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.,»»»»†^£§    HE'S NOT ABOVE PETTY CRIME, BUT HE    §£^†»»»»,.
....»^^§§#  KNOWS THAT IF HE PUTS IN A BIT OF WORK, #§§^^»....
.,»†^£§#@#     HE WILL FIND MUCH MORE LUCRATIVE     #@#§£^†»,.
.,»†^£§#@#                 REWARDS.                 #@#§£^†»,.
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...,†^£§##     AND THUS HE'S CURRENTLY WORKING      ##§£^†,...
.....,»^§§   ALONGSIDE HATSUNE MIKU FOR A COMPANY   §§^»,.....
.,»†^£§@##  THAT MAKES SYNTHETIC MEAL REPLACEMENTS. ##@§£^†»,.
.,»†^£§#@#  HE'S GOT A VAGUE OUTLINE OF A PLAN, TO  #@#§£^†»,.
.,»†^£§#@#    SCATTER WITH SOME PRODUCT, OR EVEN    #@#§£^†»,.
.,»†^£#@##  BETTER, SOME FORMULA? THESE THINGS ARE  ##@#£^†»,.
.,»†^£§@##       WORTH A LOT TO A COMPETITOR.       ##@§£^†»,.
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.,»†^£§###      HE'S BEEN LUCKY; THE PLACE IS       ###§£^†»,.
.,»†^^£§##   SURPRISINGLY UNGUARDED. ONCE HE'S GOT  ##§£^^†»,.
.,»†^£§#@#  HIS PAWS ON SOMETHING WORTHWHILE, IT'LL #@#§£^†»,.
....,»^^§#  BE EASY TO JUST WALTZ OUT. UNTIL THEN,  #§^^»,....
.,»»»†^§#@          KEEP DOING THE WORK...          @#§^†»»»,.
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.,»†^£§#@#    COME TO THINK OF IT, THE PLACE IS     #@#§£^†»,.
....»»†£§§    ALMOST EERILY EMPTY. THERE ARE FEW    §§£†»»....
.,»†^£§#@@    COWORKERS. (IN FACT THE COMPANY IS    @@#§£^†»,.
.,»†^£§#@#    AI-RUN AND ONLY A FEW KEY ROLES ARE   #@#§£^†»,.
.,»†^£§###         FILLED BY ACTUAL PEOPLE.         ###§£^†»,.
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.,»†^£§#@#     NONE OF THE EMPLOYEES KNOW THIS.)    #@#§£^†»,.
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.,»†^£§#@#    NICK AND MIKU ARE BOTH STATIONED IN   #@#§£^†»,.
.,»»†††£##  EARLY PROCESSING, HOUSED IN A STATE OF  ##£†††»»,.
.,»†^£§#@#   THE ART FACTORY CLOSE TO THE DOCKS.    #@#§£^†»,.
..,,,††^§§   THEY CREATE THE EARLY BUILDING BLOCKS  §§^††,,,..
.,»†^£§#@@  THAT ARE LATER COMBINED INTO THE MEALS  @@#§£^†»,.
.,»†^£§#@#         THAT'S SOLD TO CUSTOMERS.        #@#§£^†»,.
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.,»†^^^§##  †» PLANT MATTER                         ##§^^^†»,.
.,»†^£§#@#  †» BLOOD COLONY                         #@#§£^†»,.
...,†††^§§        (MADE WITH A TYPE OF BACTERIA)    §§^†††,...
.,»†^£§#@#  †» WILD FLESH                           #@#§£^†»,.
.....»†^§#        (FREE ROAMING ANIMALS)            #§^†».....
...,,††£§@  †» ORGANS                               @§£††,,...
......»^§@        (TAKEN FROM A LIVING HUMAN THAT   @§^»......
.,»†^£§@##        IS WILLING TO SELL)               ##@§£^†»,.
.,»†^£§§##  †» MINERALS                             ##§§£^†»,.
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,»†^£§#@##  †» INSECTS                              ##@#§£^†»,
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.,»^£§#@##        BRAIN, WHICH IS USED TO EXTRACT   ##@#§£^»,.
.,»†^£#@##        RECEPTORS THAT DETECT PHEROMONES) ##@#£^†»,.
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...,,†£§##      MIKU IS IN CHARGE OF THE BLOOD      ##§£†,,...
.....,»^£§   COLONIES. THERE'S LARGE VATS OF THE    §£^»,.....
.,»†^£§@##   ORIGINAL CULTURE WHICH IS FED BLOOD    ##@§£^†»,.
,»†^£§#@##   MEAL, BONE MEAL, WHAT DOESN'T QUALIFY  ##@#§£^†»,
.,»†^£§§§@   TO GO IN THE "WILD FLESH" PASTE, AND   @§§§£^†»,.
.,»†^£§#@#   SOME PROCESSING CHEMICALS. ALL THESE   #@#§£^†»,.
.,»»†††£§§ INGREDIENTS HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE BLOOD  §§£†††»»,.
...,»††£##       WHICH IN TURN AFFECTS MIKU.        ##£††»,...
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.,»†^£§#@#     THERE IS A LARGE TANK BEHIND THE     #@#§£^†»,.
.,»†^£§#@#  FACTORY THAT CONTAINS A VAST NUMBER OF  #@#§£^†»,.
..,,»^£§§@ AUXILLIARY BLOOD COLONIES. MIKU WATCHES  @§§£^»,,..
.,»†^£§#@#   OVER THESE AS WELL. THEIR PURPOSE IS   #@#§£^†»,.
.,»†^£#@##                 UNCLEAR.                 ##@#£^†»,.
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...,††£§#@  THE FACTORY IS SURROUNDED BY THE BLOOD  @#§£††,...
,»†^£§#@##      MEAL FARMS. THERE IS A CONSTANT     ##@#§£^†»,
.,»†^£§#@#  EXCHANGE OF BLOOD AND BLOOD MEAL. THIS  #@#§£^†»,.
.,»†^£§@##  PROVIDES TWO OF THE MAJOR MATERIALS FOR ##@§£^†»,.
.,»†^£§@##       BOTH THE COLONIES AND MIKU.        ##@§£^†»,.
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.,»†^£§#@#       NICK IS UNCOMFORTABLE AROUND       #@#§£^†»,.
.,»†£§#@##          THE "WILD FLESH" VATS.          ##@#§£†»,.
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