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Ignis opened the KnockKnock messenger profile belonging to Jane Doe, hesitating over whether he should send her a message.
This woman had been out of contact with him for a full month, while Razor had made disturbingly fast progress in that same period—he had even seized a shipment of weapons. If Ignis could somehow obtain the enemy's defense layout, then the pressure he'd face when attacking Razor's lair would be significantly reduced.
The Salamander thought for quite a while, unsure of what he should even send her. After all, none of his meetings with Jane Doe had been particularly pleasant; most of the time, they were strictly business. How was he supposed to message her without exposing her identity, yet also not sounding abrupt?
Contacting an undercover agent was truly not easy. Ignis typed several times, only to delete everything. He originally considered messaging her while pretending to be a supplier, but then reconsidered—someone providing goods to an infamous gang usually stayed on a single one-way communication line. Him suddenly reaching out would look very suspicious.
The giant laid back on the bed in frustration and tossed his phone aside. Even though he now knew Jane Doe was an undercover agent from the New Eridu Public Security embedded in the Mountain Lion Gang, he couldn't just go ask Zhu Yuan or Qingyi about it. Even if either of them knew something, they wouldn't tell a civilian like him.
"What's wrong? I could hear you sighing all the way from the lounge." Nicole walked in.
"Nicole, boss. I have a problem. I need to message a friend I haven't contacted in a while, but I don't know how to start." The Salamander sat up immediately.
"A woman? A lover? Who? Someone I know? Don't tell me it's a Proxy?" With each escalating guess, Nicole's expression grew more animated, her eyes sparkling. "Oho, look at you."
Ignis had absolutely no idea how this pink-haired menace managed to divert the topic all the way to Belle. Had she not considered the absurd difference in size and age between them? Or was New Eridu simply that free-spirited, where such things weren't seen as obstacles at all? Regardless, the important thing right now was clarifying the situation—otherwise, who knew what kind of nonsense Nicole would spread around.
"No, no. How did you even reach that conclusion? And why Belle?"
"If it's not Belle, then Rain?" Nicole's gossiping soul was blazing bright. "Rain was complaining to me just today—'Why does that big guy keep messaging me nonstop? I regret giving him my contact info.'"
"I've been pushing her to finish the decryption faster. It's nothing like that." The Salamander felt sweat forming on his forehead. Was Nicole always this obsessed with romance? When did this start? Why is she stuck on this kind of thing?
"Pffff—hahahahaha…" Nicole burst into laughter, leaving Ignis thoroughly embarrassed. After a good while, the leader of the Cunning Hares finally wiped away her tears.
"So? Feeling a little better now?" Nicole dabbed at the tears that laughter had brought to her eyes. "I always thought you didn't care about this kind of thing at all. But you're denying it so fiercely—so you do like someone? Relax, in New Eridu, age and height differences aren't a problem, species isn't a problem. Humans marrying smart robots isn't unheard of. We're very open-minded here."
Thanks, that's a little too open-minded.
If the old Emperor ever found out I got together with a Man of Iron, I'd be getting psychic ear-thrashings nonstop.
But Nicole was right—her antics had chased away his earlier gloom, replacing it with a budding headache instead.
"So then, what exactly is troubling the fourth member of the Cunning Hares?" Nicole, having teased him enough, finally moved the topic along.
"It's about Razor." Ignis sighed. "A friend of mine who's undercover has been missing for a month. Her target was the Mountain Lion Gang."
"Oh, the Mountain Lion Gang? The news was just reporting on them. They attacked a research outpost inside Hollow Zero and abducted the researchers and investigators inside. Public Security is preparing to move against them." The leader of the Cunning Hares grew serious. "Normally, gangs act for money. Maybe they're planning to ransom those people."
It couldn't be that simple. Khorne cultists didn't bother with money. Kidnappings like this meant only one thing—sacrifice. They needed blood and skulls to please the Blood God, either for his blessing or… to summon a daemon host.
And while a Khorne warband was easier to deal with than a Slaanesh host, that assessment only applied to warriors on the level of the Adeptus Astartes. New Eridu's Defense Force would stand no chance against a Khorne Blood Host—they would collapse almost instantly.
"What is it? Your face suddenly looks awful." Even with Ignis' dark complexion, Nicole could still read his emotions.
"We might be facing a catastrophe in New Eridu." Ignis' tone grew heavy.
"You're joking, right? It's just a gang that runs around the Hollows. They're not going to flip the sky. If Public Security can't handle them, then the Defense Force will." Nicole felt the Salamander was worrying too much. To her, they were just another gang.
"Nicole, boss, I need to tell you the truth. Razor is basically no longer human. He worships a certain faith and has gained supernatural power. He kidnapped those people to perform an evil sacrificial ritual meant to please a Chaos God."
