As soon as we stepped inside the big building, I had the impression that I was somewhere else entirely. People were moving about and going about their daily business everywhere you looked. I was looking at everything with the same curiosity as a chimpanzee, and AJ said, "Don't drop your jaw yet; this is not the place where you'll get registered." He entered the side teleporter as he finished speaking, motioning with his head for me to proceed.
I went in and took a position next to him. Suddenly, a light appeared before our eyes. I shut my eyes because it was so bright. I thought we were on a different floor when we opened them. We were in a hallway that was entirely white, so I couldn't tell. I asked AJ, "why are we in a hallway?" when I realized where we were I asked " We were not allowed to enter a large room with tables on the side where people conversed and consumed food and beverages. If we went to register, there would be a reception in the back with a lovely woman welcoming us and a board with various bounty hung on it." My question was so detailed as that's what I imagined a bounty hunter registration center to look like in my mind.
When AJ heard this, he asked, "What age do you come from?" with a look that said, "Are you serious?" as he said, " This is what you imagine the bounty hunter registration center would look like in the future when people can travel in space." I just nodded my head as AJ gave me a look you might give a dirty dog by the side of the road. His tone suggested that he was quite disappointed in me, but that was exactly what I was expecting.
When he saw my reaction, he sighed and told me, "People only come here to register. They pick the jobs from their phones or H-PCs (holographic PCs) and hunt the people after confirming their last known location. After we kill them, we can just post a picture of them on the application, and if we capture them alive, we hand them over to the cops, but most people prefer to kill them instead."
After understanding this much, I understood how it works, so I nodded while saying, "I see."
I came to the end of the hallway and said to myself, "So that's how it all works." At the end, there was a lone, vintage white door. AJ opened it when we got there, and as we went inside, I saw something I had never expected.
A man was seated in a chair with a table in front of him and an H-PC, and the setting was a room, or perhaps I should say an office. The door and the office shared an antique appearance. The table had a nameplate that read, "Mr. X."
He didn't look at us when we walked in, but rather turned to his H-PC and asked, "How may I help you, Mr. Black Phantom?" " Someone here wants to sign up as a Hunter and work with me," AJ said as he asked this question, turning to face me. When Mr. X heard this, he gave me a quick glance and, startled by my reaction, caused a holographic registration form to materialize in front of me. I had to enter the information during registration.
After completing the form, Mr. X asked me, in an emotionless tone, " what would you choose as your Alice?" The question was straightforward, but the thought that went into it was not. I suddenly remembered that dayi got the mana core and the first mutation I noticedon the piece of mirror and said the words "Red Eye" after i declared my Alice "Alight, Mr. Red Eye, welcome to the bounty hunter association," Mr. X said after hearing the name. "This will be your identification card."
A card with my name on it was given to me by Mr. X. A blue light emerged from it as soon as I touched it, scanning my fingerprints. After the procedure was complete, Mr. X requested me to drop some blood on it for DNA verification. As soon as I heard this, I grew one of my fingernails and used it to cut the other hand. Blood soon leaked out and fell onto the card. Both AJ and Mr. X were taken aback when they observed no hesitation and the trick with my nail, but they quickly recovered as Mr. X continued, "The card will change color according to the users' DNA signature." My card turned when he said that.
All the words on my card turned blood red, and my card turned black with a few white dots flowing in between them.
I was surprised to see that my eyes, which had also changed colour, were the same colour as my nails and contained white flecks in between.
This surprised me, but I managed to keep a straight face, and after the registration was finished, we left the room and returned to the entrance terminal. I remarked, "That place was outdated," as I turned around to leave. When AJ overheard me say that, he inquired, "so?" as if he didn't understand what I was saying. I wanted to kick him when I saw him trying to act like I didn't understand what was going on, but I resisted the urge and moved back to the teleporter. After that, we walked outside and returned to our apartments. I was only pondering the events from the past as we were making our way back.