Nine blues and one purple—the classic pull.
Cipher sighed, already accustomed to this. She rolled her eyes at the gacha system, scrolled past the blue-tier junk without a second glance, and focused on the lone purple item.
"This is... the Flipping Coin? Why did I pull another one of these?"
She stared at the item icon, which looked identical to the one-eyed cat coin hanging around her neck, and felt a moment of daze. However, as she clicked the description, she realized this 'Flipping Coin' functioned quite differently from her own.
[A Penny] (Epic Grade)
"Thou shalt walk with greed, and thou shalt perish for a penny.
Yet, this time, Cifera shall never perish for a penny; instead, she shall bring a nightmare of 'only a penny' to others!"
Effect: After the host successfully steals all or the vast majority of assets from a location or individual, they gain 'A Penny.' The host may choose to leave the coin behind.
When someone picks up 'A Penny,' they will instinctively know that 'Cifera' took their property. Unless the host is caught in the act or intentionally reveals their identity, the victims cannot trace the name back to the host.
(In short: Cognitive Interference. They cannot associate the name Cifera with Cipher, nor will they notice that Cipher wears an identical coin.)
— Go forth and spread your mischief! When one person spreads a lie, ten thousand speak it as truth. All rumors and legends regarding you shall eventually manifest from fiction into reality, becoming your greatest strength!
After reading the description, Cipher blankly retrieved 'A Penny' from the system inventory. She looked at the coin in her palm, lost in thought.
'One person spreads a lie, ten thousand speak it as truth... Rumors becoming power...'
She murmured the words, gently stroking the metal surface. Soon, the corners of her mouth curled upward. The confusion in her eyes vanished, replaced by a firm, mischievous glint.
"System, you calculated this, didn't you? Giving me this item right after I finished looting a base."
"The more famous I am, the stronger I get—without worrying about my identity being exposed? Such a sweet deal. As the Half-God of Mischief, Cifera, how could I possibly pass this up?"
Cipher flicked her thumb, sending the coin spinning into the air.
★ ★ ★
The coin traced a graceful arc through the air before landing precisely on the table in the center of the hall. The black-and-gold, one-eyed grinning cat looked utterly out of place on the sleek, silver-white surface.
Since she had successfully lured most of the personnel away, no one was there to notice the intruder on the table. With the 'seed' named Cifera planted, Cipher only needed to wait for it to take root and grow into a towering tree that would cast a permanent shadow over their lives.
"Time to go. I imagine they'll be quite busy soon."
She tossed a handful of useless Level 3 clearance cards onto the floor, strolled through the corridor, and passed through the base gates back to the surface. Once outside, she tapped her toes against the pavement, leaping toward the rooftops.
Bathed in the fading glow of the sunset, her silhouette gradually dissolved into the orange light.
★ ★ ★
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Ran-chan, I'm back!" Cipher called out as she reached Lu Zhaoran's front door.
A moment later, the lock clicked. Lu Zhaoran opened the door, her eyes searching.
"Big Sis Cipher, you're back? How did the mission go?"
Cipher tilted her head back proudly. "Perfectly. I had them running in circles!"
"That's amazing!" Lu Zhaoran offered a sincere smile. She wasn't entirely sure where Cipher had gone or who exactly was being fooled, but she knew the best course of action was to keep the compliments flowing.
Cipher walked into the living room, glancing around. "Are Little Lin and the others awake yet?"
Lu Zhaoran shook her head, then nodded. "Lin Wei woke up about twenty minutes ago, but Little Lin is still out. They're both suffering from mental exhaustion due to overlocking their abilities. I talked to Wei for a bit, but she fell back asleep shortly after."
"What did she say? What happened over there?" Cipher sat on the sofa, her expression turning curious.
"They ran into a C-Rank squad from Arasaka Heavy Industries."
"Arasaka?" Cipher's brow furrowed. She heard that name everywhere; they were one of the four megacorporations ruling the city. "Why would corporate goons be in the Pit? Based on what you told me before, the corps don't usually care about this place."
"Exactly," Lu Zhaoran agreed. "It's strange. There's no profit in the Pit, only bad luck and filth. Why would a company squad bother coming here?"
"And what about the Arasaka guys? I don't care what their goal was; they did this to Big Bear and left Little Lin and Lin Wei unconscious. We can't just let that slide, right?"
Cipher felt a spark of anger. So what if they were a megacorp? She was a Half-God. If she lived in fear of a company, she would lose all her dignity.
"No need," Lu Zhaoran said, shaking her head.
Before Cipher could protest, the explanation followed.
"They're already dead. Little Lin and her team killed them all."
"Wait... are the corporate squads actually that weak?" Cipher's mouth twitched.
Arasaka Heavy Industries specialized in military and security manufacturing. It seemed almost surreal that their elite unit was wiped out by a team that struggled to even keep themselves fed in the Pit.
"No, Arasaka squads are formidable. Even a C-Rank unit consists of five C-Rank ability users equipped with top-tier gear and perfect coordination. They can even pressure a weak B-Rank user. On paper, Little Lin's team are just three C-Ranks. Under normal circumstances, even escaping should have been nearly impossible, let alone a total wipeout."
★ ★ ★
T/N: Hello, if you spot any terms, names, or item names that has been mistranslated, please let me know and I'll fix them.
P.S. I am considering dropping this series due to the lack of interest. If you're still enjoying this, please let me know.