Delivery Office

Three millions Solus, I could probably get a permit to visit the Hive for better food, resources, Workshops, and Offices. Then again, the Lowstreet had the same amount of benefits for that kind of scenario, minus the danger it brought.

Basically, going to the Hive didn't matter to me now. Most people would probably start there by loaning some money to get a home ownership while working as Patchers or casual workers, but needing such safety didn't matter if you don't have a beloved one or in the state of pathetic loathe knock noggin with the City.

Likewise, not all people would immediately get a Hive's Pass Permit, they would definitely use this amount of money to start a branching business in the Lowstreet, preferably something legal. Or they might try to recruit some people and build a proper Syndicate with a good foundation and plans.

Depending on their morality, they might register to the Affiliated Offices, and gear themselves up with high quality weapons, strength potions, or body enhancement procedures for quick gain.

Definitely ten times better than keeping a single gun at your disposal.

"Hmm, might try to visit 'Cracked Atelier' down on the east side of the District tommorow."

As for today, I still have many things to do. For one of them, I need to go slightly to the west.

After some morning jog—the aggressive one, I arrived at the place and entered the wide door with a bird metal logo and name carved below it, which read as 'Swallows Office'.

Within it, there were several counters manned with Patchers, donning the uniform set of suit and ties under a blue with yellow stripes jacket. Some of them came in and out from the other door for staff that was not necessarily far from the main door. Some went out with the task and request that was handed by the operator, and some went in, carrying an object inside their special metal cube-shaped backpack that could store a limited amount of object inside a locked spatial space.

A Delivery Office, essentially.

Yes, this kind of Patcher Office was the one that handled the delivery and buying request of the product within the Hive and make it available for the people in the Lowstreet without a Hive Pass Permit.

It might not be as surprising but do know that there are many kinds of Offices that rely on the Lowstreet to make profit. Just like humans, the veins of the City would always carry the rich-worthy blood within its stream. It was also the reason why Lowstreet was also known as Vascular by many entrepreneur and bussiness opportunists.

"Do you take service when it comes to purchasing a product from a cake shop?"

The man behind the counter began to fill in some content onto the parchment with a smile. "Sure do, Sir Mediator. Do you want us to search for the product or you want to check the available patron shops and their product list?"

"The latter might be preferable."

"Alright, I'll be back in a second with the product list."

After he came back with numerous documents and their product, the contents were sprayed like a dragged deck of a card. Within one of the cake shop patrons, I chose the famous cake shop with the name of Elizabeth Second and ordered a premium black forest cake.

"The request will be in the line, and will be ready to be picked in six or eight hour. Do you want the express service?"

"I like to wait, so it's fine."

"It will be 80,000 Solus, along with the service fee."

"Oh, and I shall order a set of incense sticks."

"May I know what kind?"

"The honorable one."

"I see. That will be 85,000 Solus." With a melancholic smile, he finished the contents of the parchment before showing it to me. "We saw our friends and family sacrificed to the City almost everyday. One afternoon, we ate a fine dine together as we coped our misfortune with laughter, and maybe a rum or two. The next morning, we probably cremated the very same partner. Either that, or we have no choice but to let them rot in its veins, waiting until the Cleaning Mist feast on their damaged body.

"Let alone an incense stick, the people of the veins barely made any living out of scavenging, lunging people in the darkness, or harvesting the guts of the fallen to be sold in the black market, all to feed themselves.

"You can hire a third party Office to check the contract legitimacy. But I assure you, we don't like pulling tricks on people who need our service in the first place."

What he was writing all along was the contract, fully handwritten without any printing interference. The very same parchment could be seen stacked on the desk of every counter in a blank state.

There were more than hundreds of Delivery Offices in this District, but most of the time, many of them tend to play backhanded within the content of their contract. Often, they hid fine details within the fabric that could only be seen using a magnifier, or they use another layer with an extra content to the deal.

Worse case scenario, they may demand your address and personal information before the request process even begins. Well, this kind of shady thing wasn't really that special in a Delivery Office. All kinds of Patcher Offices have risks if you don't know them well.

The veins of the City were rich in oxygen and nutrients, it would take too long to harvest them efficiently without using a shitty method, if I'm to be honest.

Kinda funny, don't you think? A Patcher was supposed to patch a problem, yet, they purposely tore the seams of poor people's clothing, just for the sake of getting extra dimes.

"Don't need." I picked the ballpoint from its stand holder and signed the contract. "I wouldn't visit this place if I doubted your service."

"I'm very honored if the Mediator of the Hunter Gathering said so."

I paid the fee on the terminal device, it felt a little bit nostalgic for some reason.

User: Faust Hecates

ID: 10827268

Balance: 2,915,000 Solus