Despair

One million.

No matter the time—war or peace—that was no small sum.

Enough to make anyone risk everything.

Irene’s heart nearly stopped for a beat.

Instinctively, she wanted to draw her pistol and shoot the boss in front of her on the spot.

But soon, a wave of crushing shame shattered her heart.

Irene, oh Irene…

You hopeless bastard, you parasite…

Clinging to life, shameless, useless trash…

The boss had already said it.

She clearly didn’t want that million.

And she herself wasn’t worth a million, not from head to toe…

Irene dug her fingers into her arm until it bruised.

A fierce wave of self-loathing surged up again.

But this time, she forced herself to take a deep breath.

She shoved that boiling disgust back down into her chest.

No matter what, she had already fallen this low.

As long as the people around her could live well… nothing else mattered.

Seeing Irene like this, the boss assumed this little cat was scared.

Her voice softened.

“Don’t worry, Irene.

I don’t know how you got tangled in this mess, but… you must be the victim.

I believe that much.”

“I recognized you right away only because I knew your name and identity.

Others won’t find you so easily—especially after your drastic change in appearance.”

As she spoke, the boss handed Irene a tablet screen.

On it, her own name was clearly displayed:

Irene.

Occupation: Detlan student.

Age: about eighteen.

Nothing else.

Of course, her bank card couldn’t be tied to her real identity, and all her other records had been erased.

But the notice made her role crystal clear…

“Toy.”

She must not be damaged.

She must not be killed.

She had to be delivered whole, intact, to that address.

No doubt about who placed that bounty.

Even with her eyes closed, Irene would know—there was only one person she had crossed so deeply.

Her blood seemed to chill.

Her arm was purple from her own grip.

If she were captured… the ending would be worse than death.

Tortured until unrecognizable.

What should she do… what should she do… what should she do…

Faced with such wealth, that bastard Ribé would surely sell her out.

Utoya could never protect her from people like that.

And Rosakaya was still in school—forcing her away would only ruin her life.

…

Sometimes, life rose and fell like the crack of a whip.

Just when things felt stable again—

She had made new friends.

Accepted a future she wasn’t sure she wanted.

But now, another future—one she refused to accept—stood in front of her, forcing her to choose.

And if she chose wrong, she would be shattered to pieces.

How interesting… how amusing.

If Irene were playing a game, she would be delighted—wow, a high-difficulty challenge.

But right now, she only wanted to die.

To hurry up and die.

“I did some math.

These goods are damaged pretty badly, especially the exoskeleton.

I can only give you five thousand for it.

These detectors and recorders—four thousand.

And the phones… hm, maybe that’s a bit steep.

Altogether, ten thousand.”

Irene trusted the boss not to cheat her.

Stores like this usually only paid ten percent of market value at best.

An exoskeleton originally worth half a million would fetch only ten thousand here—especially broken like this.

And besides, the boss had just given her such crucial information.

Thirteen thousand one hundred.

That was all she had.

“Thanks, Boss… I… I’ll go now…”

She would have liked to stay, snack on some fruit, linger a little.

But she just didn’t have the heart for it.

Her mind was a blur, thoughts spinning only around this problem.

Even other people’s voices were nothing but buzzing noise.

Utoya… should she tell Utoya the truth?

If she did… would Utoya abandon her?

No one would fight the army for her sake.

No… she couldn’t tell.

Absolutely not.

This fragile life she had just pieced together—she couldn’t let it slip again.

Those people wouldn’t find her so easily.

She could handle it… she had to… just like before…

“Don’t rush.

If… I’m only saying if.

If you have no other choice, there’s another way.

Leave.

Go far.

Go to Meria, to Daxia… anywhere.

Start over in a country far from war.”

“I got a technical immigration visa once, but I never used it.

If we hire someone to hack the registry and tweak the record…

We could give you legal identity to leave.

The price is half a million.

I know—it’s steep.

But I can’t give it for free, you understand, little Irene.

Otherwise, I’ll be in trouble myself.”

The boss pressed her lips together, but still spoke.

For a family, that sum was a crushing burden.

For someone like Irene, it was unimaginable.

Still, she wanted Irene to at least have hope.

One person?

No.

She didn’t want to be alone ever again.

Irene’s pale lips curved into a weak smile.

She shook her head.

Even if she could scrape together that much money, she couldn’t abandon her sister.

She couldn’t abandon Utoya.

She couldn’t abandon all her experience in the radiation zones to live a life among strangers in some great nation.

No matter what… no matter what…

First, she had to…

Go see Rosakaya.

She had bought so many treats… and clothes…

If she could make her happy, even for a while… then all this pain would be worth it.