Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 76: New Transaction

“Ah.” Tang Yibu arched his chin on Ruan Xian’s shoulders. There was a hint of enlightenment in his tone. “No wonder.”

“What do you mean?” Ruan Xian felt the hot temperature behind him and pretended not to hear Yu Le’s gradually louder huffing.

“I understand why Miss Ji wants to get the mind access needle.”

Tang Yibu targeted it at Ji Xiaoman, his tone determined.

“As long as it’s an old-fashioned cybernetic brain, regardless of whether it’s good or bad, she can use the mind access needle for nerve stimulation to determine whether the memory module is functioning normally—just like a dangerous liquid delivery pipeline. Before formal use, a harmless mixture will be used to simulate the delivery to see if there is any abnormal pressure or leakage.”

“And Qian Yigeng won’t have the sophisticated technical means to make the newly added device seamless,” Ruan Xian continued smoothly. “In other words, as long as you get the mind access needle, there is a way to find the abnormal interference of the memory module in the old-fashioned cybernetic brain.”

He touched Tang Yibu’s head on his shoulder and continued, “I think as long as the abnormal location is determined, our Miss Mechanic can dismantle the threat by herself. When Qian Yigeng has no leverage, she will have a chance to be free.”

“Yes.” Ji Xiaoman nodded bluntly and admitted in a low voice. “I can’t cut and dissect my mother’s brain as a whole for examination. There are many fine parts, and it’s difficult to determine by scanning. This is the safest way.”

“What foreign language are you speaking?” Yu Le came to a sincere summary.

Tang Yibu slowly turned his head and released the arm around Ruan Xian’s neck. “Get the needle and check the cybernetic brain circuit. Remove the foreign device and get rid of Qian Yigeng.”

He spoke slowly with lively gestures and looked as if he was explaining something to a child in kindergarten. Yu Le took in a deep breath. It seemed that it took him a lot of effort to hold back the urge to shoot Tang Yibu.

“Fuck you, Tang Yibu—”

“Stop it.” Ruan Xian raised a hand and motioned for the two to be quiet. He could see that Ji Xiaoman wasn’t lying about her motives. “Where’s He An? You seem to be in touch with him too.”

“I only recently came into contact with him. He An is my work monitor.” Ji Xiaoman moved her metal fingers silently. “He’s an android equipped with an old-fashioned cybernetic brain, a rare intact model. He An has been working for Qian Yigeng for a long time, collecting debts, supervising and so on. I think he is probably the same as me, using his work to pay the ransom for his memory… Maybe there are other factors.”

“More than that.” Yu Le finally got the opportunity to speak. “Didn’t he give you something to fix?”

Ji Xiaoman raised his head and glanced at Yu Le. Her slightly gray eyes flashed. “The customer’s entrustment is private.”

“It’s private when it comes to me. Fine.” Lao Yu gathered the back of his pants and leaned against the wall. “What are we going to do now? Just leave her here? Don’t tell me you two have no plans.”

“According to the floor plan, there is no other exit from the research office,” Tang Yibu added thoughtfully. “There’s only one way in and out.”

“This is a good thing if people are blocked—”

“This means they won’t rummage through here the first time around.” Ruan Xian turned on the electronic wristband and began to operate quickly. His gaze swept across the fast-forward images. “Tang Yibu, open the door lock.”

Yu Le touched the handle of the gun with his right hand, while Ji Xiaoman picked up her heavy backpack. The two of them were like enemies. Tang Yibu moved over leisurely and opened the lock neatly.

“Let’s hide here for a while.” After some operations, Ruan Xian turned off the light screen in front of him. “The camera outside is temporarily controlled by me, and I will take you to the storage room. Except for Ji Xiaoman, we need to change clothes as quickly as possible, especially you, Yu Le.”

“…No need to emphasize.” Yu Le grimaced.

The special structure of the research office, coupled with the eagerness to find invading thieves, made the defenses weaker in other places. Ruan Xian changed into a familiar white coat and led the other three of them forward, and soon discovered another reason for the weak defense…

This place was more like a combination of a workshop and a chemical laboratory. There were no valuable things stored here, though there was a lot of rare equipment, but unfortunately, unless you drive a truck and crash it underground, the size of this equipment wasn’t suitable to be even taken out of the room.

The product was also easy to guess. The smell of cheap drugs wafted in the air, and the barely clean shelves were filled with various parts.

Ruan Xian picked the room with the most complete equipment. There were many people in dirty aprons and white coats carefully operating the seemingly expensive large-scale machinery. Seeing strangers coming to the door, people stopped their work and looked at them curiously. Many people seemed to have a little impression of Ji Xiaoman and cast eager eyes on the backpack behind her.

“Qian Yigeng should have introduced me to you all. I am the new ‘scientist’ who came here today.” Ruan Xian’s impatient expression was especially real. “You can call me Professor Tang. The two behind me are my assistants. I have already received Ji Xiaoman and my team will be solely responsible for the next step.”

Tang Yibu, who had been robbed of his surname, moved forward, squinting with his eyes in an effort to narrow them as he glared at Ruan Xian beside him.

At the moment, Ruan Xian was deliberately restraining his aura. He put on a disguise like when he first entered the shelter. Unfortunately, the impatience in his tone neutralized the gentleness of the scholar in him, which made his entire person a bit off-putting but was very much in line with his current disguise. After speaking, his Mr. Ruan didn’t show the slightest expression of lying, and his gestures were extremely natural.

An extremely good liar.

“But…” A somewhat bald man pushed the glasses up on the bridge of his nose.

“No, buts,” Ruan Xian interrupted him indifferently. “Our information has been logged into the system. If you have any doubts, check it yourself. A waste of time is just watching people enter information. Qian Yigeng spent money on me to come and inspect your work efficiency. Leave now.”

There were more than a dozen people in this laboratory, and most went out when they heard his words. There were still a few who stubbornly remained. “Our work isn’t over yet. You have no right—”

“You are synthesizing quick release methylphenidate*.” Ruan Xian glanced at the tool in front of the balding man’s hand and sniffed the smell in the air. “I can help you complete the rest of the process. Terminating the purification early will only ruin the finished product. Now I need quiet. I repeat, leave now.”

*Central nervous system stimulant medication that is used to treat ADHD and, to a lesser extent, narcolepsy.

Yu Le forcibly turned his laughter into a cough. The pants covered by his large white coat ripped a bit more.

The bald man glanced at Ruan Xian’s face, curled his mouth unconvincingly, scooted his butt and walked out, not having time to focus on the sound of clothes ripping. Soon, the small laboratory was completely empty. Tang Yibu turned around, humming a minor tune, and immediately locked the door.

“Amazing Xiao Ruan.” Yu Le grinned. “Those who work in tech are truly different.”

“You didn’t change your pants just now?” Ruan Xian’s focus was more realistic.

“Everyone here seems like they don’t have a fucking ass and no muscles at all. You two can still make do with your large size, but where can I find an extra-large size? Don’t you think I would fix it if I could?” Yu Le rolled his eyes. “There’s a camera in the corner…”

“We got together just now,” Ruan Xian said, directly kicking the rumbling purification machine and destroying all the addictive drugs in it. “They gave Ji Xiaoman a day. I guess that they’ll reduce the search after a day, so we’ll stay here until then.”

“I won’t fix it,” Ji Xiaoman whispered. She lowered her head deeply, causing the tips of her neatly trimmed black hair to slide across her pale face.

“What?” Yu Le adjusted the back of his white coat.

“I won’t fix it!” Ji Xiaoman raised her voice.

“Seriously, little girl, what kind of emotion simulation circuit did you deliberately break? I saw you insert pins into those cybernetic brains.”

Ji Xiaoman clenched her lips and stared viciously at Yu Le. Tang Yibu’s movements paused, and he turned to look at Ji Xiaoman with a little more interest in his eyes.

“Yes.” After a while, she said hoarsely, “Am I supposed to watch them get activated and suffer until they die?”

“This little girl is being pretentious. It’s just a simulated emotional reaction. If you were to change me, make it an eight or ten—”

Ji Xiaoman moved.

She had always spoken in a low voice, and her demeanor in front of people was a bit dull that Yu Le almost forgot the fighting skills she showed in the junkyard. Now those skills were used on him—Ji Xiaoman took off her backpack, jumped flexibly, squatted on the man’s shoulders like she was a ghost, and two long blades from her arms stretched out from behind Yu Le’s head while a gold cross flashed in front of his throat.

The little girl’s eyes widened slightly. She ambushed Yu Le’s shoulder like a poisonous spider, exuding an unquestionable killing intent. At the moment when the killing intent gushed out, Tang Yibu and Ruan Xian moved almost simultaneously, aiming their guns at Ji Xiaoman’s head.

“Enough brothers.” Yu Le swallowed.

That skinny little girl carried a desperate ruthlessness. He felt this kind of aura in Ruan Lijie and had experienced it himself. If the desperation of that kid surnamed Ruan was an unfathomable well, he and the girl were more like a stagnant ditch without a source or place to go, rotting visibly to the naked eye.

Yu Le didn’t let the stalemate last too long.

He grinned, grabbed one of the blades, and took advantage of Ji Xiaoman’s stunned moment to fall on his back, throwing the thin girl on his shoulders to the ground. Yu Le’s palm was cut deeply by the blade, and blood gushed out instantly.

“You haven’t seen it.” Ji Xiaoman didn’t seem to feel any pain. She got up quickly from the ground and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, as if she couldn’t see the muzzle of their guns. “You haven’t seen them.”

Yu Le casually tore a corner of his clothes to bandage the wound, making a slightly ugly face.

“If you just want to do it, there’s no need to find Qian Yigeng.”

She hissed, spitting out vulgar words without hesitation.

“Anyone who hangs out after curfew knows what the deal is. The rules here are clear—if you want to hurt and kill people, you have to put your own life on the line, but some don’t want to take the risk. Qian Yigeng’s customers don’t want sex at all. The pleasure that comes from complete domination sells the best.”

Ji Xiaoman seemed to be panting. This was the first time that she had spoken so much. Sharp metal fingertips scratched across the floor, making a harsh noise. “I’m not a good person and I don’t know much about it, but I think the emotional simulation circuit doesn’t just simulate feelings. It creates feelings, especially fear. In order to show the ideal effect, Qian Yigeng showed me the scene. They…”

Her face began to turn livid.

“They just want to hear those commodities scream for mercy or watch them slowly collapse. If the physical body is broken, change it. If there’s emotional overload in the cybernetic brain, reset it or destroy it depending on the situation.”

Ji Xiaoman stammered for half a day without divulging many details, but rather just a rough summary.

“Mom was eliminated by Qing Yigeng. Although her cybernetic brain is old-fashioned, it was completely broken and too docile. Do you get it? They don’t want goods that are too obedient—Qing Yigeng sold her to ignorant guests and soon she was abandoned.”

Yu Le was silent. He seemed to have thought of something, and his face became uglier.

“According to you, it’s not easier to put a real person.” He laughed dryly.

“Qian Yigeng’s only rule is that goods can be slaughtered, but the head and shell cannot be broken.” Ji Xiaoman looked at him blankly. “Do you think there are no real people here?”

“The human body is disposable, and the mind is more likely to collapse under excessive injury,” Tang Yibu added very quietly. Ji Xiaoman twitched the corners of her mouth.

“…So real people are more expensive, just like ‘games’ in the past. Even if the City Defenders come and check, Qian Yigeng would just say it’s the most well-made android,” she continued in a low voice. Every word was soaked in disgust. “He also told me that if I could make their emotional response the same as a real person, he would pay double—”

“Okay, stop talking.” Yu Le waved his hand. His facial muscles trembled a bit. “I’m getting a little sick.”

Ruan Xian looked at Yu Le quietly. He knew what the other party might be thinking. He stumbled upon the Sea of Ruins as a result of what happened to his sister, which was why Yu Le was extremely disgusted with forced behavior.

It was just that a few minutes ago, the former captain of the Walking Stones didn’t put on much empathy for androids, and now Qian Yigeng had completely offended one of them.

“So I won’t activate the emotional simulation. I’ll only give them something that kills the program.” Ji Xiaoman tied the mouth of her backpack tighter while remaining expressionless.

“Do you want to make a deal?” Ruan Xian suddenly asked.

Ji Xiaoman turned her head for a long time before she was sure that the other party was talking to her.

“We’ll help you erase Qian Yigeng in the Underground City.” Ruan Xian made a neat gesture. “You agree to all our repair requirements and tell us all the information you know. Well?”

“Do you know how many shops he has?” Ji Xiaoman didn’t show the slightest excitement but frowned. “Keep dreaming.”

“Oh, I support it.” Yu Le’s reaction was equally calm, but the direction of calm was different from Ji Xiaoman’s.

“If Mr. Ruan wants to do this, I have no opinion.” Tang Yibu sounded neutral at first glance, but his expression was a bit eager to try.

“…You guys are crazy.” Ji Xiaoman took a step back.

“You found out a little late.” Ruan Xian buttoned his white coat and smiled slightly.

“Change of plans, friends. We need to get out of here immediately.”

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The author has something to say:

Ruan: I just want to buy and sell.jpg

Tang: Doing things will make it wonderful to observe clearly √

Lao Yu is the most honest one (.

Iron bead π offline: Lonely _(;з”π)_

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 75: Leverage*

*Handle (把柄) Metaphor referring to something that one holds leverage over in order to use and coerce others.

Ji Xiaoman had entered this room countless times.

Even if it wasn’t a big reception room, it was completely different from the ship she built herself. The surrounding walls were strong, and while the decorations weren’t luxurious, the room was clean. The air filter in the corner rumbled and buzzed, and the air smelled of smoke that pretended to be like sandalwood but only had the stench of garbage.

The wall on her left was full of various clocks, covered with varying degrees of gray, and the sound of the ticking second hand was mixed irregularly, almost driving people crazy.

Ji Xiaoman glanced coldly at the group of people at the table, then numbly put down her backpack; the blade on her prosthetic was ready to go at any moment. The big backpack was almost half the size of the little girl. It lay there by her feet, but no one dared step forward.

The men in suits stood quietly without taking off their gas masks. Ji Xiaoman knew the reason—the purpose of the so-called air filter wasn’t simple. As long as Qian Yigeng thought about it, it could turn this place into a gas chamber at any moment.

Qian Yigeng would not let the lackeys waste their time on the boring matter of taking off their gas masks and then putting them back on. He was happier to collect the masks of his guests.

Just as she was secretly grumbling, three more men entered the room and stood against the wall like the other thugs. However, because the three new arrivals were a bit prominent in height, the heads of the thugs standing in rows against the wall became more and more uneven, and the visual effect became quite poor.

‘Fakers.’ She said it in her heart and quickly retracted her gaze.

The gas mask was taken away when she entered the door. After putting the backpack away, Ji Xiaoman took off her coat. The skin was thoroughly damped by sweat, glowing with a bit of dirty water that caused the black vest to become darker in color. The mutilated arm muscles were obviously exposed, and the protruding ribs could clearly be seen on the exposed skin of her front chest. It was difficult to say whether the person was too thin or simply malnourished.

She bit her lower lip and stood in the center of the room, like a thin iron nail that couldn’t hit the ground.

“Xiaoman is here.” A fat man walked into the room through the back door. His face was firmly covered with a mask. He seemed to want to imitate the gang characters in films and television shows as he wore a formal black suit. Unfortunately, whether it was the narrow shoulders or the protruding beer belly, he looked more like a nouveau riche and didn’t give off any fierce vibe.

The fat man put his arms around a beautiful girl with a delicate face. She didn’t have her mask on, and her movements were stiff from fear.

“What are you doing standing. Sit down.” Qian Yigeng moved onto the sofa and instructed the woman next to him to pour him wine. “Xiaoman is a good name. After you join, I have more and more talents. Not to mention anything else, just today, a scientist wanted to join us.”

He shook the wine in his glass, didn’t take off the gas mask, but handed it back to the woman next to him. “Drink it.”

The girl smiled with difficulty, picked up the glass and drank it, almost choking on it. Ji Xiaoman didn’t say a word and had no intention of leaving the backpack to sit down.

“That’s a scientist, a great scientist. In the past, I’m afraid that those type wouldn’t even take one glance at people like me. You are still young and don’t understand this aspect. Uncle Qian taught you that it’s very important to see the situation clearly.”

Ji Xiaoman moved the backpack.

Qian Yigeng gestured to the man closest to him, and the man quickly stepped forward, opened Ji Xiaoman’s backpack, and took out a box. Ji Xiaoman menacingly popped out the blade of her prosthetic limb, a bit like a feline sticking out its own claws.

Qian Yigeng was dismissive of this. When the big box was presented to him, he opened it at will and took out the cybernetic brain that was blinking blue light. The artificial object with some gelatinous features spread out slightly in his palm, and the flickering suddenly brightened.

“No matter how many times you look at it, this thing is more beautiful than real brains,” Qian Yigeng said with emotion, carefully putting the cybernetic brain back in the box.

“It’s just that I recently heard some interesting feedback. As a creator, it doesn’t hurt to listen to it. Xiaoman, these things you make are so good… How can I put this? I have carefully selected a lot of personalities here, but as soon as this data is copied, while the personality performance isn’t an issue, but… Haa, the reaction is too machine-like.”

