Outrun - Chapter 471 - Red Light (Patreon)

AN: Ugh, I’m so sick. This is probably full of errors. Sorry. I’ll come take a look through it later maybe.

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I pushed the door open to my apartment, and flicked on the lights. It felt like forever since I actually came back here… outside of showering, ‘course. I tended to just sleep in my workshop, and it would be a bit of a pain in the ass to set up proper water flow down there. I would probably need to at some point, though I’d mostly been making do with Crow’s Canteen of Chaos. 

Speaking of, I summoned out the useful canteen and took a deep drink of fresh water as I shut the door behind me and locked up. Tomorrow would be a big day, so I needed all the rest I could get.

I moved around the place, doing my best to sweep it for bugs just in case. Nothing looked out of place, though I ensured as much as I went around with a Bug Hound just in case. Honestly, it was probably a bit overkill. No one outside of Ligh, Mira, maybe Hope, and Luna knew this place was mine. Not like the apartment was under my name.

With my safety once again assured, I took off all my gear and headed for the shower. Just as I was drying myself off, the incessant interface menu finally forced its way into my vision. 

| Deception - 11 > 12 |

| Concealment - 9 > 10 |

Finally! Deception had finally hit level 12, opening up tier-3 Perks for me. Honestly, I was kind of excited to look through the list of Perks. Master of Disguise was such a game changer. Not every Perk was as useful as I originally thought they’d be, but that one had never disappointed. Hopefully the same would hold up for a tier-3.

A faint memory of leveling dozens of Skills at a time replayed in the back of my mind. Honestly, I missed those days. Things were… simpler? It was inevitable that I'd slow down eventually, though. I could only try to train and work at the Skills as I went while patiently waiting for them to level up.

’Sides, with my focus no longer quite on the interface provided upgrades, maybe I could turn my eyes toward external upgrades? Chrome, magic, and weapons were all things I should work on before leaving for Lathvin City in a little under a month.

I shot my towel into a hamper like a basketball, and snagged a new set of clothes out of my drawer. It was a comfy hoodie and sweats I bought with the intention to use while working out a long time ago… but, well, I got enough of a workout simply making stuff. Not everything was heavy in my workshop. There was enough that was, though. 

I moved in front of my window, and flexed. My muscles were actually pretty defined now. They weren’t to Mira’s level, and still had a bit of fat that kept me looking toned without being totally jacked. I slapped my arm lightly, and shook my head. Yeah, who needed to work out when work worked me out harder than a workout? Did that make sense? Whatever…

My bed called to me, and I unceremoniously flopped down onto it. Although the place looked much more lived in now, the bed was unfortunately not one of those lived in places. It was a straight forward cushion with a fluffy blanket on it and a pillow. Maybe I should get some stuffed animals? My apartment definitely looked better with a stuffed animal before it blew up. 

I rolled over onto my back, and stretched my arm up over my head. To Perk or not Perk, that was the question. Having potentially two days stolen away was… not ideal considering the situation. I planned on taking down Lavender ASAP. That being said, if I waited two days my tracker could marinate even longer and expose more of his haunts. Decisions, decisions.

Well, whatever. Nothing said I’d get a knowledge Perk right away, right? It could very well be another ability Perk like Master of Disguise. Honestly, I preferred it that way. The knowledge Perks were fine, but they left me feeling a bit… out of my skin after they were over? Like my body wasn’t quite right? Dysphoric? I wasn’t quite sure how to put it. 

Oh, and after I snagged a Perk I needed to hit up Owl’s library for books on runes. After taking down Lavender, maybe? I was really starting to get sick and tired of never knowing what was happening. ‘Sides, I’d been putting off trying to use magic in my Fox form long enough. 

Despite the plans already forming, exhaustion weighed on me. My hand dropped to cover my face, and I couldn’t help but remember the words of my ever so wise counselor. This was exactly what Aaron warned against, wasn't it? Jumping from one thing to another to avoid having to deal with my own problems. 

I have a ton of middle-names, but Shiro ‘Avoidance’ Tsukuyomi didn’t quite hit right. Since when had I ever avoided anything? Ignoring the actions of Past Shiro, ‘course. She was a bitch, and I had absolutely no connections with her. Chek! Check, I never avoided anything.

My shoulders slumped, and I twisted around on my bed to stare out the window of the BC apartment. Flyers whizzed by, displacing the bright neons of the early morning. Avoiding, huh? With a thought, a lot of things came up that I’d been avoiding… like my own state of mind. 

I noticed it after the DNBR, but I was starting to get increasingly reckless. At first I thought it was just getting comfortable in my own skin now that I had armor, weapons, and everything I used to dream of. I wasn’t so sure about that anymore. 

I lifted my hand and stared at it once more, this time with a much more scrutinizing gaze. It was the same hand that my plasma claws had ripped through back when I was making my Nightshade gauntlet. Speaking of avoidance—

My vision flashed black, and I was once more taken away to the interface. The usual sense of wrongness passed over me, and I stretched out. Unfortunately, my body here was only a mental projection as far as I could tell, and I didn’t hear my back pop like it really wanted to. 

