Chapter 15: Discussing Cooperation

The furnishings in the reception room perfectly matched the style of a gang—rugged and imposing. There was a long metal table, several chairs, and boxes of spare parts piled in the corner.

But what truly captured Ye Mi’s attention was the figure on the far side of the table.

Grey Fox Gang’s deputy leader, Reva.

She wore a short, clearly modified leather jacket, beneath which was a form-fitting tank top that revealed strong, defined abs. Arms crossed, she leaned slantwise against the table edge.

A shock of pink hair, shorn close, crowned her head; several streaks hung over her brow, accentuating her sun-kissed skin and the two fine scars across her cheek. She looked both stylish and punk.

A half-smoked cigarette dangled from her lips, smoke curling around her sharp, hawk-like eyes. Unflinching and piercing, she fixed her gaze on the Rust Tide King as it entered.

There was no small talk. Reva raised her hand in a careless wave, signaling her guards to wait outside.

The heavy door closed, leaving only Reva, her two subordinates, and Ye Mi in the room.

Those two subordinates didn’t appear to possess any combat ability.

Which meant that Reva herself was definitely not weak.

Ye Mi studied her calmly. She was certain that, even if Reva wasn’t quite as strong as the Rust Tide King, she was not far behind.

The reason was simple: anyone who could lead a human camp and dared to be alone with her, without armed guards, could not be lacking in strength.

Reva took a long drag of her cigarette, exhaling the smoke slowly before speaking in a raspy, streetwise voice—quiet, but with a penetrating edge: “You’ve gone to a lot of trouble to bring the Rust Tide horde onto my turf. Say it, Scrap Heap, what do you want?”

She repeated the motion of smoking, adding, “I know you understand what I’m saying.”

Her actions seemed rough, but beneath the surface her eyes were alert and wary.

Just as expected.

“I’ve come to help you,” Ye Mi replied.

She no longer bothered using metal threads to communicate with humans—the painstaking effort of arranging words was exhausting. Recently, she had devised a method to simulate vocal cord vibrations with metal, a perfect opportunity to try it with Reva.

Luckily, the Rust Tide King had devoured enough quality metal to make this possible.

Even so, her voice emerged as a guttural, grating rasp, almost unbearable to hear.

But that didn’t hinder her conversation with Reva.

“The Defense Bureau has a B-level psychic named Zero Watanabe who can control monsters and command them as she pleases. They are simultaneously running a monster breeding program, aiming to form a monster army to sweep through the First and Second Districts of the Wasteland. The human camps will be the first to suffer.”

For Reva, the cold, metallic voice spelled out words that were truly terrifying.

She visibly tensed, cigarette-wielding fingers frozen in the air. The playful, unruly look in her eyes vanished, replaced by a blade-sharp glare.

“…Evidence, Scrap Heap?”

“The Defense Bureau bastards are loathsome, but a purge on this scale… Do you know what that would cost?”

Her tone was full of skepticism, but a flicker of emotion in her eyes betrayed her. She knew about the Rust Tide King’s raid on the supply depot.

As one of the Defense Bureau’s top enemies inside the first two districts, the Rust Tide King’s news carried weight. A monster so powerful wouldn’t go to such lengths to warn humans for nothing.

The Rust Tide King’s electronic gaze remained steady. “Believe it or not, but better to err on the side of caution.”

Reva narrowed her eyes but said nothing.

Ye Mi wasn’t impatient.

She was merely planting a seed of vigilance in Reva’s heart.

The Rust Tide King stood motionless; Ye Mi had done all she could. The rest depended on the fate of the Grey Fox Gang.

If they didn’t believe her, it simply meant one less ally against the Defense Bureau; it wouldn’t affect her own plans.

Seeing the unyielding, silent Rust Tide King, Reva irritably crushed her cigarette into the table, leaving a charred mark.

She placed her hands on her hips, pacing back and forth. Her heavy boots struck echoes from the floor.

Her furrowed brow and flickering eyes revealed the storm of inner conflict she faced.

The likelihood that the Defense Bureau would monopolize the First and Second Districts was nearly a certainty; the Rust Tide King was unlikely to lie.

Why? Because that’s OC Corporation’s modus operandi. Besides, Reva had heard the boss mention that psychic with the power to command monsters—Zero Watanabe.

And yet… Too many doubts remained; she couldn’t bring herself to trust the Rust Tide King.

It was a monster, innately hostile to humans. How had it learned so much? Why raid the supply depot? What was its true identity?

She stopped abruptly, lifted her gaze, eyes blazing. “So you’ve gone to all this trouble just to bring us free intelligence? Out with it! What do you really want?”

Reva wasn’t a fool. For a monster to approach and deliver news that was almost certainly true, it couldn’t just be performing a good deed.

At last, the awaited question.

Ye Mi felt a trace of relief; it meant Reva had, in her heart, accepted the truth of the information.

“For cooperation.”

“You know very well: if the Defense Bureau is truly intent on eradicating you, the human camps won’t be able to resist.”

“But we can help.”

Reva caught the crucial detail in Ye Mi’s words. “We?”

Ye Mi switched her electronic eye to holographic projection mode.

Reva’s pupils shrank sharply as she saw the image appear.

That mysterious, antlered butcher in a black robe stood beside the metallic Rust Tide King. Different as night and day, yet they seemed a perfectly hellish pair—a partnership straight from the underworld.

An utterly striking scene.

The room fell suddenly silent.

Reva could hear her own pulse pounding in her temples and the nervous swallowing of her subordinates behind her. She deftly took out a cigarette and lit it, trying to mask her shock.

How had these two C+ class monsters come together?

It was almost unimaginable.

If they wished, before the return of the District Three psychics, any human squad in the area could fall prey to the two of them.

“So,” Reva exhaled a cloud of smoke, hiding her expression, “what you’re building is a monster alliance?”

Her voice was hoarse now.

Ye Mi tilted her head, tacitly confirming.

She had already given enough information.

But to ensure nothing was left to chance, Ye Mi added without hesitation, “We are far stronger than you imagine.”

The implication was clear: monsters like the Rust Tide King and the Antlered Butcher were not the only ones.

This revelation landed like a bombshell, leaving Reva dazed and reeling.