Ji Xiaoman rolled her eyes and looked at him.

“You know how we make money, right? I have collected old-fashioned cybernetic brains for so many years. As the boss of the Underground United City, I have searched for old-fashioned cybernetic brains for many years and uncovered only a dozen or so of them. Nowadays, it’s either a top brand or it’s sold out. The maintenance fee is enough to feed most of my people, but there are still a few chickens that will lay golden eggs.”

He paused deliberately for a while.

“That’s why I cherish talents like yours so much. If the brain performance isn’t good, the emotional intensity wouldn’t be real. People who come to me to play, you know what effect they want, but if they don’t have a sense of realism, they will be disappointed.”

“I know,” Ji Xiaoman muttered in a low voice. “A group of bastards who want to step on others but don’t want to feel guilty.”

“Isn’t everyone like this?” Qian Yigeng clapped his hands. “Let me just say it—Your goods have very good performance and have a longer life span than the ones I ordered before. That’s why their emotional expression is very stiff. I asked an expert to take a look. There are signs of internal damage to the emotional simulation circuit… Be careful when you make it. There shouldn’t be such a problem again, right?”

“Is there such a thing?” Ji Xiaoman’s tone didn’t fluctuate. “The technology is limited. I’m at this level.”

“Then I can only change back to the original channel. The quality of the imitation brains of the lame family is poor, but the emotional setting is intense, so the guest will like it more.” Qian Yigeng said lightly, pinching the woman beside him, causing her to instantly tremble.

Ji Xiaoman’s back tightened abruptly.

“As for your side… Your mother, I remember, has an old-fashioned cybernetic brain. As for the maintenance fee, you can charge the precious metal according to the previous amount, but the market isn’t good. Let me think about it. The price should increase by 50%.”

He pointed to a clock embedded in the wall, not standing out from among the crowd of other clocks. The color of the clock frame was a dark red that was a bit faded, and the plastic shell that wrapped the dial was covered with dust. Its hour hand was a small heart-shaped, the second hand moved extremely slowly, and the time didn’t match with the current real time.

Ji Xiaoman still stared at Qian Yigeng, not even sparing a glance at the clock that seemed to be covered by age.

“Round it to half past six, look at it. If I don’t accept this product today, you still have five and a half days to raise the funds.” Qian Yigeng’s voice showed some pride.

“That’s not a problem that needs to be repaired, and you have already increased the price once before.”

Ji Xiaoman’s chest heaved violently, and her blade made a rattling sound. The thugs closest to her raised their guns and aimed at the girl’s flesh.

“She’s obviously bad, and you took more than He An who’s in better condition. If you hadn’t added something to her mind…” She swallowed the second half of the sentence, her eyes full of resentment.

“Okay, then call it a protection fee if it makes you feel better? …So can the problem of your batch of goods be solved or not?” Qian Yigeng still looked indifferent.

“Yes.” Ji Xiaoman gritted her teeth.

“It’s good if you can. Take back this batch first. Can it be fix by tomorrow and brought back?” The fat man seemed to enjoy the other party’s anger as he was unable to hold back the smile in his voice. “This time, I got two beauties. It’s up to you.”

Ji Xiaoman silently pulled up her backpack. The metal fingertips brushed the rough cloth, making a slightly harsh sound. A man in a suit hurriedly rushed in from the door, ran to Qian Yigeng, bowed his waist and whispered something.

“What?” Qian Yigeng’s voice became angrier this time. “When?”

“Just now, Loach and Piebald wristbands were used, and the new people they got are gone. They didn’t decipher the equipment, and they just grabbed the wristbands and opened the door indiscriminately. They are probably thieves who came to steal things.”

“Did anyone catch them?”

“No.”

“What are you still talking nonsense for? Go find them! Seal all the exits!” Qian Yigeng raised his voice. “Take this little girl to the research office—everything should be there for you, Ji Xiaoman. You can fix a few imitation brains, right? In short, before I find these people, no one can leave!”

“He An is still here…”

“Whatever. He got what he should have got. It’s up to him to explain that to Lao Fu. It’s more important to catch the thieves. It’s time to release the poisonous gas. Damn, if I lose something—”

“Let’s go catch them now!”

“Also, why are you standing there in a daze? Didn’t I tell you to take this little girl to the research office?”

Qian Yigeng stood up, ignoring the shivering girl who served him his drink on the sofa, and walked straight to the back door. The thugs rushed out in a mess, and one of them walked towards Ji Xiaoman, holding his gun steadily. Ji Xiaoman carried her backpack with extremely slow movements. Her eyes were red with anger.

As a result, not only one but three more came.

“We’ll go with you.” One of the big men had a low voice that sounded inexplicably familiar. The other two followed him closely, as if they were stuck behind him. “In case the thief who came here wants to intercept this batch of goods, we can’t leave you to handle this alone.”

The gunman glanced at the positions of the three of them, and then pondered the other party’s proposal for a few seconds, finding that it was reasonable.

“Alright,” he said. “Hurry up and go. Boss Qian is in a bad mood now, and he may vent his anger if we’re late.”

The gunman expressed his anxiety physically, walking like a fly. Ji Xiaoman carried her heavy backpack and reluctantly followed. The remaining three still stayed in their weird standing position as they advanced, intercepting her, but didn’t poke her spine with their guns. After about half an hour, they finally bypassed the goose-intestine-like corridor and rushed into a dimly lit area. The people here all wore hair covers and masks and looked like doctors in an operating room. Unfortunately, their gestures revealed the temperament of a canteen employee.

“Before Boss Qian gives instructions, you should wait here honestly.” The gunman carefully closed the door of the empty room, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and made a few gestures at Ji Xiaoman unceremoniously. “When the noise outside is over, someone will come to pick you up. Brothers, hurry up. It’s very tight here and she couldn’t run away even if she tried.”

“We’re here to watch her.”

“Then I have to lock the three of you here too. Listen to me, it’s very boring to be locked in here. It’s not worth it.”

“Lock it, lock it. Don’t be afraid of 10,000 but be afraid of the what if*,” the big guy said. “You know Boss Qian’s temper. There must be something wrong with this batch of goods—”

*(不怕一万，就怕万一) Proverb that means not to be afraid of the unexpected 10,000 occurrence but to be afraid of the unexpected occurrence that can happen once. It’s to warn people not to take things lightly to prevent accidents.

The gunman swallowed his spit, and quickly flashed out. Not long after, there was a click of the lock outside the door.

“There are no cameras here.” One of the guys stuck behind the big guy moved away.

“So what if there isn’t? If you dare touch me with a single finger, or say something I don’t want to hear, I’ll destroy this batch immediately.” Ji Xiaoman showed her blade and glared at them fiercely.

“…No.” The man took off his gas mask and revealed a handsome, gentle face. He no longer squinted, and his eyes were gleaming with the familiar golden color. “I mean, Yu Le can put his red underpants—”

“Shut the fuck up.” The big guy also untied his mask, with a painful tone of voice.

Ji Xiaoman didn’t react for a while. She stood still, instinctively protecting the big backpack behind her.

“There is no movement on Qian Yigeng’s side for the time being. It seems that he’s not anxious enough.” The last person to take off their mask was Ruan Xian. He breathed a sigh of relief, and a little sweat appeared on his forehead. “Yes, Miss Ji. The intruders are us.”

Ji Xiaoman didn’t show any sign of relaxation. She still stared at them vigilantly. Tang Yibu had already pasted himself to the locked door and was fiddling around with it with a metal wire.

“I need an explanation before we can help you get the mind access needle.” Ruan Xian wiped the sweat from his sleeve. “After all, whether it’s voluntarily or not, the fact is that you and Qian Yigeng are cooperating. The muddy water depends on the situation. We don’t want to be used as guns and then sold.”

The thin girl bit her lower lip, like a hedgehog with hard thorns all over her body.

“You didn’t know what we’re capable of yet, seeing a new face, you put forward such a proposal.”

Ruan Xian didn’t soften his tone because the other party was a little girl. He looked straight into the other party’s dark eyes and pressed on step by step.

“Now that you know how capable we are, there are two choices. Give us the information, and we’ll officially cooperate; keep our little secret, and whether you wanted to use us before or sincerely cooperate, we’ll leave now— and you’ll fix our car. It’s just a few extra days, rather than potentially losing our lives.”

Ji Xiaoman’s metal fingers clicked softly.

“…Cooperate.” She tried to squeeze the word out of her mouth.

“Then let’s talk about your mother and He An first.” Ruan Xian took another step closer. “It sounds like the old-fashioned cybernetic brain needs special treatment.”

Tang Yibu seemed to have figured out the door lock. He came over with interest and wrapped his arms around Ruan Xian’s neck affectionately, causing Yu Le to snort bitterly.

“Yes.” The girl didn’t react to their intimate posture in any way. “Whether it’s a guest who comes… or the owner who bought the android, they have to face this problem. Qian Yigeng doesn’t tell them in advance. He asked someone to add devices to all old-fashioned cybernetic brains.”

Her voice was hoarse, and her anger became more obvious.

“Once the time is up, it will empty all the data.”

“So those clocks—” Ruan Xian frowned and reacted quickly.

“Yes, if you want to keep your memory, you must pay for maintenance and let him reset the countdown… Those clocks are used as countdown timers.”

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The author has something to say:

Boss Qian still doesn’t know what’s about to happen to him.jpg

Sister Xiaoman is also a ruthless person. Only the iron bead is innocent and cute (×

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 74: Red Underpants

Tang Yibu stared at the wheelchair without blinking, his eyes blank. After a brief moment, he lowered his gaze, as if they had just found an extremely ordinary clue. In contrast, Ruan Xian was stunned for a longer time.

When he was still in the shelter, he saw the other Ruan Xian’s speech from the “Introduction Manual to Shade Shelter”. According to the situation at that time, this wheelchair couldn’t be replaced even if one wanted to—it was designed delicately, both on a technical and software level. It was equipped with a set of very high thresholds for replacement, not to mention that this was after the end of the world, where resources and technology were scarce. Taking a step back, not to mention the other “Ruan Xian” who was living twelve years later, when Ruan Xian himself was still living normally, his wheelchair was equivalent to some kind of unique advanced prosthetic limb created only for him, so it was useless for others to steal it.

Was the other “Ruan Xian” killed?

This was his first thought. According to the information provided by Tu Rui, Professor Ruan and Fan Linsong left the headquarters spontaneously after its collapse. It was still possible if it happened to be picked up by a local snake* like Qing Yigeng.

*Term used to describe the local gangster/mob boss in a community.

But Ruan Xian always felt that something was wrong.

If Qian Yigeng really killed Professor Ruan and didn’t want it revealed so as not to provoke the rebels from retaliating, he wouldn’t have hidden the wheelchair in such a conspicuous place. If he was Qing Yigeng, the first thing he would do was to dismantle the wheelchair and hide it in a pile of mechanical objects. Right now, that wheelchair was sitting nicely in a storage room, looking more like a parochial show.

“Has Ruan Xian’s illness improved?” Countless possibilities passed through Ruan Xian’s mind, and he chose the most likely one.

The illness in his body was completely banished, and it wasn’t in the realm of fantasy that the other Ruan Xian had found a way to cure himself in these past twelve years.

“I haven’t heard of it. If there is, it’s impossible for the rebels not to make a sound.” Tang Yibu pressed his hands on the console, staring at the mechanical wheelchair on the light screen as if he wanted to swallow it with his eyes. “They advertised once a few years ago, saying that Ruan Xian’s condition has been safely controlled and will not worsen—they didn’t mention a word about recovery.”

After taking a deep breath, Tang Yibu slowly shook his fists with both hands. “Do you know his illness?”

“I’ve heard a little bit. It seems to be a rare genetic type…”

“Yes, this kind of disease is best discovered in the fetal period and could be fixed with gene therapy if intervened in time. But when the technology was developed, he had already grown up and missed the best period for treatment. In theory, there’s no other way but to repair the cells of the whole body one by one, but if that’s done, his cells needed to be completely separated so that the nanobots could fully intervene. Not to mention that there’s a great risk it won’t be restored to its original state, even if it was successful…”

“The cells of the whole body including the brain cells, would be combined with a mechanical component. It would be difficult to classify him as a human,” Ruan Xian added quietly. “This would be a fatal blow to the rebels.”

“Yes, humans will not recognize a leader who has been transformed into a mechanical life.” Tang Yibu nodded, finally turning his gaze around. Ruan Xian could see the vague sorrow in it.

“Maybe he doesn’t want to work for the rebels anymore.” Ruan Xian began to look through other light screens again. “And he found a way to heal himself, then changed his identity and disappeared.”

This guess made him feel uncomfortable. The timing wasn’t wrong. If there was no so-called “another Ruan Xian” from the beginning…

“I have thought about this possibility.” Tang Yibu stopped moving and slowly took off the gas mask, revealing a somewhat pale face. “But he won’t do that.”

“Reason?” Ruan Xian also took off his mask and looked directly at the other party with his stomach churning for a while.

“Ruan Xian’s view of mechanical life wasn’t falsified. He’s a lofty man and won’t choose to become something he once spurned… According to Ruan Xian’s theory, if he transformed himself into a mechanical life, the newly produced thing wouldn’t be him. It would be no different from death.”

‘Too extreme,’ Ruan Xian thought. Then suddenly, he wanted to laugh a bit—he had always been an extreme person and there was nothing wrong with it.

“There is insufficient information. Random speculations are meaningless. With the wheelchair here, Qian Yigeng must know something.” Ruan Xian closed the topic. “Anyways, there are three possibilities: it was stolen from Ruan Xian, Ruan Xian found a way to regain his ability to walk, or Ruan Xian has been unfortunately killed.”

Tang Yibu still had his hands on the operation board and didn’t turn off the light screen.

“Yibu?” Ruan Xian scanned the light screen in front of him and spoke up, while Tang Yibu was still in a daze. The android stared at the wheelchair on the light screen, as if expecting it to grow its own mouth to explain.

“…What is the relationship between you and Ruan Xian?” Ruan Xian’s throat was a bit dry.

“If Ruan Xian dies,” Tang Yibu said mindlessly, in the same dry tone. “…Well, if he dies, it will only be a matter of time before MUL-01’s complete domination. Without observation samples, I’m afraid I’ll never be able to complete my project. What should I do then?”

Ruan Xian instinctively caught something unnatural from the other person’s expression, but he didn’t have time to distinguish its content. Tang Yibu’s next sentence completely attracted all his attention…

“Mr. Ruan, can you hug me?” The android turned his head with a blank expression. “I like the feeling of hugging you. It makes me feel better. I feel a little bad now.”

Tang Yibu showed a confused expression, as if he had experienced indigestion for the first time.

Ruan Xian stopped the hand operating the light screen and almost stepped on the person who had fainted on the ground. He looked at Tang Yibu, and the other party opened his arms in a very serious posture.

It was a great opportunity now to draw a clear line. He just needed to tell the android to focus on his work and use reason to stop the relationship that was deepening at an abnormal rate. The chain given by the other party was still nailed to his earlobe but…

A lunatic always obeyed their inner desires.

He smiled and walked forward, hugging Tang Yibu, who was slightly taller than him. The other party bent down, buried his nose in his shoulder, inhaled a little aggrieved, and his back trembled slightly.

“This is ‘anxiety’, I know,” the android muttered. “According to various signs, I am experiencing anxiety. I hate this emotion.”

“Shh, shh.” Ruan Xian smoothed Tang Yibu’s back. “He’s not dead. That’s just a possibility.”

“Ruan Xian” wouldn’t die. No matter if the other Ruan Xian had really died, he was still alive. Until now, the curiosity of knowing the truth had long overshadowed the desire for self-awareness. Now, Ruan Xian found that he could be many things, and the “Scientist Ruan Xian” wasn’t the most attractive option…

That was just the mask he chose to survive in society at the beginning, and now the concept of “society” was already crumbling.

Ruan Xian tightened his arms. There was someone who needed him right now more than anyone else. This knowledge made his hair stand upright, giving birth to some comfort and satisfaction that couldn’t be said to be dark or legitimate. In these short ten seconds, he suddenly became a lot richer, in a way he had never experienced before.

Without the collar locked by the other party, all this would be almost perfect.

Tang Yibu retracted the tip of his nose while quietly hugging Ruan Xian and sniffing for a while. He put his forehead against Ruan Xian’s forehead, rubbed contentedly, and breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m better. Thank you for your hug.” The android’s pure gaze was a bit more comfortable, and his voice softened, with a vague hint of coquettishness. “Guess what I’m thinking?”

“You are thinking, ‘I must not let this person run away’.” Ruan Xian touched his earlobe and unconsciously raised the corner of his mouth.

“Yes.” Tang Yibu’s golden eyes were dim in the shadows, and his answer was light and cruel. “But that’s only half of it.”

“Hmm?” Ruan Xian completely put away all the light screens and began to combine circuit diagrams in his brain.

“I’m still thinking, I may not be able to tie you down, Mr. Ruan.” The android’s voice was very soft. “You are more dangerous than I thought.”

They looked at each other and laughed. Ruan Xian didn’t know what he was laughing at. He took two steps forward and saw burning possessiveness, vigilance, and a trace of natural killing intent in the eyes of the other party.

