"[You only need to scroll through the list until you find someone suitable]," Sen-nu explained while playing with the screen in his hands. "[Pressing on one of them will reveal additional information as well as purchase options for additional tips and clues]."
"[Can you find me]?" Khan asked.
"[Your bounty is quite recent]," Sen-nu muttered while changing the filters on the list. "[Oh! Here you are. Twenty thousand Credits, dead or alive. Though it has bad reviews]."
"[Do people even leave reviews]?" Khan questioned.
"[Bounty hunters don't have it easy on Milia 222]," Sen-nu revealed. "[There often are countless complications attached to most targets, the Nele in your case]."
Khan read while Sen-nu scrolled through the reviews. Multiple anonymous accounts had left complaints about the reward for the bounty. Twenty thousand Credits were too few for someone with connections to the Nele.
A few reviews even complained about Khan's element, arguing that chaos wielders deserved higher rewards. Most recent critiques also involved Khan's successful escape from the first wave of bounty hunters and used the event to request better pay.
‘It's so thorough,' Khan thought as he reached for the screen and swiped up until he returned to the main page. His face was there, and the same went for many details about his physique, element, and general battle style.
‘Fast and deadly,' Khan read on the labels next to his picture. ‘Avoid getting into melee range.'
"[You shouldn't be worried]," Sen-nu reassured when he saw how focused Khan was. "[This bounty has been received poorly, and the employer didn't raise the reward to match the critiques. It won't survive another week in the system's main pages]."
After the rocky start, Khan and the group of Fuveall had managed to bring the meeting under friendly terms, allowing him to ask pressing questions. Manners wanted to keep the illegal stuff for last, so Khan had begun his inquiries with the bounty system.
Sen-nu's backpack was outside the tent, so he had chosen to handle the explanation himself. He only had to bring the bag inside to show the item that could solve Khan's doubts.
It turned out that Milia 222 had a separate network for bounties. The hunters needed special items to gain access to it, but many Fuveall, humans, and Orlats sold them.
The system was far from perfect, especially on the dock, due to its many complications, but it worked, and some hunters could rely on it to make a living. The job was nowhere near easy, and many often lost more than money, but Milia 222 allowed its existence, even if not openly.
"[Could I also place a bounty]?" Khan wondered.
"[Every device comes with an anonymous profile]," Sen-nu explained. "[You'd need an additional tool to send and receive money on your real account, but nothing stops you from gaining access to it]."
"[What about the truly important figures]?" Khan continued. "[Can one of them end up on the list]?"
"[Milia 222's citizens tend to be smarter than your ordinary people]," Sen-nu declared. "[They won't go against powers that could destroy them]."
"[That's not what I've seen]," Khan admitted. Even if the situation had often been in his enemies' favor, many had thrown away caution in an attempt to make quick scores.
"[You are an unknown variable]," Sen-nu stated, "[And you don't stick to many rules. Even Sen-nu was surprised to find you hand in hand with a Nele. I can only imagine what the others thought at that sight]."
"[How long will this surprise last]?" Khan asked. He might have the chance to exploit the situation as long as Milia 222 remained unclear about his potential.
"[It's already waning]," Sen-nu laughed. "[This dead bounty proves that]."
‘Pity,' Khan thought. ‘I guess there is no helping it. The dock is bound to adapt quickly.'
"[There are other networks]," Sen-nu continued his explanation. "[Many only remain up for a few hours, and there is no limit to their topics. Auctions and bounties are only a few examples of the stable networks]."
Khan knew that technology was amazing, but he had no idea that it could be so deep. He had initially thought that mana could make it complicated and untouchable, but there seemed to be countless alternative paths in that field.
"[These temporary networks]," Khan announced, "[They can't be too safe, right? They would remain up otherwise]."
The group of Fuveall had partially ignored the conversation between Sen-nu and Khan. They were talking about topics that they knew far too well, and they had no interest in educating a newbie who had sided with a species with opposite priorities.
However, the announcement showed that Khan wasn't an idiot or a lost cause. His mind could make smart connections as long as someone explained the basics to him. His thoughts were strangely flexible, especially when it came to potential dangers or scams.
