A girl at a loss

"7145, 7146, 7147, hurry up! Stop dawdling! 7148..."

With an iron rod in hand, the Overseer stared unblinkingly at each bug passing through the clock-in checkpoint, ready to deal with anyone who made a mistake.

The supposedly optimal clock-in time set by the higher-ups took no account of the differences between individual bugs.

The bugs could not let up for even a moment. Only by moving as fast as they could could they avoid being marked late.

If they failed to clock in on time, the consequences were so terrible that no bug wanted to remember them.

Every bug in the line picked up the pace again. Though this happened every day, none of them ever grew used to it.

"9525, 9526, 9527... wait!"

The Overseer blocked the strange figure concealed beneath a cloak with his rod and demanded viciously, "Who are you? Why do I feel like I've never seen you before?"

The sudden disturbance drew frightened looks from the surrounding bugs. None of them wanted to get into trouble.

"Quick, take off your cloak! Let me see your face!"

After a brief silence, an iron hand emerged from the cloak-or at least, that was what it looked like. It proved that this bug was, at the very least, a resident who had undergone modification with prosthetics.

The iron hand pulled back the covering over her head, revealing her face. Some of the workers recognized her.

"It's Raily, the observer from that distant border outpost."

"It really is her. I heard some big shot went there yesterday for an impromptu inspection, but who knows what happened? The schedule suddenly changed, and the big shot decided to head straight back."

"Shh, keep your voice down! Do you want to die?"

The Overseer did not know Raily. Most of the managers preferred to refer to workers by their numbers.

But after hearing the whispers around him, he was convinced that this bug really was a worker here. He simply did not remember her very well.

"9527, why are you wearing that cloak?"

"I'm sorry, sir. I happened to catch a cold while carrying out my observation duties yesterday. I had no choice but to resort to this. Please forgive me."

For these workers at the bottom of society, falling ill was practically the same as dying. Supplies in the territory had always been scarce, and medicine was scarcer still.

As the lowest-ranking workers, they could never hope for something as good as medical treatment.

Besides, the prosthetics on their bodies had been forcibly installed solely to make them work better.

"Honestly. Move along, move along! Even if you're going to die, you have to meet today's work quota first."

"Thank you very much, Overseer. I'll keep working hard."

Seeing Raily's weak appearance, the Overseer more or less accepted her explanation, though he still had his doubts.

After forcing a smile, Raily covered her head again and hurried through the clock-in checkpoint.

The other bugs moved away, unwilling to catch her illness, while a trace of undisguised disgust appeared in the Overseer's eyes.

He despised these workers from the bottom of his heart. To him, they were nothing more than expendable supplies. All these inferior lives needed to do was work until they died.

Yet as Raily hurried past him, the tentacle holding his rod involuntarily trembled.

A pressure from a superior toward an inferior suddenly washed over him, just as it did when the big shots above him came to inspect his work.

He had actually felt that way toward a worker of the lowest rank? How was that possible?

The feeling vanished in an instant. The Overseer watched her retreating figure, his thoughts unreadable.

"It must have been my imagination."

The brief disturbance attracted little attention, and order soon returned to the line.

Raily returned to the Observation Station above the Black Shell Plains. Only after making sure there were no other bugs nearby did she breathe a sigh of relief.

She removed the robe concealing her figure, revealing a nearly perfect body.

Her slender body, hard carapace, and wings that had grown several times longer-with only the mask on her head unchanged, anyone who saw her would likely have thought a big shot from the Upper Layer had come to inspect the place.

Discarding the Iron Gauntlet she had used as a disguise, Raily could hardly believe that the trick had actually worked.

It seemed the overseers really were a bunch of idiots who knew nothing but throwing their weight around.

Grumbling to herself, Raily surveyed the spacious surroundings, so different from her cramped room, and nodded in satisfaction. At last, she could stretch out her new body to her heart's content.

From simple movements, jumps, and flight to striking the stone walls with her limbs, Raily tested every aspect of her new body.

Only when she began to feel a little tired did she sit down to rest.

"This is incredible. A body of flesh and blood alone can actually do all this."

Raily was genuinely delighted by this discovery. She truly disliked prosthetic modifications, but their convenience had forced her to grudgingly acknowledge their merits.

Yet now her unmodified body performed even better. She felt as though an entirely new path had opened up before her.

A breeze from the canyon brushed across her face, and Raily felt more at ease than she ever had before.

While testing her new body, Raily had made no effort to conceal herself.

She knew the habits of the territory's big shots all too well.

This place clearly no longer had any value as an observation post, but after the silvery-white bug reported to the higher-ups, there had been no further word. Naturally, no notice had arrived either.

The Gear Union was as inefficient as ever. To put it kindly, they handled everything with extreme caution. To put it bluntly, they dithered over everything.

She had originally been deliberately sent to the most remote, isolated place because of prejudice, but now it seemed to have become an unexpected blessing.

Until the notice arrived, Raily could slowly explore the changes in her body in this perfectly safe place.

She already had a good idea of how long that would take.

"Ah, but when I really think about it, it's unbelievable. It still feels like a dream. Have I really become the Flame Saintess?"

The light of Bastion City shone as brightly as ever. Now that every aspect of her body had been strengthened, Raily could even see that distant glow from here.

Taking a small piece of it had not affected the integrity of the whole. Its light was as warm and blazing as ever, drawing bugs toward it.

Feeling the unfamiliar heat inside her, Raily was excited, but also lost.

She had gained this power, but how was she supposed to use it?

To help the Sunfire God, she needed to gather more faith. But what exactly was faith?

Raily racked her brains, unaware that a hazy consciousness was watching her from several meters above her.

"Ah, this girl. I knew I shouldn't have been so vague."

Just as expected, Lin Jin grumbled. He had not simply walked away after bestowing his blessing and left everything to her. On the contrary, he had been watching the entire time.

As luck would have it, after Raily stole away a piece of the ball of light, that tiny bit of essence had actually developed an effect similar to the Campfire's.

Thanks to her, his perception range had effectively expanded again, giving Lin Jin some idea of the situation throughout the Royal Airfield.

"They really are ancient migrants. Even after falling into such a rotten state, their technology is still this advanced."

"If a real war breaks out, it'll be a loss for me whether I win or lose."

Rubbing his chin, Lin Jin began considering how to bring as much of the territory as possible into his faith.

Judging by what he had observed in this short time, the atmosphere throughout the Royal Airfield could be described as a kind of internal cyberpunk dystopia.

Though their technology was advanced, the people's lives were no better for it. Quite the opposite: technology had been developed to its fullest potential as a tool for exploiting labor.

They had decent technology, but paid no attention whatsoever to spiritual well-being. Every bug seemed to carry a faint air of lifelessness.

"Ah, you poor bugs. You'd be better off joining my religion. At least I'm a god who really protects his followers."

Even Lin Jin, a well-educated human, could not help grieving for them under such a cruel and heartless system.

The bugs urgently needed faith, a source of spiritual support to keep them from collapsing under the crushing weight of life.

And, of course, most importantly, better living conditions.

It was something of a dark joke, but this atmosphere was practically ideal for spreading his faith.

Before long, Lin Jin discovered an excellent place to spread it, suitable in every respect.

"Looks like I'll have to give this little one a nudge."

Lin Jin activated Psychokinesis again, took aim, and dropped a small pebble onto Raily's head.