‘It was like a mirror that completely reflected his own emotions,’ Ruan Xian thought, and it only made his smile grow stronger.

Perhaps the gap between the other Ruan Xian and himself wasn’t that big. He could be crueler than anyone else. Ruan Xian stretched out his arm and pushed the back of Tang Yibu’s neck forward. His lips met those eyes that exuded infinite attraction.

“We’re the same.” He moved his lips silently.

Then he released his hand and his expression returned as usual. “I have cleared up the route. If you don’t find anything else on your side, then it’s time to meet with Qian Yigeng.”

Having said that, Ruan Xian put on the gas mask again.

Yu Le was in a bad mood.

After following Ji Xiaoman for three blocks, he began to feel like a pervert, or something even more wretched. The little girl shuttled through the increasingly explicit and ambiguous projections and slogans, with a heavy backpack hanging behind her, almost perfectly integrated into the crowd of people picking up waste products everywhere. In the boundless fog of light and shadow, the thin back revealed some indescribable pity.

He glued his gaze firmly to the backpack and navigated the crowded neighborhood as flexible as possible. However, his physique was too burly, and his head was too tall, which attracted the attention of a few people. When they found out that his target was a thin little girl, their eyes behind the gas mask showed varying degrees of contempt.

Fuck. All Yu Le’s thoughts turned into this word.

The former captain of the Walking Stones sighed for a while, and finally continued his tracking plan. Ji Xiaoman bowed her waist and tucked her shoulders, making her already slender physique seem to be even more nonexistent. She did a circle in the thick fog, passed through the rotten-smelling food market, slipped over a pile of garbage, and disappeared into the depths of the garbage mountain.

It was chaotic and dirty, and the fog was so thick that there weren’t many scavengers.

However, having survived in the Sea of Ruins, Yu Le had a natural instinct to hide. He walked around the garbage mountain halfway and kicked on the rusty iron door hidden in the corner. The metal plate made a hollow sound, and he shook his head. He propped the rusty board apart and jumped down carefully.

He leapt into an almost semi-abandoned corridor. Lots of rotting garbage was leaked through the iron gate. Slimy moss and ferns grew in the corners, covering the floor so much that it couldn’t be seen. Yu Le clenched the handle on his gun, continued to track the noise around the corner, and turned on the silencer function of his pistol.

In the beginning, Ji Xiaoman would turn her head every few steps while Yu Le followed her like a shadow, completely melding with her target’s rhythm. Finally, the young girl let down her guard and began to focus on moving forward.

Yu Le quickly discovered the reason for the other party’s peace of mind.

Other people began to appear in the corridor, but most of them were old men in suits. Several of them had a brief conversation with Ji Xiaoman for a while, guiding her to move on. The remaining two were heavily armed and began to move in his direction.

Fucking hell.

The surrounding doors were all welded tight with metal plates. Unless he turned his head and ran away now, it was impossible for him to escape the investigation of these two people. Unfortunately, escape had never been Captain Yu’s style. He hid the gun in his backhand and walked out with a grin.

“Hi, guys, where is this?” He said fleetingly. “I just watched a little girl get in, thinking there was something valuable. I have offended you, so I’ll just leave now. Sorry.”

If this was a serious place, and he wasn’t too far deep in, he would probably get a few warnings. If he rushed to make a move and this was the territory of the rebel army, a lot more issues could happen. However, seeing Ji Xiaoman’s reluctant appearance and the visitor wearing a silly suit, rather than the rebels, it was more like a pretentious gangster.

As a prisoner who had been around all kinds of scum and garbage for a long time, Yu Le chose to trust his intuition and tighten his every nerve.

The two people wearing gas masks confirmed his suspicion—they ignored Yu Le’s words and shot him directly. Yu Le barely dodged and almost landed on the ground with his ass.

“Alright, alright. Looks like it’s either fight or die. I’ll follow your rules.”

He spat, twisted up, and made an appearance like he was going to attack the two of them. As soon as the two of them turned their attention away and were about to maintain their balance, Yu Le quickly took out the hidden gun in his hand and, with two soft whizzes, the two men slowly slid to the ground. The bullet pierced their gas mask and hit them straight in their heads, killing them with a single blow.

Yu Le turned the gun in his hand, skillfully stripped off the clothes of one of them, and then moved the two corpses to the entrance of the tunnel. Enduring the nausea. He dumped the garbage nearby to bury them.

“Piece of cake, motherfuckers.” Yu Le wiped his hands vigorously on the other person’s clothes, pushed the gas mask back on his face, and put on the suit he stole.

An unpleasant sound of silk tightening sounded from behind him. Yu Le gasped, relaxed his body, and sucked in his stomach—Even though he took the biggest suit, that man was still shorter, and this suit size was one size smaller than his usual clothes.

Making sure that the back of his clothes hadn’t split open, he cleared his throat, pulled the gun and electronic wristband from the corpse’s hand, and followed in small steps. From the corner of his eyes, Yu Le kept careful watch of the cameras and avoided the small number of people in the corridor, walking against the wall in their blind spots, relying on his electronic wristband to open several doors along the way.

…Until he reached a perfectly sealed door that required biometric key verification.

Ji Xiaoman obviously had something to do with the local snake here.

If the local snake is Qian Yigeng, her commission could be regarded as eating inside and out*, and this could be used as a great bargaining chip. If the girl did it as a last resort, he could act depending on the situation and possibly earn some goodwill.

*(吃里扒外) Metaphor referring to living off one person while secretly helping another.

But if it wasn’t Qian Yigeng on the other side of the door, he might offend not only Ji Xiaoman but another powerful local snake here.

He was just a step away from the door. Yu Le stood straight outside, making it look like he was standing guard and patrolling while he quickly calculated in his heart.

He would watch the situation and act from there. The people here were like stuffed gourds*, so he could only try to pry it deeply once. Accustomed to the blood-soaked life, Yu Le weighed the gun in his hand and began to consider the total number of people he could take down with his weapon.

*(闷葫芦) Metaphor referring to something that can’t be guessed and is confusing and puzzling or people who don’t like to talk || In this context, it’s referring to the latter.

He once commanded the Walking Stones, and he knew better than anyone else. For a scattered gang like this, it was thousands of miles away from well-trained soldiers. At most, people would patrol, but they rarely stuck to their hours and things were rarely strictly enforced. Most wouldn’t meddle in other people’s businesses. He could just wait for someone to pass through and then sneakily follow them. As long as he made up a good reason, perhaps he could save some bullets.

And at that moment, two unlucky guys were walking this way. From their movements, it looked like they were going to enter the door.

When the two guys in suits saw him, they stopped slightly, as if they were suspicious. Yu Le hurriedly strolled over, lowered his voice, and nodded at the two of them. “New arrivals are waiting for you to enter. Please take care of them.”

The two froze suspiciously. Yu Le let out a chuckle, glanced at the camera that was turned away and was about to take action…

“Yu Le?” Tang Yibu’s voice came from behind one of the gas masks. “What are you doing here?”

“…” Yu Le wanted to wipe his face. He slowly hid the gun but couldn’t help wiping the gas mask instead. “I’m going to find someone to extort and sell favors. That little girl is shipping imitation cybernetic brains here.”

The shorter one nodded. “We know.”

“Awesome, did you go to the prostitute hall for a lap and play around, and now you have a full understanding?” Yu Le sighed in a low voice.

“What message did you ask π to send?” Ruan Xian couldn’t help laughing for a while. Through the gas mask, he could feel the signature innocence of Tang Yibu’s face. “…Never mind.”

“Anyway, that’s the news I have. Do you have any plans you want to share?” Yu Le turned around and raised his chin towards the door in front of him. “My suggestion is to go in—”

“Go in and get some information, create some chaos, and then hide,” Ruan Xian whispered quickly. “If someone is invading and robbing this place, Qian Yigeng will check and transfer his most valuable things. If he really has the mind access needle like Ji Xiaoman said, we can determine its location.”

“Wow, heroes, we see eye to eye.” While the camera was turned away, Yu Le shook his head. “We can’t be exposed now, Xiao Ruan. I’m not good at this high-tech shit. Do you have a quiet way of opening this door? Hey, Tang Yibu, what’s the matter with you? Why are you standing behind me? I’m sick and tired of having men standing behind my ass.”

Ruan Xian didn’t hold back this time and tried to rub his temples through the mask. He looked away and said nothing.

“Now is not the time to be exposed,” Tang Yibu responded solemnly.

“Didn’t I just fucking say it?”

“The back of your pants is split open,” Tang Yibu continued to say solemnly. “Your red underpants are too conspicuous. I have to block it.”

“…Can I kill you two now?”

“Can’t.”

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The author has something to say:

Lao Yu: I’m better off just shooting the both of you.

An unhappy meeting with their teacher (???

Ruan and Tang are too crazy now (…), They are going to collide with each other XD

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 73: The Mechanical Hunter

Yu Le’s interest abruptly rose. He arched his waist, hid behind a large crab-like mechanical life corpse, carefully pushed away an oily metal leg with his hand, and looked silently not far away.

The infrared scanner embedded in the lens of the gas mask worked dutifully, and the shadows of the two human shapes were exceptionally clear. Ji Xiaoman looked barely over 1.6 meters; about a head shorter than He An. The infrared scan couldn’t scan her expression, so Yu Le could only see that she wasn’t looking up.

“I haven’t done anything shady. Why can’t I follow you?” He An’s tone was brisk. “It’s my obligation to ensure that you deliver on time. You know why.”

“Does your partner know?” Ji Xiaoman pulled out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the tissue fluid of the mechanical life on her hand.

He An’s figure stiffened, and his voice became cold. “Don’t mention A’Yu in front of me.”

“I also said not to follow.” Ji Xiaoman’s tone was colder than ever before. “You see, everyone has the right to privacy.”

“Delivery’s at 8. It’s half past 6 now. You used to need at least half an hour to get there. You still have one hour to prepared.” He An’s smile completely disappeared. “If I were you, I would go back and prepare the goods instead of hunting in the junkyard. Even if you’re the best mechanical hunter, Qian Yigeng will not let you go easily.”

“I know.”

“Just know, if you die now, it will be very troublesome on my side.” He An sounds like an emotionless android. “How is my stuff?”

“Still repairing. If you don’t bother me to collect parts, I can fix it faster. Now… I don’t know when it will be fixed.” Ji Xiaoman seemed to want to play an indifferent game with He An.

He An snorted, turned his head and left. Yu Le sucked in a helpless breath and continued observing. Ji Xiaoman stayed in place for a few seconds and slashed the nearest mechanical life corpse next to her. She didn’t cry, but her chest fluctuated sharply, and then she continued to dismember the slimy corpses.

Yu Le played his role dutifully as the leader of the pirates and followed her all the way back to the store and only slipped in lightly 8 minutes after she entered the door.

There was a large basin on the counter, and the warm water was steaming a little. The parts she just got were soaked in the basin, with big drops of oil floating in the water. Ji Xiaoman had her back to the door and was cleaning them carefully with her awl-like fingertips. She had five small wooden boxes in her hand.

One of them was wide open, revealing its contents…

The slightly transparent hemispherical device was lying on a soft cloth. Ji Xiaoman didn’t even need tweezers. With a gentle pinch of her fingertips, the tiny pieces sank into the soft gel and returned to their place obediently. Then she used a spoon-like tool to hold the squirming glue, revealing the dazzling structure inside the device. The metal fingertips of the other hand began to turn red. The red-hot sharp metal was attached to the internal parts, making a sizzling melting sound.

After doing all this, she breathed a sigh of relief, pulled back her fingertips, and waited for the glue wrapped around the internal parts to spit out. Not long after, the interior of the completed device began to flicker slightly. The blue light filaments continued to disappear in the glue, like some kind of undiscovered deep-sea jellyfish.

There was no satisfaction on her face in completing the work, only deep sorrow. After hesitating for a few seconds, she picked up a needle and pierced it without mercy. The hemispherical device the size of a human brain was full of blue light, and then it slowly went out.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “That’s all I can do… I’m sorry.”

“Let me guess, this is an imitation cybernetic brain?” Yu Le leaned against the wall and spoke lazily. Ji Xiaoman froze on the spot and only remembered to turn around after a long while. It’s just that when she turned her head back, a few bullets also rushed straight at Yu Le.

After Yu Le made a sound, he changed his position with foresight, and the bullets only left a few dark holes in the wall.

Seeing that the other party dodged the bullet, it wasn’t clear whether Ji Xiaoman’s expression was relieved or worried.

“It seems so. Don’t be nervous, I don’t plan to rob you.” Yu Xuan raised his hands and made a gesture of surrender. “If I wanted to rob you, I would have given you two shots from behind. It doesn’t look like you want my life. Anyways, since we’re idle, let’s talk about it.”

“No time.” Ji Xiaoman held a gun in one hand and quickly packed the wooden box in the other. She stuffed them into a huge backpack and carried them neatly. “Raise your hands high and put your back to the wall. Don’t move.”

“Oh, if you weren’t such an uptight little miss, this would sound even more exciting… Hey, don’t shoot. Don’t shoot. I’ll just lie down!” Yu Le took in a breath towards the bullet hole that was just added to the wall by the side of his face.

Ji Xiaoman stretched her face, quickly bypassed the scattered debris and furnishings in the store and slipped out flexibly like a snake. Almost in the next second, the sound of something being locked came from outside the door. Yu Le patted the dust on the wall and snorted.

“In the end, she’s just a little girl. Too soft.”

The door was locked tightly, and the glass couldn’t be broken. Yu Le folded a few metal wires from the shop, dragged over a generator, and broke the lock with a few electrical pulses. He casually threw away his insulated gloves and rushed out of the store. Ji Xiaoman’s figure happened to disappear at the end of the road.

Yu Le kicked on the door of the store, and the click of the electronic lock took effect again, then he followed her. It was just that this time, the slender figure of the little girl had been completely engulfed by the fog.

Yu Le wasn’t bothered by this. He raised his hand and grabbed the young man smoking on the street by the metal ring on his lips and threatened him. “Where did that little girl go just now?”

The young man with colorful dyed hair glanced up and down at Yu Le’s physique, succumbed to the other party’s sturdy arms and pirate aura, and shivered, then pointed in a direction. Even if the fog was pervasive, Yu Le could clearly see the bright neon lights behind the fog.

“Hey, things are getting more and more fun.” Yu Le let go of the young man and snatched the other party’s cigarette. He tore off the cigarette butt in disgust and took in a breath. “It’s just a little girl. Don’t think laozi can’t handle you.”

On the side of a building not far away.

The car finally came to a halt, and the air circulated again. Their iron boxes seemed to be placed on the inside of the car as they could hear people outside moving things out one by one. They should be in a corner of a warehouse right now. Ruan Xian could smell rusty metal, mold, and a little bit of spoiled gasoline.

“What about those two inside? Don’t let them freeze.” The flower peacock sounded worried about the quality of the goods. “It’s good to have fresh cells. We all know that it will be more valuable…”

“They’re two big men. It’ll be fine. It just for a while. Have you finished the scan? Send the photos and scan results to Boss Qian first. Anyway, it’s going to be closed for a day and night to frustrate their spirits. Just send them to a warmer place later.”

As he spoke, he knocked on the box. “Do you hear me? A day and night. If you want to suffer less, be honest! Come on, don’t worry. The heartbeat displayed is normal and their entire body scan has come out. I’ll pass it on to you later. First…”

Ruan Xian didn’t respond, and Tang Yibu obediently pretended to be dead.

“It has been sent to Boss Qian, but I have to take another look…” Flower peacock walked over by himself. “Yes, these two are really strong, and their body temperature is safe. Let’s just—”

[There are only two of them nearby.] Ruan Xian sent the message through the earring.

“The power system of the car has also been shut down, and there should be no surveillance on the car.” Tang Yibu responded softly. “Do it?”

[Do it.]

“There is someone whispering inside… What are you whispering about? Speak louder and let laozi listen, yeah?” Flower peacock was just about to beat the iron box when a hand directly broke through the metal wall like it was made of paper-machete and grabbed his wrist.

“Fuck—” Before he could finish, he was knocked out on the spot by the person who jumped out of the box. The other didn’t even draw his gun and instead turned around and tried to run, but Ruan Xian, who had followed Tang Yibu out, kicked his knees and slashed the back of his neck with a knife.

The whole process took no more than three seconds.

Flower peacock and the other man were both dressed in suits like dogs, but they obviously didn’t fit well, and there were many creases and wrinkles. Tang Yibu compared the figures of the two of them, happily removed their coats and gas masks, and stuffed the two unlucky bastards with only their underwear into the metal box.

The electronic wristbands of the two were also specially taken off, and he handed Ruan Xian the one that flower peacock wore.

“It smells like smoke.” Ruan Xian wrinkled his nose in disgust, twisting flower peacock’s suit with his two fingers. The air in the warehouse was still muggy, but the metallic sour stench was slightly lighter than outside, so it wasn’t suitable for breathing.

“The bathrobe is too easy to expose.” Tang Yibu quickly put on his suit, and the clothes that looked baggy on the other person were completely propped up, with a bit more elegant taste. It was a pity that with a gas mask that came with this terrifying atmosphere, the matching effect was instantly subdued.

