Kyles Kittens Killin’ Kipplins

[WARNING: The following chapters depict horrible people discussing disturbing things—before they get rekt. I know it's rich coming from me, but keep your comments PG.]

[ "Hey boys, look at what just came out of this entry gate! It's a couple of tinies!"

"What type of nonsense are you spouting, Dikines? I don't see any tinies. I'm just seeing credit signs. Look at blondie over there."

"Oooooh, watch out boys, you best not piss that one off. He has a snake tattoo on his neck. That means he's dayne-ger-us. He's got me pissin' myself."

"Look, they're a bunch of tinies, you pricks. You got that?

Saison, their names are 'credit fortune' and 'credit statistic.' Eloguent, I'll rename the blondie as 'scary credit statistic,' is that better?

Can we come to an agreement on this? Cuz' if these cucks run away from us, we might end up manglin' the merchandise before we can sell it." Dikines argued.

"I hate your pragmatism sometimes, boss. But I'll forgive ya just this once if we get bottle service at the Death Qube." Eloguent quipped back.

"Come along cash calves, we don't want to hurt ya. That job is for someone else." Saison declared with a sadistic grin.

"I wouldn't touch me if I were you." Michael said boldly without the slightest bit of fear or hesitation.

From an outsider's perspective, this was an absurd statement.

All three men were the size of the Gruffbilly and at least two of them were a lot more intelligent.

They wore pitch-black exoskeletons that were screwed and soldered into their real bodies.

These exoskeletons weren't just metal frames for defense. Like "magic" swords and armor, the exoskeletons were items.

In the Greater Networks, items are objects that were enhanced with special attributes.

For example, swords can be endowed with the "Gravity Control Attribute." If the right sequence is attached to it, the blade can reach a metric ton on the downswing, and then become light as a feather on the upswing.

Exoskeletons usually contained a variety of different attributes from "Acceleration Control" to "Hardness Control" alongside other strength attributes.

These exoskeletons were high grade, in particular.

If users had stats in the Nerve Network, these items would 10x all of their physical-related stats. That includes strength, stamina, agility, defense, and all physical related skills.

If that wasn't enough, all the Brawlers had weapons—large weapons.

Dikines wielded a 4 ½ foot claymore with a bright red blade. The entire sword was engraved with sleek silver patterns that extended from the hilt on up, giving it a royal appearance.

Michael could tell that Dikines used the sword often by the number of crosshatches on the blade. This man was a serious fighter.

Needless to say, the sword was probably jacked to the breaking point with felony grade modifications as well.

The same was true of Eloguent's black and gold cutlass and Saison's polished silver short sword.

These individuals weren't playing around.

"Hey boys, you hear that? This one's feisty!" He announced.

All of the Brawlers started roaring with laughter.

"Isn't there that slave trader that specializes in finding strong-willed youngsters for creepy old men to break?" He asked.

Obviously, he didn't take a word that Michael said seriously.

"Yeah boss, the shop's called 'Spirit Break.'"

"I kind of like that name. It's pretty pragmatic, really gets to the point. With all the disturbin' shops trying to one-up their sick names, you can hardly figure out what a shop's for anymore.

There's a shop called 'Corpse Feast Fuckers Inc.' What the hell is sold in that shop?" Dikines remarked, capturing the sheer absurdity of the place.

Once again they laughed, this time much more casually.

"By the way, what's going on with that 'Kyles Kittens Killin' Kipplins' place?" Saison asked.

"Yeah, what the fuck is that place, anyway? Has anyone actually been in there?" Dikines asked.

"No." Saison replied.

After a moment of silence, they both looked to Eloguent. "Oui! You're awfully silent. You been in that place?

...

More silence, ey? Now, this is interesting. Spit it out, grunt. Tell us what type of sick individual you are.

Eloguent started sweating and fidgeting nervously. He had a gaunt, ugly face with a mop-top black haircut. His eyes were dull, lifeless, and brown, and his lips were quivering and cracking.

It was clear from his appearance that he was a "tweak" user.

Tweaks were like drugs, but they enhanced physical performance.

To make one of these drugs, you enhance water with a series of attributes.

For example, people might use a speed alteration attribute. Once absorbed into the person's body, it would temporarily turn their muscles into objects that could move exponentially faster.

The danger was that these drugs applied their effects to everything equally.

Unlike Michael's programs which used linear algebra and calculus to calculate movement patterns, these drugs added speed movement to everything. That included internal organs like the human heart and stomach.

Additionally, since one's body can't move past its limitations, it starts breaking apart quickly.

In short, tweaks are a lot more grotesque than drugs in the real world. Needless to say, this was an extremely risky type of substance, and it was obviously illegal.

Tweaks were not even comparable to what Michael cooked up for Sebastian.

"I-It's a cat club." Eloguent said, clarifying its purpose without any details whatsoever.

"So… is it a furry fuckin' party, are people choppin' up cats, or is it kind of a mixture of these things?" Dikines asked.

Dikines had a long, gruffy beard that was well-trimmed. His hair was also brown, but he looked relatively put together.

In the real world, he was a bodybuilder as well. After all, you can't change your physique in the Nerve Network. Judging by his health, he didn't use drugs in either world.

"Uh, it's a place where cats eat, you know… Kipplins'." He added, not giving that much more detail than before.

"Saison, you ever heard of a Kipplin'?" He asked Saison, who was keeping an eye on the boys.

"No. I've heard a dozen slang terms for every body part and every type of fetish. But I haven't ever heard the term Kipplin' before."

Saison was a very different-looking man. He had an exoskeleton that looked far more powerful than the others by its shape and feature lines alone.

There were groves along the edges, and whenever light hit the area, they would fill up with a bright crimson color. It was an illusion of the finest class.

He also wore bright red cyber contacts in his eyes that were doubtlessly stacked with advanced visual perception technology.

These contacts were on par with the ones that Michael was currently using as well.

Like all the accessories on Michael's body, including the earring already pointed out, it was an item.

However, this item, in particular, was far more op than anything you'd normally see around here. This man was wealthy, and he was a seasoned battle veteran.

What he gained in items, he lacked in regular physique, however. He was around the size of Michael even though he was a decade older than him. He had straight black hair and a bob-style haircut.

As for his clothing, they were standard battle-class trousers, a utility jacket, and combat boots.

That said, his jacket had lapels that were sewed into the body of the fabric. It was a simple style touch proving that he was probably part of a Pretty Boy Gang as well.

"You haven't? Well, me fucking neither." Dikines gruffed. "So tell me, Eloguent, what the fuck is a Kipplin'?" ]