No hesitation. No waiting for questions. Nicole launched into her explanation fast and clear—basic skill for any decent broker.

  “My name is Nicole. Call-sign’s ‘Pack-Rat’.” As she introduced herself, she instinctively jerked a thumb at the bulging backpack on her back. She didn’t really need to; the other girl could probably see it straight through the gaping hole in her left chest.

  “You may call me Pandora.” The girl’s response was polite. Her tone was still that flat, matter-of-fact, almost bored delivery.

  “Nice to meet you, Pandora.” Nicole picked up the thread fast, not stopping her pitch. “I work with information. In the Mokuhaku, Seidou, and Sugiki districts, there’s not much I don’t know. And if I don’t, with enough money and a little time, I can find out.”

  “But,” her tone turned serious instantly, “right now I’ve got a problem. A ‘Rot-Spider’ is hunting me. Right this second.”

  “You can see my current state.” She pointed at the horrific wound. “I… can’t handle this trouble. And I suggest you steer clear of it too.” An urgent look spread across her face.

  “Smell this fog? The stench of rot’s getting stronger. It’s closing in. We should run. Now! If it catches up, it’ll be too late!”

  Nicole was genuinely getting anxious. The putrid smell was thick now, meaning the Rot-Spider was close.

  She hadn’t sensed immediate aggression from it, but it was definitely lurking in the nearby shadows, waiting.

  This made her sweat.

  But the girl in front of her, Pandora, showed zero tension. She just raised a pale hand, fanning the foul air of decay and fog away from her nose with mild distaste. Then she spoke in a purely curious, utterly calm voice.

  “Rot-Spider… what’s that?”

  “You don’t know?!” Nicole’s voice rose a bit, disbelief leaking through. “Rot-Spider! One of the most notorious second-rank mutated zombies! You… how can you not know?”

  Nicole’s mind reeled. Who was this Pandora? How could she not know about something as dangerous and noteworthy as a Rot-Spider? Didn’t her mentor give her the basic second-rank texts?

  What she didn’t know was that Pandora had no “mentor,” and hadn’t systematically studied any “second-rank basics.” The reason was simple—Pandora hadn’t publicly revealed her second-rank status. The freshman courses she took only covered a few notable second-rank mutated zombies freshmen might occasionally stumble into.

  As for the Rot-Spider… it wasn’t one of them. The Mokuhaku Ward they were in wasn’t normal freshman turf. And even here, this wasn’t the Rot-Spider’s usual haunt—that would be a Mother Corpse-Spider’s nest.

  Pandora had no reason to know it.

  Though, if Nicole had described it differently, Pandora might have understood. She didn’t know the concept of “Rot-Spider,” but alchemical materials processed from Rot-Spiders were very familiar to her…

  “Forget it, we can talk later. We need to esca—” Nicole dropped the line of questioning and tried to make her point.

  But Pandora cut her off, her calm voice leaving no room. “No need to run.” She shook her head lightly, her deep eyes showing no ripple. “We’ll talk here.”

  “But…”

  The protest died on Nicole’s lips. She wanted to say this wasn’t the place, that the terrifying zombie could charge any second.

  But looking into those utterly placid eyes, and remembering the not-quite-gone hallucinations of being sliced apart…

  She couldn’t get a word out.

  In the end, Nicole squeezed a single, defeated word through her teeth.

  “...Fine.”

  As she agreed, she thought: Fine! Whatever! If you can’t handle it, I’m not dying here with you… don’t blame me! I’m not being your burial buddy!

  With that, Nicole took a deep breath and, almost angrily, began rattling off everything she knew about the Rot-Spider:

  “Rot-Spider. Looks like a spider… but it’s not. It’s an aggregate mutated zombie made of ‘Animated Corpse-Fluid’ and a bunch of mutated, razor-sharp bony limbs…”

  She described it all in as much detail as she could. Most was “basic info” in second-rank circles, but a good chunk were tidbits she’d picked up through her own channels. Like the specific properties of that Animated Corpse-Fluid, the Rot-Spider’s unique senses, its real weakness…

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Suddenly, a low, distinct vibration cut her off.

  Thud… thud-thud…

  Nicole’s expression snapped tight. Her words froze.

  The vibration source was close now. And the feeling was familiar—the sound of something heavy stomping the ground.

  Skreee—!

  Thwipp!

  Almost no time to react. A series of other sounds burst out in quick succession.

  The violent clang of hard things colliding.

  The sick sound of something sharp sinking into thick gel.

  The explosive crack of bones being snapped.

  Nicole could almost picture it: Right now, in the thick fog she couldn’t see through, a blurred figure was fighting a fierce, borderline insane battle with that terrifying Rot-Spider.

  And right then, Nicole’s ears caught that somewhat familiar, flat, girlish voice again.

  “I understand.”

  “Those limbs aren’t its real body, right?”

  “Just external tools it controls… The liquids that look like corpse-fluids, especially the deeper, semi-gel parts, are its real core…”

  Pandora’s gaze seemed unfocused, like she was seeing something in the empty air that normal people couldn’t. She tilted her head slightly, asking Nicole for confirmation again.

