Arc 2 P6

Shiska downed the green tea in one go. She still couldn't believe that, after several trips here, Leroy actually knew some big names.

The small room their in holographically depicted a spring view from the upper floor of an old, wooden shop. The pillows and the low table were new experiences for Shiska. She wondered what's the point of eating so close to the floor as if they're camping.

"How many years has it been," Ooyuri stared straight ahead, smiling. "I thought the outerfields finally freed you."

"I'll get straight to the point," Leroy was a emotionless as ever. "I'm looking for something."

Ooyuri's smile never faded. "I'm sure you'll find whatever you seek with your sharp senses. You found me, after all."

"No. I found you because you clung to the old ways."

She snickered. "It's done to honor my roots. The mistress took us all in without question: she taught us how to survive in this dark corner of Chernobyl. I'm doing the same now."

"Madam manager, I'm not here to reminisce."

"So am I," Her smile vanished. A single clap and a girl joined them. "Take the lady to a better accommodation. She's my guest."

Shiska felt that soft and sweet feeling as the girl immediately latched on to her. She shuddered. "This way, nya~"

"Go freshen up or something," Leroy said to Shiska. "This won't be long."

Once they're alone, Ooyuri heaved a long sigh. Then, as if an arrow finally loosened, all the poise and restraint on her voice gone. "What the hell were you thinking associating yourself with that girl? You think we can't bail you out with our savings? The mistress was already sweet-talk—ahem—negotiating with the military but… but… huff hufff… sorry, let me catch my breath for a moment…"

Leroy took to her side and gently rubbed her back. "You've been relying on the incense too much. Also, Shiska is special."

Incense. That's how they say opium here. To be fair, Leroy was surprised the euphemism was outdated now. The ones he asked about previously simply blurted out the drug like it's nothing.

"Special? She's just a human, Leroy! A human criminal. If anything, she's special because she's among the few who betrayed their own—cough cough…"

There were indeed few humans in the outerfields. Most of them led healthy, fulfilling lives inside the city walls. Only the tainted were capable of committing crimes at will.

"Jie…"

"You shouldn't call me that anymore," she said. "Our jies, noonas, and neesans have already gone. That's why I still burn it. Opium. Despite everyone else moving on to better stuff, I continued. Angel's blood? What difference does it make? Once you get sick, the military takes you away, never to return."

"Angels blood?"

She scoffed. "The most recent drug the city let loose in the poor districts. Mixed with human blood, they said. I've never taken it but almost everyone around here had. The results spoke for themselves. There's virtually no reported incident after its circulation."

Now that he thought about it, the name rang a bell. During his investigation, aside from failing to find anyone familiar, Angel's blood was the next word that came to mind. He didn't pay any attention to it; back then, there's been a bunch of similar sounding names floating around the market.

That's where the problem lied. Leroy had been so used to hearing ridiculous drug names he didn't notice that, after living in the outerfields for a while, things had changed a lot around here.

If humans had a life expectancy of more than a century, the tainted remained struggling. Their minds weren't as resilient as a normal human. Although their bodies could take direct damage without immediately dying, they still succumbed to insanity faster, all because their cells, their DNA was mutated—restructured to a form most vulnerable to deterioration. They're like Rupert's drop—a superficial strike to their weakest and everything shatters.

In the end, the tainted was an inferior race who's only saving grace was the ability to use relics.

"Ambrosia…" a name escaped his lips.

To be able to wield a relic of a different configuration, she might be one of the first recipients of the new drug. Maybe that's the reason why she's acting too eager even for her standards. Aside from having a new power, maybe those freaks at the laboratories whispered something about her reaching to a wider audience once she finished the test, that they'd allow her to sing in the city.

Perhaps what the military was monitoring that time were the effects of this Angel's blood. Nobody cared on a criminal's fate especially on the outerfields. After all, they're a weak species. It's perfectly normal for them to die.

However, Leroy couldn't think why they wanted to do it. The city saw minimal tainted incidents before. Why would they waste time on creating a better psychedelic when usual names already did the trick? Substance abuse had been the tainted's usual vice to stave off the effects of the mutations. It's a simple cough and cold for some, but cases like Leroy developing another persona were also rampant.

"You seem to have found your answers," she said, most probably implying his long silence.

"Hardly. It's about something else, but this development is also nice."

Now he's sure she's not the right person to approach for his true query.

Suddenly, the door opened. Shiska, her short hair frayed all over and her clothes, while freshly washed were still wet, huffed and puffed as she looked at Leroy.

"Leroy, we need to go."