@&*\~^.... ....^~\*&@
&*\~^..... .....^~\*&
*\~^...... ......^~\*
&*\~^..... .....^~\*&
@&*\~^.... ....^~\*&@
#@&*\~^... .^ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ^. ...^~\*&@#
##@&*\~^.. NICK WILDE IS A RED FOX AND A CONMAN. ..^~\*&@##
###@&*\~^. .^ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ^. .^~\*&@###
##@&*\~^.. ..^~\*&@##
#@&*\~^... 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. ......^~\*
&*\~^..... .....^~\*&
@&*\~^.... 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. ....^~\*&@
&*\~^..... .....^~\*&
*\~^...... 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... ..^~\*&@##
###@&*\~^. .^~\*&@###
##@&*\~^.. 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. ......^~\*
&*\~^..... .....^~\*&
@&*\~^.... NONE OF THE EMPLOYEES KNOW THIS.) ....^~\*&@
#@&*\~^... ...^~\*&@#
##@&*\~^.. ~~~ ~~~ ..^~\*&@##
###@&*\~^. ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ .^~\*&@###
##@&*\~^.. ~~~ ~~~ ..^~\*&@##
#@&*\~^... ...^~\*&@#
@&*\~^.... 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. ...^~\*&@#
##@&*\~^.. ..^~\*&@##
###@&*\~^. THE BASES ARE MOSTLY SLUDGES .^~\*&@###
##@&*\~^.. OR PASTES, SUCH AS: ..^~\*&@##
#@&*\~^... ...^~\*&@#
@&*\~^.... \~ 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 ..^~\*&@##
#@&*\~^... \~ BLOOD COLONY TWO ...^~\*&@#
@&*\~^.... \~ INSECTS ....^~\*&@
&*\~^..... (WHICH ARE MAINLY USED FOR THEIR .....^~\*&
*\~^...... BRAIN, WHICH IS USED TO EXTRACT ......^~\*
&*\~^..... RECEPTORS THAT DETECT PHEROMONES) .....^~\*&
@&*\~^.... ....^~\*&@
#@&*\~^... ~~~ ~~~ ...^~\*&@#
##@&*\~^.. ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ..^~\*&@##
###@&*\~^. ~~~ ~~~ .^~\*&@###
##@&*\~^.. ..^~\*&@##
#@&*\~^... 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. ..^~\*&@##
###@&*\~^. .^~\*&@###
##@&*\~^.. 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. ......^~\*
&*\~^..... .....^~\*&
@&*\~^.... 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. ..^~\*&@##
#@&*\~^... ...^~\*&@#
@&*\~^.... ~~~ ~~~ ....^~\*&@
&*\~^..... ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ .....^~\*&
*\~^...... ~~~ ~~~ ......^~\*
&*\~^..... .....^~\*&
@&*\~^.... NICK IS UNCOMFORTABLE AROUND ....^~\*&@
#@&*\~^... THE "WILD FLESH" VATS. ...^~\*&@#
##@&*\~^.. ..^~\*&@##
###@&*\~^. .^~\*&@###
##@&*\~^.. ..^~\*&@##
#@&*\~^... ...^~\*&@#
@&*\~^.... ....^~\*&@