Above the Blood Moon

The priest was silent for two seconds, then slowly raised his hand and lifted a corner of his hood.

It was the face of a middle-aged white male, pale and thin, with deep-set eyes, a high nose, thin lips, and no expression on his face. The priest's eyes were dark gray, like two stagnant pools of water.

He finally spoke, his voice low and flat.

"Just call me Father. I am a Level 3 combat-type ability user. I've known Art and Daikiri for a long time. We've known each other for half a year and completed seven or eight missions together."

After saying that, he pulled his hood up again, his face disappearing into the shadows, while Dekiri put down his glass and snapped his fingers.

"My turn! My turn!" he said with a smile, revealing a set of neat white teeth.

"My name is Daikiri. I'm a resident of the Att Tavern and also his regular mercenary. That's all. Oh, right, I'm also this guy's creditor."

He raised his hand and pointed at Jockley.

"Twenty-two Star Alliance coins, remember to pay me back, or I'll dismantle you and sell your parts."

Chokri felt his throat was a little dry. After watching Daikiri drink the water, he picked up the cup and took a sip. The water was cool and had no strange taste.

"My name is Jokli. I come from a faraway place and am currently a guest at the Atlantean Tavern, working part-time as a mercenary."

Jockley's voice, processed by Big Yellow's exoskeleton, sounded calm, but when he said the words "mercenary," he felt his heart skip a beat.

He's feeling guilty.

After all, he had only seen mercenaries in movies and novels and knew nothing about the profession, let alone being a mercenary in this absurd world.

But neither Art, the priest, nor Daikiri exposed him, or rather, they simply didn't care. Only the priest raised his head, his dark gray eyes peering through the shadow of his hood at Chokri for about three seconds.

"He is a Level 1 superhuman."

These words were startling. Daikiri turned his head sharply and stared at Chokri, his eyes wide open.

"A superhuman?" he repeated, his tone filled with disbelief. "You? A level one superhuman?"

He looked Jockley up and down, from head to toe, and finally his gaze settled on the blue vision sensor band on Jockley's forehead.

"You have money to buy superhuman chips, but you still don't have money to pay me back?" Daikiri clicked his tongue. "You really didn't spend your money wisely."

Jockley didn't speak. He didn't know how to explain because he had no idea what a superhuman was, let alone when he had become a Level 1 superhuman.

But he knew he absolutely couldn't show weakness now, so he just remained silent, maintaining that calm expression, letting Daikiri scrutinize him.

Finally, all three people focused their attention on the top of Jockley's head, or more precisely, on the metal exoskeleton on his head.

Jockley's heart tightened. He knew it was Big Yellow's turn. He silently prayed that Big Yellow wouldn't let anything slip, wouldn't reveal that he was an AI, wouldn't use that roguish tone, wouldn't...

Then he heard a voice.

Big Yellow changed its tone through the built-in speaker, making its voice deep and completely unlike the somewhat roguish AI from before.

"Iron Pilot-3, a mercenary specializing in close combat, fire support, and tactical analysis, currently has an 87% damage rate, with only the head unit and basic functional modules remaining. Replacement parts are being sought."

After saying that, Da Huang paused for a moment, then added a sentence.

"He is also Jockley's partner."

The tavern was quiet for a few seconds. Art stared at the exoskeleton on Chokri's head, his eyes slightly narrowed, as if he was assessing something. Daikiri whistled again.

"You're still alive even with just your head? That's quite a level of modification."

The priest didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly.

No one questioned it, no one asked questions, no one showed surprise, as if in this world a modified being who could still speak but only had a head was a perfectly normal thing.

Jockley secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, that concludes the self-introductions." Art clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back. "Now let's get down to business."

He turned around and took out a tablet from under the bar, swiping his finger across the screen to bring up a document.

"A mysterious employer found me."

"He asked me to find a way to get a piece of data from a mine owner who was illegally mining electronic waste in the wilderness. The package looked like a hard drive, blue, about this size."

Art gestured with his hands to indicate a size the size of a palm.

"The objective of this mission is clear: we infiltrate, steal the data, and then evacuate. We don't need to fight the mine owner's guards and security team unless absolutely necessary. The employer is willing to pay 300 Covenant Credits for this data, no matter what method we use."

He paused, then looked up at the crowd.

"300 Star Alliance Coins, I'll take 30%, the rest you can split, any problem?"

Daikiri immediately raised his hand.

"Yes! You definitely hid at least 30%, no, 40%! Maybe even 50%!"