“I know.” Ruan Xian kicked off his bathrobe and put on his shirt and suit in spite of his nausea. He plugged the mouth of the two comatose men with their bathrobes and then took the gas mask off flower peacock. “I’ll leave the rest to you, Yibu.”

“…It seems that our cooperative relationship has deepened.” Knowing that there were no outsiders this time, and the other party didn’t need to act, Tang Yibu digested how he was addressed for a few seconds*. “But this isn’t fair. Ruan Lijie is definitely not your real name. What should I call you? Xiao Ruan? Or Ruanruan?”

*Clarity: In Chinese and some Asian culture, calling someone by just their first name is very intimate. Since they were acting like a couple, Ruan Xian calls Tang Yibu by just his first name showing off their closeness. Now, with no one around, there’s no need to act, but Ruan Xian calls him Yibu anyways, showing that Ruan Xian regards him as someone close to him.

Ruan Xian shivered. “Mr. Ruan is fine.”

“Mr. Ruan.” Tang Yibu sounded a little dejected. He made sure that the mouths of the two people in the box were gagged and their hands tied tightly by the bathrobe belt, he squeezed the metal box like squeezing playdough and sealed it tightly. He tried his best to flatten the breach, but unfortunately, with no welding device, the gap was still stubbornly cracked. Tang Yibu took some scraps from the metal box and carefully filled it in.

“Almost done?” Ruan Xian straightened the collar of his suit. “We’re not staying here.”

Only then did Tang Yibu stop his obsessive-compulsive behavior, and he turned his attention to the bulging handbag next to the box. Ruan Xian also picked up one. They exuded the smell of fresh blood that made him very concerned.

He hesitated for a while, opened the zipper, and almost dropped the bag—not from fear, but from complete shock.

The bag was stuffed with preservative agents and a human head.

The head belongs to a young man with an honest and innocent face, almost cowardly and not handsome at all. His expression was frozen in fear and pleading, and there were tears on his face.

Ruan Xian slowly pulled back the zipper and sighed. “Now we know where that personality data came from.”

“The personality data that constructs artificial intelligence can be reused, and the body can be copied. Only the cybernetic brain hardware is left.” Tang Yibu grabbed the two bags. “We have to move them out first, so as not to make people suspicious…”

Before Tang Yibu’s voice fell, a man approached the car. Even if there was a mask buttoned on his face, Ruan Xian turned his face toward the shadow subconsciously. Tang Yibu squatted down, hid his physique, and pretended he was handling his handbag.

“Loach, Piebald? Boss Qian is very satisfied with the new products, Piebald. You don’t need to do this anymore. Just wait outside the door. He said that he will see you two first thing after he finishes receiving the goods.”

“Got it.” Tang Yibu responded. His voice was exactly the same as the man who was talking to flower peacock. “Didn’t you say 8? It’s only half past 7. There’s still half an hour left.”

“Boss Qian wants you to wait, so wait. Don’t speak nonsense. Why don’t you two go outside for a drink. Are you that eager to want to work so much?”

“Let’s go now.” Tang Yibu turned his back, hooked Ruan Xian’s neck, and pressed down on the blood gun in the other party’s hand. This time he used the voice of the peacock “Piebald”.

Having said that, they slipped out of the car along the blind corner of the man’s vision. In a dignified manner, he passed by the man who began to bend his waist and organize the head in the bag, and then lowered his head to pass by another group of people who came to help.

Outside the warehouse was a maze-like corridor. It could be seen that other buildings have been temporarily remodeled, and many rooms were firmly welded tightly by metal plates. Cameras rotated in all corners. Ruan Xian recalled flower peacock’s floating steps and imitated them as best he could. He reluctantly followed the instructions of what was said and tried his best not to show any hesitation.

There were scattered people passing by them on the road. They were also wearing ill-fitted suits and their faces were covered by gas masks. Several people still had dark, suspicious stains on their clothes. Ruan Xian was happy that everyone ignored them as no one came to greet them.

There were only stairs leading underground.

As the two of them descended step by step, there were fewer abandoned doors that were sealed and more prison doors that smelled of blood and rot behind them. The decoration of the corridors was also getting more elaborate. They flowed through a river of whimpers and cries for help until they walked into more gorgeous lights.

The floor under their feet had changed from a cracked cement to ceramic tiles and velvet fleece. The spray paint patterns full of dirty characters around them had become reproductions of oil paintings. The air began to become fresh, and the rancid smell and calls for help gradually faded behind them. However, in the end, Qian Yigeng wasn’t a researcher. Ruan Xian used his peripheral vision to scan the surrounding environment. The style of the cameras hadn’t changed from beginning to end. Their placement was scattered and left a lot of blind spots.

The first few isolated doors could be entered by simply swiping their wristband, while the last one had more thought and was changed to iris scans in addition to fingerprint recognition. This obstacle obviously couldn’t stop Tang Yibu. He was about to press his palm upwards…

Ruan Xian grabbed his wrist.

“There are not many voices inside, and there’s nothing special in there,” he whispered. “Go over there first. I heard something else.”

Tang Yibu stopped obediently and dragged Ruan Xian to the other corner of the corridor maze. After unknowingly passing through several similar doors, Tang Yibu repeated his old tricks and had to manually crack the electronic lock in front of him. Ruan Xian smiled and shook his head and opened the door with the electronic wristband he took from flower peacock.

“This will leave traces.” Tang Yibu raised his eyebrows.

“What I want is to leave a trace.” Ruan Xian winked before walking in. “There’s a person inside, very close to the door. Get ready.”

The door creaked softly, and as soon as the man sitting in the chair was about to turn his head, he was directly hit on the back of the head by the wristband thrown by Tang Yibu and fainted softly to the ground.

 “I get it.” The android raised his head and looked at the countless light screens floating in front of him…

This was the surveillance room.

“I prefer to spend time here rather than waiting.” Ruan Xian jumped on the console and sat down without any scruples. Tang Yibu supported his waist and operated the surveillance program skillfully.

“I like it more here too.” The android sounded extremely happy, as if he had gotten a new toy. “Let me clear out a few retreat routes first.”

“Help me see if there is a research room or data room.”

Ruan Xian slowly raised the other party’s arm and jumped back to the ground from the side gap. He casually pulled up dozens of light screen groups and looked at them one by one.

“I’m going to see if there’s anything in the cells just now… Yibu?”

Tang Yibu’s movements stopped abruptly, and he suddenly stiffened. In the dense light screens, one of them stopped moving in front of Tang Yibu. There was no one there, and it looked ordinary.

After Ruan Xian got closer, he discovered the source of the other party’s stiffness…

A mechanical wheelchair was parked in the corner of the room that looked a lot like a collection room, with fine details and looked very familiar.

…That was the wheelchair of his “other self”.

---

The author has something to say:

Ruan: Yibu.

Tang: Mr. Ruan.

Tang: Xiao Ruan.

Tang: Ruanruan.

Tang: Dad (×

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 72: Patrons

The box was loaded into a car, which made the flow of air suddenly slow down. The stench of corpses and excrement penetrated deep through the air holes, making people’s stomachs churn. The temperature in the car was surprisingly low, which quickly cooled the bathrobe that was desperately absorbing the heat from one’s skin. In comparison to the current high temperature in the room, it could be said to be equivalent to the treatment of pulling someone out of a fire and sticking them in ice.

Even if they had drunk two glasses of champagne mixed with drugs, they wouldn’t have dehydrated for some time. Putting two ordinary people in this environment, let alone escaping, it would be rare that they would even have the courage to move. Unfortunately, the two said people that were locked up weren’t normal humans.

Ruan Xian paid attention and silently recorded the speed, bumps, and steering as he hid the two blood guns in his bathrobe. Tang Yibu hugged his back, intending to reduce the speed of heat loss. They lay quietly in the box, dutifully playing the act of two passed-out men.

“I just took a look. The quality of their faces and figures is quite good. Thanks to you, we found two shells at once. Boss Qian is worried that there aren’t new products to launch. Great work, kid. You made a good contribution.” Ruan Xian paid careful attention again—this voice didn’t sound like it belonged to flower peacock, so it was probably one of the helpers he had called.

“It’s a pity it’s two men. It would be nice if they were women.” Flower peacock tried his best to hide the pride in his voice, pretending to be modest. “Men’s sales still aren’t strong.”

“Nonsense. Those beauties will obviously sell well. They’re still fresh, so they can be regarded as cash cows for those stores in the west district.” The man who was talking to flower peacock clicked his tongue twice. “Everyone knows that a core is easy to make these days, but the shell, not quite so much. Besides, think about what you sell. There are female customers, you know.”

“It’s also a recent thing that the core is easy to get,” flower peacock muttered. “Technical talents can always be found. Maybe one day they won’t make synthetic monsters anymore, and they can really make beautiful shells that can survive. At that time, we won’t have to hunt anymore. All problems are solved by just taking a few pictures. It’s not like now…”

“Hide your sneer before you complain. Fuck, I’m jealous. Why didn’t these white faces fall into my hands…”

After a sharp turn, the car continued to move forward. Ruan Xian frowned in the dark.

The words “core” and “shell” gave him a bad association.

“Do you know how to drive?”

A scream of pain sounded after the sound of a body bumping against a hard object. Flower peacock gritted his teeth.

“Jealous? Why don’t you talk to Boss Qian? Aren’t there so many styles that are still in season? Get them back and toss them around. Change up their clothes and hairstyle. Except for your regular customers, who would recognize them. Anyway, the organic printer is still in Boss Qian’s hands. As long as there’s fresh cell data, there will be as many shells as you want. If you ask me, although core hardware is easy to get, it’s the high-end personality data that’s key. The face will only attract people at most, but it’s the temperament that will retain them. Look at Tiantian in my shop. I refresh her memory once a week, so week after week she’s like a blazing horse, and the customers love it.”

Organic printer. This wasn’t the first time Ruan Xian had heard of this thing. When they were still in the forest refuge, the people in the refuge tried to use it to print the internal organs for their leader, Tian He. He still remembered the headless body rolling down the sink.

“It’s easy to just stand there and talk.” The man sneered. “Forget it. It’s not interesting to argue about this. Guess which stores these two behind us will be rewarded to?”

“It’s hard to say. Maybe the people on Boss Qian’s side will take them for themselves. Might as well bet that the android in the back will have its memories edited. Anyways, the taming period is only a week or two. The gang isn’t interested in keeping little sheep.”

Tang Yibu made a vague voice from his throat, which sounded a bit like a sneer. In the icy environment, the android was like a small burning stove, continuously emitting a steady stream of heat. The conversation in front of the car disappeared, and Ruan Xian shrank back and turned his face.

“Why are you in a bad mood?” he asked.

Tang Yibu was just staring at an old scratch mark on the wall of the box. The scratcher’s finger must have been torn, leaving a few bloodstains on the dull metal that was now rust-like auburn. Hearing Ruan Xian’s voice, he slowly turned his gaze back.

He wasn’t sure if he was seeing things, but Ruan Xian always felt that Tang Yibu’s gaze was slightly different from before.

“What do you mean? What state am I in that you consider it a bad mood?” The android began to ask questions rapidly.

“Ji Xiaoman’s shop. You heard that Qian Yigeng has the mind access needle for cybernetic brains, and after that you haven’t been quite right.” Ruan Xian mouthed the words so low that it was almost silent.

This wasn’t a good sign. His thick, cautious wall was collapsing, revealing the aggressive, hard thorns behind it. Ruan Xian knew that what happened not long ago was nothing more than a superficial affection between different species, and he shouldn’t be shaken by such a trivial matter.

However, once the demon in his heart was released, he didn’t want to return it to the box honestly. It frantically scratched the shell he had built for many years, and the instinct wrapped in it began to penetrate outward—the pitch-black caution was gradually stained with crimson madness, but this only made Ruan Xian feel happier than ever before. He once thought that he was just surviving dryly for a certain promise, or he was self-abusive and firmly believed that he, someone who nurtured a demon in his heart, wouldn’t die easily.

Now it seemed that his adoptive mother, Meng Yun, was right. Survival could also be very interesting.

He stared at Tang Yibu’s outline in the dark. His heartbeat didn’t slow down, just like a person who was locked in a black and white room and saw color for the first time.

“…” Tang Yibu rolled over, and for the first time, turned his back to Ruan Xian. Ruan Xian took a breath and poked the other’s back persistently.

“I don’t want instability around me. Tell me.”

The android remained silent.

“Okay, I’m a little worried about your state.” Ruan Xian slyly changed his statement and wiped the remaining blood stains on his face. He began to gradually master the knack of dealing with Tang Yibu—the android was purer than he had thought.

Tang Yibu turned his face slightly and glanced at Ruan Xian with the remaining light. After a few seconds, he slowly opened his mouth. “He’s not that kind of person.”

“…You mean Ruan Xian?”

“Well, although he is cruel, as far as I know, Ruan Xian rarely touches that kind of thing.” Tang Yibu’s voice was a bit muffled. The edges of the bathrobe soaked in blood and sweat had been frozen, becoming cold and hard. “Including his previous speeches to survivors everywhere, Ruan Xian has an almost extreme advocacy for the naturalness of personality and memory, which is one of the reasons why he firmly opposes MUL-01’s control of everything.”

“However, there were still androids in his time.” Ruan Xian carefully guided the topic.

“The existing prototype of the old-fashioned cybernetic brain was invented by Fan Linsong.” Tang Yibu turned back and curled up next to Ruan Xian. “At first it was only used for medical purposes and was strictly restricted thus Ruan Xian reluctantly agreed to this approach. Later, Plan Corp stole the core knowledge of cybernetic brain manufacturing and developed its own commercial cybernetic brain, and androids were officially born. Even if Ruan Xian had a lot of influence, it was impossible to beat a rival company with just one finger.”

“Medical use?”

“Symptoms such as brain damage and brain atrophy are induced by various causes. The human brain that has irrevocable damage would no doubt die within a period of time. At the beginning, the cybernetic brains were initially given to the families of these patients. They were able to extract the patient’s memories and personality data, put them in the cybernetic brain that’s highly similar to the function of a human brain, and then replace it with the human brain. This created an artificial intelligence that’s no different from me.”

Tang Yibu’s breathing made a white mist in the darkness.

“Physically, people started this alternative approach very early. Artificial heart, artificial lungs, artificial stomach… but this time it’s the brain. Family members need to sign countless confidentiality agreements before they can do this. Later, this project was revealed, and people called it the ’Farewell Project’. Since the start of this, Ruan Xian’s opposition hasn’t stopped.”

“Continue.” Ruan Xian also exhaled a white mist. His fingertips brushed Tang Yibu’s eyelids, causing the latter to scratch his head in surprise.

“Plan Corp went the other way. They used mechanical human tissue to make a shell, infused the cybernetic brain with artificial intelligence programs, and directly created androids, and put them into various fields such as escort, housekeeping, exploration of hazardous areas, extreme scientific research, and the like. Of course, the pornography industry certainly didn’t fall behind… These industries are too profitable, and Ruan Xian’s opposition didn’t have much effect. After all, machine life was put on the market some years ago, and the public’s acceptance was already high.”

“Then he went to research the Prototype?”

“Well, after that, Ruan Xian devoted himself to the research of mechanical weapons and instrumentation. The research on artificial intelligence didn’t stop. Later, the reason why they were not swallowed by Plan Corp was entirely due to the excellent derivative products of the three Prototypes… Of course, he and Fan Linsong also used androids as tools in their work, but unless there were extreme circumstances, they wouldn’t inject any data, let alone commercial behavior. Ruan Xian said…”

The corners of Tang Yibu’s mouth twitched, showing a strange expression that was a bit distorted.

“Ruan Xian said that tools are just tools, and human nature cannot be blasphemed. The public’s cognition hasn’t yet matured, and society has not yet had the ability to fully control artificial intelligence. Allowing android to develop in the market, Plan Corp is challenging human ethics.”

Ruan Xian suddenly found that his limbs were really cold, and he slowly exhaled. In his own right, he might also oppose the commercialization of androids too rashly, but the reason would never be this.

“You mean…” He swallowed. “Ruan Xian believes that the cybernetic brain carrying artificial intelligence is a ‘pure tool’?”

“Isn’t that what you are? Infused with human memory, you’re a perfect weapon for MUL-01.” Tang Yibu lowered his eyes. “I can still imagine why he gave the Prototype a personality setting, but if he’s using the mind access needle, I can’t think of a reason.”

“It seems that when we find him, I have to have a good talk with him,” Ruan Xian murmured.

“Then it depends on how much Mr. Qian Yigeng knows.” Tang Yibu patted the top of his head lightly.

At the same time, the front of the car was also lively.

“How long are we on this broken road? I need to pee,” flower peacock cried out indifferently.

“What’s the hurry. We just have to arrive before eight. Boss Qian collects the cybernetic brain first, and then he’ll come talk to us about this matter. Damn, I really envy that girl Ji Xiaoman. She sure seems busy, making so many imitation cybernetic brains day after day. That’s enough for laozi to eat, drink, and have fun for a week.”

“Oh,” Tang Yibu added flatly, “It seems that Miss Ji has also hidden a lot of information.”

Metal disposal dump.

