On the way back, based on Lauren and the others' descriptions, Cipher had a general understanding of what kind of place this world was.
This was a world where technology and superpowers coexisted, but despite the advanced technology, there was very little in the way of cybernetic modifications.
This was because all technology and development in this place were controlled by five major conglomerates, which were:
Arasaka Heavy Industries, which managed military industry, heavy machinery, security systems, and military forces.
Genesis Technology, which managed bioengineering, medicine, gene editing, and bio-enhancement fields.
Cyber Logistics, which managed the global logistics network, information superhighway infrastructure, and drone swarm dispatch.
Apex Entertainment, which managed media, entertainment, neural interface content, and virtual reality fields.
And the independent government agency, the Superpower Management Agency (IMA), which regulated, registered, researched, and controlled all superpowered individuals within the city.
From the perspective of the IMA, anyone who underwent cybernetic modification was no longer a complete human and was denying their identity as a human.
Thus, a discrimination chain was born; any human who had undergone cybernetic modification would be hunted down by the IMA.
However, due to human rights considerations, the IMA would not directly kill humans who had undergone cybernetic modification, but instead exiled them to the Pit Bottom District, to live among all sorts of garbage and scrap metal.
But superpowered individuals were different.
For the same reason, in the eyes of the IMA, internal body modifications, such as those to genes and cells, were considered to be developing humanity's own potential; therefore, unlike cybernetically modified humans who were like rats scurrying across the street, genetically modified humans, superpowered individuals, and similar groups were strongly supported by the IMA.
So, in this place, most technology was developed in the areas of 'military,' 'superpowers,' and 'genes.'
Their current location was the Pit bottom District, originally a place where the Cloud District and Honeycomb District dumped their garbage; however, after years of living and transforming by the cybernetically modified individuals exiled there, this place gradually changed from a 'dump' to a 'slum.'
'This world view really has a cyberpunk feel to it... No wonder the rewards the system just drew were all technology-related items.'
After listening to Lauren's narration, Cipher felt her understanding of this world had become much richer.
"By the way, Cipher... your ears and tail..."
"Is something wrong?"
Lauren's voice reached Cipher's ears, pulling her back to reality, so she subconsciously replied.
"Have you been genetically modified before? I've never seen anyone like you in real life..."
At this, Lauren paused, seemingly organizing her words, and after a while, slowly uttered three words.
"Beast-eared girl."
"I don't know how to explain it either; I only know that my ears and tail are part of my body, and I can even control them."
She had just arrived in this world, how could she have undergone genetic modification... It's so annoying, if only there were cat-girls in this world too, then she wouldn't seem so strange.
Cipher felt a bit helpless internally, but on the surface, she still smiled and explained her feline features to Lauren, even controlling her tail to gently tap Lauren's hand.
Feeling the fluffy touch on her hand, Lauren inexplicably felt her face flush, then she remembered her earlier question... Why would she ask such a question to someone with amnesia! It was utterly stupid!
"I'm sorry, I forgot you had amnesia!"
After quickly apologizing to Cipher, Lauren hurried ahead, as if by doing so she could shake off her foolish self from a few tens of seconds ago.
"Actually, I didn't mind it..."
But Lauren pretended not to hear and stubbornly walked at the very front of the group.
Not long after, she stopped and then turned to the others, saying,
"We're here."
Hearing Lauren's words, Cipher looked up and saw a dilapidated signboard, with four large characters written in barely legible handwriting—"Mercenary Association."
"The Mercenary Association is where we people from the Pit bottom District earn money; all sorts of commissions, job postings, and a series of other information can be found here."
Lauren introduced as she opened the door to the Mercenary Association.
However, the moment the door opened, Cipher only felt various kinds of cheap alcohol fumes aggressively assaulting her nose and trying to attack her brain.
The strong smell made Cipher instinctively cover her nose and take a step back.
