Steel and flesh

In the Backstreets

In an alleyway, three people are together.

'ꅐꄲꅐ. ꉣꏂꄲꉣ꒒ꏂ ꇙ꒤ꋪꏂ ꒯ꄲ ꒒ꉣ꒦ꏂ ꉔꄲꂵ꒐ꋊꍌ ꒐ꋊ ꓄ꁝꋪꏂꏂꇙ.'

All three of them are wearing cloaks, covering their bodies. But if one were to look under their cloaks, they would find that all three of them have no flesh whatsoever. Their bodies are completely made of steel. The trio's bodies are covered in stains and rust, showing the shoddy quality they're made of.

A stuttering female voice came out of one of them.

"Y-You guys should regularly refill your head with brain fluid. A-A dry brain dulls your thoughts."

The one that spoke has no face, only a massive eye taking up most of the space. Said Eye is being protected by some bars. She carries in her hand a staff with a chainsaw attached at the end. This is Mo. The leader of the three

A gruff male voice comes out of another.

"I-I knew I've been feeling so hazy these days."

This one is similar to Mo, having no defined features besides a massive eye taling most of his face, difference is that he seemingly has no protection for it. He holds no weapon, as one of his hands has been completely replaced by a chainsaw. This is Arnold. He acts as the trio's muscle

Another male voice comes out, albeit it is more high-pitched than Arnold's.

"W-Where are we going to rob this time?"

Unlike the last two, this one has both eyes. On his back is a massive chainblade with a long handle, signifying that this weapon is meant to be held with two hands. This is Consta. He acts as a jack of all trades.

"I-I think we should go for a Workshop. W-Workshops are rich and they have useful components, too." Suggested Arnold.

It is clear from the way they speak that they desperately need the latter more.

Unfortunately, Mo shuts it down.

"B-But then there would be the problem of having someone install those parts to us. W-We aren't exactly tech-savvy, Arnold. W-We can get scammed in the process."

Consta gives one of his own.

"H-How about an Office? W-We should earn some infamy if we take down an Office or two. M-Maybe other Syndicates can take us in as hired muscle."

Arnold shuts that down too.

"W-With our current strength, we aren't enough to grab the attention of any important Syndicates. T-The Offices we can currently take on are just nobodies. A-And wiping out Offices will just put a bounty on us."

This forces Consta to think of another objective.

"O-Oh! H-How about we raid a restaurant, then! I-I like delicious stuff."

All he gets is a hit to his head courtesy of Mo.

"O-Ow!"

"Y-You moron! D-Did you already forget why we got our new bodies?!"

She then turns to Arnold for help.

"C-Consta, we replaced our bodies so we can focus on earning money without having to worry about falling to hunger or sickness."

"T-That's right! W-We're enduring like crazy. All these bodies need are just brain fluid, fuel and some repairs from time to time. N-No need to worry about getting food or water, just the daily grind."

"T-That's true. A-Although... It did cost us a fortune to get ourselves whole-body replacements. A-And it's still uncomfortable for me. I-I know I don't have to eat anymore, but I keep thinking about all the tasty snacks I had before, and it makes me want to taste again."

Consta touches his stomach as he reminisces on the past.

Mo attempts to assure Consta.

"T-That's because we got cheap bodies from a cheap Workshop. D-Don't worry, we just have to earn more. T-Then we can replace out bodies with better ones."

"I-I've heard that on top of great performance, high-quality replacement bodies allows the host to completely replicate the senses, and even have full control over how much sensitive the senses are. B-But... Those things are almost as expensive as a Nest household." Said Arnold.

Mo  tries to steer her team into working.

"W-We can worry about that later. L-Let's focus on money-making for now. I-It's all about money in the end. A-And Consta!"

"Y-Yes!?"

"D-Don't bring up restaurants or food again. Y-You're making me want to eat stuff too."

"Y-Yes Mo..."

As Consta follows behind Mo, he notices something on her body.

"M-Mo!"

"H-Hmm?"

"T-There's a piece of paper stuck in your body."

"H-Huh?"

Mo looked over her body and indeed, there was a piece of paper stuck in the gaps of her body.

"T-Tch. F-Feeling no pain can be good sometimes, but it can be annoying from not feeling things like these."

"W-We should check what this thing is about. I-I don't think it was there before. A-A paper that suddenly appears ain't normal."

Mo tales the paper out of her body for the group to examine.

