11:00 a.m., March 14, N.F. 113

An old, unattractive car drove down the road towards the northeast. The rough road didn't make the trip any easier. The car kicked up dust and occasionally jolted every time it ran across a pothole.

On Kim Dokja's in-ear communication device, the 9th Agency agent - 'Rust' was giving him a rundown on his destination:

"Ahead is our destination, the inner bay on the southwest shore of our great lake - DisSea, the center of the former West District mining belt. During the great explosion of DisSea, the inner bay mining area was completely destroyed, and the coast became extremely uninhabitable due to the spreading of mental contamination. Only civilians who don't want to join the gangs will be forced to settle here. They call this place the Drifter Camp. It was once seen as the slum of the Syndicate."

The corner of Kim Dokja's lip twitched.

...They called this a slum?

The old low-key car climbed over the slope, then the view opened up. On both sides, shanty towers stretched forward, but at the end laid a colossal structure. Rusted brackets and staggered iron frames made up the most amazing fortress in the Syndicate.

The structure was more than 100 meters high, crowded and skewed, unreasonably unstable but resolutely standing. It was magnificent and full of life, like a steel beast that would leap up the next second.

Out of all of them, Hella was the most surprised. Even though she grew up in Syndicate, she got detained by the MBCC quite early, so she must have missed out on the development of Drifter Camp. Kim Dokja asked Rust:

"You said 'Parma' has been here. Are they working together on this? Is the Drifter Camp messing with mania too? So they have anything to do with BR-004?"

"Slow down, Chief. I did see traces of Parma here, but so far, I don't think they're working together. On the contrary, because of their disgust for the gangs and the chaos, weapons, and contamination they bring, the Drifter Camp is rather hostile to everything related to Mania. They stockpiled Hypercube and built their own anti-Mania equipment to protect the residents. Even when the gang raged with Mania not long ago, this place was clear from contamination."

All three of Kim Dokja, Hecate, and Hella, were all thinking the same thing right now. Hecate muttered:

"Resisting Mania contamination without the support of FAC... Not just any ordinary drifters can do that."

"Yes, I've been monitoring the Drifter Camp for some time now, and there're indeed great talents here, as well as information that we have trouble getting our hands on. If it were half a year earlier, you would have been able to get help from the Drifter Camp. But now... the situation is tricky."

Kim Dokja sighed inwardly. He looked at the executive officer sitting across from him in a gray and yellow uniform.

"Do you have to come with us?"

The stern-looking office nodded:

"Yes, The Drifter Camp is home to a large number of West District outlaws. Since there are now signs of Mania there, and a relapse of BR-004 involved, we can't complete the reconstruction without looking into this. The West District is a complicated area, and you need our authority to ensure personal safety and smooth investigation"

Kim Dokja smirked under his mask with contempt, yet the voice coming from underneath the mask showed no emotion:

"I was hoping it would be a friendly discussion."

"That's unrealistic thinking. Drifter Camp has built illegal constructions and has been arming themselves. They have defied management by stealing Hypercubes. And recently, we have seen them having more friction with the leftover gangsters. Those people are selfish, short-sighted and ungrateful. They're already a serious threat to the new order in the West District and must be strictly monitored..."

In the backseat, Hella and Hecate watched their Chief listening to the executive officer's bullshit with a straight back in awe. Hella whispered to Hecate:

"How long do you think it will take before Chief kicks him out of the car?"

"...He won't do that."

As their conversation went on, even Hella had a glimpse of the situation. Basically, the sheriffs hadn't cleaned up their mess, and the execs were too aggressive. So her Chief was their card to step in. She barely hid her disgust by looking out of the window.

The FAC couldn't look away, and the locals must be more loathed. Her group got caught in the crossfire already.

In their personal comm, Kim Dokja said to both the girls and Rust:

"West District management is not what I should worry about. The primary goal is to get into Drifter Camp and look for clues about Parma, who is likely to carry a Corpus-level contamination source. There must be some connection between the two, and I need to gather as much information as possible."

