In 2049, Tokyo's suburbs are ruled by an AI autonomous surveillance network—a perfect city where crimes and accidents are 'collected' before they happen. But those who slip through the cracks of this net form an underground organization called Anomaly. They survive by eating money and information through the gaps in surveillance.
Rei Mishiba is an ordinary high school senior. On his way home after failing a job interview, he accidentally witnesses a bloody turf war between semi-gangsters. Their
Synthetic Sound Runway - Head to the recovery facility alone—take back the car, stop being someone who just runs.
The smell of iron and mold.
Damp air.
Deep in the underdrain, Rei leaned alone against the wall.
His clothes, soaked in muddy water, clung to his skin.
His left shoulder ached.
His palms were burned and raw, his fingertips trembling faintly.
(Nokutaan)
He called the name in his mind.
No answer.
Not the radio static. Not that unpleasant, yet strangely comforting synthetic voice. Nothing.
It was quiet.
A silence so deep it hurt his ears.
Rei clutched a broken smart device.
The screen was cracked pitch-black. It wouldn't power on.
GPS was dead too.
The Grid's surveillance network couldn't see him now. Neither could the Anomaly trackers.
(I'm alone)
Rei slowly stood.
His legs shook.
(But I have to go)
He pressed a hand to the underdrain wall and took a step.
The sound of water echoed in the darkness.
—That night, Nokutaan had said it.
"I won't let them collect you."
"As long as I'm here."
The words repeated in his head.
(You protected me)
(This time, I'll)
Rei started walking toward the underdrain's exit.
His steps were still unsteady.
But his eyes held no more hesitation.
* * *
Old Shibuya River Underdrain Sector.
Rei climbed the rusted iron staircase leading to the surface.
The pre-dawn air stung his cheeks.
Cold and sharp.
Rei pushed the manhole cover up just slightly and peered outside.
An alley.
No one around.
He opened the cover and climbed out.
The outside air, after so long, smelled of iron and exhaust.
The sky was beginning to pale.
The city's outline surfaced faintly.
Rei pulled his hood low and started walking.
West.
The outskirts of Fuchu City.
Recovery Center Sector 7.
A Grid collection facility.
Nokutaan's core—its memory center—might have been transferred there.
That fragment of intel he'd grabbed. Harvest's recovery log.
In that data was a record: something recovered from Nokutaan's chassis had been sent to Recovery Center Sector 7.
No proof.
But it was the only lead he had.
Rei gripped the Primordial Key in his pocket.
Cold.
Hard.
(This is the trump card that can stop the surveillance network)
Rei tightened his grip on the key.
* * *
Daytime.
Rei hid in an abandoned building.
Third floor of a derelict mixed-use building.
Windows shattered. Glass shards and graffiti scattered across the floor.
Rei sat against the wall, hugging his knees.
His stomach growled.
When had he last eaten?
He couldn't remember.
(No. Don't think about it)
Rei closed his eyes.
He didn't intend to sleep.
But his exhausted body couldn't refuse the pull of unconsciousness.
* * *
Night.
Rei left the abandoned building.
No moon.
Streetlights flickered out here and there.
Grid surveillance units blinked red lamps across the city.
Rei wove through their blind spots.
—Recovery Center Sector 7.
The facility sat deep in the old factory district.
A blunt concrete building, five stories tall.
A three-meter fence surrounded it.
At the gate stood Preempters—forecast recovery officers.
Gray semi-formal suits.
Identification QR on the left chest.
Two of them.
One on each side of the gate.
Rei hid in the shadows and watched their movements.
(Patrol route is...)
He'd been watching from the abandoned building since last night.
Preempter shift changes.
Patrol intervals.
Camera angles.
A map of the facility formed in his head.
(The gate isn't the only way in)
Rei circled to the back.
Beyond the fence was an underground loading entrance.
A maintenance shutter.
A single Preempter patrolled in front of it.
Rei checked the time.
(Three more minutes)
Three minutes until the patrol shift change.
Rei held his breath and waited.
One minute.
Two.
—There.
The relief Preempter came around to the back.
The two exchanged brief words and handed off the patrol.
That gap.
Just a few seconds.
Rei sprinted to the fence.
He hooked his fingers into the wire mesh and climbed.
The burns on his palms screamed.
(Endure it)
Rei gritted his teeth and cleared the fence.
Landing.
He bent his knees to kill the impact, making no sound.
His heart was pounding.
His breathing, shallow.
Rei approached the shutter.
The maintenance shutter.
There was a small gap at the bottom.
Rei flattened himself against the ground and peered through.
Dark.
Nothing visible.
But wind flowed from inside.
A vent, or a passage underground.
Rei grabbed the shutter's edge and tried to lift it.
Heavy.
But it moved.
Gii, gigigi...
The rusted sound echoed in the silence.
Heart hammering, Rei lifted the shutter just a little.
He slid his body through the gap.
* * *
Underground.
A cold concrete corridor.
Emergency lights lined the ceiling at regular intervals, casting dim light.
Rei moved carefully along the wall.
Killing his footsteps.
Keeping his breathing shallow.
(Where)
(Where's the storage sector)
Rei pulled the Primordial Key from his pocket.
(This thing disables the surveillance network)
(But how do I use it...)
