Chapter — 24

Well, Miyo isn't wrong to say that Sally is essential. I don't know if Miyo realized that our old apartment might be out of reach forever. There's just no way of knowing if whoever is after me will think to look there.

They probably will, but the question remains on how long we'll have to stay away before they shift their focus elsewhere. At some point, getting a new home will be necessary.

There was also the issue regarding Miyo and Ichiro's work. As Miyo worked in a nightclub owned — or previously owned — by the Cyber Fangs and Ichiro worked for said gang, those jobs were burnt.

These were considerations for a later time; however, as of that moment, Rei needed food.

She had already been low on energy, and [Self-Repair] continued eating away at her reserves as she slowly healed.

Taking a look at her credit balance, Rei winced.

"What is it?" Derek asked.

"Just the general state of my cVault. Had to spend a not insignificant sum of it today."

"What do you need, Imouto? I have some saved up from the past year or so." Miyo asked, squeezing her arm in support.

"Oh, it's nothing extreme. I was just thinking about living expenses. You realize that as things stand now, you'll not be able to return to working at The Drunken Daemons, right?"

Miyo stiffened beside her — evidently not having thought so far yet or not having wholly come to grips with it — before relaxing again. "Yeah, I guess that's true. I can always find work elsewhere, though."

"I know a few people who might be interested in hiring you," Derek said, sounding all magnanimous as he did.

"Really? That would be-"

"What kind of work?" Rei asked suspiciously, interrupting Miyo.

"Well, I know people at a few nightclubs not unlike The Drunken Daemons — not under the Cyber Fang banner, obviously — a few bars, um, what else? Oh yeah, there's also a pretty nice dollhouse-"

"No brothels!" Rei said, outraged that he would even suggest it.

What does he take Miyo for?!

"He was joking, Rei. A joke in poor taste, perhaps, but joking all the same."

Seeing the slightly teasing, slightly apologetic smile on his face, Rei holstered her metaphorical knives — her actual combat knives having been left in an alley in her haste to escape the zombie cyborg.

"Alright. You two might be fucking, but Miyo actually has standards when it comes to her work, so keep that in mind," Rei said, her eyes still a tiny bit squinted. "If you do actually end up helping her find new work, then I'll be grateful."

Rei also texted Miyo, "I'm sorry my mess has most likely cost you your job, Miyo. I'm truly sorry. I know getting new employment without connections is practically impossible."

Miyo's eyes joined Rei's in going silver as she responded, "Don't be. Most of my coworkers were mostly bitches, and my only true friend left Earth after meeting her Vault in a chance encounter. It was only a place of work, in other words."

Wait... Miyo had a friend who left Earth after meeting Sugar Daddy? Or Sugar Mommy, I suppose. Sugar Person? Whatever. How come I've never heard of this? Perhaps a sore spot...

Derek looked between the two sisters as they communicated silently for a few seconds, most likely drawing all kinds of wrong conclusions. He didn't speak, though, and Rei stood after the messaging had concluded.

"You two continue with what you were doing, or not, I'll go get some food. I'm starving."

"There's a fairly nice taco place at ground level," Derek offered.

"Nah, can't afford it in the long run without a job. It's vending machines for me."

"Ugh, don't grab any for me then," he said, disgusted.

It's not that bad. Not great. But he makes it sound like military gruel or something.

"You want some?" She asked Miyo.

"No. Might eat later. I'm not especially hungry."

Rei left the apartment and started prowling the complex. Using her map, she found one vending machine further into the floor she was currently on, and for convenience's sake and because Rei didn't think she'd last the elevator ride to another floor, that became her target.

Splicing its ICE was as easy as it had been for every vending machine selling foodstuffs she'd encountered before, and Rei was starting to wonder how the ones selling their stuff in them didn't go out of business.

It could be a numbers game. Proficient Magi are rare enough that the profits earned from the general population make procuring better ICE, which will be breached by a Magi at some point anyway, cost more in the long run.

It was just a theory on her part.

As she stood before the vending machine, stuffing herself, Rei saw only three other people either going to or leaving an apartment. They gave her odd glances, but it wasn't as if they cared enough to ask what she was doing.

When she felt full to bursting, she grabbed some more food and drink before returning to Derek's apartment. Realizing that she didn't have a key, she knocked.

It was opened swiftly as Miyo and Derek had apparently not gotten back to their previous activities, and Rei walked in after thanking him.

"All that for you? You weren't kidding about being hungry," he said as she passed.

"Well, it is what it is."