“Who?” Ji Xiaoman’s voice was hoarse, and all the blades on her prosthetic limbs popped out. Yu Le neatly drew out the gun and held his breath. He was unfamiliar with life in this shitty place, and there was a group of mechanical life interfering. Although his opponent was just a little girl, he didn’t have much confidence in winning.

It was either face her head on or cause a distraction, and while she’s unprepared…

“Me.” Before Yu Le could make up his mind, another voice answered her. “Very keen, Xiaoman.”

“He An.” Ji Xiaoman’s voice became cold. “I said, don’t follow me.”

“Qian Yigeng is about to receive the goods, but you’re hunting here. I have to ask.” He An’s voice came from behind the gas mask, full of smiles.

“You can’t let your patron wait too long.”

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 71: Vortex

‘Can’t be bewitched,’ Ruan Xian thought.

However, everything around him was degenerating. Artificial sunlight poured in from the fake floor-to-ceiling windows, and the blue sky reflected in the windows was like a fine sapphire. The bed under him was soft and comfortable, and there was a terrible sweet fragrance floating in the hot air. Ruan Xian didn’t know whether the incense was taking effect on him or whether the gradual burning of his breathing was due to the drug or the fingertips passing through the skin.

Not long after taking a shower, his bathrobe was tied very loose, and now they were completely scattered under him, soaked in a dark red by the blood gushing from Tang Yibu’s knife.

‘This is the enemy’s territory,’ Ruan Xian kept reminding himself.

His nerves were stretched to the point where they may break at any moment, and his thinking began to become blurred. The blood mixed with the sweet fragrance impacted his sense of smell, and the other person’s body temperature and breathing began to make Ruan Xian’s brain blank. He could hear his thunderous heartbeat, a mixture of fear, excitement, and unfamiliar stimuli that kept rising, causing his to go numb and his hair to stand upright.

“Can you hear me as well?”

Even though the blade was deeply buried in the android’s chest, Tang Yibu tightened his arms and increased the intensity of the hug. The other party’s breathing still carried moisture from his shower. His voice had a bit of fragile expectation, like cicada wings, that made Ruan Xian feel that his heart was suddenly contracting.

“I don’t understand.” His voice was hoarse, unlike his own.

He wanted to pull out the knife and separate everything with violence, but it was a pity that the fruit knife was dull. It was deeply sucked into the wound, and there wasn’t much room for movement under his opponent’s body.

Blood still kept gushing out continuously from the wound.

“People always see things by their own standards, and the same is true of androids set up by humans. I have never seen an exception.” Tang Yibu supported his body with his left arm and elbow, gently stroking Ruan Xian’s wet hair. His eyes were weird and eager, like a scalpel which could peel away the soul layer by layer.

The premise being that there was such thing as a soul. Ruan Xian swallowed and couldn’t help but raise the corner of his mouth.

Tang Yibu’s way of communicating had always been self-centered, but he understood it this time. Perhaps it was because he understood the same kind of loneliness, like a deep scar—Tang Yibu was indeed a human zoologist as he claimed to be. However, zoologists always have a period of time where they stay with their own group and make their findings public.

But Tang Yibu had nowhere to go back to.

And neither did he.

Ruan Xian didn’t think that people had to be associated with someone. Except for simple creatures, “others” were a necessary reference for groups with complex emotions and thinking.

Whether it was through others or books, people had to have a channel to define whether their feelings were “normal”. He had read in books that the greatest joy in life was finding a loved one—whether it be a friend, lover, or relative, the moment that joy and pain were understood could be shared.

People created languages, stories, and carried emotions and cognitions that had been repeated countless times; then they try to communicate and express their own thoughts; everything built within that fixed boundary.

And side effects also followed.

Due to the inferiority of biology, people always subconsciously regarded themselves as the right side. Individuals who didn’t recognize them are deemed to be objectively inferior. Even if they misunderstood the meaning of others, they would certainly use self-awareness as a criterion for judgment. Although people were destined to not understand each other, they could respect and help each other to a certain extent. However, with the excessive development of social channels, respect had become a rarity, and arrogance and ego that were eager to be different had become more rampant.

While information got richer, the crowd was getting lazier to listen to and watch. This exacerbated the deterioration of the situation.

Even in normal people, people began to pick out some different voices as outliers. From aesthetic inclinations, facial characteristics, moral cognition, sexual orientation, and even innate imperfections, everything could be used as a heterogeneous standard.

Ruan Xian once looked at the quagmire. He could understand the actions of those people and analyze their motivations, but he had nowhere to record them. Unlike sociologists, as a person who was implicitly excluded from the “human circle”, the things he recorded weren’t destined to be politically correct and would only cause himself greater trouble.

Emotions were another aspect.

A true outlier had no scale of measurement. What they carried would all turn into a dark unknown. There was no comparison. They didn’t know how deep the dark river in front of them was, or how far the abyss was from them. No amount of power could make up for this emptiness. For ordinary people, true sense of security came from sufficient and transparent information. However, from his own point of view, the more he knew, the deeper the despair that followed.

But, for some reason, he insisted on living, blindly waiting for a turning point that might not exist; it was like shouting at an abandoned well that was doomed to not respond…

Disengaged from the position given by society and the population, away from self-righteousness and self-preservation instinct, could he hear him?

Ruan Xian raised his head again and looked into the golden eyes that he liked. This time, on the back that had a sense of detachment, he saw loneliness and confusion similar to his.

Funny enough, for the first time, he felt the ease of mind of being understood, and it was actually from a mechanical being that lacked human breath.

Tang Yibu’s hands were warm and powerful, his skin was smooth and taut, the muscles under him were full of vigorous vitality, but his head was wrapped in a cold human-made substance. The high temperature of the room was mixed with rich blood that made Ruan Xian pant even more severely. The blood in his body was burning under the effects of hormones, but he had never felt so alive.

He seemed to be standing on the edge of a vortex, dragged to the center by its deadly attraction, trying to escape in the opposite direction, and finally lingering.

Right now, he could feel the vague longing of the other party’s confusion. Maybe he could temporarily release the demon in his heart, completely abandon the morality disguise he used, and let go of everything in this alienated embrace for a few minutes.

Ruan Xian stretched out his hand and choked Tang Yibu’s throat fiercely. He forcibly pushed his opponent’s half an arm’s distance away, and then abruptly pulled out the blade stuck in the opponent’s chest; his movements were crisp and neat.

The hot blood splattered on his face as Tang Yibu’s cheek became a little pale. Ruan Xian didn’t hesitate. He pulled the warm body back and kissed him without even blinking.

Unlike the previous “treatments” that seemed like a task, this time he bit on the other’s lips like a beast and awkwardly kissed the person in front of him.

Tang Yibu’s breathing became slow, and his left hand slid from the wet black hair to the bridge of Ruan Xian’s nose and lips, as if he wanted to remember the outline and details of that face with his touch. Neither of them closed their eyes. Ruan Xian saw his own reflection in those golden eyes, and the other’s pupils contracted with his every movement, indicating he was extremely focused.

…Even now he didn’t forget to observe and record. Such a competent researcher. Ruan Xian’s smile grew even stronger.

After the long burning kiss, he was finally able to open his mouth and breathed with all his might, as if he had never breathed before. It may be that the effect of the treatment wasn’t ideal, as the next moment, Ruan Xian’s lower lip stung—Tang Yibu slowly bit his lip, his teeth pierced the soft skin, and he began to suck his blood like a vampire.

The initial organic components in the blood quickly took effect The red incision that was still hideous just now had quickly healed, together with the burns on the android’s arm.

As the last corner of the scar disappeared, Tang Yibu finally let go of Ruan Xian’s lips and licked the blood remaining on the side of the other party’s face. His eyes were full of an unquestionable predatory aura. Ruan Xian took a few deep breaths, quickly regained his breathing rhythm, and cruelly amplified his perception—The pain and unprecedented feelings caused by the wound almost boiled his brain.

He was undoubtedly alive and had never been so alive.

“Don’t overdo it. I need to preserve my strength…” He grabbed Tang Yibu’s hair tightly. The android was dripping in blood as he was carefully applying something to his forehead.

“I know. Also, your hormone level needs to be lowered.” Tang Yibu’s expression was innocent as he observed Ruan Xian’s reaction without blinking.

“Well, nasty zoologist… What are you recording?” Ruan Xian muttered intermittently, knowing very well that the complex feelings rising in his heart had been out of the scope of acting, but he truly didn’t care—he reached out his hand, touched Tang Yibu’s soft ear with his fingertips, and quietly felt the warmth of blood dripping down.

Since the bloodstains didn’t disappear, it meant that this blood didn’t belong to him.

“We have done this exercise.” Tang Yibu wiped the remaining blood around his lips.

“I know… You are writing your name… Why?” Ruan Xian panted a little bit.

“Self-satisfaction” had never existed in his life. The flower peacock was probably impatient as the temperature in the room was undoubtedly rising. The exquisite ceiling composed of illusions was swaying. The temperature of the air was about 34 degrees? 35 degrees? His eyes glazed over a bit.

“You are my most special collection.” Tang Yibu raised his head and bit the tip of his nose again. “Just like Yu Le said… I put my name on my things so no one else will take it away.”

“Listen.” Ruan Xian regained a little sanity from his dizziness. “I’m not your thing, I’m not anyone’s… Uh.”

“Then I hope you are mine,” Tang Yibu said in a low voice, increasing the strength of his strokes. ‘It’s definitely revenge,’ Ruan Xian thought. The magnified perception made him rolled his eyes. “Will you be mine?”

“No.” Ruan Xian gritted his teeth.

“Then don’t leave me.” A few seconds later, the android continued in a very bargaining tone.

“Why?” Ruan Xian almost laughed. The muscle trembling caused by the smile made him exhale a breath of cold air.

“I don’t know.” Tang Yibu looked more confused. “But if I were to throw away the things around me one by one… You’ll be the last one I’ll throw away.”

“This is really the worst sweet talk I’ve ever heard.” Ruan Xian held down the back of the other party’s head impatiently as he took a deep inhale—Tang Yibu’s warm and moist breath sprayed on the side of his face, and the palm of his hand was warm and rough.

“According to my observations, you haven’t heard much sweet—”

“Shut up.” Ruan Xian pulled on Tang Yibu’s hair in retaliation and bit into his throat. His emotions were instantly blank.

“Well, there’s enough now that it looks authentic.” Tang Yibu lazily propped up his body. He reached for the tissue next to the pillow and casually wiped his hands, which were wet with blood and other liquids. “Do you want to continue? The problem on my side hasn’t been solved, or do you plan to open the bottle of champagne now and bring them in…”

Ruan Xian covered his eyes with one hand and laughed in a low voice.

“I’m really crazy,” he declared a little happily.

“I have a similar appearance and structure to people, so it’s normal for you to react.” Tang Yibu started his own plan to write his name again. “In theory, eating and intimacy will bring pleasure. In practice, it feels good. There’s no risk of information leakage or uncontrollable physiological problems between you and me. Further attempts can be made—”

“No, you don’t understand.” Ruan Xian still had a smile on his face. “I thought it was abnormal that killing people would not produce guilt… Now it seems that making out with a different species won’t work either. I’m officially crazy and this deserves a drink.”

Ignoring the blood and sweat on his body, he lazily moved and reached for the bottle of champagne half buried in ice.

Tang Yibu was faster than him. With a grunt, he grabbed the bottle and swallowed two pieces of ice.

“Looks like I don’t have time to solve my problem.” The android crunched the ice. “I have to manually adjust the hormone and blood distribution…”

“How convenient.” Ruan Xian didn’t bother to pull on his bathrobe and poured two glasses. “Come one, try what’s in here first, baby.”

“Powerful sleeping pills, for both a human and an old-fashioned cybernetic brain.” Tang Yibu took a sip. The residual blood on his lips stained the glass. He leaned close to Ruan Xian’s ear and commented in an impartial tone. “They will come five minutes after we drink it, but it shouldn’t work on you and me.” After all, you can metabolize it quickly and I just ingested your blood.”

“Oh, I thought your cybernetic brain was different from ordinary cybernetic brains,” Ruan Xian whispered back, and touched Tang Yibu’s cheek with a cold hand. “Cheers?”

“…Cheers,” Tang Yibu paused before he responded with a smile.

Five minutes later, Ruan Xian obediently closed his eyes and took a long breath. Flower peacock was already wandering outside the door, but this time there were more footsteps, and he wasn’t the only one outside.

The door opening sounded, but Ruan Xian wasn’t worried about the other party’s suspicion—There was still the sound of water and the girl’s sobbing coming from the bathroom, and the air was full of an ambiguous smell mixed with heavy blood and slight musk.

And Tang Yibu, that bastard; in order to pursue the so-called sense of authenticity, had laid directly on his body and pretended to be blacked out. The blood-stained bathrobe hung loose, full of wrinkles, and looked almost black in the light.

This left him room to hide his two blood guns. The ordinary guns he brought had already been scattered on one side of the carpet, together with their clothes.

“Fuck, this is going to be fucking hard to clean up. Damn guy, I knew it would be bad if he drinks.” Flower peacock sighed as he spoke in a low voice. “Old rules. Box them up together and be careful not to wake them. Many people have injected themselves with drug-resistant stuff these days… Put away the weapons on the carpet and take them back for valuation.”

“What about that little girl?”

“A long night is fraught with dreams*. She’s locked in the room. We can deal with her after we’ve delivered the goods. She thinks we’re in a high rise, so she can’t run… Okay, hurry up. She’s just a fucking chick dressed like that, and she doesn’t have a gas mask. Wouldn’t it be worse if she runs out during curfew than staying here?”

*(夜长梦多) Idiom referring to undue delay may bring trouble.

Ruan Xian felt two robotic arms wrapped in rubber gently lift them up. What was waiting for them was a narrow space the size of four coffins stacked together, and the inner wall was slightly cool to the touch.

This was probably what that flower peacock called the “box”.

The box was sealed with a bang, followed by dull thumping sounds. After confirming it was sealed, Ruan Xian immediately separated from Tang Yibu and groped around. The touch was metal, and there were fine air holes left on the four walls. Based on the depth of the holes, the thickness of the metal plate was about five or six centimeters.

Ruan Xian smiled slightly and put the blood gun away in his bathrobe.

“Can you tear this thing apart?” he asked, sticking close to Tang Yibu.

“Of course.”

“It seems that we can give Qian Yigeng a nice surprise.”

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The author has something to say:

Tangtang probably has an inkling, but he doesn’t understand.jpg

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Kinky Thoughts:

Oh, I love this chapter. Nian Zhong writes beautifully when it comes to awakening her MC’s feelings. I still remember when Oliver first fell for Nemo. This chapter will also be very memorable to me.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 70: Throbbing

Yu Le lay bored in the car alone.

His plan wasn’t very successful. Even when he went to buy the camouflage net, Ji Xiaoman still didn’t say much words to him. The girl didn’t have the vitality that young people should have. She was more like a vending machine from all angles. She spoke less than ten words throughout the entire process. The beautiful middle-aged woman went back into the room behind the store and never came out again.

With the camouflage net and tire lock, the car melded with the surrounding debris and ruins of the dead-end alley. Unless one were to touch it with their hands, you usually couldn’t see the flaws. Yu Le laid down like this for a few hours, and the salted dried fish in his mouth began to become tasteless.

The overwhelming boredom paralyzed his tongue.

Suddenly, a harsh crash and scratching sounded at the door of the car. Yu Le instantly became excited. He raised the muzzle of his gun one step ahead of his eyes. Then he saw a round shadow struggling to jump to the position of the car window. Its four thin legs tried to grab onto the glass, but the next second, it slid down helplessly and fell to the ground with a bang.

Then the aggrieved rattle came from outside the car.

Yu Le opened the door of the car and let the bouncing iron bead get in. He looked at the mechanical life wordlessly for a few seconds, and slowly laid back.

The next second, the iron bead jumped directly onto Yu Le’s chest. The latter was smashed and got up angrily. The spherical mechanical life turned around in place, trying to twist its round body, and showed Yu Le the note in the gap in the metal shell.

The former captain of the Walking Stones raised his eyebrows and pulled out the note: “Yo, there’s no direct communication. Did you go to a shady place?”

The iron bead let out a serious growl.

“Let me see… ‘Mr. Ruan and I are tentatively scheduled to spend the night in a prostitute hall tonight, and we are tentatively scheduled to be back before 10 tomorrow. We will contact you if we have something else.’” There was also a scribbled smiley face symbol at the end of the sentence.

“…So these two boys are being romantic and happy together, leaving laozi alone to watch the car? What do they think I am, a dog?” Yu Le crumbled the paper angrily.

The iron bead bit the corner of Yu Le’s clothes and began to shake its head vigorously.

“I know they are investigating, but the smell on this paper… Damn, I also want to go to such an investigation.” Yu Le sniffed the paper with a sweet and greasy aroma and threw away the salted dried fish in his arms. “Let’s go for a walk and go shopping with Uncle Yu. Fuck the curfew.”

The iron bead crawled deep into the back seat, took out the lid of the can that it had been hidden before, and began to nibble on it slowly.

