"There's really nothing that can be done then, it's a bit of a pity."
Horatio let out a sigh of relief, still feeling a bit unsatisfied, and pulled out a thousand-gothic coins bill Farida had given him from his pocket, which was also the largest denomination of gothic coins.
gothic coins are currency issued in the Gothic Sector. Their manufacturing process heavily utilizes promethium by-products, and they feel like a soft polymer product when held, being waterproof, moisture-proof, and corrosion-resistant. As long as the dirt is wiped off, they can look as good as new.
However, this also means that gothic coins cannot be repaired by conventional means once damaged. Any gothic coins with a tear are suspected of being counterfeit and are not recognized by the market.
Due to Abyss Port's important commercial status, Ship Owners traveling the stars must carry gothic coins for emergencies. Therefore, gothic coins have become another major important currency in the Imperial trade system, following 'Throne Coins' and 'Skyhawk Coins'.
Any world that is even slightly prosperous offers currency exchange services for these three currencies.
Horatio was accustomed to mobile payments on Ancient Terra, so returning to paper money in the 41st millennium felt a bit strange to him.
When Horatio placed this brand-new thousand-gothic coins bill on the table and pushed it towards the girl, she couldn't help but gasp.
"Oh my, sir, why would you carry such a large denomination bill on you?!"
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"Usually, only in the super malls of the Upper Hive would people carry such large denominations of gothic coins to buy luxury goods. Here, if someone sees it, your money will be stolen in an instant!"
"Thanks for the reminder, I'll be careful," Horatio said gratefully.
[Oh my, Upper Hive people actually come to this place. I thought people in Vegas District completely kept to themselves.] The girl took the bill in surprise, instantly pulling it under the counter and looking around, worried about being seen.
"I don't have this much cash to give you change. Please wait a moment, I'll go inside and get the money."
"Alright."
Horatio turned his back, leaning against the bar, sipping his drink, and watching Hanzi and the Bread seller, who drove a truck, move goods.
"Alright, you worked hard today too." The chef, Hanzi, wearing a vest, wiped the sweat from his forehead and handed the counted money to the Bread seller.
A middle-aged woman in the passenger seat of the truck was doing cross-stitch. Through the window, one could see many framed finished products in the back, which appeared to be goods for sale.
In the back seat sat a quiet girl of about ten years old. She wore a simple but clean floral dress, which, unlike her mother's clothes, rarely had patches.
She had a pair of large, watery blue-brown heterochromatic eyes and curiously looked around. Soon, she saw Horatio looking at her.
Seeing the young man looking at her, a innocent smile appeared on the girl's face, and with a child's unique purity, she waved at Horatio.
Horatio chuckled softly and waved back at her.
[A child, the hope of human civilization, and rare heterochromatic eyes. What a lovely little flower.]
However, Horatio didn't look for too long. His gaze quickly fell on a crumpled piece of paper under the truck.
It was the money the Bread seller had just received. It had fallen out of his pant leg shortly after he put it in his pocket; his pocket must have had a hole in it.
The Bread seller, having finished delivering the goods, got into the truck and was about to drive away.
Horatio shouted at the Bread seller.
Then he raised his hand and pointed to the ground.
The Bread seller looked over at the sound, initially thinking the young man wanted to buy bread. Following where he pointed, he realized, oh no! It was his money that had fallen out. He quickly got out of the truck and picked up the money as fast as he could.
He took a sealed bag of white bread from the truck and walked towards Horatio.
"Thank you so much, young man. Thanks to your reminder, otherwise, my child's medicine money would have been gone," the Bread seller said sincerely, gratefully, "I don't have anything better, please accept this bag of white bread."
The Bread seller looked apologetic. The young man's attire clearly showed he was a respectable person, and only offering a bag of white bread as thanks seemed a bit cheap.
But Horatio knew that bread made from pure wheat flour, without corpse starch, was a food that most Middle Hive people, and even the Bread seller himself, would be reluctant to eat.
As the galactic war escalated, all kinds of flour were placed under military control, with over sixty percent of the production preferentially supplied to the Imperial Army and nobles.
Before Horatio's imprisonment, wheat flour was already almost exclusively associated with the Upper Hive, a food unaffordable to Middle and Lower Hive people. Even the black bread bought by the chef, Hanzi, was made from rye mixed with some oat flour.