***

Rei spent the remainder of the day eating and exercising, while Miyo and Derek spent most of their time in his bedroom. Rei had Sally for company, though, so she didn't feel left out.

Not at all.

It wasn't as if she actually wanted to join them, but the increasing stress from Ichiro not answering made her need a release, something Miyo was clearly also feeling.

Derek was there and, therefore, an easy target for her sister. Not that Rei saw him complaining.

Well, the bathroom's empty, and I can lock the door...

That night, Rei slept on the couch with Sally, the cat actually showing a tinge of affection by curling up next to her feet. At least she saw it as affection as there was a second couch Sally could have chosen.

It was lucky that Sally did; without Mr. Nibbles to squeeze as she fell asleep, something felt missing. The notification asking her if she wanted to sleep made anxiety from missing her best friend irrelevant — as she'd fall unconscious immediately upon agreeing — but it wasn't what mattered in the situation.

The following morning, Rei woke with a yawn. Her feet hit something soft, eliciting a hiss as she stretched.

"Oh, sorry, and good morning to you."

Not pleased with the blasé attitude, Sally scampered away to places unknown, leaving Rei alone on the couch.

"I said sorry..."

Rei rose, feeling a crick in her neck as she did, but otherwise, she felt fine. Well, except for her growling stomach. She set to fixing that as she took another trip to the vending machine.

She didn't need to worry about being let in again as Miyo and Derek were up and at it from the sounds of it.

Not wanting to interrupt them yet again, Rei began touring the complex after having had her fill of food bars and crackers.

She took the elevator up a few levels to what her map called a convenience floor. It was a floor filled with tiny automated shops selling everything from food not that different from the stuff found in vending machines to clothes and other necessities.

Rei was after clothes as she didn't want to keep borrowing Miyo's.

Finding an automated store selling some very basic attire, she picked up a t-shirt, hoodie, and jeans — all in black.

There wasn't much variety in color on offer, and none of her other favorites were the correct shade. She also picked up some new underwear and a pair of running shoes made of such poor-quality materials that she wouldn't be surprised if they simply fell apart after a kilometer sprint — not that there was anything better available.

After she'd finished shopping for clothes, she looked at the vending machine offerings around her to see if they had any new variety. She was leery of continuing to break into the same machine every day, as that would swiftly empty it out and maybe even raise some red flags in whatever system kept track of such things.

Finding some stuff that she thought looked alright, she got her hands on it without spending a single credit and walked back toward her temporary domicile, knocking and being let in by Miyo.

"Got anything to drink?" Miyo asked with flushed cheeks, looking at the cans of sparkly water Rei was carrying as she did.

Rei handed one of them over as her sister opened it and took big gulps, letting out a satisfied sigh afterward.

"Pace yourself, sis. We don't know how long we'll stay here."

Miyo took another sip as she raised an eyebrow, "I should pace my fluid intake?"

"Yeah, sure, let's just go with that," Rei said, rolling her eyes as Derek walked out of the bedroom, saw Rei, and went back in while cursing under his breath, no doubt to get some clothes on.

***

As the day went on, Rei kept calling Ichiro through her agent. Derek had left mid-morning to go to a photoshoot.

He was a model for a minor cosmetics company, which Rei wasn't particularly surprised about.

Miyo was getting pretty antsy without the distraction Derek offered — not helped by Rei doing calisthenics in the corner like a woman possessed.

Sally lay in Miyo's lap, being petted while purring.

"Ichiro hasn't answered yet?" Miyo asked for the third time even though barely a few hours had passed — the show she was watching on the holo or the fluffy void in her lap evidently not keeping her sufficiently distracted.

"No," Rei said between heavy breaths as she completed a pushup.

"We need to find him, Rei." Miyo reiterated for the second time.

"I know," Rei said, finishing another pushup before sitting down on the floor and giving Miyo her full attention. "Calling him is evidently not working. Do you have the contact info for any of his friends? I could try calling them as they might know something."

Rei and Miyo had kept up with the news in the mesh feeds regarding the Piston-Fang War as it was being called in the headlines. From the looks of it, most Fang members were scattering as The Pistons hunted them down mercilessly.

There had been no movement from Memtech, which caused some confusion from everyone as it was not-so-secret knowledge that the corporation had made use of the Cyber Fangs from time to time. The general consensus was that Memtech had either struck a new deal with The Pistons or found the cost-benefit ratio regarding interceding in the war at that point too lopsided.

"No, I don't," Miyo said.