“No love for me?” Yu Le grinned. “Alright, you can watch the car. I’ll be—”

The door of the small shop not far away slowly opened, and a slender figure squeezed out from the gap, looking around vigilantly. Yu Le swallowed the second half of his words back and watched with interest.”

He wasn’t the only one who planned to ignore the curfew.

Ji Xiaoman changed into a close-fitting black dress, carrying some messy metal props on her back, and some even hung around her waist. Despite bringing a load of equipment, the girl didn’t make any noise as she passed through the poisonous fog.

Her face was buttoned up with a bulky half-face gas mask, which made her look smaller. For a few seconds, coupled with the dark gray prosthetic limbs of her arms and right leg, and the blood-red goggles, she didn’t look like a human at all.

Seeing that a good observation target was delivered to his front door, Yu Le rubbed his hands, put on his gas mask, and slipped out of the car.

There were still many people on the street after the curfew. Most of them were nervously laughing or murmuring vaguely. From a glance, there seemed to be something wrong with their heads. Some people were violent, smashing their fists full of blood, while others were having sex in the dark corners, ignoring the screams from below. In every sense, this wasn’t an environment suitable for young girls to go out alone.

Ji Xiaoman didn’t choose the main road. She jumped on the roof like a cat, raising her hands and feet silently. Yu Le used 100% of his eyesight that he possessed as a captain of a ship so he wouldn’t lose her in the heavy poisonous fog.

In this way, the two bypassed the spider-web-like alley and walked all the way to a sparsely lit area. Just when Yu Le began to suspect that Ji Xiaoman just liked to hunt and walk around, she finally jumped off the roof and rushed into the darkness in the distance.

Even through the gas mask, Yu Le could smell the metallic sour smell in the air. He hid behind a box-shaped machine that was no longer working and turned on the infrared scanning mode of his googles, continuing to observe quietly.

It was very likely that this was the metal disposal junkyard that He An mentioned, and the ruins of mechanical parts were built into natural traps. Even in this muddy and viscous air, Yu Le could see the poisonous fog floating around the junkyard. Many long-legged mechanical creatures were lying on the ruins to feed. They were more than half a person tall and looked like centipedes that had been cut into small sections. The lights on their heads were flashing uncomfortably red.

Ji Xiaoman opened her limbs. A metal rod longer than her small arm popped out at the end of the prosthetic leg, and a device with a similar structure appeared on the sole of the intact leg. After a brief adjustment, she landed on all fours, vividly imitating those mechanical life, and moved forward quickly through the ruins. The movements were graceful yet creepy, like humanoid aliens in old horror movies.

She lowered her body, rushed into the mechanical group of life that was gnawing on the machinery wreckage, and then jumped away like a spider. A series of contractions and implosions resounded through the darkness. The mechanical beings slammed together and soon stopped moving.

Ji Xiaoman pulled out a long, sharp knife from behind and began to skillfully cut open the metal corpses and remove the small parts inside. She was busy skimming a delicate screw out of the mucus, when a scavenger puppet lying in the garbage dump raised its body and bit in the direction of Ji Xiaoman.

Yu Le gasped. The scavenger puppet was at least ten times bigger than those in the Sea of Ruins. Comparing Ji Xiaoman’s to that huge body, her head was like the size of its thumb.

The girl seemed to have eyes behind her back. She neatly grabbed the parts, dragged a few more metal corpses, and quickly jumped out of the attack range of the scavenger puppet. Seeing that the attack was fruitless, the behemoth didn’t pursue, but hid its upper body in the metal scrap heap again.

Then it suffered a series of explosions.

This time it wasn’t an implosion but a normal explosion with great power—the junkyard was lit up in flames that turned eerily blueish green from various metal scraps. The billowing black smoke drifted in the direction of Yu Le, blown by the wind.

The girl in a gas mask stood among the flames and continued to dismember the corpses of the mechanical beings like they were oysters in her hands. Yu Le couldn’t stand the black smoke attack, so he moved in the other direction. Hearing a series of crackling sounds that sounded like eggshells being smashed under someone’s feet, Ji Xiaoman quickly turned around and assumed an offensive posture.

“Who?” Her voice was low in the blistering sound of flames burning.

At the same time, inside the city.

The room in front of him was clean and refreshing, with sunlight projected from the fake windows that gilded the edge of the bathtub with golden light. Fresh flowers were placed at the head of the bed, exuding a nice fragrance. Ruan Xian fiddled with his hands, and his fingers went directly through the petals that had dew on them—a projection.

His gaze swept around the five-star hotel like decoration, as well as the high-altitude view overlooking the city with a clear blue sky outside the window. It looked like a high-rise room at a luxurious hotel before the end of the world, but Ruan Xian couldn’t help but imagine what it would look like after the projection was removed.

The champagne mentioned by flower peacock was at the head of the bed, lying obliquely in a metal bucket with ice that exuded a hint of cool air. The shopkeeper, who was dressed in bells and whistles, didn’t match the elegant decoration, and he himself seemed to know this. After leading Ruan Xian and Tang Yibu into the room, he quickly closed the door and left.

“The temperature here is a bit high,” Tang Yibu said, sitting down on the soft mattress as he mouthed his words.

“It seems that that gentleman really wants us to drink this bottle of champagne.” Ruan Xian picked up a piece of ice casually. It was real as it was slowly melting between his fingers. He also replied silently with his lips.

The girl who was still in the window just now was wearing a student uniform and had a shorter hairstyle. She was hiding under the empty space of the table and cabinet, shaking like sieve. The little girl’s nose and eyes were flushed, and her arms were scrawny and weak. As soon as Tang Yibu moved in her direction, she let out a sharp scream and hugged her head tightly.

“I’ll take a shower first.” Ruan Xian spoke out this time, with the confidence and laziness unique to someone superior in his voice. “This environment… It seems that we can’t play dirty games.”

“I will go with you.” Tang Yibu said knowingly, and Ruan Xian glared at him.

Seeing that the two of them had no intention of touching her, the little girl stopped screaming and squeezed into the depths of the shadows again; her eyes were dark and desperate.

Just like all the guests who couldn’t wait, Ruan Xian quickly washed away the stains on his body and seriously rejected Tang Yibu’s proposal that “it’s more efficient to wash together”. After the android had started showering, Ruan Xian wiped his half-dry hair and knelt down at the table where the girl was hiding. The girl known as Tiantian-Q2 suddenly choked with fright. The details of her expression were impeccable. Ruan Xian couldn’t tell whether she was a human or an android.

She was constantly exuding fear and rejection into the air, and in addition to despair, a few traces of hatred appeared in her eyes.

Ruan Xian suddenly understood the selling point of this “commodity”—people who came here weren’t simply intending to vent their desires, but often preferred to dominate and destroy. Sometimes the pleasure of stepping on others was no less than pure sex.

“When my person is done washing, I hope you will take a shower,” Ruan Xian said in a command-like tone, grabbing the girl’s wrist. The girl looked like she wanted to bite him for a moment. “Wash it well,” he added.

Footsteps came from the door. Someone was pacing outside. Ruan Xian glanced in the direction of the door and increased the force he was using to grab the girl’s wrist. The girl was abruptly dragged out from under the table by him. Tang Yibu had just finished taking a shower and had put on a loose bathrobe when he saw such a scene as soon as he came out.

“No!” The girl’s voice was sharp and tearful. She scratched at Ruan Xian and kicked over the seat beside her. “Don’t touch me, scumbag, pervert!”

The footsteps at the door stopped.

Someone was opening the door. Ruan Xian gave Tang Yibu a wink, who was learning on the head of the bed knowingly. He picked up a fruit knife and began to cut the pears in the bowl of fruit.

“Are you okay?” The flower peacock knocked on the door symbolically. “Is the effect very realistic? You don’t have to worry about it. Just teach her the lesson. We have good medical insurance. Don’t be hurt by her. It’s not worth it.”

“It’s just a little girl.” Ruan Xian raised his voice. “Is listening around the corner a feature of your store as well?”

“Sorry, sorry. Because the setting of Tiantian-Q2 is relatively special, something has happened before… You continue to enjoy it. I will leave now.” The flower peacock hurriedly declared, but his footsteps didn’t move.

Ruan Xian listened to the movement outside the fake window for a while, raised his hand, and gave the little girl a firm slap. His strength wasn’t so small that the girl was stunned by the slap before she remembered to cry two seconds later. The corners of her lips were bloodshot, and her beautiful face swelled, visible to the naked eye.

Hearing this, the flower peacock left with satisfaction.

Ruan Xian put down his hand, ignoring the hostility in the girl’s eyes. He took out a roll of yellow bandage from his waist bag, stood up, and took the knife from Tang Yibu’s hand.

The girl crawled back with her hands and feet, her teeth chattering. Ruan Xian shook his head and stabbed himself in the palm with the knife, letting the blood drip on the bandage. Then he picked up the yellowish orange lube by the head of the bed and squeezed some on the bandage and wiped the corner of the wall to make it look dirty and shabby.

After preparing for all this, he picked up his dirty coat. “Take off your skirt.”

“No.” The girl covered her swollen face and choked desperately. Tang Yibu stared at Ruan Xian, without much expression on his face.

“Why don’t you go to the toilet and stain it yourself. It’s best to make it look shabby.” Ruan Xian lowered his voice. “Do you want to escape?”

The girl’s body stiffened. She didn’t answer, but her lips trembled badly.

“Now your face is swollen, no one can see you clearly. I will ask you to take a shower again in a while, after my person and I go first. After that, I’m guessing something will happen. While they take us away, you can break the glass and escape.”

The girl in uniform sat slumped on the ground, confused without turning her head.

“Outside, the glass is an alley, not a high-rise building. It’s curfew now. You can figure out the rest.”

“I… My eyes…” the girl murmured. It took a while for her to find her voice.

“Pretend to be blind.” Ruan Xian threw the bloody, dirty bandage over. “Wrap it around your eyes and wear my coat to cover your upper body. A tall old woman with a swollen face and bloody eyes wouldn’t be targeted. I put the gas mask in the bathroom. You can put it on yourself.”

“You…” The girl was still trying to find her voice as tears fell again. “You believe me. I really—”

“I don’t believe you,” Ruan Xian replied quietly.

Tang Yibu frowned.

“To be honest, I don’t really care what’s in your head. As for whether you will run or come back yourself because of your program, that’s also your business. It’s fine to report us. Anyways, we probably can’t get out of here now.”

Ruan Xian gathered a handful of wet black hair, revealing a little clavicle. He raised his voice again. “Now go wash it. I’ll play here for a while. Make sure to wash yourself well and don’t come out without hearing my instructions.”

The girl glanced at him deeply, grabbed the bandage and clothes, rushed into the bathroom, and quickly bolted the door from the inside.

Ruan Xian chuckled and turned the sharp fruit knife in his hand. He released his hand and the deep wound in it had already healed. He looked at the champagne at the head of the bed for a while and then lay down in the position Tang Yibu had vacated.

“You have to save her,” Tang Yibu muttered in a low voice.

“I didn’t save her. I gave her a chance to save herself. I just don’t like seeing children locked up.” Ruan Xian turned his back to him.

“But you don’t know if she’s human.”

“Is that important?”

Tang Yibu didn’t answer. Ruan Xian felt a force erupting from behind him, and the next moment, a pair of golden eyes looked down at him full of complex emotions.

“I can’t analyze the current situation anymore,” Tang Yibu said mindlessly. “You’re not like him, but he made you…”

Tang Yibu stopped talking, lowered his body again, pressing his bare skin onto Ruan Xian’s neck. Ruan Xian swallowed and squeezed the fruit knife in his hand.

“…” Ruan Xian knew who Tang Yibu was referring to, his nominal maker, the other “Ruan Xian”.

But he couldn’t understand Tang Yibu’s specific meaning. For the first time, Tang Yibu revealed such a complex emotion, but he seemed to be unclear on how to deal with it. Both his expressions and movements were eerily stiff and awkward.

“You obviously have human personality data.” Tang Yibu stretched out a hand and slowly slid down from the side of Ruan Xian’s face, with a bit of exclamation in his voice. “It’s not the emotionally sensitive type. It actually resonates with creatures that are suspected of being bionic.”

“Even if you plan to update your observation diary of me.” Ruan Xian gritted his teeth. The friction between their skin-on-skin contact made him feel anxious. The other party’s inhuman reaction sent instinctive chills down his spine, “This posture isn’t necessary.”

However, at the moment when this new fear hit, another heat quickly ignited with it. Some kind of thrill of close contact with danger made his breathing short, like poison that corroded his heart.

“You said you wanted to ‘play with me for a while’. That guy just now must’ve been listening.” Tang Yibu moved his lips silently and stopped his hand on Ruan Xian’s fragile neck. “We have to make some noises… As far as your emotional processing method is concerned, I don’t think you can imitate it well. I can help you with that.”

“No need.” Ruan Xian erected the tip of the knife. The flickering cold blade pierced the android’s bare chest. Tang Yibu’s bathrobe slid down. There were still horrifying fresh burns across his arms—probably left over from when he attacked the bandit’s camp.

“I’ll say it again, no need,” Ruan Xian repeated again. His body was trembling slightly because of the unfamiliar sensation, but his hand still held the knife stably.

“But you’re excited.” Those beautiful golden eyes blinked. “Mr. Ruan, if you were able to cross that line and hear her voice, would you also be able to…”

He leaned down completely, put his hand into Ruan Xian’s bathrobe, and slid it over Ruan Xian’s back very skillfully. The latter let out a hoarse moan, and then firmly sent out the knife.

Tang Yibu ignored the blade that pierced his body. He hugged the other party firmly, rubbing the tip of his nose against Ruan Xian’s temple, as if he had lost the sense of pain. Blood gushed down the place where the two chests were pressed against each other, dyeing the light-colored sheets red.

“…Hear me as well?” he whispered.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 69: The Other Side of the Window

Ji Xiaoman’s hands that were attached to the prosthetic limbs were like steel insects. To be fair, they were less like normal human hands and more like deformations based on the bones of a hand structure. The metal fingers were thin and sharp that she could even twist a needle with them. The joints were embedded with fine parts that slid silently as if the pile of metal seemed to have life.

Right now, she was holding a twisted metal ruler, drawing on a slightly dirty piece of paper. After throwing out her last sentence and getting no response for nearly ten seconds, Ji Xiaoman raised her head and looked at Ruan Xian, who was silent.

The young female shopkeeper was originally short, and she didn’t like to look up when she saw people, so she had to roll her eyes to look. Her facial features could be said to be delicate and beautiful, but because of her habit, she was slightly gloomy and gave people a very unfriendly feeling.

“My purpose is very personal. I don’t want to say it. In short, I won’t do anything bad, and no matter what it is, it won’t be worse than Qian Yigeng,” she said dreamily while putting the leaky pen back on the table. “I understand if you don’t agree. This isn’t an easy task.”

“Create anyone.” Ruan Xian chewed on the sentence that Ji Xiaoman had said.

“Yes, as long as you have sufficient information. It’s similar to forging an oil painting.” Ji Xiaoman’s voice fell a little lower again, and the little joy that had just appeared was gone. “If you don’t want to do it, then just leave quickly. It’s only a week longer. You can wait.”

“We’ll take a look first.” Yu Le immediately found a way to help himself. “This requirement be counted?”

This time Ji Xiaoman didn’t lift her head, but just nodded.

“Is there a place to live near here?” Yu Le rubbed his hands together and gave that warm look again. “Miss, look, we are not familiar around here…”

Ji Xiaoman ignored him.

“Tsk, that little girl.” Yu Le returned to the car bitterly and lay down in the driver’s seat. “Not flattering at all.”

“We can’t live in the car for this whole time. It’s too conspicuous here. It’s only a matter of time before we get targeted.” Ruan Xian shook his head.

These days, people didn’t carefully verify whether there were really supplies in the car. As long as they thought there was, they would simply take action. Just like Tang Yibu’s golden eyes could lead to danger, facts would always become weak in face of imagination.

Ruan Xian didn’t mind releasing the demon in his heart and guessing every pessimistic thing.

Tang Yibu jumped into the car one step after the other. The iron bead screamed and jumped to the top of Tang Yibu’s head familiarly. The android sat down in his seat, still holding half a can of peaches in his hand, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of continuing to eat.

“Do you want to go back to midtown?” Yu Le, who was lying on his side, opened a bag of hardtack and kicked the steering wheel with his foot. “Seriously, you two don’t really want to plan to try it? It’s just stealing something. The two of you have the ability to cause trouble under Fan Baiyan’s eyes. This trivial matter shouldn’t be an issue—we can get the car fixed early, and I can lead you to the ruins of the rebel army faster. Then we can dissolve this group.”

“I want to stay here.” Ruan Xian didn’t look at Yu Le. He stared at his white coat that had been dyed beyond recognition.

There was a delicate plastic buckle embedded in the white jacket, and the holes in his stitching were filled with dried blood and dirt. Time had passed and technology had come to the front of his cognition, but other things hadn’t changed for hundreds of years.

He fiddled with the dirty button with his fingertips. “Whether we steal it or not, I want to find out more information about Qian Yigeng.”

In any case, intelligence was necessary.

