a group?" Aurelia asked surprised. "No. I work alone. But. Well, I wanted to look like I was someone important." "You definitely succeeded, Blurr. And I'm not making fun of you! I just think it's kind of cute that such a tough-looking warrior wraps herself in pink." "Don't call me cute." "Cute" "I warn you, nun!" "Okay, ok, it's okay. But what I wanted to tell you was that I like your style." "So you, as a nun's cosplayer, wouldn't be in a position to say anything else. Is there actually a reason for this, or do you want to build an image?" "Oh, that's just a gimmick," Aurelia said, while she wrote 'CUTE' in the earth with a small piece of metal.

Before Blurr could see it, Aurelia stood up and moved to a safe distance. "What are you doing," Blurr looked down at the floor. "Oh, now it's your turn!" With that, she got up and pursued the fleeing Aurelia. "Holy shit, you're fast," Aurelia squealed when Blurr had caught up with her in just three steps. Blurr grabbed her by the arm and held her in place. It was as if Aurelia was tied to a building. Blurr had incredible strength. Aurelia looked into her face, raised her hands apologetically as far as she could and said, "Sorry?" Blurr's eyes narrowed and Aurelia saw something in them that she couldn't classify. A mixture of joy, desire and sadness. But before Aurelia could ask what was going on, Blurr let go of her and took a step back. "Apologies accepted. Come on, show me your weapon, after all, you've already seen my sword." The change of mood came like a wall that you hit at 300km/h and left Aurelia uncertain and puzzled. "Sure, um, wait a minute," she took the big rifle from her back and took a shooting position. "This thing looks dangerous" came from Blurr, who looked at every edge and corner of the weapon. "It's a railgun, I just have to aim at someone, pull the trigger and he just doesn't exist anymore." In her head she heard Raya speak up: "If you score." "Where did you get that thing from? I've never seen a rifle like this before," Blurr asked, luckily not hearing Raya. "It's kind of a family heirloom" Raya raised her hand again and asked, "Family heirloom? Interesting." Blurr, after a few more minutes of amazement, managed to tear her eyes away from Exodus and finally said, "If you ever need a job." A holo number appeared on Aurelia's HUD. "You can reach me with that. I work alone, but I know some who could use a sniper like you." Aurelia was absolutely sure she could hear suppressed giggles in her head. Well, not really a giggle, but if Raya were a human, she'd definitely giggle after Blurr called her a sniper!

"Thank you. But as I said before, I'm staying here for now and trying to live under the radar." Blurr's left eyebrow rose: "Under the radar, huh?" A malicious grin crossed her face, "Why do you want to remain unrecognized? Trouble with Daddy? Did you run away from home without permission?" "That," Aurelia answered, strapping Exodus back onto her back, "is nothing that needs to interest you." She continued to try to be playful, but inside Aurelia cursed herself that she had made such a stupid mistake.

"Well, I don't think so," came from Blurr, whose cat ears were pointing upwards with excitement. "Come on, Biiiiitte, tell me. Then I'll tell you why I'm here." Aurelia looked at her and asked, "Why should I want to know why you're here?" "Uh, well because..." Blurr seemed to think and then answered, "Well, because we punks are supposed to support each other!" "Oh come on, you don't believe that yourself. But well, ok. A Mega Corp wants me. But that's all I'll say!" Blurr's eyes widened: "Which ones?" Aurelia crossed her arms and turned her head demonstratively to the side. "Oh come on. I'm here on a contract killing and I'm supposed to secure the body, So, now you!" "You know, Blurr, you seemed much more composed and cooler from a distance." "Wow. Ok." "Don't sulk now!" "I'm not sulking, I'm offended. It's something completely different!"

After a few seconds, Blurr finally said, "Anyway. Fancy a drink? I haven't been drinking in a while." Celebrating sounded great. Aurelia had never been able to celebrate. At least not properly, like in the comics and movies. "I'm in!" "Great. It's still a little early," Blurr said while looking at the midday sky, "but they'll certainly sell something, well, come on" With that, Blurr went in the direction of the large courtyard, which served as a kind of marketplace.