"Really?"

"Well, I did have a few of them as contacts in the past, but it caused too much drama as they didn't want me to spend time with the others. It also got on Onii-san's nerves, seeing as they were his friends and me his sister."

Rei hissed in sympathy, causing Sally to stir. "Yeah, I can definitely see that."

"I'm surprised you don't remember even with your memory loss. It became quite the mess before I blocked all of them."

Rei could only shrug at that, taking a swig of water from one of the bottles she'd bought. "So we have no way to contact his friends either. Then I don't see any other way than to try calling Ichiro until he picks up."

Miyo seemed to slump. "I guess you're right."

Rei only did a few more pushups when the awaited notification finally arrived. She'd suspected she'd been close due to the previous day's ordeal and from not having gotten one in a while.

「Notice:

Body attribute has increased.

Body: 6 → 7

Received: 500 Experience」

Halting the process in its steps and making the notification wink out, she brushed some sweaty hair from her forehead.

Grabbing some of the food she had close by, she slowly ate it piece by piece, not keen on getting another bout of nausea from stuffing herself after such heavy exercise.

"I'm going to take a shower," she eventually said, having finished all the food and stood up.

"Thought you'd never take a break," Miyo said, looking over. "Exercising too much isn't healthy either. Your body needs time to rest."

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Yeah, yeah. I just feel... ill-equipped to deal with everything going on, you know?"

Miyo smiled a sad smile and nodded.

***

Having done her [Body] recalibration and showered, Rei stood before the foggy, cracked smart mirror, looking herself over.

She'd thought she'd eaten enough, but some further dwindling of the little fat she had remaining told otherwise. It was even starting to become visible on her face that her fat levels had shrunk to dangerous levels.

It seems that every recalibration in [Body] takes more and more out of me. My musculature is developing nicely, though. From what I can see, I'm not on the path to becoming a hulking bodybuilder. It feels more like I'll keep my feminine curves and only add some size to my legs and a little more to my arms.

It was only speculation on her part, but she hoped it was true. She didn't like the look of those juiced-up people.

It's almost as if my muscles are becoming denser. Or perhaps being replaced with nanites that do the job better. Every [Body] recalibration multiplies my nanites by a not insignificant degree, after all.

I do like my abs, though; my stomach will look great after I regain some fat.

Done stroking her vanity, she started putting on her clothes, thinking, There's just the issue with the ever-increasing energy requirements for each recalibration. I'll either have to keep pigging out until I become fat each time I do it, or I have to find another solution.

Hopping onto the public mesh through her agent, she began to search while stepping out of the bathroom and seating herself next to Miyo. Her sister leaned into her while she continued watching some boring show.

There was a lot of cyberware to browse.

Like, a lot.

Many companies on many planets or moons were innovating and inventing new implants that could target a specific desire or niche for more profits. This meant that Rei actually found what she was searching for.

So, there is cyberware meant for sustenance. It mostly seems marketed for military use, though — for soldiers and the like who'll be out on assignment without access to supplies for extended periods.

There were also a few civilian models, but those seemed less powerful. In those cases, they would support the body for about a week without food, while the military-targeted ones could provide calories and nutrients for up to a month without hampering the host's combat efficiency.

How they worked was a mystery to Rei, but they supposedly refilled themselves by storing excess calories and nutrients from eating, meaning that another benefit was that one didn't get fat when having one.

That might be the real reason civilians buy them, as access to food, if cheap stuff, isn't hard to come by.

There were vending machines practically everywhere, and those with only their UBI could afford to live on the stuff.

It could be a potential solution if Rei could get her hands on one of those implants. She wasn't overly keen on the civilian variants, as only a week's worth of calories wouldn't do much for her.

Not that she could get her hands on even the lesser models at the moment. They were way too niche and, hence, expensive. Her UBI meant that she could barely support herself if she only bought the bare necessities with some tiny splurging on something extra — cyberware not included.

Sighing, Rei stood and began another trip to the vending machines on the floors above.

***

The day passed, and night fell — not that nighttime meant the megacity was any less active. As the sun rose on the third day of Rei's stay at Derek's apartment, she opened her eyes blearily and yawned.

Remembering not to stretch her legs, she said, "Good morning, Sally."

There was no hiss this time, which Rei took as having done right by the feline for once.

Testing her fortune, she even petted the tiny cat on the head a few times, managing to retract her fingers before Sally could hiss. She did open her mouth slightly while her slitted eyes peered at Rei, so it was a close miss.