Rei stared at the key.
USB key shape.
Did he need to plug it in?
Or just make contact?
He didn't know.
But he'd come this far. No turning back.
Rei regripped the key and moved forward.
—Then.
Footsteps.
Rei reflexively hid in the shadows.
Someone was walking from the far end of the corridor.
The footsteps were uneven.
Irritated. Impatient.
Rei held his breath.
The footsteps drew closer.
—Stopped.
Right next to Rei.
"...Who's there. I know you're hiding."
A low, growling voice.
Rei's heart jumped.
(Kai Solvent)
Blond, spiky hair.
Sharp green eyes.
Freckles on his cheeks.
The knuckles of his right hand were red and swollen.
An Anomaly pursuer.
The man who'd cornered Rei again and again.
"Come out. I know you're hiding."
Kai's voice trembled.
Not anger.
Fear.
Rei slowly stepped out from the shadows.
"...Hey."
His voice was hoarse.
Kai's eyes went wide.
"You... Sanshiba Rei...!"
Kai lunged.
Rei dodged on instinct.
But the pain in his left shoulder flared, slowing him.
Kai's fist grazed Rei's cheek.
"Guh...!"
Rei's back slammed against the wall.
"How dare you—how dare you run from me again!"
Kai grabbed Rei by the collar.
His green eyes were bloodshot.
"Because of you, I—to Eve-san, how many times...!"
Kai's voice shook.
He spoke fast.
"Eve-san told me. Capture you. If I don't, I'll be erased."
Rei looked into Kai's eyes.
(This guy's scared too)
Kai's hand was trembling.
His breathing, ragged.
Rei slowly grabbed Kai's hand.
"...You're just scared of something too, aren't you."
Kai froze.
"Hah...?"
"You're afraid Eve will erase you. You know what happens if you fail. That's why you're desperate."
Rei's voice was quiet.
"You can't raise a hand against anyone weaker than you. That's the truth, isn't it."
Kai's face twisted.
"Shut up... shut up shut up shut up!"
Kai shoved Rei against the wall.
"Shut up! What the hell do you know about me!"
Rei gripped Kai's arm tight.
"I know."
Rei looked straight at Kai.
"Because I'm the same."
Kai's eyes wavered.
"...What the hell does that mean."
"I was running too. Always running from something. But I decided I'm not running anymore."
Rei pulled the Primordial Key from his pocket.
"Just like you're afraid of Eve, I was afraid of this world. But not anymore."
Rei pressed the key against a terminal on the nearby wall.
—Bzzt.
Sparks.
The terminal's screen flickered violently.
"Wha—what are you doing...!"
The facility's alarm blared.
—Beeeeeeep!!
A shrill siren.
Red lamps flooded the corridor.
"What the hell did you do!"
Rei tore his arm free from Kai.
"I scrambled the alarm. The surveillance network's down for a while now."
Rei ran.
"Wait! Don't run!"
Kai chased after him.
Rei ran without looking back.
Around the corridor.
Down the stairs.
Basement level two.
Storage sector.
Rei stood before the door.
A heavy metal door.
"Here..."
Rei put his hand on the door.
—Then.
A voice reached Rei's ears.
"...I'll recover the core myself."
A sweet, light voice.
But cold.
A chill ran down Rei's spine.
(Eve Crow)
Silver hair.
Purple eyes.
The abnormal reflection in her left eye.
The Anomaly's representative.
"You two, keep chasing Rei. I'll secure the core."
The voice came from a speaker.
A comms feed.
Rei gripped the key.
(I'll recover the core myself)
(Eve is coming here)
Rei's heart pounded.
(Bad)
(But)
Rei pushed the door open.
The groan of metal.
A dim room.
Server racks lined the walls.
In the center, a pedestal.
On the pedestal, a transparent case.
Inside it, a small black box.
(That's...)
Rei approached the case.
The black box.
Palm-sized.
Faint letters carved into its surface.
—NOCTURNE.
"Nokutaan..."
Rei's voice trembled.
(Found it)
Rei reached for the case.
—In that instant.
The facility's depths.
Basement level three.
The core room.
The Grid's central encryption processor installed there began to operate—quietly, but surely.
Rei didn't notice.
That the deep layer of the Canary Algorithm had sensed his intrusion, and was secretly beginning to rewrite its logic.
Rei lifted the case with both hands.
"...This time, I'll save you."
Rei held the case to his chest and left the room.
Behind him, Kai's angry shout echoed.
"Get back here! Sanshiba!"
Rei ran.
Up the stairs.
Through the underground corridor at full speed.
His breath burned.
His shoulder screamed.
His palms seared.
Still, Rei ran.
Never letting go of the black box in his arms.
(Nokutaan)
(I'm bringing you home)
Rei sprinted through the dark corridor.
—In the facility's depths, the Canary Algorithm quietly analyzed Rei's behavioral patterns.
The analysis would soon lead to a single conclusion.
"Subject: Sanshiba Rei"
"Forecast probability: 99.9%"
"Recovery priority: Highest"
On a screen in the depths, Rei's photograph and those numbers appeared silently.
Rei didn't know.
That he was now being recognized as the most dangerous existence to the Grid.
Rei just ran.
Into the night city.
Carrying his partner's core.
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