Hydro de Benzene… If Aeshma is the cancer cell eroding the pleasure district, the entertainment complex called Hydro de Benzene is the carcinogen spawning malignant tumors. A paradise of lust that corrupts the pure and shatters human will like bursting foam, it’s aptly called an adult amusement park—yet its truth is a cage of sin that toys with life.

  Distinct from the sweet decay of Aeshma’s palace, this place exudes a scent that melts the mind and festers the spirit with a woman’s intoxicating fragrance. Senses sharpen to the point of overload; a mere brush against the skin triggers ecstasy beyond endurance. Without purifiers or drug-breaking nanomachines embedded in the body, maintaining sanity in Hydro de Benzene is impossible. Even Danan, with his Lumina bugs at full capacity, felt his vision blur under the haze of lascivious air.

  “Quite a stench, huh, Danan? You okay?” Gloria asked.

  “That’s my line. Hurry up and get it done,” Danan snapped.

  Swallowing rising bile, his face pale, Danan glared at Gloria, sweat beading on his forehead. Mid-city elites reportedly had nanomachines that automatically broke down and expelled toxins, and Gloria seemed no exception. His incessant sweating suggested his nanomachines were working overtime to purge the poisonous air.

  Standing here was maddening. Each step unleashed endless desire, clawing at the mind, stripping away thought. Only the already mad or utterly broken could stay sane in this place. No amount of purifiers or nanomachines could fully shield against it. The sight of prostitutes dancing naked, their surgically enhanced multiple breasts bouncing, was enough to succumb to lust.

  “Danan,” Gloria called.

  “…”

  “Staying sharp is good, but sometimes you need to loosen up. Don’t want to see? Don’t look. Don’t want to hear? Don’t listen. Close your eyes, plug your ears, and walk with your head down—it’s not a bad way to go, sometimes.”

  “Don’t talk nonsense,” Danan growled.

  Turning away or rupturing his eardrums wouldn’t erase the vile sensations clinging to him. The prostitute clutching his black iron armor, her fingers grazing his mechanical arm’s steel, wouldn’t vanish. This was reality, not a dream or illusion.

  Shoving aside a prostitute with four dangling breasts, Danan grabbed the head of another flashing a serpentine tongue. Crushing it with his mechanical arm, he bathed in warm blood, tossing the twitching corpse into the street.

  “Doing that won’t stop the pain from sinking into your bones. Like a curse, it’ll slowly eat your life away. Gloria, your words are just an escape. Don’t try dragging me into your sugarcoated hypocrisy. It’s nothing but an excuse.”

  Sweating as heavily as Gloria, Danan clenched his teeth, wiping blood from his cheek with his mechanical arm. Mixed with sweat, a faint red streak painted his face, reeking of iron.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Keep running, keep denying, close your eyes and ears as Gloria suggested—yet the past you’ve turned from will always catch up, tapping your shoulder. Facing it then leaves only regret and pain. So… Danan resolved to confront it now. Better to bear the pain and tread a path of thorns than live with regret, he’d say.

  “Let’s go. Finish this so I can leave,” Danan said.

  “Someone waiting for you, Danan?” Gloria asked.

  “Maybe… Not waiting, just something I need to do for myself.”

  “Something you need to do?”

  “…Someone I want to save. Nothing to do with you or me, just a stranger.”

  “That’s…”

  Got something to do with that terminal you’re carrying? Gloria’s gaze flicked to the device under Danan’s arm.

  “None of your business,” Danan said.

  “Fair enough.”

  “Let’s move.”

  The terminal—Hakara—was none of Gloria’s concern. It was for saving Eve. Danan pushed through indifferent prostitutes, reaching the entrance gate.

  “Sir,” a gatekeeper said.

  “…”

  “Our establishment restricts undercity entry. You, with the mechanical arm, appear to be undercity, but your companion…”

  “Can you let us through? I’ve got business at the bar. Oh, and he’s my friend. Surely Hydro de Benzene wouldn’t bar my friend… or would they? Just a silly worry,” Gloria said smoothly.

  The gatekeeper, a black-suited figure with visor-like cybernetic eyes, scrutinized Gloria. Scanning the card Gloria offered, his face paled, and he straightened abruptly.

  “Please, go through,” he said.

  “Thanks. Come on, Danan,” Gloria urged.

  “…”

  “Danan?”

  Like a beast with raised hackles, Danan’s dark eyes pierced the gatekeeper’s fear. Gloria, twirling the card, grinned. “Rich man’s privilege,” he said, stepping through the golden door where electronics hummed.

  Money alone wouldn’t make Hydro de Benzene’s staff flinch. For undercity folk, they ran harsh checks, judging wealth with near-unfair scrutiny. If you had money, they’d demand five times the market rate; if not, they’d lure you with honeyed words, trapping you as a district commodity. Mid-city folk faced lighter checks, but the goal was the same: assessing who could be devoured.

  Yet the gatekeeper’s reaction to Gloria’s card was pure panic—fear of touching, speaking to, or obstructing someone untouchable, as if interference meant death. It was raw, unadulterated terror. Danan glanced at the trembling, downcast gatekeeper, keeping his eyes on Gloria as he passed through the door.

  “Surprised?” Gloria asked.

  “…”

  “No need to be so wary. You’re my friend, after all.”

  “For this moment only,” Danan said coldly.

  “Don’t be so harsh… I’d like us to stay friends beyond this.”

  “Quit joking.”

  Ignoring Gloria’s light laugh, Danan activated his mechanical arm’s comms to reach Lils, but grating static echoed as before.

  “Something wrong?” Gloria asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “If you’re in trouble—”

  “Don’t need you.”

  Short words, curt attitude. Danan had no intention of lowering his guard. Gloria paused, sighing slightly.

  “Danan,” he said.

  “What?”

  “We’re here as friends, you know. If you act suspicious, it’ll cause trouble—for you.”

  “Trying to threaten me?”

  “Just stating facts. If you’re in trouble, it’s no skin off my back.”

  “Abandon me then. Protect yourself, rich boy.”

  “There’s not a shred of me that wants to ditch you. I said it, didn’t I? I want us to be friends going forward. So I’ll help. No threat, just advice—a suggestion to make this efficient for both of us.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  Pretty words couldn’t be trusted. People like that always betrayed you at the critical moment, bringing disaster. Lighting a cigarette, Danan exhaled purple smoke, eyeing the two fingers Gloria extended. Reluctantly, he handed over his last cigarette.

  “Thanks, I’ll pay you back,” Gloria said.

  “Don’t care.”

  “Nothing’s trivial, Danan. Even between friends, it’s healthier to keep debts clear.”

  Smiling, borrowing a lighter, Gloria puffed faint purple smoke and flung open the door to Hydro de Benzene’s interior.