Three powerful figures crossed paths, gracefully leaping over the pile of garbage on the ground as they sprinted lightly along the residential wall.
"This is so cool! It's nothing like the heavy, bulky models we had before. I'm a little unused to not having armor."
"With this kind of speed, escaping is too easy."
Putato watched the three playing around, and his mood improved greatly. At least he wasn't returning to the Clinic alone today.
After a day's exhaustion, he was now dead tired.
Squatting down to observe a puddle on the ground, Putato noticed clear dark circles under his eyes.
The City was truly too exhausting.
"What's that?"
The water's surface reflected a dispute on a balcony. A woman, surrounded from both sides, was clutching a little girl.
Putato looked up and immediately realized this was the fifth floor of the Orphanage. That person seemed familiar. Wasn't she the crazy woman he'd seen before?
Damn it!
Putato immediately pressed the earphone button, which was originally meant for giving commands to the Biological Simulacra.
...
Orphanage, fifth-floor hallway.
A disheveled woman, sobbing, held a piece of broken glass to the little girl's neck.
"You won't take my child! I'll never let you take her away!"
"Who let this lunatic in? Quickly, restrain her!"
"Don't get excited. Look carefully, this isn't your child."
The little girl didn't scream or struggle. Instead, her lips turning white, she simply closed her eyes.
Security guards from behind raised their tasers and fired. The woman, hit in the back, immediately convulsed, but to the disbelief of the crowd, she used her remaining strength to swing the little girl over the railing.
"Run, run quickly!"
"I promise you, if you can just run home, I'll take the day off and spend the whole day with you."
The only response to the trembling woman was a piercing scream.
Everyone gripped the railing, staring down at the falling figure, a heavy sense of dread in their hearts.
"Grab the banner and catch her!"
Two figures quickly climbed to the third floor, dragging a Prosthetic Modification Advertisement Banner between them.
Bang.
The little girl landed squarely in the middle of the banner. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but a moment later, she bounced slightly and slipped off the side.
"Mo."
Mo, waiting on the second floor, reached out and snatched the little girl's calf, holding her aloft. Cheers of relief immediately erupted from the fifth floor.
Putato sighed, feeling a bit bewildered.
Chaos like this happened every day. How could he possibly manage it all? It was better to go home and rest. But since he was already here, he considered it a simple favor.
"Hey, are you their boss?"
The rescued little girl didn't cry or fuss. Instead, she leaned over the railing and shouted down at Putato.
Children still had too much energy. Putato ignored her and continued his way home.
"Putato, she said she'll pay you a large sum of money when she grows up."
"Don't tell me you're eyeing a child's money, Mo." Putato paid no attention to this.
"Does money differentiate between old and young? Really, it's not like I asked for it."
Putato quickened his pace, soon arriving at a familiar street.
Although the Clinic was a mess, this place actually gave Putato a sense of ease. At least he could rest a bit.
Lying on the small sofa, Putato noticed his Communicator gently vibrate.
The City's networks were disconnected; most areas used local networks directly. To communicate across Nests, one even had to pay to download specific software.
[Friend request from [Pangolin]: So you're here, huh? Is this also part of the Life's Menu?]
What's going on?
Putato frowned and accepted the request, immediately receiving an image—it was the front of the Clinic.
Almost the instant he saw the image, Putato sprang to the doorway, but the street was empty, save for three dazed figures wandering aimlessly.
A faint panic enveloped his heart.
He knew it wouldn't be so easy to get rid of Yixin, but how did she find him? Did she follow the truck all the way?
[Pangolin: I've prepared them well as gifts. I'll be back soon. We'll all have a good time then (^///^).]
She wants to prepare an appetizer, doesn't she? Putato knew instinctively that he was the main course. This kind of lunatic was truly impossible to reason with.
"Putato, you ran off so fast. The little girl wanted to talk to you but didn't get a chance." Mo bumped into him curiously.
Putato let the three enter, but he was still pondering how to deal with Yixin.