Jasmine, who had been by Cipher's side, paused when she saw this, but quickly realized that Cipher probably didn't like the smell of alcohol.
She didn't like it either, but she had been there too many times and had long grown accustomed to the smell.
Thinking this, Jasmine lowered her head and began rummaging through her satchel.
Soon, something shaped like a mask was taken out.
"Cipher, this is for you. Although it can't completely block the smell, it should make it a bit more bearable."
After speaking, Jasmine handed her the item.
"Thank you, Jassy!"
The moment she saw the mask, Cipher, whose nose was terribly uncomfortable from the fumes, seemed to have seen a savior; after thanking her, she immediately took the mask.
"You're welcome. Just remember to return it to me when we leave."
Jasmine seemed unaccustomed to Cipher's thanks; after handing the mask to her, she lowered her head and quickly followed Lauren inside.
Seeing that both of them had gone in, Cipher originally planned to put on the mask and follow them.
But as she was about to hang the mask on her ears, Cipher froze.
I... seem to have dual auditory systems... which means... I don't have human ears at all, so how do I wear it?!
After staring at the mask for a while, feeling a bit troubled, she could only hold the mask over her nose with one hand, like holding a towel, which was the only way she could somewhat use it.
As for tying the mask to her head... Cipher was certain it couldn't be tied from the two inelastic strings on either side of the mask.
After entering the Mercenary Association, she saw Lauren and Jasmine standing in front, waiting for her.
Before she could speak, she saw Lauren walk up to her with a hint of embarrassment on her face.
"Sorry, Cipher, I forgot to tell you that the Mercenary Association's main revenue comes from alcohol, so it doesn't smell very good in here."
Cipher shook her head, indicating she didn't mind, but after looking around, she found that besides a bunch of drunkards, there were only other mercenary squads coming and going, and she didn't see Ethan.
So she asked Lauren and the others with some confusion:
"Where's Ethan?"
"Ethan went to turn in the mission."
Hearing this answer, Cipher was even more puzzled.
"But aren't you the captain? Why did Ethan go to turn in the mission?"
However, to Cipher's surprise, after she asked this question, Lauren lowered her head, and her expression clearly became much more dejected.
This rapid shift in emotion made Cipher's expression freeze, wondering if she had accidentally asked something wrong.
"Because there's an unwritten rule here... when settling and accepting missions, the strongest person in the team must do it; otherwise, the association will test your abilities, and only after your abilities are deemed sufficient will they let you accept the mission."
"My strength isn't as great as Ethan's, and I don't have the same intimidating presence as Ethan... So, to avoid unnecessary trouble, every time we choose or complete a mission, we let Ethan do it..."
"This... this is too absurd... I've never seen this kind of operating method before..."
Cipher was somewhat speechless; even though she had read many novels in her previous life, she had never encountered such a rule.
"Wait, don't say it out loud..."
Jasmine, upon hearing Cipher's words, secretly thought it was bad and immediately wanted to stop Cipher from continuing.
But she was still a step too slow; a mercenary who was drinking heard Cipher's words and immediately began to mock them.
"Hahahahaha, I'm dying of laughter, you actually call this absurd, this is respect for strength!"
"It's no wonder they're people brought by 'Spark,' all of them are just women. You should know, in the Pit bottom, a big fist is the hard truth! Only the strong can make the rules!"
Saying that, the mercenary picked up the cheap alcohol on the table and took a swig.
"You say this rule is absurd, then go challenge the person who made this rule! If you win, then the rules are yours to do whatever you want with, right?"
"But... your useless squad is still just a bunch of women at the end of the day. Win against the rule-maker? That's just wishful thinking! Even the only man in your team is as cowardly as a woman, preferring to follow the orders of you women rather than leaving the team to join our Wolf Fang Squad. Pfft, just let him cut off his manhood, it's useless anyway!"
"You women should just lie obediently on the bed, spread your legs, and wait for us men to *!"