Feeling good about herself, she did some stretching — not that it was needed with her sleep-healing and [Self-Repair] — and did her morning business. Once that was done, she listened for any of the usual noises from Derek's bedroom, but all was silent.

It suited Rei just fine.

"I'll go out and buy some stuff. I'll knock when I'm back, but I'll probably be gone for a bit, so no need to hurry. Love you," she sent to Miyo through her agent.

Putting on the clothes she'd washed in the strange mist washer the evening prior, she walked out of the apartment. Rei had a goal that day, and it would take her out of the apartment complex.

Ichiro hadn't called back during the previous day or the following night. The fact that he hadn't had begun narrowing possible causes down to options she didn't like:

His neural link could be malfunctioning, causing his agent to be offline. Why it would malfunction was anyone's guess, but it could mean he was in danger.

Perhaps he lay injured somewhere, unconscious but being looked after.

He might even have been captured by The Pistons or whoever else was behind the chase after Rei.

Or he may already be-

Rei cut that thought off before she could finish it. There was no need to go for the worst-case scenario before she had any information.

All the same, his continued absence had spurred Rei into preparing for a possible future conflict — even if she wasn't somehow found by her enemies.

Her body may not be up to the standards of gang members who'd been physically augmented with cyberware to increase their strength, speed, reflexes, and durability, but it wasn't useless.

Her recent [Body] recalibration had added some more confidence to her. She wasn't yet at the peak of non-augmented human physicality but was now well above average.

It was, therefore, time to get some weapons.

As much as the thought of Wilma made her nauseous and set her gut to boiling with fury, one thing she'd said resonated well with Rei:

"We are Magi first and physical combatants second."

That may well change after I've become more machine than human, but for now, it strikes a poignant chord.

If she leveled up her [Melee Mastery] skill enough times, wielding a katana like her brother with fitness might become possible, but her lacking physicality was still a bottleneck. It didn't matter how much skill she had if she couldn't even see her adversaries moving at close range.

Rei liked the feeling of wielding knives, though, and she planned on getting a dagger. Nothing fancy, but at least one melee weapon was essential if she wanted to train her skill and as a last resort.

The foremost target, however, was something she could use at range.

An assault rifle or shotgun might be more effective against enemies I can't bypass the ICE of in time, but they are probably too expensive and unwieldy.

She thought a handgun at least above the lowest quality was all she'd be able to afford from what she'd seen when researching it.

It was better than nothing.

Oddly enough, there hadn't been any automated stores selling weapons on the convenience floor in the apartment complex she walked through. That was why she'd told Miyo that she may be out for a while. She had to go somewhere else, but the agent map was convenient for locating stuff. A gun store just a block away looked to have everything she needed from its public page on the mesh.

Rei took the elevator down, joined by a few people who looked tired and bored — no doubt in for a shift at whatever job they were working.

She stepped out of the complex and onto the street. It was bustling with people, and holo adverts were beaming intrusive music and attention-grabbing sounds at those beneath. Rei oriented herself before joining the stream of people going in the right direction.

It was the 17th of April, and — according to her agent — a cloudless sky and spring sun should be shining down upon Zone 8 that morning, but Rei wasn't so sure about that. It was hot enough, but she'd not been outside much other than her latest dash through the night.

The day's heat made the two previous days' rainfall steam and rise in mists, which made the sky impossible to see when added to the general pollution. All was damp, and condensation could be seen on every surface. It made Rei's hair feel disgusting after only a few minutes.

The hoodie she wore tucked over her head to hide her features at least helped keep it somewhat dry.

Rei ignored the general hubbub of people laughing, speaking, and yelling — in rage or passion — while she did her best to blend in, the crowds taking her through stalls selling food that smelled ten times better than what she'd eaten from vending machines even if it didn't look that different.

Aromas to draw in customers? It would have probably worked on me if I wasn't so poor.

After passing over a walkway going above another street full of vehicles that stood still from some kind of traffic accident further ahead, she came upon her target's street.

Eventually finding the place, she stepped up to it — having to dodge a burly man coming out while cursing about them not having the correct ammo — before walking in.

Holo displays along each wall showed models of various guns and rifles, either spinning slowly to showcase them from all angles or otherwise having an advert playing out for the specific item. Behind a counter reinforced by a steel fence and what was no doubt bullet-proof plexiglass, a man stood.

He was running an oil-stained rough cloth along a weapon that looked like it could blow up a whole apartment in one shot.