"Give it to your daughter. She's still young and needs to grow."
Horatio raised his hand to decline.
"Sir, although I'm not very educated, I understand the principle of repaying kindness. Please accept it."
"No, really, I'm not short on food," Horatio politely refused.
[I'm entering the Loyalist Academy tomorrow, I really don't lack anything.] This was Horatio's true thought, but he didn't want to scare the Bread seller, so he kept it to himself.
Just as the two were politely refusing each other, Horatio felt someone brush against him.
[!] Horatio's eyes suddenly widened, and he instinctively reached for his pocket.
[Thief!]
Horatio, agilely, grabbed the gray robe that brushed past him.
The small figure, concealed by a gray-black cloak, was startled, not expecting this young man to be so sharp.
"Young man, be careful!" the Bread seller shouted.
Half of a young, terrified face emerged from beneath the gray robe. The small knife used to slash open the pocket instinctively cut towards the hand Horatio had clamped onto her.
Before the sharp knife could cut his hand, Horatio had to let go. The petty thief seized the opportunity to flee in a desperate hurry, moving very quickly.
But Horatio was no ordinary person. He lunged forward swiftly, in a grappling move, catching the knife-wielding small hand with one hand and instantly pinning the other person to the ground.
"Got you! Give me back the money! You little thief!" Horatio disarmed the girl of her exquisite small knife and pinned her to the ground.
"Gah!" The petty thief made a sound unlike a human's.
Her resistance was quite fierce, and her nails were very sharp. Just her uncoordinated flailing caused Horatio to be unable to dodge quickly enough, and a shallow cut appeared on his cheek.
But with his rich experience in grappling, he quickly subdued this frail little thief, pressing down on her with his knee.
Horatio tore off the other person's gray robe, and the moment her true face was revealed, he was stunned.
Because this person was not a pure human.
Pinned beneath him was a female Half-cat person hybrid, her pupils narrowed into vertical slits due to stress.
Such creatures are abhumans. It is said that the former Cat People were truly a humanoid, upright large cat, much like Bastet in the Ancient Terra Egyptian myths and legends.
But after being recognized and becoming legal abhumans of the Imperium, there were always "brave" individuals among humans who dared to be the first to try something new.
The result was that after several generations of interbreeding, the existing Half-cat person populations in the Imperium, such as the one before Horatio's eyes.
Aside from her ears and tail, and a few other feline characteristics, she looked like an ordinary human girl, her appearance not much different from his own—this was also the assimilation policy encouraged by the Imperium.
But the terrified growl and the pupils narrowed into slits, as well as the burning pain on his face, quickly made Horatio realize—an abhuman is still an abhuman. If a human were so emaciated by life, they would never have the strength to injure him.
Seeing the Half-cat person girl still flailing around, Horatio twisted her arm behind her back.
"Ow! Ugh—it hurts!" The Half-cat person girl finally made a human sound.
"Can you be good now?" Horatio slightly loosened the knee pressing down on the girl.
"Ugh—" The Half-cat person girl's face was pressed against the ground, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
"Officer, over here!" The slightly plump Bread seller breathlessly called out to the Hive City Law Enforcement, and the chef, Hanzi's daughter, also rushed over.
Seeing this, Horatio got off the girl.
A group of Law Enforcement officers surrounded the Half-cat person girl, leaving her no escape.
Facing the batons, the girl sat up, looking around in a panic.
It was also at this moment that Horatio, illuminated by the light on her face, clearly saw her face.
Her eyes were larger than a human's and incredibly clear and bright, reflecting light like a pair of dazzling twin stars in a dim sky.
But other than that, the cat girl's complexion was gray and sunken, her cheeks thin and hollow, and her cheekbones prominent, just like any Lower Hive person struggling on the border of life and death.
Her hair, or rather fur, was dry and sparse, like autumn hay. Perhaps once it was lush and smooth, but now it couldn't even cover the tips of her two ears on top of her head.
Her body was utterly miserable, unable to even support the tattered robe that barely covered her. From the feel of the struggle just now, Horatio even suspected that beneath this patched garment, whose materials were sourced from who knows where, there was only a skeletal frame not yet fully devoured.