Even if they didn’t plan to take on that absurd request, they still needed to stay in this maze-like city for more than a week. It was better to get more information down here. Judging from the rules of the curfew, midtown may not be any safer than here. At any rate, the lingering poisonous fog could restrict the activities of some people.

On the other hand, if Qian Yigeng really came into contact with the other “Ruan Xian”…

“Okay, then I’ll buy a camouflage net and hide the car first. I just saw one in the store, and I don’t believe that little girl will remain silent.” Yu Le yawned. “That Tu Rui actually wanted laozi to live here for a year and a half… This is no different from going to a fucking prison. It’s better to be in the Sea of Ruins. At least the air is good.”

Tang Yibu didn’t participate throughout the conversation.

Since Ji Xiaoman explained the purpose of that thing, the android hadn’t said a word. He held the can peaches solemnly, frowning slightly, as if he had encountered a difficult problem in life. If it weren’t for the meaningless rattling of the iron bead on top of his head, this scene would be more serious.

Ruan Xian subconsciously wanted to ask him “What’s the matter”, but when he was about to say it, he swallowed it back. The relationship between them was a bit too much, and he didn’t want to make it any more difficult.

Rejecting temptation from the beginning was always the best way to resist it.

“I’m with Mr. Ruan.” After Tang Yibu was silent for a long time, he pulled the iron bead off his head and held it in his arms. He didn’t give a reason and just held Ruan Xian’s shirt with one hand.

“Are you afraid that I will run away?” Yu Le raised his eyebrows.

“You showed no signs of lying just now. You want to repair this car.” Tang Yibu held the slightly deformed can of peaches. “We know where to find you.”

“Okay, okay.” Yu Le yawned again. “I’ll take care of our Miss Icy. When you two are done, remember to come find me. Now that I’m going to sleep, what are you two going to do?”

Ruan Xian buckled back the half-face gas mask, stuffed some rations into his pockets, and pinned two conspicuous guns on himself. He jumped out of the car and plunged into the fog. Tang Yibu followed closely behind with the iron bead running around beside him, swallowing up the fog, looking like it was in a good mood.

They walked out for more than ten meters before Yu Le and the armored off-roader were engulfed by the fog. Now, only all kinds of lights and projections were still particularly clear in the fog, like some kind of fantasy movie with cheap special effects. Moans and laughter came from the gloomy buildings, mixed with a lot of crying and screaming.

A dark and sticky environment. Unlike in the Sea of Ruins, Ruan Xian no longer felt nervous. Such close proximity to the composition of “society” gave him a strange sense of security in returning to the shadows. He walked through the messy alleys like capillaries and walked towards the place where the voices were most dense. Since Qian Yigeng was the leader of a gang, it wasn’t feasible to just casually ask anyone randomly. He needed to carefully select his target. Besides, people would inadvertently spread all kinds of information in the air.

The building in front looked vaguely like a market.

Unlike the primitive settlements like the Sea of Ruins, the shops here retained their windows. Countless glass windows were crowded together. Many of them had beautiful bodies of both men and women that were almost naked and were scratching their heads and posing behind the windows. They stood in different environmental projections with their eyes blurred. All kinds of skin and hair colors were available. There were some who were dyed in bright, unnatural colors and had metal studs embedded in their lips.

They had only one thing in common. They all had beautiful golden eyes and didn’t seem to know what fatigue was.

Ruan Xian could hear the heartbeats of those people. No matter what was in their heads, their bodies were undoubtedly human. He stopped in front of the shop window. A naked young girl was pounding on the glass. Her golden eyes were full of fear and pleading.

On the thick glass where she was imprisoned was a note: [Procedural effect. Please don’t take it seriously.]

The girl was very short, and her figure still retained the characteristics of a teenager. Ruan Xian couldn’t’ even judge whether she was an adult. These scenes began to make him feel uncomfortable. The man leaning against the door clearly misunderstood his gloomy face.

He was wearing a fancy shirt, and the hem of the shirt hung sloppily and was studded with sequins like fish scales. His hair was also dyed colorfully, which was off-putting, like a peacock that had suffered from skin disease.

“If the customer wants it, you’ll get it. You can choose whatever you want from age, appearance, and figure. We have everything you desire.” The man puffed out a ring of yellowish smoke. “The best imitation cybernetic brain on the market will never have a reaction time of more than three seconds, which is different from those junk that will crash.”

He exhaled again and casually glanced at Tang Yibu behind Ruan Xian. “Yo, is he your pet? Sorry bud, we don’t have any men at our store.”

Ruan Xian didn’t speak. He glanced at the girl in the window again. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she kept pounding on the glass while mouthing “help”. There was a conspicuous copper coin inscription* that was branded on her left arm.

*Qian (钱) in Qian Yigeng means money, which is fitting why his brand is a copper coin.

“Oh, that model is our store signboard. Tiantian-Q2. Very pitiful, right? Many people like this tone.” The man’s excitement came up when he found that Ruan Xian didn’t intend to leave. “We also have well-behaved and obedient types, but they don’t attract as many guests as this one. If you want to add some fun, we can set her to a special name, such as—”

“Your shop isn’t big,” Ruan Xian interrupted the man’s chatter.

“You can’t say that. Those specialty restaurants also limit the number of guests, right? In order to provide better service, I only accept one person at a time. You can choose the environment and scene setting, but the price…”

“Really? Why do I think the business here isn’t very good? I’ll take a look, but without a guarantee, who would dare enter and play.” Ruan Xian used his spare time to look at the security of the facility.

The large word “vacant” was projected at the entrance of the store, and special effects with bells and whistles were also added. Through the reflection of those words, Ruan Xian found a beautiful cooper coin inscribed on the door of the shop, exactly the same one he saw on the girl’s left arm.

“This shop is under Boss Qian. Have you heard of him?” Seeing the cooked duck begin to flutter its wings, the flower peacock looked a little anxious. “You’ll definitely not find such a realistic character anywhere else. The other stores on the edge are full of trash that is no different from an inflatable doll. Your health is also guaranteed. Boss Qian wants us to disinfect it every day!”

“I’m relieved to hear you say that.” Ruan Xian moved his feet and walked into the ambiguously decorated store. The man smiled and snapped his fingers, and the “vacant” at the door became “occupied”.

The shop was lit with cloying incense. Ruan Xian didn’t take off his gas mask. He smelled the ingredients of medicine from the incense. Countless light screens squeeze into the already small space, making it even more suffocating with different environmental scenes and girls’ costumes displayed on them.

“What kind of setting and character selection do you want? The prices are all marked. A well-maintained gun with ten rounds of bullets can give you a mid-ranged normal type. Three guns can get you an exciting play. As long as they aren’t killed, we will provide medical treatment. If you can come up with something good, you can kill or take them away… Oh, you can take off your gas mask. It’s okay, we filtered the air here.”

Watching Ruan Xian step across the threshold with both feet, the flower peacock became much more attentive than just now. From beginning to end, he didn’t look at Tang Yibu, who was following Ruan Xian, as if Ruan Xian was holding a dog or cat.

Ruan Xian took a breath, slowly took off his mask, and the flower peacock’s eyes lit up.

“Sir, your face is really nice. It’s very pleasing to the eyes.” He then turned his gaze to Tang Yibu, and his eyes became brighter. “You have good taste. Let me give you a discount for your first time. I’ll knock off one gun. Two guns, play whatever you want. What do you think? No, no, 30 rounds of bullets are enough, and we’ll add on the champagne that we normally give to members.”

“Ok,” Ruan Xian said succinctly. “Just the girl outside.”

“Good choice. Choose an environment. She will never let you down.”

“Let’s get your best seller.” Ruan Xian slapped the gun on the counter that he held at his waist. “I’ll give the bullets when I see her.”

“Then you wait here, just ten minutes. I’ll go get ready.” The flower peacock smiled and bowed as he guided them into a small room with complicated vulgar decorations, and then gently closed the door.

“What are your plans?” Once the man left, Tang Yibu immediately asked. “Just now, you have no signs of sexual excitement.”

“…You even observe this?” Ruan Xian’s face stiffened, and he squeezed a sentence from between his teeth.

Tang Yibu looked innocent. “This door is soundproof. That person can’t hear us.”

“It’s not about soundproof… Forget it.” Ruan Xian wiped his face. “When he comes over again, we will start the plan. This person knows a little about Qian Yigeng.”

“Then it’s more appropriate to start just now.” Tang Yibu seemed to have recovered a little from his unexplained depression.

“His enthusiasm is not natural.” Ruan Xian knocked on the armrest of the sofa with his fingertips, “If there is a discount for the first time, he should’ve said it when we were outside. There’s fraud in this matter. First… Shhh.”

Generally, soundproofing didn’t stop the detection of an S-type Prototype.

“I’ve come across two good ones. They are white faces, and there’s oil in water*. One of them is an android. If it’s an intact old-fashion cybernetic brain, we’ll send it.” The flower peacock seemed to be talking to someone, and his voice was very low. “You’ll know it when you see it. A first-class sample! Didn’t Boss Qian ask us to pay attention to new models this time? Don’t talk nonsense. Get a car quickly. You’ll see. It’s definitely different from previous times. Boss Qian will approve…”

*Phrase that means there’s some extra benefit in something. || In this context, he’s basically saying these two white faces (noobs) can be taken advantage of.

“It seems we can’t go back tonight.” Ruan Xian prattled. “I hope Yu Le doesn’t think we ran away.”

“No.” Tang Yibu gestured at the iron bead for a while and let it out of the window.

The iron beads squeezed through the barbed wire with difficulty, making a loud rattle.

“It’s okay. Go back and tell Yu Le immediately. Be obedient.” Tang Yibu took out a pen from his pocket and wrote something on a candy wrapper and stuffed it into the gap of the iron bead’s shell. The iron bead reluctantly rubbed Tang Yibu’s hand and then bit off the plastic pen holder.

“It’s ready.” The entangled iron bead had just disappeared on the other side of the window as the flower peacock returned to the room. “Come with me, sir. Do you want to store this android or…?”

“He comes with me.”

“That’s fine too.” The flower peacock’s expression twitched. “The champagne is on the head of the bed. Be careful not to break it. Next time, there will be a fee… Oh, you can’t take it out either.”

“Of course.” Ruan Xian grabbed Tang Yibu’s wrist. “We will never miss it, will we, baby?”

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 68: Preferential Requirements

The girl absolutely noticed everyone’s eyes staring at her. She had no special reaction. The two metal prosthetic limbs supported the counter as she repeated what she had just said.

“What do you want?” She raised her eyes. There was no enthusiasm in her voice.

“The thermal conductivity controller of my Gray Knight KN-09 is broken. Can it be repaired?” Yu Le glanced at the blade embedded in the girl’s prosthetic limb, and his voice turned serious. “If you can repair it, make an offer.”

“I know that model. The price depends on the degree of damage.” The girl’s voice was a little low, as if she was talking to herself. Her gaze quickly swept across the canned peaches in Tang Yibu’s hand, and she looked away without leaving a trace.

“The car is outside.” Yu Le poked his thumb behind him. “We’ll go with you.”

The young shopkeeper hummed in a low voice and looked at Ruan Xian and Tang Yibu, who were closer to her. She didn’t react to Tang Yibu’s golden eyes, but squatted down, hung the heavy tool bag around her waist, and walked out from behind the counter.

Only then did Ruan Xian discover that the girl’s right leg was also a prosthetic that was similar to her arms. Its shape was a bit rougher, with a dull gleam of metal attached at her knee.

“Mom, the buns are hot in the kitchen.” She nodded to the woman who was knitting a sweater. “I’ll come take this order for the store. You can go take a break.”

The woman who had just been unresponsive nodded, and the smile on her face widened a little. She carefully put down the fabric in her hand, stood up slowly, and walked to the back of the store.

Yu Le took a breath from between his teeth.

The girl obviously had no intention of explaining the situation. She neatly buttoned the half-face gas mask and put on goggles. She really wasn’t tall as the armored off-roader was too big. After Yu Le opened the hood of the car, the girl took a small step ladder from the store and stood on it, which barely allowed her to reach the deepest part.

“It’s so bad that it can’t be repaired.” Her metal fingers were slender and sharp, like a pair of tweezers. They held the fragments firmly between them. “I can make this alloy and get you a new one. By the way, there’s also a problem with the stabilizer shaft in your car… There are parts that were not originally added to it, and there’s a weak corrosive liquid in it. The stabilizer shaft has been worn out by this transformation, and a strong collision has caused it to crack a bit.”

The girl turned her head and looked at Yu Le as if she was looking at an enemy, “It has a lifespan of about half a year. Do you want to repair it?”

“Still need to ask?” Yu Le’s tone was a bit unpleasant when he saw how badly fallen the state of the car was. “Does this need to be repaired?”

“I don’t know if you have the confidence to live for more than half a year.” The girl’s voice was still hoarse, and it felt even more gloomy among the poisonous fog.

“……”

“It’s up to you if you want to repair it. I’ll open a bill for the materials list. No precious metals or vouchers are accepted here.” The girl jumped off the ladder, but her metal prosthetics didn’t make a sound.

It was Yu Le’s business to repair the car. Ruan Xian remained silent and took the opportunity to observe the surroundings.

The alley was full of scrapped machinery. There were exposed broken wires and internal parts, many of which had rusted. The Underground City was different during the day and night. The light should be brighter during the day, but on Summer Street, which was full of prostitution halls, people weren’t very particular about it—ambiguous screams and moans came from the fork of the alley a few steps away from them, mixed with unpleasant curses and coughs.

Tang Yibu plugged his ears blankly while Yu Le coughed dryly in embarrassment. The girl remained motionless, as if she hadn’t heard anything.

“…Are there any other requests?” Seeing that Yu Le didn’t say a word, she asked in a low voice. “It’s cheaper to do more. Weapon repair and modification, or…”

“Nothing else, I have to look at the supply list first. No need to worry about the weapons. Just check the whole car at most. What is your name, little miss?” Yu Le pressed his temples.

“Ji Xiaoman.” The girl put the step ladder under her arm. Even if she was able to land some business, she didn’t sound very enthusiastic.

“Miss Ji, how long will it take to fix it?” When everyone entered the store, Ruan Xian softened his voice.

Ji Xiaoman was standing on tiptoe and was stuffing the step ladder back onto the shelf.

“I still have a few orders in my hand, so about half a month.” She looked at Ruan Xian’s eyes as if she was looking at a pool of stagnant water. The girl was quite young, but even Yu Le seemed more energetic than she was. Ruan Xian saw a familiar emotion in her eyes that he didn’t like very much.

“Half a month?!” Yu Le shouted.

“Yup.” Ji Xiaoman returned to the counter and began to write up the order. “I’m the fastest mechanic here. If you’re not satisfied, you can ask other mechanics. Under normal circumstances, since there’s no high-precision machine tool in the factory, it would take at least one and a half months for manual parts to be replaced.”

“All right,” Yu Le muttered, and leaned over to Ruan Xian. “Xiao Ruan, the place I’m going to take you is quite far away. It’s really dangerous if we don’t have a car. Look at this half month…”

“We can both protect you,” Before Ruan Xian had time to speak, Tang Yibu responded positively.

Yu Le ignored him. “Xiao Ruan, look at our weapons and supplies. They are very heavy. It’s really hard to carry them without a car—”

“I can carry it on my back.” Tang Yibu raised a hand and almost jumped up.

“Can’t you understand human language? I just fucking want to fix this car and take you two there!” Yu Le gritted his teeth. “Fuck, what are you laughing at, surname Ruan. The environment in this shitty place is terrible and laozi has to take care of the both of you. This is an extra risk, you know. There are no other options.”

“I have no problem with reducing risks.” Ruan Xian straightened his face and retracted his gaze from Tang Yibu, who was a little lost. “But half a month is indeed a bit long. If there is another way…”

“Yes.” Ji Xiaoman stopped writing, and she raised her head. “Except for what is on this list. Add a cybernetic brain—anything related to it, I’ll take off five days. Do something for me and I’ll reduce it by another five days. I can give you the highest priority.”

“I haven’t seen an android since the end of the fucking world. Where would I get you something related to a cybernetic brain—” Yu Le wiped his face.

“I have.” Ruan Xian stated it straightforwardly. Tang Yibu and Yu Le both looked at him at the same time.

Ruan Xian reached into his clothes, took out a gray disc with a metallic luster from his close-fitting pocket, and put something labeled AD4 on the table. Ji Xiaoman frowned while Tang Yibu let out an “Ah”.

“You didn’t eat it at the time,” he said, in surprise.

“I won’t touch drugs if I don’t know the principle behind it.” Ruan Xian’s finger was still on the pill. “We came out of Petri Dish No. 1036, Miss Ji. The refuge over there can make medicine that destroys the cybernetic brains of robots. I don’t know if this meets your requirement.”

Ji Xiaoman lowered her eyes and stared at the pill for a while. “Principle?”

“I don’t know what it is as I didn’t take it.” Ruan Xian smiled. “But Yibu knows better. Come on, Yibu. Tell her.”

Tang Yibu glanced at Ruan Xian deeply. “The essence is a nanobot polymer which can quickly be absorbed by the human body and cut off the specific signal transmission of the cybernetic brain. Normal people will be fine after eating it, but if they were replaced by a bionic… The effect is equivalent to cutting off the autonomous thinking part and making them lose their advanced level thinking.”

