Falling for them (love and deepspace X OC )

Charon

Leaving the southern area of Linkon City, I drive down Baire Boulevard. The scenery on both sides of this wide street slowly deteriorates.After I installed the anti-interference chip Sylus sent me on my motorcycle, l've been able to freely pass through the Protofield-disrupted No-Hunt Zones No. 62-65, and arrive at what was once the most prosperous tech hub in the region.Now, it has become a criminal's paradise: the N109 Zone.The abandoned building where I first met him still stands in the desolate courtyard.
Come to think of it, a lot of time has passed since my initial meeting with the feared leader of Onychinus...After entering the N109 Zone, the streets remain deserted. Not a soul could be seen. But it becomes livelier as I approach the central district.A river of people flows through the streets. They surge with me toward the same destination.What's going on... It sounds like it's coming from Charon.Above the streets, massive holographic screens glow neon blue. They display live footage of the district in four areas.A scarred woman is bandaging a knife wound in her shoulder at a street corner, and a boy who cornered a Wanderer in a dark alley rips out its Protocore with his bare hands...A gang member plunges a dagger into his companion's chest.Isn't Charon supposed to be a trading hub? Why are they fighting...?At the top of the display, rows of names and numbers flicker rapidly. Old ones are erased as new ones appear in their place.Is this some kind of competition...?Nothing that happens in the N109 Zone surprises me anymore. I turn my attention away from the massive display and keep trying to call Sylus. When I visited the Odd Workshop, its owner knew Grandma. They were probably colleagues.If I want to find out where the Gaia Research Center was located, he probably has some leads.Sylus had raced through the streets to get us to the Odd Workshop, and I was unfamiliar with the N109 Zone back then.To find it again, the most effective way would be to ask Sylus.He's not answering... Fine, I'll just fetch him from Onychinus's base.Driving my 270HM, I'm about to make a turn into the alley ahead when a bullet whizzes past me. It grazes my temple.
My body lurches to the side as I dodge, but the momentum sends my bike sliding until it crashes into a corner. It's completely wrecked.
I barely regain my footing when another bullet tears through the air. It's heading straight forClink.A cane flashes before me and deflects the bullet.It ricochets into the wall and leaves behind a smoking hole in it."Watch your step, kid. There are places you shouldn't wander into."At my feet, a thin orange-red laser stretches across the street to the buildings on both sides of the street. "Charon is hosting its triennial Zoion Hunt right now. Everything beyond that One step is all it takes for the surveillance drones to lock onto you with their multi-lens systems. Then they'll automatically register you as a participant.
Every criminal in the N109 Zone is waiting to hunt down the lost lambs who walk in."

I dust myself off and get up. "Who are you?"

The man before me appears to be in his fifties or sixties. His white hair is neatly combed under a gentleman's hat, and he's using an old-fashioned cane as support.He stands in stark contrast to the chaos of these streets. "I'm just a ferryman on the River Styx. I help travelers cross. Are you planning to cross Charon's river?"
Like a king surveying his domain, he turns to look at the eastern and western districts of Charon that are surrounded by orange laser barriers. "Shall I be your guide?"His offer seems harmless, but that curious glint in his eyes makes me hesitant about accepting his help.
Experience has taught me one simple lesson: When someone becomes interested in you, trouble isn't far behind.

"Thanks, but I'll take a different route."

"The killing zone spans across eight streets, and the arena in Charon's central district is its epicenter.Ambushes like the one you experienced can happen at any moment.Taking a different route might not be the best choice."

Right before my eyes, he steps over that orange-red boundary. But the attack I expect to happen never occurs.I cross my arms and study his gaze, which seemingly shines with goodwill.

"Are you trying to make me ask why you weren't attacked?"

He reaches behind his ear and produces a round chip no bigger than a fingernail.

"This is an ID Camouflage Chip. If you have one, it masks your biometric data so you can't be traced"

"As long as you're within three steps of me, you'll be within its range of concealment."

I take the chip and examine it.My Evol doesn't detect anything suspicious, so I hand it back to him.

"...All right. I'll trust you for now."

With my biometric data masked, I follow this unfamiliar elderly man into the devastated eastern district of Charon.