Marvel Cybernetic Girl

The city had regained its normalcy. Newspapers at the kiosks along the streets were filled with stories about last night's chaos, recounting the unbelievable battle that had taken place.

But the silver-haired girl at the center of it all was in no way interested in her "heroic deeds."

"Grrr—"

As her stomach growled loudly again, Kagura Hitomi blushed slightly. "Ugh, I'm so hungry!"

Her core energy indicator had turned yellow, showing "31%."

Wait, I'm supposed to be a humanoid robot, right? Shouldn't I be powered by solar energy?

...I'm not going to starve, am I?

She was hungry, but she had no money.

Without any ID, she couldn't get a job, and she didn't want to resort to theft—begging was out of the question, too.

Selling herself? No way.

Completely clueless, Kagura Hitomi walked aimlessly through the streets of New York, trying to figure out a way out of her predicament.

It's just like in Knights of Sidonia... those people could photosynthesize... and they didn't even turn green!

[Deep Memory Scan Completed, Memory Fragments Confirmed]

[Existing Skill System Connection Confirmed]

[Concept Skill Combination Successful]

[New Skill Information Acquired]

[Skin Light Energy Synthesis]

Huh?

Mmm!

I'm starting to love this system that just makes me stronger out of nowhere!

It felt like she'd grasped onto a lifeline. Kagura immediately focused and used the 5 QP she had to activate this "photosynthesis-like" concept skill.

[Skill: Skin Light Energy Synthesis/0, Activation Successful]

Energy flowed through her body as faint blue patterns raced across her skin. Then, a transparent hexagonal net-like structure formed beneath her skin at a nanoscopic level, creating a special layer of tissue.

This unique layer would allow sunlight to continuously recharge her energy.

Yes!

She let out a relieved sigh—she wasn't going to starve after all!

"Grrr—"

Her stomach growled once more.

But the dizziness of hunger hit her.

What's going on? This doesn't make sense! I can photosynthesize now, right?

The sun's shining brightly today… Is this skill fake?

Shaking off the confusion, Kagura refocused on the Skin Light Energy Synthesis skill window.

[Using epidermal photosynthetic tissue to provide energy]

[At full efficiency, it can offset regular function consumption and provide 5% energy recovery per hour]

[Current Skill Efficiency: 31%]

Uh-oh, this is bad.

Full efficiency—epidermal function.

Does this mean...

I have to strip to not starve?!!!

Just let me starve then, ugh!

Kagura pouted, realizing she hadn't solved her hunger problem, and on top of that, had wasted 5 QP!

The photosynthesis skill was definitely useful—at least it would provide extra energy in extreme situations without food.

But right now, it didn't solve her immediate problem.

Find a private spot, strip, and sunbathe?

No way, that's too embarrassing!

She shook her head, realizing that she needed to find a way to earn money.

Looking down at her clothes, she noticed that the shirt she wore in the battle with Abomination had been torn. She'd need to find new clothes, too.

Looking around.

No ID, no money, and with her stomach growling, the silver-haired girl fell into despair.

I'm cute, please give me money!

That's when Kagura remembered a certain virtual streamer's famous saying...

Forget it, I'm not that kind of woman, my self-esteem isn't that low.

While thinking, Kagura, almost on instinct, walked into an empty ATM booth.

Wait… what am I doing here?

Staring at the ATM in front of her, Kagura once again fell into thought.

Kagura, what are you thinking? You don't even have a bank card.

"Szzz—"

The holographic UI activated and automatically began scanning the ATM machine.

A yellow information box expanded and contracted, displaying readable messages before her eyes.

[Civilian Financial System Terminal, Threat Level: None]

[Electronic Hacking Success Rate: 100%]

H-hacking?

Kagura froze. I can… hack into the bank's system?

She remembered now—she did have a support ability called Basic Electronic Hacking.

Should I try it?

But isn't this illegal?

Forget it, I need to survive!

Besides, I'm not some naïve, pure-hearted "innocent soul" who doesn't understand the real world. I'm a former office worker, well aware of how the world works.

With that, she quickly pushed aside any moral hesitation.

After all... I'm going to be a superhero!

(The girl's daydreaming…)

"Alright!"

Focusing her attention, Kagura aimed her holographic UI "targeting" at the ATM.

[Basic Electronic Hacking: Activated]

As the skill icon turned green, her core energy was drained by exactly 5%.

Now I'm even hungrier…

Immediately, massive amounts of financial data poured in.

The financial network of this country—and even the entire world—appeared before her in abstract symbols beyond human comprehension.

Wow, this is so cool!

Kagura marveled at the fact that her ability could do all this, thinking it was just going to make the ATM spit out some cash.

The complex and sprawling financial system of modern human society, like stars in the sky, deeply amazed her.

After the brief moment of awe, Kagura snapped her focus back to her immediate problem.

First, change the financial keys, gain database access.

She didn't know what encryption system the country's financial system used, but under her Electronic Hacking skill, ordinary encryption programs were completely ineffective.

It seemed that this hacking ability worked at the hardware level.

The holographic UI scanned the lower-level systems, pinpointing "black accounts" that had been operating under the radar of financial regulations.

These "black accounts" weren't legally protected.

Data masking complete, automatic compensation algorithms confirmed, database closed, and cash extracted.

Using her knowledge from her skills, Kagura quickly executed the operation, extracting a substantial sum from various "black accounts."

These accounts likely belonged to criminal gangs or shady underground dealings—not clean money by any means.

"Szzz—"

The ATM hummed to life.

"Shh—!"

Hundreds of bills rained down from the machine like snowflakes.

Wow!

I'm rich!!!