  “Is that right?”

  “...Correct.”

  Nicole answered on instinct, but her mind was racing. How did she figure that out? I was barely giving pieces, my best intel… Did she put it together from what I just said? No, some parts I haven’t even mentioned!

  How does she know? She’s been standing right in front of me the whole time.

  Nicole swallowed drily, feeling more and more that the girl before her was deeply unsettling—in some ways, even scarier than the Rot-Spider.

  So she didn’t ask. As a top broker, she knew the rule: some things you can ask about. Some things are private secrets. Never ask.

  “The gelatinized corpse-fluid, now that we know it’s the real body… normal methods don’t seem to work on it. So, how is it killed?”

  Pandora seemed completely unaware of Nicole’s weird state. Having gotten her “confirmation,” she just kept asking, like nothing was wrong.

  Hearing the question, Nicole again felt that surreal sense that the girl was somehow part of the distant battle hidden in the thick fog.

  She took a deep breath, shook off the daze, and fell back on her professional broker skills. Her answer came out concise, almost automatic.

  “Actually, it’s not that complex. Inside that gel body, there’s a real core. Looks like… a kind of misshapen human head covered in tendrils.”

  Recalling the intel details, she added cautiously, “In theory, destroying it kills the Rot-Spider for good. But be careful. That core… isn’t as weak as it looks.”

  “Mhm. Understood.”

  Pandora nodded calmly, like a total bystander. It made Nicole doubt her own judgment again. Was she wrong?

  Then the exchange between them paused briefly, dropping into an eerie quiet.

  But the underground “world” around them wasn’t quiet at all.

  Thud!

  Clang!

  Squelch—!

  Sounds of extreme violence kept coming from deep in the fog.

  The sharp clang of metal.

  The wet splash of liquid.

  The nasty crack of bones being severed.

  …Something was definitely happening.

  And she, frustratingly… couldn’t see any of it!

  Nicole shifted, her heart quaking. The fog was so thick it felt like some unknown, shapeless monster might lunge from the shadows any second and bite her head off.

  She couldn’t relax.

  But when she instinctively looked at the girl again—

  Damn it!

  Why was she so calm?

  Was she just a natural stone-face? Like… like her own video-game-addicted, socially-awkward little sister who reacted slowly to everything?

  The thought of her sister, strangely, calmed Nicole’s wildly pounding heart—beating from fear and blood loss—just a tiny bit.

  That weird fear toward the girl also faded a little.

  Sis…

  Nicole took a deep breath, clenched her fist hard, then slowly let go.

  “You said you’re an information broker?”

  Suddenly, Pandora spoke again, cutting through the silence filled with terrifying background noise.

  Nicole blinked, then nodded seriously. The moment she did, her previously slumped posture—from her heavy injuries—somehow gained a touch of professional, efficient “flavor.”

  “Then for the Kamiyama Front, Tsukimidaira, and Sakura Road areas… they’re all in the Mokuhaku Ward. You must have intel on them, right?”

  “Of course I do! Ask away!”

  Nicole blurted it almost on reflex.

  Normally, intel on these prime, “high livability” zones came with a fee—a big one.

  But right now… the terrifying thing, whether it was a person or something else, currently fighting the Rot-Spider was clearly connected to this girl.

  Since she was currently “under her roof,” so to speak, some adjustments to her usual rules were needed. Like… her payment policy.

  First one’s free, pay for the rest—wasn’t that a totally normal business promo?

  Nothing strange about that!

  Nicole convinced herself with this logic, feeling a bit better.

  “Tell me,” Pandora’s voice stayed calm, “who lives in those places now? Or rather… who controls them?”

  Lives…

  What does she want? Does she like these places too?

  Nicole’s heart jumped.

  Of the three, two were manageable, but one was the spot she was most worried about…

  She asked on instinct, “What are you planning to do?”

  “What… I need to give you my info first to get yours?” A faint, barely-there smile touched Pandora’s pale lips as she chuckled.

  “Not exactly…”

  Fine. If you don’t want to say, don’t.

  Nicole wisely shut up. She didn’t want to test the other’s limits. At the same time, she felt a flicker of something at that rare smile.

  Come to think of it, the girl was really pretty…

  The pale face gave a fragile impression, but that calm, composed hint of a smile turned the fragility into a cool clarity. A kind of detached quality.

  Not tall, but she gave the feeling of looking down from above. That detachment made her paleness seem less sickly and more like a fine, noble glaze…

  Ugh, what am I thinking?!

  Nicole scolded herself mentally, snapping back:

  “As for your question…” She quickly sorted the intel in her head, picked the shareable parts, and started talking with professional speed:

  “Kamiyama Front. That area’s got great housing. Good environment. Clean air. Very popular, so ownership changes hands a lot.”

  “But this time… the current holder’s been there a while. No signs of a change lately.”

  “His name’s ‘Nelson.’ He’s a known ’Chef’ around here. His abilities are decent for second-rank, but the main thing is… his connections are solid. So chances of a change soon seem low.”