Chapter 290

Anguis Regina was the flagship of Jafa's company.  

At first, even when I watched idols, I couldn't understand what kind of nonsense this was.  

But there is always a reason for everything.  

No matter how different Jafa was from other Tajirunese, distrust toward the Tajirun species was still widespread in Border City.  

The presence of the captivating Anguis Regina had, in a way, reshaped the image of Jafa's company.  

More than anything, Anguis Regina had a charm that transcended species. The people of the multi-species city, Border City, were captivated by her.  

Anguis Regina mesmerized people regardless of age, gender, or race.  

Step, step.  

I stepped outside with Lars.  

All across the city, still-functioning billboards and holographic ads were announcing Anguis Regina's concert.  

- Snake, snake, snake, I like men like snakes. There’s a long, thick, wriggling snake.  

Anguis Regina’s song played in the background. Her nearly naked body undulated in the performance.  

"What a vulgar woman."  

Lars muttered. Even though he was from the lower districts, he was steeped in the Empire’s solemn values. Well, an open-minded attitude wouldn’t have gotten him selected as a soldier in the screening process.  

As an idol, Anguis Regina was shamelessly explicit and sensual. She exuded a raw, primal sexuality.  

‘But that’s precisely why she’s popular across species.’  

Anguis Regina stimulated the simple, fundamental sexual instincts shared by most species. Some would find her dance, song, and expressions crude—just as I did at first.  

‘But now, I don’t think of Anguis Regina as a vulgar woman.’  

She was like a goddess of instinct, born from the depths of a primeval forest.  

No species was born with intelligence from the start. At least, not humans—perhaps not all species, but certainly not us. Instinct developed before reason. Other species likely weren’t so different.  

Anguis Regina awakened our primal instincts. Through dance and song, she symbolized masculinity, depicting its acceptance with her gestures and body movements. At times, she even resembled a shaman.  

For species that existed as male and female, for those that reproduced through the union of the two... watching Anguis Regina would stir something deep within them.  

Anguis Regina wasn’t just an idol—she was an artist who expressed sexual instincts through her body. Even someone like me, who had no particular appreciation for art, could understand that.

Anguis Regina possessed an expressive power so intense that it resonated not only with humans but also with the instincts and emotions of other species.  

'Lars, who keeps calling her vulgar… is still sneaking glances at Anguis Regina.'  

Lars seemed inexperienced in controlling his emotions.  

I felt a little sorry for him, but at the same time, I was reminded of just how carefully selected the Imperial Guard cadets were.  

- Look at me. Love me down to my deepest core.  

Blatantly sexual lyrics, a simple yet heavy beat, and sensual movements that made full use of her voluptuous body.  

Anguis Regina pressed against our instincts and senses, stimulating them relentlessly—like a human-shaped drug.  

Step, step.  

Lars and I continued walking through the streets of Border City.  

“Are you sure the concert is happening today? What if it's just a false rumor?”  

“It was posted on the official account, so I don’t think it’s a lie…”  

“Tch, guess we’ll find out when we get there.”  

Many people were talking about Anguis Regina’s video. Even the armed patrol officers were sneaking glances at their terminals to watch her.  

“Aren’t there a lot of people trying to get their hands on Anguis Regina right now?”  

“They wouldn’t dare kidnap her in the middle of a concert. That would cause a riot.”  

“Either way, it’s dangerous.”  

I overheard worried conversations.  

Anguis Regina was known as the exclusive idol of Jafa’s company. Now that Jafa’s company was on the verge of collapse, other corporations were desperate to recruit her.  

Within Border City, Anguis Regina was a powerful and influential figure.  

‘They don’t know about her true relationship with Jafa. They must think that if Jafa falls, they can take Anguis Regina for themselves.’  

At the end of the video, an address appeared—  

the concert’s location.  

‘A port by the sea.’  

Border City’s eastern side housed a logistics port. Anguis Regina had turned the entire harbor into her concert venue.  

“Border City is such a hassle. Even getting an air vehicle is difficult.”  

Lars grumbled as he got into a ground taxi. Every time he spoke, I felt an annoying sense of déjà vu.  

‘This reaction is just like mine when I first woke up in Border City…’  

I glanced around the inside of the taxi. The vehicle was heavily reinforced, with thick steel plates and glass. It looked like it could withstand most gunfire without a scratch.  

Tat-tat-tat-tat!  

Distant gunfire echoed outside.  

I sniffed the air, then turned to the driver’s seat. The taxi driver was a middle-aged woman. She glanced at us through the rearview mirror before muttering under her breath.

“The state of Border City is a mess, isn’t it? I’ve been working as a taxi driver here for over twenty years… and I don’t think it’s ever been this rough. People are saying Border City is doomed.”  

The middle-aged woman had scars on her face and hands, and a rather large-caliber pistol strapped to her thigh.  

“If Border City goes under, can’t you just move to Bellato City?”  

I spoke indifferently, my head resting against the seat. My gaze was fixed on the window.  

“Haha, you must not be from the Federation. For someone like me, there’s practically nowhere else to make a living like this except in Border City. It’s dangerous, but the pay is good. I was planning to work just three more years and then retire. My daughter is studying in Bellato City, and her graduation is…”  

I cut her off sharply.  

“Let’s skip the sentimental family talk. If this taxi gets ambushed, I might feel like saving you. I’ve got a surprisingly soft heart.”  

The taxi driver let out a hearty laugh.  

“When you’ve been driving a taxi long enough, you get a rough idea of what your passengers do just by the way they dress and talk. Hmm… you two are soldiers, aren’t you?”  

“If not me, then it’s obvious from him, right?”  

I smirked and jerked my thumb toward Lars. His eyes widened in surprise.  