"You won't be welcome with that uniform, and I can't guarantee what you'll encounter. Chief, are you mentally prepared?"

"Of course. With you, the undercover agent, and the 'insurance measure', how bad could it be?"

A low laugh could be heard from the other end of the comm, making Hecate and Hella's hair stand on end. It didn't sound like human laugh at all:

"...Hehe, I'd rather not reveal my identity so early. If you encounter any problem, please consider using your personal charm to solve it first. In the worst case scenario..."

Kim Dokja rolled his eyes, was about to say when a violent explosion suddenly rocked the ground, stopping the car in its track. Almost simultaneously, a young man in a cloak suddenly leaped out of the alleyway, hit the front of the car and rolled to the side. Immediately thereafter, he heard a familiar gruff growl from the rear.

"Stop!! You **********************, we'll....!!!"

The executive officer grabbed his communication device, and panickedly made the call. If he could fake his elated expression better, the MBCC group might buy his act.

"It's gangsters. Confirm, there's a conflict between Drifter Camp and gangsters. Reporting in immediately and requesting backup! Request to enter Drifter Camp to investigate, repeat..."

On Kim Dokja's side, the connection to 'Rust' was also lost, or being interfered with, leaving only a line of buzzing sounds behind. White the officer was busied with repairing the communication device to contact headquarters, the young man in cloak had limped off in the direction of the Drifter Camp, with several gangsters chasing after him.

Kim Dokja glanced at the officer, then took a pistol out of the car, loaded it, and chased after the man with the Sinners.

*****

In an office inside Drifter Camp, The Architect was having an unexpected guest. The room was much brighter with plenty of sunlight shined through the window, the detailed scale model of a complex sitting on the table in the middle of the room indicated it was the office in The Garden's report this morning.

The Senior Management Hidden Office of Drifter Camp, where The Architect worked.

"Your tracks are still as unpredictable as ever. Do you want to buy a phone? If you can't send letters, you can use them to send messages in advance."

Yoo Joonghyuk thought about the smartphone in his pocket. What did he take him for?

"...I heard an investigator from DisCity is coming."

"Your informant sure is reliant. Even I only received that information this morning."

The Architect said while pulling out two empty cups from a cupboard nearby. With a turn of the wheelchair, he made his way to another corner swiftly and skillfully, then pressed the button there. A sketchy mechanical arm extends from the bookshelves, taking a coffee box out of the middle drawer.

We pried that from you. But Yoo Joonghyuk couldn never say that out loud.

"What are you going to do?"

"I haven't yet known. The premise is that that person must be able to enter Drifter Camp intact. You know how the current situation of Drifter Camp and the government are now. I need to know which side that investigator takes first, at least enough to verify if the rumor 'he sold out the Legion' was true or not."

Yoo Joonghyuk didn't touch the coffee, he simply put it aside as the cup steamed like some kind of incense.

"That rumor was false. Zoya is still alive. The surviving Legionnaires are in WhiteSands for refuge. The 9th Agency only wiped out Burns remnants."

Surprise visible clearly on The Architect's austere face, his shoulders relaxed in relief as he leaned off his wheelchair's back:

"Is that so... This information must have cost you a lot, even my people couldn't pry anything from the 9th Agency."

The Architect suddenly scrutinized Yoo Joonghyuk's face, as if something just dawned on him:

"...Are you suggesting I should cooperate with the investigator from the MBCC? That was unusual of you. You know him, don't you?"

The Architect could recall every detail about this man from the first day he entered Drifter Camp. His power was too hard to forget, and his skepticism was even more exceptional, almost like a syndrome. The man who didn't even touch food cooked by others was suggesting he put his trust in someone?

The corner of Yoo Joonghyuk's mouth twitched slightly. With The Architect's eyes clearly displayed inquisitive, it wasn't difficult to guess what he was thinking. So he used his most effective shield, which was to put on the coldest expression possible.