He took two steps in Ruan Xian’s direction. “The existing S-type products basically do not exist, and the resilience of general bionic organisms isn’t very good. It’s more difficult to recover from the damage caused by the drug. In most cases, the effects are permanent.”

“In other words, it’s poison.” Ji Xiaoman summed it up simply.

“You can say that.”

“This is exchangeable,” she hesitated for a moment, “but I have to test the efficacy of the drug first.”

“The amount in the pill is quite strong. Scrapping off a little will not affect it as a whole.” Tang Yibu quickly added.

Ji Xiaoman nodded in silence and handed the written list to Yu Le. Ruan Xian took a little debris from the pill and left it on the counter, then put it back in his pocket and crossed his arms.

Tang Yibu leaned over to Ruan Xian’s side and stared deeply at Ruan Xian’s face.

“I thought you changed Chi Lei’s medicine or did something else with it.” After moving a few steps away from the counter, Ruan Xian lowered his voice extremely low. “I didn’t expect you to really plan to let me eat it.”

“It won’t work for you. I’m 100% sure.” Tang Yibu lowered his head. “Are you angry?”

Ruan Xian glanced at the aggrieved face of the other party, and suddenly felt a little relieved. “Give me the canned peaches, and this matter will be written off.”

Tang Yibu hurriedly stuffed the canned peaches into Ruan Xian’s hand. Ruan Xian sighed and poured a piece into his mouth casually. As a result, before he could swallow, Yu Le howled and almost caused Ruan Xian to choke to death.

“This is all retribution.” Yu Le’s hand trembled a little while holding the list. “Laozi has been robbing people for so many years and it finally caught up as I’m being robbed now. This is robbery, little miss. Just for the repair job will cost me more than half my family’s fortune.”

“You can get your hands dirty and do it yourself.” When speaking about her profession, Ji Xiaoman’s voice was cold and harsh. “The things I repair won’t go wrong for at least ten years, even if you drop it again. Guns and ammunition can be obtained from others, but sturdy cars are as valuable as a fortress. The price is fine.”

She put away the fragments on the table and glanced at Ruan Xian, who was silent again.

“If you run some errands for me, including the five days of expedited work, I’ll also add some more discounts.” She raised her voice a little bit. “Is that okay?”

“Then let’s discuss. Remember to check the whole car for me.” Yu Le waved his hand weakly. “Without my fortune, my life is as good as gone. Can laozi even survive like this?”

“If you want to off yourself, I’ll help.” Ji Xiaoman didn’t make eye contact with them. “The boss of the core gang in Summer Street is headed by Qian Yigeng. He has what I want. Whether you steal it or obtain it through other means, I must get it.”

“Listen up, miss, I have brothers from all over the country.” Yu Le snorted. “I have a pretty well-informed group in the Sea of Ruins, and I have never heard of Qian Yigeng. You’re leaving us in the dark without telling us what you want. Are you sure you’re not asking us to deliver food right to their front door?”

“It’s ‘me’, not ‘us’,” Tang Yibu corrected solemnly. “Mr. Ruan and I will not go.”

“You fucking…”

“I want the mind access needle for the old-fashioned cybernetic brain.” Ji Xiaoman raised her head and directly interrupted Yu Le. “Qian Yigeng hid it very well. I’ve wanted it for a long time.”

“You… Are you also in the business of old-fashioned cybernetic brains?” Yu Le looked at the dilapidated storefront without concealing the suspicion in his voice.

“I have my own use.” Ji Xiaoman shook her head. “You are right. I will tell you in advance, Qian Yigeng has found a lot of people to guard it, as if it’s his foundation of life. I don’t know the details. If I could figure it out, I wouldn’t ask people like you.”

She sighed softly and rubbed her mutilated arm.

“All I know is that it’s not something that can be copied casually. Like an intact old-fashioned cybernetic brain, no one in the entire Underground United City can make it. He often shows it off everywhere, saying that he personally snatched it from Ruan Xian.”

“Where is this Qian Yigeng?” Tang Yibu continued very naturally. “We need to formulate a plan of action.”

Yu Le: “……”

“The other side of Summer Street.” Ji Xiaoman finally showed a little joy. “Do you agree?”

“No.”

It was Ruan Xian who protested this time.

“Listening to the name, this thing seems very interesting.” He held the canned food in one hand and clenched his fists slightly in the other, still with a smile on his face. “Tell me its specific function and your purpose, and we will talk about the details.”

“This kind of thing was only available in a main bionic factory before, and its function is very simple.”

Ji Xiaoman lowered her head again and began to fiddle with the weird tools on the counter.

“It can access an old-fashioned cybernetic brain and thoroughly edit all memory and personality data. Even if it was snatched from Ruan Xian’s hands, no one thinks that Qian Yigeng is bragging… If it’s used well, it can be regarded as a strategic weapon. Ordinary arms and machinery are incomparable.”

“It can ‘make’ anyone.”

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The author has something to say:

The medicine that has been hidden for 100 million years (…) is finally useful!

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Kinky Thoughts:

I originally translated cybernetic brain as electronic brain but decided to change the translation as I think cybernetic sounds better and more concise. Basically, you just need to know that it’s the “brain” of a robot/android/whatever that is not originally human.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 67: The Female Shopkeeper

The road wasn’t wide as it spiraled downwards. It’s second half was submerged in thick fog. Many young people were leaning idly on the side of the road to smoke. Yu Le drove the car extremely slowly, and Ruan Xian could see the yellowish smoke coming out of people’s noses and mouths. They quickly dissipate into the fog and became part of the turbid air.

It stood to reason that he and Tang Yibu didn’t need to follow Yu Le to Summer Street, but to be separated in this maze-like city, even Ruan Xian couldn’t be sure that he could find Yu Le again. The air was stuffed with a pungent smell mixed together, and the gurgling sound of gas and liquid passing through the pipes and thumping noises made by metal could be heard everywhere. The low-quality light screen made a harsh noise, accompanied by people shouting in the distance as a pot of porridge was bubbling, like a carnival full of drunkards.

It was much more troublesome here than in the Sea of Ruins. If he were to spread out his perception, Ruan Xian wasn’t sure that he wouldn’t just faint immediately.

When he was looking out the car window, Tang Yibu had opened another can of canned peaches. He carefully scooped up a piece of yellow peach with a spoon and placed it next to Ruan Xian’s mouth, with a solemnity on his face as if he was surrendering his prey. The iron bead happily picked up the lid of the can and tried to hide it under the seat of the car.

“I’m not hungry yet.” Ruan Xian patted Tang Yibu on the arm. “You can eat first.”

Tang Yibu put the peach into his mouth, still staring at Ruan Xian, looking extremely harmless. Ruan Xian couldn’t help but stretch out his hand and pat Tang Yibu on the cheek. “Eat with peace of mind. I will take some myself when I’m hungry, but you have to lower your body a little bit. Someone on the side of the road has already noticed us. I don’t think it’s a good idea to expose supplies in public.”

Hearing this, the android put down the half-eaten canned food and began to look at the back of He An’s head.

After they entered lower city, He An no longer spoke. He rested his elbow on the car window, propped his face with one hand, and gazed out the window at the dense fog.

“Xiao He is really sincere. You told us about how cybernetic brains are expensive, which means you’re not afraid of our motives.” Yu Le broke the silence this time. “Why would you tell us?”

“A’Yu* and I are City Defenders here. If you make a move on me, you will never get out of this city.”

*When put in front of a name, it’s a way of addressing someone with endearment.

He An continued to stare at the shadowy buildings and blurred lights in the fog without looking back.

“The gentleman in the back, although you claim that he’s not an android, the thugs don’t care so much—if they see golden eyes, they’ll just cut off your head. Even if it’s a human head, to them it’ll only be a bit of wasted time.”

Tang Yibu clenched the half-empty can of canned food; his expression becoming more solemn. “Why?”

“Why what?”

Tang Yibu spoke indifferently again, obviously not wanting to talk to He An. “Why do they want cybernetic brains?”

“Do you still have to ask?” He An grinned. “Who doesn’t want others to follow what they say and ‘love’ them from the bottom of their hearts? They don’t need to think about harm and betrayal. There’s no worry that the other party has a side that they won’t understand. These days, there are few people who can edit the natural human brain, but there are many capable people that can modify cybernetic ones.”

He paused for a bit. “After the end of the world, the old-fashioned cybernetic brains were discontinued. The numbers are limited, not to mention those that aren’t broken. If I were you, I would dye my eyes or simply wear old-fashioned contact lenses.”

“In other words, androids here are relatively rare.” Ruan Xian tried to summarize.

“According to Ruan Xian’s theory, it’s the opposite. There are plenty of human shells with cybernetic brains inside.”

He An finally turned his head. His expression began to turn blank. “Intact old-fashioned cybernetic brains are rare, and there will always be imitations. However, there are no processing conditions here, so the imitations are very rough. Life support and personality simulation aren’t very good, and their intelligence is only a little higher than that of a dog’s. If you see an unresponsive humanoid creature, nine out of ten times it’s an imitation brain, while the remaining ones are broken old cybernetic brains.”

Tang Yibu frowned slightly.

“It can be regarded as a specialty here. If you need cheap labor, you can get one. As long as you can get enough supplies, you can still buy a follower or slave. There’s no need to refine energy, and you can feed it with some food. There’s nothing wrong with it except that it’s stupid.”

Yu Le’s eyebrows twitched slightly, and his expression became a bit unsightly.

“You are an old-fashioned cybernetic brain.” Tang Yibu concisely pointed out. “And it’s not broken.”

“Yes, the most valuable kind. A’Yu smashed all his net worth on me.” He An readily admitted. “In short, this is just a warning—the color of your eyes and your normal behavior that makes it look like your brain isn’t bad means you are likely to be targeted.”

“Thank you for your warning.” Ruan Xian nodded quietly.

“We’re almost here at Summer Street.” He An changed the subject. Dazzling neon lights started penetrating through the fog. The damp and dirty streets became clear with light. Many naked men and women were projected into the translucent air, making various explicit and blatant provocative gestures. “Be careful. Don’t be pulled away casually. Of course, if you have those kinds of needs, your life is hard enough, so you don’t need to tell me.”

Yu Le pursed his lips. His expression was unexpectedly calm. He turned the steering wheel, and the bulky front of the car went straight through the projection of the red-haired beauty lying on the ground, splashing up sewage. “Would a mechanic be in a place like this?”

“This kind of place is easy to buy weapons and old parts. It’s the closest to the metal disposal dump and the water tower.” He An took out a simple gas mask from his pocket and clasped it on his face. “Put me down at the crossroads ahead. You can handle the rest on your own. I gave you some intelligence to repay the favor for hitchhiking.”

Through the glass on the gas mask, he glanced around in the car and quickly opened the door.

“I hope I can still see everyone back alive.”

“Fuck, what’s that smell?” Yu Le waved his hand impatiently to He An outside the window and continued to drive the armored off-roader like a broken car.

Even though He An quickly closed the door, a lot of air from outside still poured in. The air here was different from the central city. It had a strong metallic sour smell that tumbled around and was mixed with an ominous smell of chemicals.

“It could be related to the nearby metal disposal dump,” Ruan Xian replied sullenly, twisting his nose. “It’s better to solve the shop matter quickly. Let’s leave one person in the car…”

“No. If we leave Yu Le alone, he might run away,” Tang Yibu said quickly, “But I don’t want to be separated from you, Mr. Ruan.”

Yu Le let out a teasing groan.

Ruan Xian couldn’t laugh or cry at Tang Yibu’s inexplicable sense of crisis, but that helplessness was mixed with a lot of bitterness—Tang Yibu created too many “first time” problems for himself, and Ruan Xian still remembered the emotional expression loopholes he had talked about. However, in the face of this deadly expression, he really did not know how to react.

He wasn’t sure if this was the other party’s true emotional expression or simply found that he ate soft but not hard*, so he specifically chose a roundabout strategy. In any case, no matter how good the taste was, he really couldn’t let go of his vigilance completely.

*Reminder: Metaphor referring to one that would yield with a soft approach but reject a forceful one. (i.e. Amiable to friendly persuasion but not coercion.)

After all, they weren’t friends.

Perhaps he had entrusted too much expectations, which could be very dangerous. The other party’s kindness had never been false, but it couldn’t be confirmed either. He had to maintain his sanity and be vigilant. Ruan Xian had always been confident in controlling his feelings. According to the doctor, if one were to compare feelings to water, most people need to deal with a full tank, while he only needed to control half of the glass in his hand.

‘The illusion of warmth in the Sea of Ruins would eventually dissipate,’ Ruan Xian thought. He slowly stretched out his hand and patted Tang Yibu on the back of his hand.

“You know I can’t run,” he said.

“Alright, let’s find a shop facing the street. It’s good to have someone watch the wind outside. Is that okay?” Yu Le raised his chin towards an alley not far from them, and the words “Mechanic” were spelled out in simple fluorescent strips at the entrance.

After Yu Le diligently drove the car to the entrance of the alley, the few lines of fluorescent small characters at the bottom could barely be seen clearly.

[Repair and modification of weapons, prosthetics, vehicles, and manufacturing of parts.]

The spelling was clumsy and ugly, far from the bells and whistles of the prostitution hall next to him. This alley was also so narrow that Yu Le pondered for more than ten minutes before he parked the bulky armored off-roader.

“Even if someone touches the car now, they won’t be able to drive it away.” Yu Le patted the gun around his waist and looked at the fruits of his labor in satisfaction. His voice changed slightly due to the gas mask. “Just that shop, okay? You can see the headlights at the door, and you can hear from back here if anything happens.”

“If someone else plans to move the car, you just scream loudly.” Tang Yibu placed the iron bead solemnly on the back seat and picked up the half-empty can of food.

The car was stuck in the alley and only the door on the front seat could be opened. The rear of the car was close to a lamppost and a pile of scrap machinery. It seemed like a seamless part of the city’s jigsaw puzzle. A glass door was less than five meters in front of the car. The light sign in front of the door repeated the sentence at the entrance of the alley creatively. Part of the “prosthetics” was extinguished on one end, making an orange word of just “prost”.

Ruan Xian put the gas mask on his face and rushed to the door of the store. His sensitive sense of smell almost killed him. The sticky and dirty air gave him the illusion that he was swimming, and he would quickly drown in it.

Tang Yibu followed his steps and was almost smashed by the glass door. Yu Le glanced at the car reluctantly and was the last one to enter the store. Fortunately, this store had installed an air filter, so the air was at least transparent. Ruan Xian put down his gas mask and took in a few breaths before he started to look around.

Two of the walls were embedded with bulletproof glass cabinets with many cracks, and there were all kinds of firearms and mechanical bombs behind them. On the other hand, there were various metal prosthetics. Unlike the lifelike advanced prosthetics in his memory, the ones on the wall had a rough and cold metallic feel, and the maker didn’t even bother to put bionic skin on them.

Countless lattice cabinets hung on the remaining two walls. Strange parts were placed in each small grid. Ruan Xian barely recognized dozens of them, while the rest were thousands of parts that he had never seen before. Not to mention the weird shapes, some of them looked more like junk than parts.

A woman in her thirties was sitting behind the counter with a sweet smile on her face. The years had left just the right traces on her, making her look like some kind of ripe fruit. Seeing someone entering the store, the woman tilted her head slightly and waved at them.

“Are you the shopkeeper?” Yu Le spoke extremely fast. “The thermal conductivity controller in my car is broken. The model is the Gray Knight KN-09, about fifty years ago. Other places also need to be repaired. The price is…”

He stopped talking as he spoke.

The woman just looked at him, smiling, like a living dummy. She waved her hand at him again, and her eyes were blank.

“…Miss?” Yu Le swallowed and waved his hand in front of the woman. “Say something?”

The woman still didn’t respond. She just sat quietly in her seat and after waving at them for about eight times, she seemed to get tired of that activity as she picked up a sweater and needle and began knitting it.

The smile on her face remained motionless.

“Fuck, that’s a bit scary,” Yu Le muttered. “This is not a fucking person, is it? Could this be the ‘specialty’ mentioned by He An? The shopkeeper must be a man who got himself such a…”

“Welcome,” a stiff female voice sounded.

The voice was a bit low, but it was still very clear, with the unique tenderness of youth. A young girl opened the dim door behind the counter and stood in front of the three of them with a little reluctance.

The girl was very young, and her beautiful facial features still had the tenderness of a teenager. She looked like she was in her early twenties at most. She had neatly trimmed shoulder-length hair, wasn’t very tall, and her figure was thin. She wore only a black vest that exposed her shoulders and neck.

Yu Le took a deep breath.

The girl’s arms were all mechanical prosthetics. The prosthetic limb of her left arm was connected to the shoulder, and the right arm was connected to the elbow, so the joints were exposed. Sharp blades were also clearly embedded in the prosthetic limbs, which were tucked into the robotic arms that flashed coldly under the lights.

She nodded at them, her voice hoarse with age.

“I’m the shopkeeper,” she muttered. “What do you want?”

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The author has something to say:

Ruan: Vigilant

Tang: (*’へ’*)

↓

Ruan: Tangled

Tang: ∑(0ω0)

↓

The next stage to be continued—

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