"[You keep surprising Sen-nu]," Sen-nu exclaimed. "[Yes, the networks are flawed. Technology as a whole is]."
"[Do the Orlats have separate networks]?" Khan questioned. "[I can't understand how they exchange information so quickly]."
"[No one truly knows]," Sen-nu laughed. "[Well, the Orlats know. It's an innate quality of their species]."
Khan heaved a sigh as he stopped looking at the device and raised his gaze. He was sitting on the floor, and the dark fabric of the tent filled his vision, but his eyes didn't really look at that. His thoughts ran wild as he absorbed that new knowledge.
The Slums had never forced Khan to face that reality, and Reebfell didn't have those issues, at least from his perspective. However, Milia 222 had multiple layers, and one of them existed only online.
‘How long would it take me to learn this stuff?' Khan wondered.
Truth be told, Khan wasn't particularly attracted to technology. He respected it and acknowledged its greatness, but he liked the human side of life far more. Even after discovering how deep the networks could go, he didn't feel any curiosity toward them.
Still, remaining ignorant wasn't an option. Khan could decide not to learn how to set up a small network, but he needed to know the various implications to that field. His very future depended on it.
"[So]," Ta-ei joined the conversation during that silent moment. "[Are you sure that the Nele won't target us]?"
"[I told you already]," Khan repeated. "[Don't give them a reason to come after you, and they won't]."
"[But how can we know what pisses them]?" The conspiracy theory Fuveall asked.
"[You already know what they hate]," Khan uttered. "[Just don't get involved with that]."
"[Hmph]," The conspiracy theory Fuveall snorted. "[We don't care about flesh-based materials. Our alloys are far more val-]."
"[Atef, shut up]," Ta-ei interrupted. "[Don't share unnecessary information]."
"[I kind of wanted to hear about your important supplies]," Khan joked, and Sen-nu laughed.
"[Maybe one day]," Ta-ei declared. "[Depends on the terms of our cooperation]."
Khan only smiled. Ta-ei was being polite, but he knew he couldn't offer much. His connection to the Nele was the sole reason behind that friendly meeting.
"[Let's move to more interesting topics]," Khan announced. "[What do you know about the Tors]?"
"[What's there to know about the Tors]?" Sen-nu snorted.
"[They also have technology]," Khan vaguely revealed.
"[They are too secretive even to try to establish a conversation]," Ta-ei explained before bringing her meaningful red eyes on Khan. "[We were surprised to learn about your trip to their district]."
‘I truly am an exception then,' Khan confirmed before deciding to change topics again. "[What do you know about security systems]?"
"[Security how]?" Ta-ei asked.
"[Cameras, scanners, and such]," Khan described.
"[We know a lot about them]!" Sen-nu snickered.
"[The Fuveall have the most advanced programs]," Ta-ei added. "[Only the humans come close, but many purchase them from us anyway]."
"[Won't that create security issues]?" Khan asked, but the Fuveall revealed blank faces at his question.
Ta-ei cleared her throat before explaining. "[They wouldn't keep them as they are. Many versions also exist. Vulnerability is a serious issue, so any buyer would improve on that]."
"[Let's say that these buyers are wealthy]," Khan stated. "[Which security program would they buy]?"
"[Depends on the task]," Ta-ei responded. "[Chime is great in general. Cozy is cheap but functional. Jinx is superb but complicated. There is no superior option]."
"[SegueX got a few interesting updates recently]," Sen-nu added.
"[The new Hex is also worth looking into]," Atef suggested.
"[It's not useful down here]," A fourth Fuveall commented.
"[But he might not have meant something for down here]," Atef pointed out, and all the eyes in the tent moved on Khan.
Khan was utterly lost. Words reached his ears, but they didn't turn into actual meanings. He could only keep a straight face while he mustered a question that tried to hide his ignorance. "[What's the best in your opinion? For general security purposes]."
"[Reverb, probably]," Ta-ei replied. "[It's flexible and hard to breach. It's definitely top of the line in that field]."
"[Would you be able to breach Reverb]?" Khan pressed on.
"[Sen-nu told you already]," Sen-nu intervened. "[Technology is flawed. Still, breaching something so advanced would leave tracks and lead to consequences]."