"M-Maybe we got too infamous and someone sent us a calling card or something? I-It can even be a coupon!" Guessed Consta.

Mo hits his head again.

"O-Ow!"

"M-Moron! N-Now, let's see."

She opens the invitation and begins to read.

"T-The Library?"

******

In the Library

"So this is a Syndicate." Said Angela

Angela takes in what she saw, and turns to Roland.

"Are all Syndicates composed of such half-witted individuals? I was expecting more from people trying to work outside the rules of the Corps of the City."

"Nah. It all depends on the Syndicate. The City is crowded with them. You could even say that there's one for every Fixer out there."

"Is there anything that differs them from Offices like Yun's?"

"In terms of function, no. But there is in their origins. To start an Office, you need to go through a lengthy and thorough process just to get a license to make one. It's significantly easier for Syndicates. Just get a group of people and start doing stuff under a name and, walla! You just got a Syndicate."

"Are there specific work Syndicates are involved in?"

"Like I said earlier, stuff Offices do are the same things Syndicates do. Like Offices, Syndicates are involved in all sorts of different business. Protection, assassination, delivery, investigation, you name it, so it's hard to give a general description. It's just that Syndicates aren't bound by legal laws, so they have more... Shall we say, 'leeway', in how they conduct their business compares to Offices."

"Hmm. Those three... Are they machines?"

Despite her face, one can almost hear a hint of excitement from Angela's tone.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but despite their looks they aren't machines. Pure machines carrying their own emotions and desires have long since disappeared from the City. These guys are just using whole-body replacements. And low-quality ones from a shoddy workshop at that."

"... I see."

Roland can sense Angela's dissapointment at the news.

'I feel ya... I also got disappointed when I learned that I can't meet any sentient machines when I was a kid.'

Sympathizing a bit with her, Roland tries to cheer her up.

"Hey, don't be so down. Booking these guys will give us info on technology and science. I don't really understand that sort of stuff, but it can interest you, right?"

"Hmm... Yes, the information we can gain from them is quite interesting for me."

Roland senses her mood getting better, showing his success.

"Alright! Shall we prepare for the reception, ma'am?"

"Indeed. I'll shortly send you and Morty to your floor. Ready yourself."

******

The trio soon enters the Library. They look around to survey this alien place to them.

"S-So we can find valuable stuff here, right?" Asked Consta.

How the Library works is completely beyond anything he has done so far, so he is very wary.

Mo tries to reassure her companion.

"D-Don't worry, we just have to chop some guys up to get what we want. S-Simple as that. N-No different than what we do anyways. T-This body has strength if nothing else."

Unfortunately, it doesn't work as Arnold taps her shoulder to get her attention.

"W-We came here for loot, but what if it was all just a lie? M-Maybe we were too hasty in signing it."

"There is no need to worry, dear guests."

"W-Woman!" "S-Shit!" "W-Who's there?!"

Angela suddenly appears before them, scaring the trio in the process.

"What is written is no lie. We strictly adhere to the terms on the invitation."

"O-Oh."

"Welcome you three. This is the Library. I am Angela, the director and librarian of my role's namesake. In this Library, you may obtain the books listed on the invitation. If you overcome the ordeal, that is."

Seeing Angela's abilities frightens Arnold

"S-Straight up teleportation? T-This is way above our capabilities. M-Mo, let's get out while we still can."

Consta agrees.

"Y-Yeah! T-This is beyond us! I-It may all be just some sick joke some rich guy put up as entertainment!"

Mo shakes them off and berates the two.

"W-What did I just say? W-We just need to do what we always do, simple. B-Besides, this is a great opportunity for us to boost ourselves."

She then turns to Angela

"W-We're ready."

"Then may you find your book in this place."

******

At the Floor of General works

The trio are teleported onto the floor, meeting Roland and Morty.

"J-Just two guys? I-It's as I said, simple!"

Mo was the first to charge, with Arnold and Consta following behind. Roland faces off Arnold and Mo, while Consta is forced into a confrontation with Morty.

"D-Die!"

"I-I don't think so!"

Consta pushes Morty back and takes a swing. Morty dodges and retaliates. Unfortunately, his blow merely scratches his opponent's body. Consta swings, but Morty blocks the attack. However, he was caughtboff guard as Consta immediately kicks him from the left after the attack, sending him rolling away on the floor.

"H-Ha!"