[Putato: Can I join the Eight Chefs now?]
[Pangolin: Your pure, authentic flavor alone could make all Chefs submit just by standing in a competition, but I don't want them to know about you. >︿<]
She wants me all to herself, huh.
"Putato, I'm talking to you."
"Let's go in and tidy up first. Putato probably has something important on his mind."
"Not bad, not bad. We are the juniors now."
[Putato: Then can I be the leader of The Backstreets Butchers? I don't really want to be a small-fry like everyone else. It makes me seem too ordinary.]
[Pangolin: Anything you want is fine, Honey.]
"Honey? Who sent this?!"
Putato immediately pocketed his Communicator, looking at Mo with a growing headache. The circular symbol on her iron head turned from yellow to red.
The matter with Yixin was troublesome. He planned to set it aside for now and focus on Gyeong-mi's mission: assassinating the Axe Gang boss.
After all, the matter of his promotion couldn't wait.
However, before that, he absolutely had to solve the Bloodfiend Cat problem.
Otherwise, while he was preparing his move against the Axe Gang, he might be disrupted by that monster again—which would be truly comical.
[Congratulations on your promotion in The Backstreets Butcher]
[Acquired Work Item: Honesuki]
[Description: This blade removes not only the flesh and blood from a target, but also the humanity within that flesh and blood.]
[Effect: Becomes incredibly sharp when cutting flesh.]
Yixin, this person, is truly decisive in every sense of the word.
"What's wrong with you? You've been out of sorts since we started. Can't I ask who that person was?"
"You're not married, are you?"
"Woah!" Putato, excitedly clutching the hilt of the knife, was surprised to find the Work Item had already arrived.
"Oh? You mean you even have children?"
Putato turned and called out to the other two, then immediately drew the Honesuki from his waist.
A weapon to hunt a Bloodfiend had arrived. There was no longer any reason to procrastinate. Today, he would slaughter it!
The Honesuki, struck against the wooden tabletop, was just an ordinary knife. But when Putato lightly grazed it across his arm, it cut off a piece of skin before he even felt any pain.
What a blade!
He feared that even skin hardened by Tattoo Augmentations could be instantly severed.
"Putato!"
Putato, startled, looked at the furious Mo, feeling she didn't understand him at all.
"Right, I wanted to ask you, what exactly are you raising? Why is a cat a Bloodfiend?!"
Thinking of this, Putato grew enraged. This damned cat had ambushed him twice. It was clearly stalking him.
The three looked at each other, and it was Mo who answered Putato's question.
"I've told you a hundred times, it's just a normal cat. Otherwise, I would have sold it long ago."
"And is a Bloodfiend the legendary blood-sucking creature? But by then, we had already undergone full-body Prosthetic Modifications and had no blood for it to suck."
That made sense. Putato gave up asking and instead began giving orders to the three.
This time, with a weapon in hand and three Ghost Walkers cooperating in battle, a small cat monster would be easily taken down!
...
Putato squatted on the roof of the Clinic, looking left and right.
This area was generally poor. Many houses were even two-story wooden shacks, with only some covered in iron sheets for protection.
Seeing the sunset approaching, Putato didn't know how to find that cat.
"Hey, Putato, what's going on with you? Where's the cat?"
"You're not heartbroken about the money for your frame, are you? Hmph, we'll compensate you double later, isn't that good?"
Mo muttered below, which reminded Putato of the Brotherhood of Iron's stronghold. He had seen the cat monster there before.
Putato immediately led his people there.
"Why do we have to kill a cat? What's the big deal if a cat sucks a bit of blood?"
Facing Mo's questioning, Putato casually replied, "Because your iron body doesn't even have blood. Of course, your waist doesn't hurt when you stand. What if one day it suddenly jumps out and sucks me dry?"
"But what does this have to do with that person? Who exactly is she?"
Returning to his former residence, Putato was slightly surprised to see the building in front of him, whose holes had been haphazardly filled with crooked wooden boards. Others had already moved in.