"[How long would it normally take to find these tracks]?" Khan asked.
"[Which version of Reverb are we talking about]?" Sen-nu asked.
"[Reverb 1 or 2]?" Ta-ei added.
"[Expanded or standard]?" Atef continued.
"[How many packages did the buyers add]?" A fourth Fuveall asked.
Khan's mind was fuming. He didn't know anything about that. The Fuveall had switched to a completely different language from his perspective.
"[That I don't know]," Khan managed to muster out of his mouth.
"[The version is important]," Ta-ei explained. "[Some tracks might remain hidden for multiple days depending on that]."
"[Wait]," Khan exclaimed. "[What do you mean by days]?"
"[An improved version of Reverb might uncover a breach in only a few hours]," Sen-nu said, "[But Reverb 1 might take days to find it]."
‘Days?!' Khan shouted in his mind. He didn't know how long had passed since the first theft, but it had to be entire months, if not more than half a year.
‘This doesn't make any sense,' Khan thought before bringing his attention back to the Fuveall. "[Are you sure that leaving tracks is inevitable? Is there no way around that]?"
"[With poorly programmed software, sure]," Sen-nu stated.
"[Is there no advanced breaching method that leaves no tracks]?" Khan tried again.
"[You need to study a program to create a suitable virus]," Ta-ei explained. "[As long as the program doesn't receive updates, it's possible to create something like that, but a wealthy buyer would know better]."
The matter sounded impossible in Khan's mind, but he couldn't contradict a species that replaced pieces of their bodies with metal. He had to trust their opinion, which led to a single, unbelievable conclusion.
‘The theft didn't alert the security system,' Khan concluded. ‘There has never been any breach.'
That conclusion sounded unreal. A security system couldn't accept a theft unless the latter weren't a theft at all.
"[If you are in control of a security system]," Khan questioned as his gaze fell on the floor, "[Could you remove records and similar stuff]?"
Khan knew that his language didn't fit the field, but he was doing his best, and the Fuveall understood that. Ta-ei's answer came quickly and confirmed what Khan was thinking. "[You can do pretty much anything if you control the software]."
That was it. That was the final answer. Khan had gone far away to search for it, but the obvious approach had turned out to be correct. The theft had never been a theft. Someone with control over the factory had seized the reinforced fabric and had deleted the event from the security system.
The realization forced Khan to reevaluate everything he had learnt about the mission. He had initially thought about spies or traitors with connections to the families involved in the factory, but the matter went far deeper.
A mere worker couldn't pull off something like that. Even one of the factory's leaders probably didn't have the means to alter the security system, and the same went for the other wealthy families.
The theft had to involve someone with influence over the entire factory, and only one name fitted that requirement. The Cobsend family had to be the culprit.
‘How is this possible?' Khan wondered. ‘How could Luke miss this?'
Luke was bound to know more about technology. He had to be aware of those implications with the security system. Still, Khan actually believed him, which left him with two options.
‘Either Luke managed to trick me,' Khan thought, ‘Or someone inside his family tricked him.'
Khan couldn't find a reason to back up the first option, but the second had its own set of problems. He couldn't tell Luke that his family was playing him. He didn't have enough proof, and going against his employer was far from wise.
‘What do I do now?' Khan asked himself as he scoured his mind in an attempt to find a solution.
Going back to Luke to report that was out of the question. Someone convinced him about the presence of an external threat, and Khan couldn't change his mind with a mere talk with the Fuveall on his side.
The answer to those doubts arrived, and Khan didn't like it too much. Everything had changed in his mind, but his task didn't. He had to look for undeniable proof to make Luke accept his conclusion.
‘And get the fuck out of this mission right afterward,' Khan exclaimed in his mind. He was a small fry caught in-between political maneuvers that involved wealthy families. He couldn't let himself or Martha remain exposed for too long.
"[Is everything okay]?" Ta-ei asked since Khan had remained silent for almost a minute by then.
"[Maybe he is finally welcoming technology]," Sen-nu laughed.
"[Yes, everything is okay]," Khan stated as he calmed himself down and raised his gaze to face the Fuveall. "[Let's change topics again. If you were humans and wanted to abandon the Global Army, what would you do]?"
