22nd September, Year 714 A.G.

9:39pm.

So much had happened in just one day, but it clearly wasn’t stopping for a certain group. Infiltrating Neo Solace was not enough to satisfy them, it was just one step in a series of steps.

They had a mountain of final preparations to make within a timeline of just 2 days in hostile territory where any mistake could become fatal, the entire squad was threading a needle for this mission.

There was no room for mistake. Even if they were able to escape with the CH Masks, any mistake would most likely jeopardize the mission.

This meant there was no margin for error.

Inside Neo Solace, Egghead District, Bourdillon Hotel.

Egghead District is one of the minority districts in the outer ring whose population is approximately 70% SIN-less, the rest were middleclass citizens of Neo Solace. And one or two Councilors were even rumored to have a house here.

What this meant is that in the outer ring of Neo Solace, Egghead District is one of the better and more presentable districts.

And this reflected in Bourdillon Hotel.

In the grand scheme of things when considering Neo Solace as a whole, it was a forgettable hotel for the middleclass, but that’s the thing. It was for the middleclass and to them, Bourdillon Hotel was almost perfect.

The hotel sat wedged between two towering skyscrapers with a modest fence protecting it, its presence almost apologetic in a city that worshipped excess.

Its exterior was a faded slab of concrete and cheap composite panels that were patched in places with mismatched materials that hinted at decades of quiet survival and disrepair.

Most of the disrepair was hidden with fake glamour though, while a flickering holo-sign buzzed above the entrance.

["Welcome to Bourdillon Hotel."]

Even for the holo-signboard, its once bright colors were now washed into a tired glow, advertising vacancies in glitching text.

But all of these were what made it affordable to the middle-class.

There was a security building by the side of the gate. That night, someone approached the hotel on foot. A Geneform.

Tap... tap...

Once he was close, he stood by the side of the holo-signboard and looked at it, his eyes lighting up as he saw the vacancy advertisement.

He immediately heaved a sigh of relief.

At that moment, from the tiny window of the security building creaked open and from inside an aging Geneform stuck his head out and asked. "Oi, boy what are you looking for? It’s late".

Daren looked at him and grinned. "I’m looking for a job!"

He pointed at the holo-signboard. "It says here that you’re looking for capable guards and bouncers," he flexed his muscles. "I think I’m up for the job, can’t you see? Please help a broke man!"

The old gateman looked him up and down, briefly focusing on his dirty clothes, then he nodded slowly. "Uh..., we do need a guard".

"Let me speak to the receptionist".

He quickly dialed a number and rang it.

Click!

After a short conversation with the receptionist, the aging gateman looked at Daren again and smiled. "You can go inside, they’re waiting for you. Use the guest bathroom first before entering, we emphasize hygiene in our hotel".

Daren grinned and gave the old man a thumbs up. "Got it old man, I will!"

He finally strutted into the hotel.

Like the gateman suggested, he took his bath in the guest bathroom during which time he snuck a few of Leon’s miniaturized Mosquito i7 drones into the vent.

Far away from the hotel, in the middle of a street, Davis quietly lit up with a notification that was visible to only Leon.

[Connection acquired and stable!]

Daren finally met the receptionist. Physically, he was overqualified for the job and it didn’t wastetake time before he got the job.

In less than 10 minutes after his documents were verified, Daren became an official employee of Bourdillon Hotel.

As for the reason why he infiltrated here... it was simple.

Bourdillon Hotel is not as simple as it seems.

To the middleclass citizens in the outer ring, it’s just a hotel but to the few elites among the citizens of the outer ring who know the truth, they know that the hotel is actually a secret get-away spot for nobles from the inner ring.

Bourdillon Hotel has a secret underground motel and entertainment hub, and it is where nobles from the inner rings come to feel young again and to enjoy themselves outside their marriages.

The hotel secretly has one of the best security in the outer ring, and Daren just became one of them.

The moment Daren became employed, he thought. ’First mission complete’.

’Now all I have to do is to create an opportunity to be introduced into the inner circle and to be turned into a gladiator for the entertainment center hidden underground for nobles’.

His predatory orange eyes gleamed.

...

Meanwhile, that same night while Daren secured a job, Talia and Brick integrated seamlessly into the city.

They both embraced their identities as normal people who entered Neo Solace through illegal means and were looking for a way to start a new life.

That same night, with Umar having paved the path perfectly for them with his advance planning, Brick secured an escort job for a big businessman in the outer ring who had connections to the inner ring and did business there regularly.

As for Talia, she secured a job as a waitress still within Egghead District but in a different part of the district.

The café where she got a job that night stood opposite a small-time construction company.

On paper, the identity of the construction company was clean but underground, the construction company is just the façade. The true identity of the building is that it’s one of Joe and Daddy Puff’s major final supply depots.

The building was a place where drugs and sex slaves were recycled for final transportation to rich clients in the inner ring.

That night, from the window of the kitchen where she worked, Talia glimpsed through familiar large trucks driving into the construction company.

On paper, they were bringing in construction materials, but she knew that what they were actually loading in were illegal drugs and trafficked people.

There were more than a dozen workers in the café, but the owner only had 3 rooms for any 3 of his homeless workers.

As the previous worker occupying the 3rd room just abandoned his work yesterday, Talia conveniently took his place as the new 3rd stay-in worker in the café and her room just like the kitchen directly faced the construction company.

Just like that, Daren, Talia, and Brick slithered their way through the seams into Omnicore society, integrating perfectly due to Umar’s advance preparations.

On the surface, they were hustlers looking to make a living in Neo Solace, but in reality they were already secretly gathering and confirming information about Egghead District, especially Bourdillon Hotel.

Talia was at the heart of this information-gathering.

While all this happened, Umar and Leon floated in between the seams of the Federation Megacity.

...

With his hands in his pocket, Leon strolled through a street within Egghead District, observing the city around him.

That was when Davis lit up with a notification.

DING!