This efficiency in filling vacancies was comparable to cockroaches.
Bang.
Kicking open the wooden door, Putato saw the large pit that had already been dug up.
Khaji's naked, shriveled corpse was placed to one side, while his blood-stained clothes were worn by a bearded vagrant.
"Mo, are there any reliable cemeteries in The City?"
"Uh, you'll need to pay, otherwise, it will be dug up again. After all, one spot can hold so many gravestones; there's not enough room for more."
Putato forcefully lifted the bearded man and stripped him naked. The other, seeing the three Prosthetic individuals behind Putato, silently bowed his head in acceptance.
"Lend me a lighter."
Grabbing the cigarette from the bearded man's mouth, Putato used it to light the clothes, then threw them onto Khaji's corpse.
He felt that cremation was still the safest and most efficient method in The City.
"Have you seen a cat recently?"
"I, I."
Putato looked at the bearded man, who was trembling with fear, and felt a bit puzzled. Did he look that scary?
Putato immediately reacted, suddenly turning around and looking towards the window behind him.
A black and white calico cat stood quietly on the windowsill. The sky outside was gradually dimming.
"I didn't find the Association or the Office. They, they just came here by themselves for some unknown reason."
"It's not my business, it's not my business!"
The bearded man screamed and ran out of the room.
Swish!
The moment Putato was about to speak, a Blood Arrow streaked toward him.
Hematic Pump, activate!
With veins bulging, Putato barely evaded the projectile, only to see the bearded man behind him fall backward, his torso completely pierced through.
The lethality was terrifying. He should have forced this man to leave sooner.
"Charge!"
Fortunately, Putato wasn't fighting alone. Three nimble figures moved in sequence toward the window. Katanas, gleaming with a lethal chill, swung down in a synchronized arc, drawing massive splashes of blood.
"Meow ~!"
The creature that leaped into the room transformed instantly into a tyrannical beast. Its horrific crimson claws shattered the walls with ease, causing the entire building to tremble under its power.
Seizing the opportunity to end this nightmare, Putato drew his Honesuki and charged into the fray.
"Cover me!"
The iron-framed warriors intercepted the fierce attacks aimed at Putato. With their protection, he managed to close the distance to the Bloodfiend Cat.
Enraged, the Bloodfiend Cat whipped its tail around, intending to sweep him away, but Putato met the strike with the surgical precision of his Honesuki.
Slash!
The blade sliced through the tail like a hot knife through butter, severing it cleanly in two.
Putato, filled with a surge of triumph, felt an unusual tingling in his kidneys. Unseen Tattoos were spreading within him, accelerating his blood activity and flow rate.
It was the Wild Dog Tattoo talent manifesting!
Capitalizing on this surge of power, Putato lunged forward, aiming to pierce the Bloodfiend Cat's skull. His mind raced with the exhilaration of finally eliminating this threat.
"Putato, look out!"
Bang!
A sudden impact from behind shattered Putato's balance. The Bloodfiend Cat used the momentum to leap toward the ceiling, escaping his reach.
Gritting his teeth as he stood, Putato realized with a shock that the thing that had struck him wasn't an object, but a familiar Ghost Walker frame.
"Mo?"
Putato's pupils dilated in horror.
The bearded man's corpse was now radiating an eerie, blood-red light. His right hand had morphed into a horrific Blood Drill, which had completely impaled Mo's abdomen, sending sparks flying as it ground against her internal machinery.
Despite being a speed-type frame with minimal defense, Mo had thrown herself in the way to shield him. If that strike had hit Putato, he would have been crippled for life.
Mo reacted instantly, wielding her Biological Scythe to sever the man's arm, but the devastating injury forced her to stumble back.
"I remember now... you Prosthetic freaks only truly die once the Chip is pulled from your skull, right?"
What truly rattled Putato was that the bearded man was speaking. This had never happened before.
No—this was the Bloodfiend Cat speaking through him!
Could this Bloodfiend be evolving and growing stronger by consuming blood?
