Blake White completely understood Logan Hill's feelings, because in the First World, she too was worried about living expenses and tuition, though the amount she needed wasn't as outrageous as over two hundred thousand a year.

　　The tram sped along, and they got off at Anning Street.

　　"Uh, isn't it a bit dangerous for a girl to walk alone? How about I walk you—" Logan Hill stopped mid-sentence, "But with your combat skills, it seems you don't need me to walk you home."

　　"You can go back, I can manage on my own." Blake White waved her hand at him.

　　Logan Hill said, "Goodbye, senior... Wait, can I get your contact info, senior?"

　　Blake White took out the communicator that Eric Shaw had given her, and Logan Hill fumbled for a long time before finally adding her contact.

　　The heavy rain showed no sign of stopping. Blake White opened her umbrella and left, turning left and right for quite a while before finally finding her home.

　　The paint on the walls of this small building was peeling and mottled, and there were even some colored flyers stuck on it. The stairwell smelled of mold, and the rusty iron door was half open, crooked, and let out a piercing creak when pushed.

　　She walked up to the third floor, stopped at the door, and grabbed the handle.

　　"Fingerprint verification passed." The door opened.

　　Blake White walked into her home, and suddenly a sense of warning rose in her heart, coming from her intuition.

　　She looked up and was startled to see a dark figure sitting on the sofa in the living room.

　　The figure wore a silver mask over their face, and a pair of eyes scrutinized Blake White through the hollowed-out silver.

　　"You're late," said the silver-masked person.

　　That tone—it sounded like someone she knew.

　　"I ran into a little trouble on the way," Blake White responded quickly, picking up the conversation.

　　"Did you look at the mission chip the leader had someone pass on to you?" the silver-masked person asked.

　　"No," Blake White answered as concisely as possible. She was afraid that saying too much at once would give her away.

　　"Mm. The leader told me to tell you, this mission must be completed, no matter the cost." The silver-masked person stood up from the sofa. "From today on, I am your assistant and teammate in Black Sea City, working with you to complete all tasks. My codename is 'Silver Mask.' You need to come up with a codename for yourself for communication."

　　A codename? Blake White's mind raced.

　　Silver Mask said, "It's best if your codename has absolutely nothing to do with your real characteristics—the further apart, the better. Don't let anyone associate your codename with you..."

　　"Rich Lady."

　　Silver Mask was stunned: "What did you say?"

　　"Rich Lady." Blake White calmly repeated, "Codename: Rich Lady."

　　She thought "Rich Lady" was a great codename. Not only did it have nothing to do with her, it was about as far from her as possible.

　　Silver Mask: "..."

　　After a long pause, he said, "Well... it's not impossible... Are you sure you want that codename?"

　　"I'm sure," Blake White said firmly. "Just call me Rich Lady."

　　It was a codename that was both extremely far from her real self, and also contained her beautiful hopes for the future. Her dream was to become a rich lady!

　　"Alright then, 'Rich Lady'." The expression under Silver Mask's mask was hard to describe. "Hurry up and look at the mission from the leader."

　　Blake White took out the blue chip from her pocket and placed it on her wristband to read.

　　The first line of the mission data read: "Mission: Completely destroy the Black Sea City port."

　　Blake White: "???"

　　What is wrong with these NPCs! Why are they so obsessed with this port?!

　　Author's note:

　　No need to worry about idiomatic expressions—the two are essentially parallel worlds, with some cultural connections.

Chapter 8: Sea Without Light 08

　　Blake White flipped through the pages, quickly skimming.

　　"Mission: Completely destroy the Black Sea City port and prevent the giant freighter 'Kraken' from docking at Black Sea City. This is Mission Plan A."

　　"If you choose to carry out Plan A, you must complete the port demolition before August 11. After August 11, the Kraken will enter the waters of Black Sea City, and the mission will fail."

　　"Mission Plan B: Secretly board the giant freighter 'Kraken' and install explosives to sink it."

　　"If you choose to carry out Plan B, you must destroy the Kraken before it enters the waters of Black Sea City on August 11."

　　"The ultimate goal of the mission is to prevent the Kraken from entering the Black Sea City area. Repeat, the ultimate goal of the mission is to prevent the Kraken from entering the Black Sea City area."

　　From this mission data, Blake White sensed a strong sense of urgency.

　　What exactly is going on with the Kraken? Why is Mechanical Dawn willing to stop it from coming to Black Sea City at any cost?

　　The Kraken is a giant freighter. The ship itself shouldn't be unusual; if there's anything unusual, it must be the cargo on board!

　　What kind of cargo could make Mechanical Dawn value it so much... no, fear it so much?

　　They even issued orders to blow up the port and destroy the freighter, just to stop the cargo from entering Black Sea City.

　　What is the Kraken transporting?

　　Blake White suppressed her anxiety and continued to review the mission data.