Psycho Pass: Colorful World

24

"They were last seen... entering that shopping mall north of Tokyo. Agawa Hajime... he was flagged by a scanner two hours ago," Karanomori said.

Low but audible rhythmic synthpop music echoed throughout the building. People wandered the long corridors, browsing clothing stores or sitting down to eat at restaurants that had tables scattered throughout the place. The sound of shoes and heels clacking against the gleaming white floor was constant. Small, circular cleaning drones whizzed slowly by, keeping the floor clean. Many screens hung on the walls displaying various advertisements.

"This place is huge!" a young man chewed on a chip, clenching the snack packet in his fist.

Wearing a black jacket with rolled-up sleeves, black shirt, red tie and black pants with two white belts, Kagari tossed it into a nearby dumpster and turned around, placing his hands on the back of his neck, over his orange hair, to stretch them out as he gazed at the oval architecture of the building. The ceiling was gridded and the colors alternated between white, pink, orange, purple and even blue, without obfuscating the audience. It was late afternoon, but since the day was cloudy it looked like night outside, and it managed to further exhibit the colors inside the building.

"We can't let people with those hues on the loose. Shion, we need drones blocking all exits from the building," spoke Kougami.

Yashiro turned to the enforcer, who was using his wristcom to check the profiles of the suspects. She was beside him, studying them as well. An image of Agawa Hajime being flagged by a scanner appeared on the hologram above his wrist. His crime coefficient was 277.

"I'm on it," Karanomori responded.

"We should split up," Katashi instructed them, lifting his chin for a second.

When Kougami turned off the hologram and turned to the others, Yashiro raised an eyebrow for a few seconds and frowned. In the center of the hall, several meters away from them, a young woman shorter than her, with brown hair, had her head raised towards a screen on the upper floor, which was showing an advertisement with a blue logo that resembled a brain as seen from above. Yashiro did not hear what they were saying, as her feet reacted automatically and she walked up to stand behind her. She was wearing the blue CID jacket over a white shirt, a thigh-length skirt and brown loafers. For a few seconds she watched her, then looked up at the screen.

"As blue is generally associated with trust, it's often used in logos to influence the emotions of the public, especially when it comes to attracting customers. Do you think it suits the design of the Sibyl System?"

Tsunemori Akane blinked and turned around, her brown eyes quite wide and her lips parted for a few moments. However, she lowered her face, staring at the ground with narrowed eyes. The short, loud sound of a gunshot shook both them and the people around. Yashiro automatically leaned forward and brought her hand to where she held the dominator, looking around. Akane turned around with her eyes wide open. Yashiro looked up to the upper floors, and saw a huge crystal hanging chandelier on the ceiling of the building, moving with a high-pitched sound of glass hitting glass, until it disengaged from the ceiling, separating itself from its hologram, which had begun to tinkle irregularly.

Her eyes widened and she took a few quick steps towards Akane, pulling her forearm tightly and pushing her away a few meters, just before it fell on the floor where they were, shattering into pieces and scattering shards of glass around, with a thunderous sound that made people scream and Tsunemori stagger, almost falling to her knees from the trembling they felt under their feet. When she turned around, her mouth dropped open to see a young man several meters away, lying on the ground with his head bleeding, and a woman kneeling in front of him. Tsunemori ran to them to help them up, but when she turned around again, Yashiro pulled out her dominator and held it in both hands, pointing it towards the upper floors and walking past them.