"You've got daggers, right?" Rei asked as she stepped up to him, leaning down on the counter that seemed entirely closed off by the fence and glass, hoping he could still hear her.

He nodded, not taking his eyes off the weapon he was now cradling like his firstborn son, a loving smile on his lips. "That we do. Not a huge variety, mind you. But we have them," he answered, his voice coming from a hidden speaker.

Without needing to be asked, the holo displays behind him switched to flicking through their selection of daggers. There were ten of them in total, but Rei already knew what she wanted — having browsed their selection beforehand.

"The VibroFang from Severus LTD, I'll take one of those."

"Anything else?" The cashier asked, finally raising his gaze to take Rei in with eyes that looked like the markers seen through a rifle scope.

"Yes, but I'm undecided between the Garland P12 by DRMC and the Nectric R2 made by Wraith Corp. Figured I'd ask if you had any suggestions."

His eyes took her in with a piercing intensity that suited their appearance. They roamed up and down her basic attire, seemingly taking in more than Rei thought showed.

"I think I already know, but let me ask this: Are you going for stealth?"

"Not really. I mean, stealth is always good, no? That's why I was considering the Nectric R2, as it's supposedly less noisy and delivers electric discharges alongside the projectile itself, helping incapacitate enemies better.

"But I wouldn't say stealth is my main concern. If I have to use the handgun, I've already fucked up."

"Yeah, I figured," the man said, his eyes going silver for a second before the buzzing of two drones could be heard far off into the room in the back. "Wraith does good work, don't get me wrong, but their lower-end products are often not as good as the competition. It's usually how it is when stealth is required for ballistic weapons.

"As you only seem to be planning to use it in self-defense, I'd recommend going for the Garland. Some might call it a peashooter, but it's reliable and not prone to breaking unless severely mishandled. The ammunition is also cheaper."

I should have thought of the ammo cost. This completely rules out the Nectric on its own. Oh, well.

Two drones clamping one box each soon came into view before setting their payload down on the cashier's side of the barrier. He moved as if to open the boxes before turning back to her, "You want to keep the packaging or take the items as is?"

"I don't need the packaging, no."

He proceeded to open them up, first taking out the dagger. It was sheathed in what looked like black faux leather with straps to tie it around one's thigh or upper arm. He pulled it out to show her.

The blade wasn't very long but had enough length to pierce someone's heart without issue. It was gently curved, but not to the degree that stabbing became an issue. The blade was made of dark gray plasteel, and the sharp edges were a similarly dark green. The hilt was made of some sort of black rubber that looked both comfortable to hold and non-slippery. The dagger's guard had no more than two tiny bumps, but they were sufficient when used to stab as long as one's grip was firm.

Severus LTD's logo was lasered onto the blade near the guard: The letter 'S' split vertically, the split ends painted in red as if the letter had been flesh and blood on the inside.

Rei liked the look even if green wasn't her favorite color.

"Just know that the green doesn't signify any inbuilt venom or poison injectors. You wouldn't believe how many think that's the case if a weapon 'looks' poisonous."

Rei nodded, already aware.

The VibroFang 170 was nothing more than a slightly above-average dagger with an oscillating edge that easily cut through most materials. Franklin had used something similar when cutting Rei up on his operating table, and the cut had been made cleanly and effortlessly.

I haven't given him much thought over these past days, but I wonder if he was somewhere else during the attack and survived. Honestly, I don't really care either way. He was too creepy.

The VibroFang's oscillating edge was powered by a battery built into the hilt and could be turned on for no more than five minutes before it needed to be recharged. It wasn't great, but Rei could also recharge the dagger via the universal data port set into the hilt's bottom using her data jack and fusion core.

Placing the dagger down, the cashier proceeded to retrieve the handgun from its box.

The Garland P12 was made from gleaming gray plasteel. The only other colors were the black rubber set into each side of the grip, and the simplistic sanguine braid lasered along the barrel. As he turned it, she also saw Deadmor Ranged & Melee Corp's logo — a red skull being shattered by a projectile — lasered onto the barrel's end facing the wielder.

He ejected the magazine, saying, "Each mag holds ten rounds, and the handgun itself only comes with two of them." He pulled a second magazine out of the packaging to put on the counter for emphasis. "Do you want to buy more?"

Rei thought about it for a few seconds before nodding. "Yes, one more magazine so I can keep both strapped to the leg opposite my dagger."

"You could get a belt for the dagger to keep one mag on each thigh."