“You’re sharp. Honestly, if it were just you, I wouldn’t have been so sure about the soldier part. You give off more of a mercenary or back-alley fixer vibe.”  

She had the keen eye of someone who had met all sorts of people. And I could feel it, too—how far I’d strayed from the typical soldier’s demeanor.  

I let out a faint smile and crossed my arms.  

Vrrrrr—  

The taxi entered a dark tunnel. I exhaled a long sigh and spoke.  

“Hey, lady. You said you have a daughter, right? You should quit while you’re ahead. I see you trust that barrier between the driver’s seat and the back, but in one second, I could smash the back of your skull and turn your soft insides into mush.”  

The moment I said that, the subtle movements from the front stopped. Lars was the only one who didn’t grasp the situation.  

“…I don’t know what you mean. Haha.”  

The taxi driver laughed it off and sped up.  

Before long, we exited the tunnel and arrived at the harbor, where the sea stretched out before us.  

“I hope you enjoy Anguis Regina’s concert.”  

The taxi driver gave a slight nod and unlocked the doors.  

“But do you really have a daughter?”  

I asked as I stepped out. The taxi driver simply gave me a wrinkled smile and winked with one eye.  

Vrrrrr—!

The taxi was disappearing from our sight.  

“Was that woman a robber?”  

Lars asked, gripping the pistol at his waist. He was ready to fire at my command. With his shooting skills, he could precisely aim for the exposed internal components and overturn the vehicle.  

“A taxi driver and a robber, probably both.”  

“Why didn’t you kill her?”  

“Are you stupid? If I killed someone over something like this every time, I’d end up building a mountain of corpses by the time I left Border City. The fact that you’re getting worked up over this makes me think the lower districts of Akbaran must be in better shape these days.”  

“Before Francec’s—no, before the traitor Francec’s exile, he paid a lot of attention to maintaining order in the lower districts.”  

Francec had been exiled for collusion. Lars wouldn’t dare use an honorific for him.  

“You can just call him ‘Your Highness’ in front of me. You’re from the lower districts too. Judging by the way you treat me, Francec probably liked you as well.”  

I was known as one of Francec’s close associates.  

“N-no, sir. Francec was a traitor who colluded with Corite…”  

“You really believe that?”  

I chuckled.  

Even though Lars had a full-body prosthetic, his complexion visibly paled, and he cleared his throat.  

“…More importantly, you figured out she was a robber in advance. I would have only noticed if there was a direct threat.”  

Lars was awkwardly trying to change the subject. I wanted to tease him more, but I decided to let it slide.  

I absentmindedly touched the neural collar at the back of my neck. Ivan would be listening in on our conversation. But this much was fine.  

Ivan wasn’t interested in trivial conversations like this, and he already knew I was an unorthodox and unruly bastard.  

“The inside of the taxi was suspiciously clean. There were traces of chemical cleaning—strong detergent and faint chemical smells. The stains inside, if you looked closely, were overlapping blood splatters. And the woman casually brought up her daughter in an attempt to lower our guard.”  

“Did we really look rich enough to be worth robbing?”  

“That wasn’t it. She was probably planning to blow our heads off and sell our prosthetics.”  

“Your observational skills… are remarkable. I was trained for this, but I didn’t think that far.”  

“No need to feel discouraged. This is my specialty. It’s natural that you wouldn’t be able to keep up.”  

I had been to Border City’s eastern harbor before. Back then, it had been much quieter.

However, the harbor was now as crowded as a black market. A chaotic mix of various species was gathered, all waiting for Anguis Regina’s concert.  

Shouts rang out near the street vendors, and thick smoke billowed into the air, carrying the mingled scents of countless foods.  

‘This… feels like the Border City I remember.’  

It was the atmosphere I recalled from before.  

‘I see police from the Bellato Federation. They must be here for security during the concert.’  

Some of Border City's already scarce law enforcement resources had been deployed here. It meant that even the city’s officials were paying attention to Anguis Regina’s movements.  

‘There are countless deals and schemes behind this corporate war. I don’t know all the details. I can only move based on speculation.’  

I roamed the harbor, searching for any trace of Anguis Regina.  

There were no visible figures related to Jafa’s company, but to my surprise, I recognized a few faces among those setting up for the concert.  

The people installing the massive audio equipment and performance drones… were employees of Sonsu Industries. I had spent a few days with them, so I knew their faces well.  

Srrk.  

I pulled my hood lower and observed the Sonsu Industries workers.  

‘Damn it, what the hell is going on?’  

Sonsu Industries and Jafa’s company were enemies.  

In fact, Sonsu Industries had even placed a bounty on Jafa. That was why bounty hunters and mercenaries were scouring Border City in search of him.  

‘Is Son Seok-jae nearby too?’  

I widened my field of view. Son Seok-jae wasn’t immediately visible.  

“Lars, are you any good at torture?”  

“O-of course.”  

I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment before reopening them. Lars wasn’t good at lying.  

“Forget it. You focus on finding Anguis Regina and this man—Son Seok-jae. The moment you spot either of them, contact me immediately.”  

I showed Lars their faces on my terminal as I spoke.  

Lars listened to my words and then let out a bitter smile.  

“If you don’t mind me asking… do you think I’m incompetent and unreliable, Luka?”  

I burst out laughing.  

“No, I’m just too competent.”  

…Hmm. I thought that was a pretty witty response. I had learned how to handle subordinates on the verge of self-loathing.  

Another step forward in my personal growth. Well done, Luka.  

Now then, let’s go pull out someone’s fingernails and peel off some skin.  

I began tailing a Sonsu Industries worker who looked like he was urgently heading to the restroom.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.