After a few quiet moments passed, The Architect finally gave in:

"Very well then, but I couldn't neglect the fact that he is with the Executive Committee. I must verify his stance first. I already sent Taran to get him, but if you can help, it will make things much easier."

Yoo Joonghyuk couldn't believe his ear:

"Taran?"

The image of a skilled but hot-headed kid flashed through his mind. In terms of skills, he was no doubt the best in the younger generation of Rustfire, but he was still too young, often acted on his emotions and was very unpredictable.

"I don't have any other choice. Those who are mature and reliable enough to deal with things have already died. All we have left are a bunch of angry kids and an architect who's been chosen to be a makeshift leader."

The Architect sighed, seemed to look a few years older, making his already skinny appearance even more tiresome.

"So, if you can go help him bring the investigator here, I would be very appreciative."

And with that, the groundwork was done. After Yoo Joonghyuk had left The Architect's office, a red-haired woman entered the office and helped The Architect clean up the table.

"I see that Mr. Yoo is back, what did you two talk about?"

He pondered for a bit, then decided to tell her a summary of their conversation. As his most trusted aide, she would have to know anyway. Finally, he asked her:

"What do you think about the MBCC chief?"

"He seemed like a good kid from the intel, but that isn't what you want to ask, right?"

"Yes, his attitude toward the MBCC chief was strange, but I don't think..."

"Boss, if his mood changed so much to the point even a blockhead like you could notice, then what is more to question? That didn't click anything to you? No? Well, it couldn't be helped then..."

As for how much The Architect was enlightened by his aide, Yoo Joonghyuk did not know until later. Right now he was busy moving over buildings to the outskirts of Drifter Camp. The scene was very chaotic, just like what he had predicted. Since there were no executive officers on the scene, he casually grabbed a gangster and asked:

"Where did they go?"

"Huh? Who the *******---- Wait, isn't this Mr. Yoo? You're back!"

"Answer first."

The 'gangster' was apparently still ecstatic in his role, so it took him a bit to calm down. He pointed to a shanty alley:

"Taran led them that way—"

Yoo Joonghyuk didn't wait for him to finish his words, as he could hear an explosive sound clearly from that direction. Amidst this chaotic scene, the sound was comparable to a swoosh of the wind, but it was nothing to him. He immediately dropped the drifter disguised as a gangster on the floor and ran toward the sound's location.

His surroundings quickly changed into locked or taped doors and windows. This was one of Rustfire's basic preparations for their luring plan. First, they would jam all communications, then lure the target into some mechanism area and surround them. Rustfire was Drifter Camp's self-organized forces, they didn't use Mania weapons, but their combat capability was excellent. One of the reasons they put Yoo Joonghyuk in high regard was also due to his non-Mania skills.

There was no way Kim Dokja couldn't notice this, why did he still chase after them?

An ominous feeling flashed through his chest.

Don't tell me he wants to pull that trick where he got kidnapped again?

But they would never risk leading the trouble back to Drifter Camp.

A girl's scream could be heard somewhere in front of him, signaling he was close:

"Anti-Mania shots... Ah!!!"

Light from electricity reflected on the small alley wall like a lightbulb. Taran's group must have successfully robbed the Sinner of their strength.

The overlapping and shabby architecture of the area outside Drifter Camp made Yoo Joonghyuk's movement speed slow down, but not enough to obstruct his vision. Through the gaps of the panels and buildings, he could see the Sinner girls were wrapped in metal wires, while Taran was putting his head against Kim Dokja's gun. Even his comrades were shocked by this development.

"Taran?! What are you doing?!"

Yoo Joonghyuk wanted to sigh and pour some cold water on The Architect's head. He also thought things would turn in this direction. But when he was about to jump down to stop them, someone in Taran's group approached Kim DOkja from behind and shot through his back, shoulder, and waist.

All happened in less than 2 seconds. He saw Kim Dokja try to turn around, but didn't have the chance to, before the final bullet went through his head.

All of Yoo Joonghyuk's thoughts went blank. Mania surged and covered his eyes.