Jin waited on the cold, rocky ridge. The wind blew hard across the wasteland.
He watched the dark trail leading up the mountain. A few minutes later, a shadow detached itself from the rocks. Nyx stepped onto the flat stone. She did not breathe hard. There was no blood on her black cloak.
She walked up to Jin. She reached into her cloak and pulled out the small, grey leather pouch.
She held it out. Jin took the spatial pouch. It felt incredibly light, but it hummed with stored Aether.
"The camp is broken," Nyx reported simply. "The leadership is dead. The remaining men have scattered into the plains. The target assets are secured."
Jin opened the small pouch. He looked inside the compressed space. He saw a massive mountain of glowing Aether cores. He saw heavy iron boxes filled with gold. He saw rare beast materials.
His tired face broke into a real smile. It was the first time he smiled since waking up in the bio-pod. The risk was massive, but the payout was perfect. They had the capital. They could buy safe passage. They could buy a Gene Legacy.
He pulled the drawstring tight. He tied the heavy pouch securely to his belt.
Then, he heard a small sound. It was the sound of a shoe scraping against loose gravel.
Jin looked past Nyx's dark shoulder.
A small girl stood at the edge of the ridge. She was shivering violently in the cold wind. She wore a pale blue dress. The dress was completely ruined. It was soaked in dark, dried blood. Her face was stained red. She kept her head bowed down. She stared at the dirt.
Jin frowned. He looked at Nyx. He raised a single eyebrow.
"Who is she?" Jin asked. His voice was flat and practical.
Nyx did not turn around to look at the girl. She kept her cracked visor focused on Jin.
"She is a merchant's daughter," Nyx explained. Her report was incredibly brief. "The bandit boss stole her caravan today. He was alone with her in his tent. I killed the boss before he could touch her. I cut her ropes. She followed me out."
Jin looked at the girl again.
He ran a quick, cold calculation in his head. He was a manager. He looked at people and saw their utility. Nyx was a massive asset. She provided absolute security.
This girl was the exact opposite. She was a massive liability.
She had no Aether core. She was a mortal. She was small and physically weak. She looked like she had never walked more than a mile in her entire life. They were currently standing in a monster-filled wasteland. They were being hunted by imperial assassins.
A civilian would slow them down. She would consume their food. She would require constant protection. Jin did not have the budget for a charity case.
Luna slowly raised her head. She looked at Jin.
She saw a young man wearing rough, dirty canvas clothes. He wore a cheap brown cloak. He looked like a common scavenger. But the terrifying dark woman who killed an entire camp treated him with absolute respect. Luna realized he was the real boss.
Jin crossed his arms. He looked her right in the eyes.
"You are free," Jin said. His tone was not unkind, but it was completely cold. "The men who captured you are dead. You can go anywhere you want. Cloud City is a few hours south of here. You can walk there."
He did not wait for her answer. He turned around.
"Let's move," Jin said to Nyx. "We need to put miles between us and this camp before the sun comes up. Iron-Spire is still a long walk."
Nyx nodded. She turned and followed him.
They walked away from the broken tooth mountain. They headed back toward the main northern trade route. Jin set a fast, grueling pace. His Level 4 Foundation muscles burned with energy.
They walked for ten minutes. The wind howled across the dry scrub brush.
Then, Jin heard it.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
It was the sound of small, clumsy footsteps stepping on dry branches behind them.
Jin stopped walking. He let out a long, heavy sigh. He turned around.
Luna was thirty feet behind them. She was struggling to keep up. Her bare feet were bleeding from the sharp rocks. When Jin stopped, she froze like a frightened deer.
"Why are you following us?" Jin asked loudly. He sounded very annoyed.
Luna did not answer right away. She bit her lower lip. Then, she ran forward.
She ignored the sharp rocks. She ran straight up to Jin. She dropped to her knees in the dirt. She threw her arms forward and hugged his heavy canvas legs tightly. She buried her bloody, tear-stained face against his knees.
Jin froze. He looked down at her. He felt incredibly awkward. Nobody on Earth ever hugged his legs to ask for a job.
"Please!" Luna cried out. Her voice was desperate. "Please let me follow you! I have nowhere to go! My parents are dead! If I walk to Cloud City alone, the beasts will eat me! I beg you!"
Jin tried to pull his leg back. She held on tighter.
"I cannot protect you," Jin stated logically. "We are going to a dangerous place. We have dangerous enemies. You will slow us down."
"I won't!" Luna yelled into his knees. "I promise! I will walk fast! I won't eat much! Please! I can do anything! Just don't leave me alone in the dark!"
Jin stopped trying to pull his leg away. He stood still.
He looked down at the top of her head. He heard the words "I can do anything."
His corporate brain automatically engaged. He tried to assess her actual skills. What could she realistically do? She could not fight. She could not hunt. Could she cook? Could she carry the heavy water canteens? Could she read maps? He needed to know her exact utility before he approved her as a new party member.
Jin narrowed his eyes. He looked her up and down slowly. He stared at her thin, weak arms. He stared at her frail shoulders. He looked at her small size. He was highly skeptical of her physical abilities.
"Anything?" Jin asked. His voice was cold, doubtful, and completely flat.
Luna heard his cold tone. She felt his eyes scanning her body from head to toe.
She completely misunderstood the situation.
She remembered the ugly bandit boss in the tent. She remembered the horrible things he wanted to do to her. She looked up at Jin's cold, calculating stare.
Luna gasped loudly. Her face turned bright red under the dried blood.
She let go of his legs instantly. She scrambled backward in the dirt. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, hugging herself in a defensive posture. She glared up at him with wide, angry eyes.
"Pervert!" Luna screamed at the top of her lungs.
Jin just stared at her. His face was completely blank.
He blinked once. He looked at Nyx.
Nyx stood a few feet away. She was perfectly silent. But the dark shadow of her cloak seemed to tremble just a tiny bit. She was highly amused again.
Jin looked back down at the girl hugging her chest in the dirt. He rubbed his temples with his fingers. A massive headache started to form behind his eyes.
He just wanted to know if she could carry a heavy backpack.
"I am surrounded by crazy people," Jin muttered to himself. He turned around and started walking north again. "If she falls behind, leave her."