Rei shook her head after thinking about it for a few seconds. It wouldn't be too much of a hassle to lean slightly before grabbing the dagger, and she couldn't afford to keep spending credits. Apart from bullets, there was one more thing she needed.

"The handgun doesn't come with a holster, does it?"

He shook his head, "No. You need one?"

"I do."

"Where would you like it?"

After answering his question, his eyes went silver. Soon enough, another drone dropped off a package that he opened, presenting the holster. It would sit comfortably on her right hip.

The holster itself was more expensive than she'd prefer, but his sale's pitch on how she could sync her agent with it to lock her gun in place to keep thieves away made it an easy choice. He'd also mentioned that it wasn't something guaranteed as 'all the shit Magi can do' made such a promise nothing more than false advertising.

Upon realizing that her dagger's sheath didn't have the same lock function, she reluctantly selected one that did, adding more to the tally. She didn't go for a belt, though, as for whatever reason, the vague knowledge she'd gotten from [Melee Mastery] told her that keeping it on her thigh wouldn't be much of an issue, and she thought it would look 'cooler' that way.

Yes, she decided where it would sit based on that.

The plexiglass moved up a couple of decimeters after Rei's eyes flashed gold as she transferred the requested credits. The cashier pushed her purchases over to her side of the counter before it shut again.

On her side now sat the Garland P12, three full magazines — the ejected one having remained separated — a plastic bag holding the ammunition box, her VibroFang 170 in its new secure sheath, and the theft-safe holster.

My poor credits...

After saving up 4000 credits from her eight months of collecting her 500 credits per month of UBI, her balance had sunk to 1340 in just a few days.

The EasyCab ride had cost nearly 200 credits, the two medical injectors 300 each, her basic clothes just above 100, and now all the weapons on top of it — the most expensive of all.

Rei hadn't gone for excellent-quality stuff, just pieces of gear slightly above average since she didn't think she could afford anything better.

Still, the VibroFang cost 700 credits, and the Garland 600. The additional magazine cost 60 credits, and the carton of 40 extra bullets cost 80. The holster and new sheath cost a whopping 330 credits combined, leaving her with just over 1300 remaining.

It wasn't too bad, considering that food from vending machines costs between 10 and 20 credits a piece when actually paying. But what if she had to take another cab or buy medical supplies in an emergency? She only had 500 monthly credits to spend until she found an alternative income stream, so she had to be somewhat frugal.

Strapping herself down with her new gear — a holster on the right hip, a dagger on the left thigh, and two magazines on her right thigh with the simple straps that came with buying an extra magazine — the remaining magazine went back into the handgun before settling it into its holster.

Connecting to her sheath and holster through her agent was easy, and it took barely a thought to add some rudimentary ICE of her own making to at least give her a heads-up if a Magi tried to mess with it.

Now armed and feeling somewhat secure, she took the bag holding her extra ammo and began to walk out of the gunshop. However, she turned back a few steps later as she had a question.

"If I want to resell the weapons, can I do that here?"

The man grunted, and Rei heard someone new enter the store behind her. Yet she didn't turn around, too focused on his answer. "As long as it isn't trash, yes. You won't get market prices as we have to go over the weapons, check them for damage, and perhaps polish them up a bit. Most stores have this policy, though."

"Alright, thanks!" Rei said, turning around and striding out.

On her way out, she ignored the woman in black full-body armor with only their visor removed. She was carrying what looked like a damaged machine gun more fit for a fortress wall than being hand-held.

I wonder how much something like that costs...

Rei nearly stopped as the thought struck her but forced herself to keep walking.

That's right. Weapons are expensive, and many people carry weapons. What if I just steal some?

Rei looked out over the crowds as she moved to join them, seeing a few people carrying rifles slung across shoulders or handguns strapped into holsters.

It's an easy way to fix my falling credit balance...

She continued to ponder as she moved toward Derek's apartment.

It's not as if I'll just steal from innocent bystanders. Well, innocent might be the wrong word, but people who haven't wronged me. People who've come after me first, though? I got my two combat knives from such an encounter, and if I still had them, I could have sold them.

As dangerous as it may be, didn't she already have a whole gang who'd want nothing more than to kill or capture her? They surely didn't need all that gear. It was a shame that they rarely seemed to carry guns and that stripping whatever armor they might wear would be too cumbersome. Still, some were bound to have ranged weaponry.

It isn't stealing if they're dead. That's just free loot up for grabs.

Rei didn't even feel [Merciless] coming alive on a low simmer in the back of her mind without her manually triggering the perk, her eyes going cold.