"Don't just stand there! Save her!"
Consta's Katana flashed from the shadows. The bearded man's head was lopped off instantly, triggering a fountain of Blood Arrows from the severed neck.
Arnold moved immediately to shield Mo. Above them, the Bloodfiend Cat seized the moment of chaos, extending its limbs to launch a vicious assault on the wounded girl.
"You f***ing dare!"
The Bloodfiend Cat was behaving with pure savagery. Putato knew with certainty it intended to crush Mo's head. Once that happened, like the man before her, there would be no going back.
The Honesuki tore through the Bloodfiend Cat's underbelly without resistance. Scalding blood splattered across Putato's face.
But his victory was hollow; he couldn't stop the creature's momentum.
Creak!
With a sickening crunch, the Bloodfiend Cat tore the circular-marked iron head from Mo's mechanical body. Clamping it in its jaws alongside the two Katanas it held, the beast retreated to the ceiling once more.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
The battle, which had escalated into a frantic slaughter, suddenly ground to a tense standoff.
"Boss Cat... if you have something to say, let's talk. Just... put the head down first."
"Putato, I have been watching you this whole time."
???
Even after a fight this brutal, Putato hadn't expected the creature to engage him in conversation.
"Did we know each other before?"
"I was hiding here quite comfortably, yet you took away all my servants who served as my cover."
"Who... who are you calling a servant? You're a cat."
Consta looked on, visibly confused by the turn of events, especially with Mo's head dangling from the monster's maw.
Putato observed the Bloodfiend Cat, noting its severed tail and numerous wounds. Only then did it strike him: the creature seemed to have lost its murderous intent.
He licked the blood from his blade. The strange, metallic scent made his head swim.
"Couldn't you have just stayed hidden?"
"Because you are the most fragrant thing in this place. Sometimes the hunger is so great, I cannot help but emerge. Because of you, I haven't been able to hunt for days."
"And I am curious. I heard they destroyed your Office, and they aren't even human. Why would you risk being hunted by Stray Dogs just to save them?"
"Nonsense! We are human, just modified!" Consta spat. Arnold remained silent, his eyes locked on Mo's head, calculating the exact angle needed to sever the cat's jaw.
"Bodies that are discarded and repaired at a whim, an inability to eat normally, the risk of going berserk from Prosthetic Rejection... are these things still human?"
"I believe so."
Putato felt an unsettling premonition. Such high intelligence and precise Blood Manipulation—this thing couldn't have started as a cat.
"Is that Bloodfiend actually a human?"
"I think so. Otherwise, the Head would have expelled you already."
The Bloodfiend Cat's jaws tightened. Mo's head began to buckle under the pressure, teetering on the edge of being crushed.
Despite the panic surging in his chest, Putato forced himself to stay calm, trying to de-escalate with words.
"Just calm down. I'll answer whatever you want."
"Then tell me: why did you save these three pieces of trash? By all rights, they are your enemies."
Because they are excellent tools.
Putato tightened his grip on the Honesuki, preparing to lunge for the head, but then he noticed Arnold slowly raising his Katana behind him, taking aim.
He spoke up quickly to keep the creature's focus on himself.
"Cough, cough... Look, a smile can wash away old grudges, right? We consider each other friends now. Naturally, we'd risk our lives for one of our own."
"But they killed many innocents, simply to satisfy their own cravings."
"Hey, who hasn't? I've done the same."
"No, you are different. Didn't you have them save that child earlier?"
"They did that. I just shouted the order."
"But they would never do something so unprofitable. They only acted because you commanded it."
At this point, Putato could no longer follow the creature's logic.
"What exactly is your point?"
"If your friend were a Bloodfiend, would you still do the same?"
"Of course. In The City, you can't save everyone. Protecting your friends is the limit."
Whoosh!
Arnold's frame pushed to its maximum output. The Katana in his hand blurred as it was hurled directly at the Bloodfiend Cat's throat.
Simultaneously, Putato burst into motion without a second's hesitation.