Chapter 1 : Hestia

January, 2030.

It has been a year since all humans on planet Earth became familiar with the "System." Life has drastically changed since then. Technology has become more advanced, all oceans have been explored, and now, humans have even begun to create colony spacecrafts in preparation for living in outer space. A very large spacecraft indeed.

However, there are also things that have gotten worse. Poverty, crime rates, and even slavery have reappeared in the modern world.

Every human being spontaneously received a system. And in each of these systems, they would at least receive one special skill that could be upgraded. Whether it's a cooking skill that has a healing effect, the construction of highly advanced weapons, or even spectacular leadership skills.

Well, those are examples of highly advanced skills, but there are also many who only have special skills such as extra energy, ironclad mental, and other passive skills.

Hestia is one of them. Hestia is a victim of the cruelty of humans who have devoured the privilege of the system. The ten-year-old girl lost her family because she had a special skill that wasn't very useful. The normal life she had was instantly destroyed by the presence of the system.

Hestia has a special skill of unlocking. She can unlock any lock, no more and no less. Of course, if she used it for stealing, the girl could become rich quickly. But her conscience kept her away from such dirty thoughts.

Although both of her parents had disappeared, Hestia remained steadfast in her life as a plastic waste collector on the streets of London, which had become a utopia. At least, Hestia couldn't give up raising her 7-year-old brother who couldn't see anything, including the system that humans had acquired a year ago.

On the streets of London, Hestia searched for opportunities to collect waste such as recyclables from people who had just come out of the supermarket. She followed them until they threw away their garbage. Although she was often kicked for following them, Hestia never gave up on earning a penny.

Life was really cruel on the utopian streets. At least, until an incident came and changed Hestia's life forever.

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That day, after making sure her younger sibling finished eating and letting them sit comfortably, like usual Hestia waited for someone to buy a bottle of drink from an alley next to a minimarket. Her ragged and very dirty clothes seemed to blend in with the trash gathered in that alley. Truly a sad attire amidst a very advanced state.

In this day and age, people rarely buy bottled drinks since drinking water is provided at every street corner. Those who do buy are usually very hygienic people.

It took an hour for Hestia to see someone carrying a bottle of mineral water coming out of the minimarket. A man in his twenties came out while drinking water and playing with his phone. Seeing the opportunity, Hestia followed the man, waiting until he finished drinking and threw away the bottle.

Hestia followed the man from a distance of less than a hundred meters, trying to keep a safe distance to avoid being suspected by others. However, in a world full of caste differences, slavery, and spreading racism, Hestia's presence was easily recognized and quickly drew attention. In addition, rumors about a street child who often followed people buying water had already spread in the area.

As if the man knew he was being followed, he turned into a deserted alley that was not usually passed by anyone. Due to her naivety, the girl just kept following the man, hoping to get the bottle he had just consumed.

Entering the small alley, the one Hestia entered was suddenly closed off by several men. The entrance door was closed using a very high cardboard box. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a dead-end alley. Two men were behind the entrance, while there were more of men in front of Hestia.

The Ten-year-old girl began to feel scared in this situation. "Excuse me, sir, what's going on? Why are you surrounding me?"

"So is it true that a girl will follow you if you buy a bottle of water? Hahaha, that's ridiculous," one of the men said.

"Hey, are we sure we should do this? She's still a kid," another man replied.

The man holding the bottle of water drank it all and said, "Phew, we've come this far. There's no turning back now."

Surrounded by men with menacing looks, Hestia remained brave enough to still calm.

"Excuse me, I just want to ask for the empty bottle of mineral water that you threw away," Hestia said in a trembling voice.

However, the men in front of her just laughed and belittled Hestia's statement. They saw Hestia as a little girl who didn't know anything and was easy to manipulate.

"Hahaha, do you think we lured you into this alley just to give you an empty bottle of mineral water? You must be kidding, right?" one of the men said in a harsh voice.

One of the men pulled both of Hestia's arms from behind, while the man holding the bottle lifted Hestia's chin and brought his face closer.

"Do you want this bottle, kid? What if I give you some money? But in return, you have to play a game with us and promise not to tell anyone about our little game," he said.

Hestia became even more frightened and cried, "Please, I just want your empty bottle. I have to sell it to give my little brother a piece of bread."

Of the five men there, one of them tried to stop his accomplice's behavior while pushing the man who was threatening Hestia, "Hey, hold back. She's just a little girl, man. What if we stop this?"

Unfortunately, the man who tried to defend her was punched in the head and pushed until he fell unconscious onto the iron garbage can, instantly losing consciousness.

"In a world full of crime and slavery, the law that applies has been swallowed up by this fucked up system."

Seeing this, Hestia cried even harder. But another man tried to silence her with his hand.

"I'm sorry if I did wrong. I apologize. I won't follow you anymore. I know my presence is just like trash. Please forgive me," she said, words that were not appropriate for the girl next to her.

"There is no grudge. You're just unlucky, kid. System call: Hormonal change," one of the men used his special skill power from the system, making Hestia lose her mind. Her head was filled with a feeling she had never felt before.

Fearful, helpless, and weak, Hestia couldn't do much in front of four adults. In an alley that was rarely passed, full of garbage and darkness, four men raped a young girl without anyone knowing.

In an utopia for the upper class, hell is what the lower class experiences. Justice is an obvious matter for those who do not contribute to the world.