Deception’s Perks were an interesting bunch. I glanced through the shelves as always, but nothing immediately stood out to me at a glance.

| Keep Your Story Straight |

| Omission |

| Liar’s Handshake |

| Confidence | 

| Deceptive Eyes |

| Shoemaker |

| Rumour |

| Bluffer’s Fate |

| Mask |

| False Positive |

| Deceiver's Grin |

| Good Cop |

| Bad Cop | 

| Red Tape |

There were some interesting ones. Liar’s Handshake, for instance, would let me know what kind of lies people were susceptible to upon first meeting them. Flattery worked on some people, insightful words worked better on others. I dunno, though. It seems like something I could pick up on naturally if I spent more time around people and not stuck in my workshop.

I was more drawn to Shoemaker. It took what I already started to enjoy doing, set up an identity for a heist, but would make me much more effective at it. We’re talking about making contacts, going through paperwork, and all sorts of supporting details to make a false identity believable. Judging by the power of other level 12 Perks, I could maybe even infiltrate lower risk departments of the Big 7 themselves. Assuming I could get past their runners, anyway.

 It sounded like a learned Perk, so I was a bit leery about it. Regardless, it’d pair well with Master of Disguise to make me a complete ghost as long as I had time to do my research beforehand. Although there was a lot I didn’t like about the Hound job, it was kinda fun pretending to be a maid and liberating pockets as I went.

The last one that really caught my eye was Rumour. At a glance, it was magical in nature. I could apparently start up a rumour that’d quickly spread through my target organization. Its description was super simple, but that only made me more interested in the Perk.

I hesitated for a moment, and then grabbed Shoemaker off the shelf. If being a thief and CEO didn’t work out, I could at least secure a future as a Shoemaker. Instead of heading right for the easel, though, I changed directions and swung back by the Title room.

| Child of Fox > Shorty |

Now that I was off the ship, I’d rather have a slight boost to my luck. Once that was set up, though, I worked my way back to the easel and tossed the scroll onto it.

The scroll unrolled to reveal an incredibly intricate painting. The lights all around me flickered and faded as I stared at the masterpiece artwork. It was a seedy underground workshop. Printing presses were slapped right up next to 3D printers in an abomination that mixed eras, and yet it somehow just made the workshop look lived in rather than confused.

Red light spilled in from a basement window, and the shadows of people walking around flashed by. At any moment, it felt like jazz music might start up. Since when did the eidolons get into the noir vibe? I really needed to find which of them put so much effort into these paintings, and bring something to their shrine in appreciation. 

I blinked, and a shiver went down my spine as I turned my head. At some point, I’d been directly transported into the lifelike painting without even realizing it. I rubbed at my arms, finding that even my clothes had transformed. Instead of my hoodie and sweats, I had on a white button up shirt with a tie loosely dangling from around my neck. My sleeves were rolled up to my elbows, and I was already starting to sweat.

”A plus for realism, but is this really needed, voyeurs?” I fanned my face, and pulled at my shirt to cool myself down. The world around me had changed like a noir filter snapped on it at some point. All colors except red were faded. I could still make them out, but they were dull enough to look black and white.

Despite the faded look of everything, the lighting cast deep shadows and gave the entire place a moody vibe. I took it all in with rapt attention. This vibe was exactly what my speakeasy was missing to truly be complete. Well, this and customers. Maybe I could manage to rig up some kind of light that’d render everything black and white?

”Short Shoe Shiro fanned her face as another grueling day of work begun. This heatwave, she thought, was really going to get her at this rate.” A heavy male voice echoed through the space.

”Who’s there?” I flicked around, and dropped low. I didn’t have a weapon, but lightning naturally sparked down my arm in warning. I swayed around uncertainly as I found no one in the room with me.

”Short Shoe Shiro danced to a tune only she could hear.” The heavy voice was joined by warm jazz slowly growing through the place. A radio on the side clicked on, and the jazz grew even louder. “It was going to be another hot day in Aythryn City, she just knew it.”

”Oh. Ha. Ha.” I relaxed slightly, and leaned against the table. It really was super fucking hot. They could get 3D printers but not an AC unit down here? “What are you? Some kind of narrator?”

“As Short Shoe Shiro tried to cool down, her mind drifting through how things got to this point, a buzzer rang from the door.” The Narrator didn’t bother answering me. Sure enough, though, a buzzer did ring from the front door of the workshop after a moment.

”Is the name really necessary?” Short Shoe Shiro? One of those bastards was having a laugh. I take it back. Once I get out of here, I’m going to shove my foot up whoever designed this place’s—

BZZZZZ!

The buzzing at the door grew more insistent as if annoyed. The Narrator returned without missing a beat. “The buzzer grew louder, sounding much more urgent. Short Shoe Shiro could envision it now—someone was sitting outside in the rain, desperately waiting for help.”

”It’s not even raining, though?” I looked out the window. The moment I said something, rain started to pour down across the basement window, and it cooled down significantly. Now this is much more my style. If only we could do something about this stupid black and white filter.

BZZZZZZZZZ!

| Comply with the Narrator. |

I got my first message from the interface, though it wasn’t one I was happy to see. With a heavy sigh, I headed toward the door. I had a feeling this was going to be particularly draining to go through.