The Underclass - Chapter 4
Chapter 4
She had killed someone.
Covered in dried blood, Galaxy wandered aimlessly through the sewers, her soul practically detached from her body.
Originally, she was just a pitiful scapegoat falsely accused, but now she was genuinely guilty.
She had killed a cop.
What was she supposed to do now?
Even though she had once aspired to join the military and go to the battlefield, she had never actually killed anyone before.
The sticky, nauseating sensation of blood splattering across her face made her want to throw up. She looked around, realizing she had nowhere left to go.
Why did this happen?
How could An Hua commit murder and pin it all on her?
Galaxy had never regretted anything so deeply.
A raging fire burned in her eyes. She regretted not breaking An Hua's spirit from the very beginning; she regretted not keeping An Hua strung along so that she could never leave, making her willing to sacrifice everything for her instead.
She clenched her fists, only feeling the grimy blood coating her hands.
In this dim, foul-smelling underground space, she broke down and wept.
Curled up in the dark, she almost wished she could just rot away down here.
That is, until she was picked up by a woman just as covered in grime as she was.
As the woman dragged her forward by the ankles, Galaxy mocked internally: She definitely doesn't know who she just picked up. If she did, she'd probably get greedy too and dump me at the police station for that massive bounty.
Wake up, Galaxy.
When the institution you once intended to serve bares its fangs at you, you have to admit how utterly powerless you are.
Her head bumped against the ground as the woman dragged her deeper into the underground passages. Surprisingly, it was quite clean down here, save for the occasional rat scurrying past her face with a squeak.
Someone wiped the blood from her face with a damp cloth. Galaxy was finally able to open her eyes and clearly see the woman's face.
She had curly hair, freckles on her face, and wore thick glasses.
"Galaxy. Class-A fugitive. Murdered the daughter of the Minister of Security." The woman stared at Galaxy's face, listing her crimes word by word. "And just to escape, you killed a cop."
Galaxy froze, her lifeless eyes finally twitching. She asked coldly, "Yeah, it was me. So what?"
The woman burst into a smile. "That's fantastic."
Looking thrilled, she said, "You are my idol now. Do you want to join us?"
Galaxy looked at her in shock.
"Let me introduce myself. You can call me Rat King; it's my codename." Rat King extended a hand. "Don't you think this world is too horrific for us lower-class citizens? We've organized several assassination attempts against the higher-ups, but unfortunately, they all failed."
"Our living space is shrinking constantly. Our children can only work odd jobs for the upper crust, endlessly exploited with no future in sight."
"That's why we decided to band together and fight back," Rat King said excitedly. "But our strength is just too weak. After all this time, we only managed to kill one corrupt, low-level section chief."
"But you're different! Right out of the gate, you took out a huge target—the daughter of the Security Minister! Hahahahaha!" She let out a bizarre laugh. "How incredible is that, darling? While you were out there, we already popped champagne to celebrate."
"The technology out there is more advanced than you can imagine. Our leader was worried something might happen to you, so she sent people to track you down. You're in a lot of danger right now."
Galaxy was speechless. She opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to explain that she wasn't the killer.
But there was no point in explaining.
Her survival instinct quickly identified a new path forward—perhaps even a smooth one—with this lunatic.
"What's the benefit of joining you?" Galaxy looked at her, trying to remain as composed as possible. "You know I was able to kill the Security Minister's daughter and escape all on my own. You've all seen my capabilities. If I join you, I might just become dead weight."
Rat King gripped her hand earnestly. "There's a massive manhunt out for you right now. You absolutely won't be able to escape on your own. But we can help you. We can block your signal so the omnipresent mechanical cops can't find you, giving you room to operate."
"Is there anyone else you want to kill?"
The question struck a chord, igniting the profound hatred buried in Galaxy's heart.
She said, "Yes. I have a next target."
"That's perfect! We can help track her movements and plan the second assassination." Rat King asked, thrilled, "Who is it?"
Galaxy narrowed her eyes and couldn't help but smile. "Her name is An Hua."
"The daughter of the Minister of Administration."
She gritted her teeth. She was going to find An Hua and kill her dead.
Rat King smiled even more delightedly. She hadn't expected Galaxy's ambitions to be so lofty, but she believed that if anyone in their ragtag group could actually pull it off, it was her.
Yes, she had already accepted Galaxy, treating her as a comrade.
Galaxy temporarily settled in the underground passage. Rat King ruled the sewers and always claimed she could communicate with the rats. Whether she actually could, Galaxy had her doubts.
She constantly saw Rat King muttering to those filthy rats. Galaxy couldn't understand it, nor did she want to; she would aggressively chase away any rat that tried to crawl into her bed.
Yes, chase away, not stomp to death, because the rats were Rat King's friends and she treasured them. If one died, Rat King would cradle it sorrowfully, crying out loud, and hold a self-proclaimed grand funeral for it.
Galaxy's patience wore thin day by day as she huddled in the sewers with her.
But she had to endure it.
Because outside the sewers, her wanted posters were everywhere.
She was now a heavy-hitter felon. Her bounty had doubled because she had killed not just the Security Minister's daughter, but a police officer as well.
Her rented apartment had been seized. The landlord had tried to reclaim his property rights, only to nearly have his arm shot off by a mechanical enforcer. All he could do was bitterly curse Galaxy for being a jinx.
Everything Galaxy owned, everything she possessed, everything she had worked so hard for over the years, was confiscated. They even snapped a natural plant she had bought at great expense—a rare geranium she had nurtured for three months just to get a tiny sprout. Now, even that was destroyed.
Perhaps influenced by Rat King, Galaxy felt she was losing her mind, too. When she learned of the geranium's demise, she fought the urge to cry, but couldn't suppress the bizarre desire to hold a funeral for it.
Rat King patted her shoulder sympathetically. "It's okay, I understand. A few of my companions died gathering intel for you. We can hold a joint funeral for all of them."
It was incredibly absurd, but Rat King was so enthusiastic that Galaxy was forced to participate in the ridiculous ceremony.
It was during this funeral that news of An Hua was delivered by a rat.
It was very plump with red eyes, and Rat King affectionately called it Lulu.
Lulu carried a highly primitive handwritten note in its mouth, detailing an address.
Rat King told Galaxy that someone had spotted An Hua there a day ago. She appeared to be rushing to conduct some scientific experiment, got into a private car, and vanished.
Galaxy couldn't hide in the sewers forever. Even if it was just a tentative lead, she had to follow it.
But before doing so, she looked at Rat King and asked, "Do you guys have a way to get advanced weaponry? I can't exactly assassinate the Administration Minister's daughter empty-handed."
Rat King looked perplexed. "Then how did you assassinate Lu Qi?"
Galaxy had prepared for this. "I approached her quietly, got her to let her guard down, made sure all the equipment bypassed my records, and then killed her when she was least expecting it. But I want to use a different method against An Hua. I need powerful weapons and something to mask my identity so I can evade the massive surveillance grid and the mechanical cops."
Of course, she had no idea how to actually do any of that, but she could steal the credit. It didn't matter how Lu Qi died; the only thing that mattered was that the world believed she did it.
Rat King looked at her with admiration and nodded. "We do have a shipment of targeted weapons in our sights, but we haven't acquired it yet. To be honest, we're planning to blow up that armory the night after next. If you need gear, you can go in early and grab some."
"We can't change your face, but we can apply a genetic-overlay membrane over your body. It uses mass-population data to bypass the mechanical enforcers' bio-scanners. Your facial features and build might still be a problem, though."
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