The two Aurellans were far too confident in their strength, while Louis had already dashed out of Sylus's villa. Those two spheres might have split him in half if he hadn't reacted in time!
This was the power of the Aurellan family. Many mechanized components on the market were supplied by the Aurellans, born from their novel ideas and unique, formidable abilities.
No one in the Aurellan family mechanized the external parts of their bodies. Instead, they mechanized their brains, enhancing the intelligence of the family's key members to the limit their minds could bear.
Sylus might look like nothing but a lanky tendon, sometimes resembling a single-celled organism when he daydreamed about his love, but in truth, he, too, had mechanized his brain.
Of course, what was even more remarkable about him was his natural body, which possessed overwhelming strength. And yet, someone like that had been brought down by the Aurellan family.
That was Louis's current guess. Tch, either way, he needed to check on him.
With that thought, Louis slipped away into the abandoned district.
Every city had places shrouded in gloom; people experiencing homelessness were asleep here. Aside from the eerie atmosphere, the place was still livable for the night.
He couldn't flee to the bustling, modern areas—half Zone 5 was under Aurellan control. Louis had no intention of walking straight into their net.
Still, he had to get into the Aurellan family's domain to know what happened to Sylus.
"Sooner or later…"
The more he thought about it, the more his head throbbed.
Tch, that idiot Sylus!
Louis muttered inwardly, frowning as he curled up on a street corner, the night's chill seeping into his bones.
"Achoo!"
The cold startled him awake.
He frowned and opened his eyes—only to be met with a small, grimy face right before his eyes. Louis jolted so hard he nearly leapt back.
"Big brother, you're awake."
The child's voice was tender, innocent, untainted.
Louis's lips twitched as his heartbeat pounded in his ears. This little brat had almost given him a heart attack.
He sat up, realizing only then that a small group of children surrounded him. Well, only three of them, but still.
They were tiny, their gray-streaked faces a little dirty. Their thin frames only made their wide, round eyes seem larger, and though their lives should have dulled their gazes into something bleak, their eyes shone as they looked at him, as if he were something precious.
Louis chuckled and reached out to ruffle the hair of the child who had spoken. It was a little girl, her scraggly hair reaching her neck.
She blinked at him in wide-eyed surprise, not expecting him to pat her head.
The other two children, seeing this, also looked at him with hopeful eyes. Though they were filthy, Louis still smiled and patted their heads in turn.
These kids were far cleaner than those perverts.
"Big brother, this is the first time I've seen someone as beautiful as you!" the little girl piped up.
The other two children quickly said, "Last time a noble passed by, everyone said nobles were really beautiful, but you're even more beautiful!"
Louis couldn't help but laugh, replying in an exaggerated tone, "Really?"
The three children nodded furiously.
Louis glanced at the others, who were also beginning to stir awake. Smiling at the three kids, he said softly, "I have to go now. You're all beautiful, too."
The children's faces flushed red. The little girl mumbled, "No one's ever praised me like that before…"
Louis said nothing, only stood up and left. His steps quickened the farther he went, though he could still feel those hungry wolf-like eyes clinging to him. By now, the three children had already run back to their mother and another day had begun—a bleak day for those with no home to return to.
Louis eventually slowed, going straight to the city's underground district, known for mechanized implant surgeries.
Those children—no, those homeless people—were probably Rank 5 citizens, or Rank 4 citizens on the verge of being demoted to Rank 5.
In this world, rank determined a person's entire fate.
A child born to a Rank 5 citizen would likely remain a Rank 5 citizen for life.
Even jobs were tied directly to citizenship rank.
The cushy, well-paying jobs belonged to the higher-ranked citizens, while those of lower rank—no matter how intelligent—would always be crushed underfoot. Their citizen rank dictated the limits of what they could do.
All resources in this world were firmly controlled by Zone 1, and it was Zone 1 that created the rules and imposed the ranking system.
Those born into lowliness never had the chance to change their lives—a cold-blooded, rotten society, wrapped in a veneer of order and fairness.
Louis frowned as he came to a halt before a large sign—one belonging to a hospital specializing in mechanized body part implants.
In his pocket, he still had Sylus's black card.
Sylus had given it to him on his first day here, though Louis had hardly spent a thing living under Sylus's roof.
Louis didn't want to mechanize any part of his body—this body was from his past life. But without mechanization, it would be nearly impossible to break into the Aurellan family's domain, let alone save Sylus if trouble arose.
Heh. Of course, getting mechanized didn't necessarily mean he could save Sylus from the Aurellans anyway.
In fact, Louis felt more like he was walking into a trap of his own accord, while Sylus would eventually escape on his own—and end up rescuing him in the process.
"Young man, here for a mechanization surgery?"
At that moment, a woman's voice drew his attention. He turned to look, only to see a woman standing right beside him.
She smiled, her face painted so heavily that flecks of powder fell away as she moved her lips.
That look…
Louis suddenly gave an innocent smile and shook his head. "No, I was just thinking a little. A normal body still works better."
The woman's smile grew warmer. "That's right. Don't be fooled by how powerful mechanization looks—truth is, it brings endless pain and shortens your lifespan."
Her tone turned suggestive. "Besides, in this era, very few people can keep their bodies completely natural."
Her eyes clung to Louis like slime, sticking to him and licking him over and over.
Louis frowned slightly, then suddenly stepped back. "Sorry, I have other things to do."
With that, he turned to leave.
But just then, a cold sting spread across his neck. A chilling liquid surged into his body, and in an instant, his mind grew hazy.
Louis's eyes widened before his body crumpled to the ground.
The woman's mechanical hand shifted shape as she retracted the syringe, easily catching his body. Her fingers gently brushed across his face. "Foolish child, didn't anyone ever teach you not to turn your back on people in a place like this?"
At the same time, two burly men appeared behind her, pushing a large bio-pod.
The woman tossed Louis into the pod. Though he had a grown man's body, his weight seemed like nothing to her.
"That makes ten… the best quality, untouched, no mechanized parts…"
As she spoke, her hand trailed across Louis's face, gliding over his plum-colored lips before moving downward, stopping just above his lower abdomen.
Her finger tapped lightly there, as if in thought. What a pity. The other side only needed test subjects, not "toys." Still, it had been a long time since she'd seen such a perfect body—she felt an urge to keep something for herself.
"All right. Take him away." She waved her hand, sealing the bio-pod and giving the order.
The two men hefted the pod onto a large vehicle waiting in the distance.
Nine others were already crammed in—some sold, some willing, and some kidnapped like Louis.
The traffickers gathered strays from all over, prioritizing those who had never undergone mechanized surgery—the perfect specimens for laboratories.
And in Zone 5, the only family with a laboratory was none other than the Aurellans…