"I-It's not yet over!"

Morty quickly gets back up as Consta charges him. He consecutively blocks two attacks before dodging three more. He backs off and starts attacking.

The two exchange blows fiercely. Morty landed more hits, but Consta's body is sturdy. Morty realizes he's getting tired and is forced into being defensive against Consta, who retaliates with rapid strikes.

Meanwhile, Roland faces the other two. Roland clashes swords with Mo and Arnold. Despite being outnumbered, Roland is slowly pushing the two of them back. He does, pushing Arnold and Mo away from him as they lose their balance. He then runs up and kicks Mo away.

"A-Ah!"

With her far, he turns his attention to Arnold who is getting back up.

"Come on, it's just one of me and two of you. Your pal's doing better."

"D-Don't get cocky!"

Angered by the taunt, Arnold charges forward and madly swings at Roland. He tries to block one of Arnold's attacks, but is pushed back from the impact. He decides to just evade instead.

"I-I'll chop you into pieces!"

There's no technique or skill in these attacks, he's only relying on brute force.

'Tch. These prosthetics may be of low quality, but they can assert max effort unlike a fleshy body.'

Even Roland admits that Arnold's raw strength is greater. He continues to evade, until he gets behind Arnold and kicks him away. He then looks to find Mo moving to attack and rushes her.

The two clash swords. Learning from his fight with Arnold, Roland doesn't try to overpower her. Instead, he uses her momentum and strength against her. This caused Mo to lose her balance, so Roland kicks the back of her head and knocks her to Arnold. Arnold helps Mo get back up.

"M-Mo, still fine?"

"Y-Yeah. L-Let's get him!"

The two charge to attack him. Unfortunately, Ropand has learned their patterns and effortlessly dodges their attacks

"D-Dammit! W-We can't hit him!"

"H-He's just one guy!"

The two are faring worse than Consta, as Roland is leagues above Morty. Even if they double team Roland, they're making negligible progress.

It is clear from his nonchalant manner and expression that he could've easily killed either of them already by now. He's merely letting them live to raise emotions.

Mo realizes this.

"D-Dammit! T-Takes seriously!"

"Sure."

Roland sidesteps her attack and trips her. He then swings at Arnold and lands a deadly blow against him in one attack.

"W-We shouldn't... H-Have come..."

He then dodges Mo's attack from behind and takes her out too.

"D-Dammit... I-If only..."

As they turn into books, Roland takes a look at Morty. Morty has gotten better, and now Consta is the on on the defensive.

"S-Screw it! Y-You only live once! AAAGHH!!!"

Consta's body begins to spark and smoke as he overcharges his systems to improve his capabilities. The momentum shifted in a  mete second to favor Consta, as Morty dodges and evades from his mad swings.

'This boost must have a price. Wait...'

Morty notices that a part of Consta's chest was blown off from the overload. Dodging under one of his swings, Morty plunges his sword through the opening and piercee through Consta, killing him.

"I-I wish... I-I ate more..."

Curtain call for the reception.

******

Roland is now downstairs, looking at Angela who is reading their new books.

"Good work today, Servant. You did better against them than I expected."

"Well, it's really not a good idea to keep your brain inside a hunk of scrap metal."

"Oh? Isn't it still better than frail flesh though?"

"True, but there are plenty of ways to enhance your body without replacing it for another. Partial prosthetics, drugs, nanomachines. It's all possible so long as you have the cash. Replacing your body with a machine, on the other hand, is a road you can't ever go back on. Especially since robotic bodies can't resemble humans too much. Your life goes right down the drain."

'Can't resemble humans, huh? Guess that's another crime added to his list.' Thought Angela.

"Hmm. So when does one put inside their brain in a machine, then?"

"Well. One's when you urgently need a huge amount of money. You can sell off your old body and organs for some cash. Another reason can be when you need to do repetitive work with no rest. Mechanical bodies are best for that job, you don't feel hunger, pain or thirst and any injured parts are simply swapped out. However, you're still depriving yourself of basic living senses, and good prosthetics are quite expensive when you consider the price to buy them, maintain them and the tax from just owning them."

Hearing the last reason Roland gave for replacing body parts, Angela recalls her past.

"Repetitive work with no rest..."

"Hm? Interested in getting yourself one?"

"No, just remembering things. Keep up the good work, this is only the first reception of the day."

"Sure thing, ma'am."