26. Bounties and Officers

"Enclosed spaces, open spaces."

After Old Vic finished maintaining her cyberware, Carl was still mulling over Misty's reading.

Why would merely being in an enclosed or open space determine whether something was lucky or unlucky? She could not make sense of it no matter how she thought about it.

Carl had never believed in the mystical fortune-telling tricks peddled on the streets, but she trusted Misty—no, rather than trusting fortune-telling itself, she trusted the advice of her friend.

Besides, past experience had long proven that Misty's readings carried a strange accuracy. Under those circumstances, Carl had to give enclosed and open spaces some serious thought.

Could a room count as an enclosed space? What kind of space qualified as enclosed? It could not mean something like a coffin, could it? Did that mean she had to be carried into the afterlife? That place was gloomy enough to suit her burial, and it had once been a morgue.

How large did an open space have to be? Did a plaza count as large? Or did it have to be as empty as the Badlands wilderness? Why was openness lucky?

Carl had asked Misty at the time why openness and enclosure determined fortune and misfortune, but Misty had been unable to give her an answer.

In her words, the spirits had given the answer, and she was only responsible for delivering it. Even though she truly wanted to explain it to Carl and help keep her safe, she genuinely had no way to provide an answer. A careless explanation might even harm Carl.

Carl could only stay on guard herself.

Quietly committing Misty's warning to heart, Carl said goodbye to Old Vic and left Old Vic's Clinic.

As she walked through the narrow alley behind Misty's shop and in front of Old