Art laughed, leaning back against the bar and tilting his head to look at Daikiri.

"Why don't you go talk to the employer? See if they're willing to work directly with you?"

Daikiri pursed his lips and remained silent.

"Father." Art looked towards the corner.

The priest was silent for two seconds, then slowly nodded.

"Can."

"Jockley." Art looked at Jockley again.

Jockley quickly calculated in his mind: 300 Star Alliance Coins, with 30% going to Atlantis, would be 90, leaving 210. Divided among four people, each person would roughly...

"You and your partner, 50 Star Alliance Credits," Att answered directly. "Father and Daikiri, 80 each, me, 90. Any questions?"

Jockley paused for a moment. Although it was less than the others, it was enough to pay off the 22.2 Covenant Credits he owed Daikiri, and he would still have a lot left over, enough to live on for a while.

Moreover, he had no choice.

"no problem."

"Then it's settled." Art put away the tablet, and then he turned around and pulled out a metal box from under the bar.

The box was heavy, making a dull thud when it was placed on the bar. When he opened the box, what was presented to Jockley were dozens of neatly stacked packets of gray nutritional paste and dozens of bottles of purified water.

He handed out the same amount of nutritional paste and water to both Daikiri and the priest with practiced ease. It seemed that what the priest and Daikiri said was true; they had indeed done quite a few of these mercenary missions with At.

But when Art looked at Jockley, he hesitated for a moment, and finally took four packets of nutritional paste and three bottles of water and pushed them in front of Jockley.

"You and your partner, these are supplies for the mission. Use them sparingly, there's nowhere to buy them in the wilderness."

Jockley looked at the nutritional paste and water, then looked up at At.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. It's deducted from your reward, a total of 0.7 Star Alliance Coins, it's on your tab."

Jockley's lips twitched, but he didn't say anything. He just silently stuffed the nutritional paste and water into the pockets on both sides of his trench coat. The pockets were large, and there was still plenty of space left after putting these things in.

Art closed the metal box and put it back under the bar, then he stretched his shoulders, his joints making a cracking sound.

"Alright, the mission is over, and the supplies have been distributed, but we won't set off immediately."

He paused, a meaningful smile appearing on his face.

"I need to go collect a debt first."

Daikiri rolled his eyes.

"Going to collect debts again? You probably have more debtors than debtors, don't you?"

"This time, someone owes me money, okay?" Art walked out from behind the bar. "An old friend borrowed money from me two months ago, saying he wanted to start a new business, but he lost everything and now he can't even pay back the interest."

He walked to the tavern door, opened it, and the light of the red moon poured in, casting a long shadow of him.

"Let's go, we'll collect the debts first, then we'll set off. It's not far, we'll be there quickly."

Daikiri sighed, but still jumped down from the high stool and followed. The priest also put down his cup and stood up, his black robe almost blending into the shadows in the dim light.

Jockley looked at them, then at the nutritional paste and water in his pocket, and then he stood up and followed behind the priest.

Before he stepped out of the tavern, he heard Big Yellow's voice echoing in his mind.

"Master, if you really want to do this mission, I suggest you buy some weapons; you might need them during the mission."

Jockley nodded silently to himself. Indeed, after all, he was currently empty-handed. If he were to face any real threat, he would most likely be killed.

"What suggestions do you have?"

"I'm searching, give me thirty seconds. (•̀ω•́)✧"

Jockley didn't respond. He walked out of the pub and stood on the street.

The crimson moon shone down, and from Jokli's perspective, At walked in front, with Daikiri beside him, the two talking in hushed tones.

The priest walked in the middle, his steps steady, the hem of his black robe swaying gently with his movements.

Chokley was at the back of the group. He looked up again at the silhouettes of the buildings in the distance, which were flashing with various colored lights.

"The weapon search results are in." Big Yellow's voice rang out. "With a budget of 7.45 Covenant Credits, I think the best option is a second-hand Orion Laser Rifle, equipped with three standard energy batteries, each battery can fire 30 rounds, for a total of 90 rounds, priced at 5.5 Covenant Credits."

Add a second-hand Scorpion submachine gun with two magazines, totaling 60 rounds, for 1.5 Covenant Credits. That leaves me with 0.45 Covenant Credits, enough to buy a basic flashbang, which will finish off all my money.

"Place the order," Jockley said after confirming everything was correct.

"Yes, Master. It is expected to arrive within ten minutes."

Jockley nodded and quickened his pace to catch up with the three people in front of him.