Dashing out of the city’s edge, Tsuchigumo left the last man-made structure behind.
Entering the wilderness, she looked back at Anjiu City, the entire city’s silhouette made up of hundreds of massive commercial buildings, which now seemed all to be shrouded by a higher level of will, no longer the calm and tranquil it used to be.
Her limbs felt weak, barely retaining the strength to keep moving.
Stumbling into the forest, she saw a Synthetic Human guarding the path leading deeper into the dense woods, preventing the citizens from venturing into the forestland where Supernatural Powers spread.
"No need to go any further." It glanced at Tsuchigumo and then lowered its head again.
Not only was the city dangerous, but great horrors also lurked in the forest.
Tsuchigumo looked out over the woodland, the exceptionally dense forest that replaced the barren mountains and hills of her childhood, unable to say which she preferred more.
She felt like she had reached deep into a dark box, only to be stung by a scorpion. Tsuchigumo, who liked to be among insects, knew how terrifying this was. She was filled with regret. Why did she probe Nestor Corporation’s intelligence? Now, her life was in jeopardy.
Tsuchigumo didn’t understand what had just happened, but she could be sure of one thing.
—There were "Ghosts" living within the network system of the Northern Archipelago.
It had devoured everything, assimilated everything.
She wanted to escape from this unsolvable power by any means necessary.
Right, even if passing this intelligence back would suffice... The president must know, the Northern Archipelago was no longer somewhere Renwang Security could return to, this place was no longer home.
Tsuchigumo turned around, only to see 10 Elite Synthetic Human Soldiers appearing at the edge of her field of vision.
They were the reinforced riot-specific versions, holding Nestor Corporation-produced "Rán" heavy assault rifles in their hands.
"You’re under arrest," said the leading Synthetic Human.
Tsuchigumo reckoned that if she resisted, she could take them down, but it would be meaningless. The production capacity of the major corporations was billions of times hers—one would fall, hundreds would stand up.
She could only take it one step at a time.
For now, Tsuchigumo hoped that her old friend, Mizuiro Yoshioka, could be omnipotent and utilize her connections as the Witch Division Vice Chief to get herself out of jail...
Tsuchigumo gave up resistance, put on handcuffs, and was escorted onto a black Shuttle Machine by a Synthetic Human.
minutes later, Mizuiro Yoshioka received the news, and hurriedly set out to bail someone out from the Juuchome Security Bureau in the south city district of Anjiu City.
"This must be some misunderstanding." Mizuiro Yoshioka registered information at the counter, inputting Tsuchigumo’s real name, Mishima Naomi, hoping she could avoid prison.
"She was arrested for suspicious corporate espionage activities," explained the overnight staff behind the window.
"Is it serious? Can I speak with her?" asked Mizuiro Yoshioka anxiously.
"Go ahead, we are still collecting some evidence of the crime." The staff unlocked the door to the side corridor, facilitating her access to the detention room behind.
Ever since her arrest, Tsuchigumo had remained here, her handcuffs still not unlocked, sitting on the long metal bench with a worried look.
After Mizuiro Yoshioka entered, Tsuchigumo’s expression became even more despondent.
"I’m very sorry—causing such a mess as soon as I returned," Tsuchigumo apologized first.
"I really didn’t know you would do this to me. Do you know how difficult this makes it for me? I still considered you my friend, you knew I served Nestor Corporation, and yet... Forget it, I guess those of different paths do not work together? Your loyalty has already been sold to Renwang Security Company," Mizuiro Yoshioka blamed.
"..." Tsuchigumo looked worried.
With Tsuchigumo’s skills, of course, she could escape from here, but that eerie network presence had already warned her; escaping would be futile.
Indeed, bound by sea on all sides, it’s a large island. Unless she could get a long-haul vessel, escape from the Northern Archipelago was impossible.
At the moment, Tsuchigumo could only listen to Mizuiro Yoshioka’s complaints, swallowing the guilt Mizuiro Yoshioka tried to plant in her heart.
What was more terrifying was that Tsuchigumo didn’t know how Nestor Corporation would judge her. Even though she hadn’t obtained any substantial intelligence, merely the probing and attempted infiltration was already a serious breach of confidentiality. She might face 3 to 5 years of prison, and Renwang Security would definitely not stir up trouble for Tsuchigumo.
Tsuchigumo... a spider buried in the soil.
Feeling utterly dejected, she didn’t dare look up at Mizuiro Yoshioka.
Mizuiro Yoshioka looked at the downcast childhood companion before her, recalling their days of back-to-back loneliness on the streets. With memories overlaying reality, combined with the disparity in their identities, bitter thoughts naturally took root in her heart.
"You still don’t understand the current situation of the Northern Archipelago," Mizuiro Yoshioka shook her head.
"There’s a ’Ghost’ here, a monster that exists in the network world," Tsuchigumo murmured.
"Getting involved with such a thing, I can no longer help you," Mizuiro Yoshioka’s heart skipped a beat.
"Atone," Mizuiro Yoshioka frowned, "If you’re willing, it will make a deal with you."
"Any kind of deal will do, I just hope it makes things clear to me, whatever it wants me to do," Tsuchigumo sighed.
Only by evading the punishment of this network Ghost could Tsuchigumo’s days return to normal.
Shortly after, the staff walked through the corridor and unlocked the shackles on Tsuchigumo’s hands.
"My apologies, Miss Mishima. We have just checked; there’s nothing under the He Club," the staff said.
"What?" Tsuchigumo was astonished.
"The secret intelligence exchange you talked about in your statement... the He Club, there’s indeed a room underneath, but it’s just a storage room, filled with miscellaneous items, not at all like the three dead hackers you mentioned, nor the voice that could speak," the staff explained.