"Huh? Religion? There's another weird cult in New Eridu? Sacrificial rituals? Evil gods? Sounds more like something from that videotape Anby brought back yesterday." Nicole shook her head. As a New Eridu citizen raised on science and rationalism, she had no patience for such things.
"I knew you wouldn't believe me. But don't you think the Mountain Lion Gang has grown far too strong? They used to just raid outposts for supplies, and now they're outright kidnapping people." Ignis sighed again. He didn't expect Nicole to believe him anyway. "And my undercover friend—there's been no word from her for a month. I'm really worried about her safety."
"She? So, it is a woman. But seriously, you're impressive—getting in touch with an undercover agent without me even noticing. What department is she undercover for? Public Security? Defense Force?" Nicole narrowed her eyes again.
"She claimed to be a special criminal psychology consultant for the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team. As for her name, Jane Doe—which is obviously fake. She's a Rat Thiren, good at disguises, great figure. Beyond that, I don't know." Ignis sifted through the sparse details he had on her. The woman was shrouded in mystery, and most of what she said was a mix of half-truths. The only thing he was sure of was that she hated Razor and wanted him dead.
"Public Security, huh? Didn't expect you to be connected with them. Have you considered our position? We're Hollow Raiders, remember. Did you get in through those two officers?"
Nicole was clearly referring to Zhu Yuan and Qingyi—but Ignis barely knew either of them. Even though both had been reassigned to the Lumina substation, he'd only ever run into them a handful of times while they were on patrol, exchanging nothing more than a nod.
"It has nothing to do with Zhu Yuan or Qingyi. She approached me first." Ignis explained. "Back when Vision Corporation tried to blow up Canvas Street, she noticed me. She thought I was the only one capable of stopping Razor, so she chose to make contact. She even got me an encrypted data drive showing Razor's lair."
"No wonder you kept pushing Rain to hurry up. But Jane Doe isn't much of a clue. All you have is 'Rat Thiren and great figure.' Seriously, you're not joking? With that vague a description, even if I wanted to help you find her, I couldn't." Nicole stared at him as though he were haunted—none of the information he provided was useful.
"Every time I met her, she disguised herself as a completely different person. I can't describe her real face." Ignis could hardly tell Nicole about Jane Doe's heat signature profile—something impossible to explain to anyone without Fire-Sight.
"Right now, I can't reach her at all. The best approach is to destroy Razor's lair directly and make sure he can't harm her anymore. That way our exchange of intel is settled. I don't like owing people." The Salamander sighed and reached for his phone.
"Wait. Judging by how you're talking… you're not planning to go after Razor alone, are you?" The leader of the Cunning Hares grew stern. "You promised you wouldn't throw yourself into danger alone again."
"Razor stole a huge cache of weapons from Markus. His men are surely fully armed by now. And they've definitely set up traps and kill zones all around their lair—that won't be a stroll in the park." Ignis absolutely didn't want the Cunning Hares involved. Even without Khorne corruption, a gang this heavily armed was far too dangerous for them.
"Tch, yeah, that's a pain. But can you really handle it alone?" Nicole propped her chin on her hand. This woman, sly as a rabbit, fully understood the danger. Letting him go alone wasn't exactly safe either.
"Markus has a dirty-work squad that'll go with me. And Brother Gotthardt over at Belobog Heavy Industries—his Leviathan Dreadnought's mechanical arm has been repaired. He can still put up a decent fight." Ignis laid all his allies on the table, hoping this would dissuade the Cunning Hares' leader from wanting to come along.
"See? Since you have backup, wouldn't bringing us make it even better? The enemy's numbers aren't small, and we can help too. The Cunning Hares have some reputation among the Hollow Raiders, you know. 'Electric Guillotine' Anby Demara, 'White Chariot' Billy Kid, and 'Gravity Warden' Nicole Demara." The pink-haired woman slapped her chest proudly, which shook quite a bit.
"What kind of ridiculous nicknames are those?" Ignis couldn't help but laugh. He knew the Cunning Hares were strong—he simply didn't want them taking the risk.
Still, he figured it was time to let them know a bit about the world of Warhammer. They might truly need to help after this. Thankfully, with the psychic power granted by The Emperor, Ignis could mark them with protective sigils to ward off Chaos corruption.
"Fine. When the time comes, I'll tell you." Ignis nodded. "As for Jane Doe, please keep trying to look into her."
"No problem. Jane Doe and Perlman." Nicole repeated the names as she walked out of the garage. "Should I be charging you an intel fee?"
The Salamander ignored that, picking up his phone. He tried typing something into the message box, but each time he ended up deleting it. Jane Doe, Jane Doe… what's happened to you, you little rat?
In the end, the giant tossed his phone back onto the bed. For an undercover agent, no news might be the best news. He stood up and ignited the forge.
Markus had delivered the ether alloy he requested earlier this afternoon. Now it was time to begin reforging the autocannon.