Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 66: Lower Town
Tang Yibu made no movement.
He obediently pressed close to Ruan Xian and raised his hands high. Even if he had wiped it with a wet towel, there was still a lot of blood on his palm. Seeing that Tang Yibu didn’t mean to resist at all, Ruan Xian was the last one to raise his hand.
The iron bead didn’t dare scream anymore. It swooped under the seat, pretending that it didn’t exist.
The young man suspected of being an android raised his gun and looked very satisfied. “Yes, this is a lot less troublesome. Fu Yu, this time these people look quite honest.”
Six small spider-like machines wrapped around their wrists, then twisted up two beams of light before it snapped left and right, turning into solid handcuffs.
A man named Fu Yu finally stepped forward at this time. He was a little taller than He An, but he looked a lot more haggard, and the color of his eyes was very ordinary. He patted the armed guard twice and turned to look at Yu Le. “Where did you come from?”
“Sea of Ruins.” Old God Yu Le was fiddling with his handcuffs. “I had to be disinfected by the Order Supervisors, so I ran.”
“You didn’t come in through the regular entrance, which means no one guided you.” Fu Yu was expressionless. If it weren’t for his eyes, he seemed more like an android than He An, who was next to him. “He An, turn on the lie detector. Tell me, where did you get this information?”
“I used to be a pirate leader. The people on my ship talked about it. You know that we were trying to escape the Order Supervisors before we fell down. Laozi doesn’t have perspective eyes. What nonsense are you talking about?”
“I mean the information that you managed to successfully get down. Not many people know about it.”
“People who have been here told me that the top of the junkyard against the wall is unstable. You’ve seen this car. A little scan outside the dead wall’s influence, plus the impact from the explosion—” Yu Le made a gesture with his handcuffed hands. “Boom! We just fell down. Do you understand?”
“Heartbeat, breathing, hormone secretion, and brain waves have no lie characteristics.” He An was still smiling as he held a handheld device the size of a playing card. “He’s not lying.”
“What about you two. Are you also fleeing?” Fu Yu took a step forward and kicked away the green poisonous snail at his feet as he spoke listlessly.
“We are escorting this one. Of course, I have a personal reason as well.” Ruan Xian smile. “I’m here to find an acquaintance of an acquaintance who knows about the whole doomsday thing.”
“This is also the truth.” He An shook the machine in his hand.
“Hm.” Fu Yu flicked his fingers, and several mechanical police dogs stepped forward. They drew air from their mesh mouths, sniffed around Ruan Xian vigorously, turned their heads and began to sniff the disgraced off-road vehicle again.
The iron bead, who was in the car, screamed, then crawled out and shivered at Tang Yibu’s feet. Unfortunately, the mechanical police dogs didn’t let it go. One of them put its eyeless head, nose, and mouth close the iron bead, and the sound of sniffing became louder.
“There are only a small number of private weapons in the car, and no strategic weapons, germs, or toxins were found.” He An clicked on the light screen with his free hand. “This group of people is clean. That mechanical life isn’t hiding anything that shouldn’t be hidden.”
“How about you?” Fu Yu walked up to Tang Yibu. He first glanced at the rough bandaged arm, and then looked straight into Tang Yibu’s eyes. “Your purpose?”
Yu Le turned his head with interest.
“Just like him, we are here to escort Mr. Yu.” Tang Yibu glanced at He An on one side, but there wasn’t much of a smile on his face. “As for my personal reason… I just want to observe and accompany Mr. Ruan.”
“Still not lying.” He An yawned. “This group of people is boring enough. I thought it was pirates or bandits who invaded. Since they’re being so cooperative, let’s just forget it.”
Fu Yu was holding a cane-like machine that was scanning the surroundings repeatedly. A blue beam of light emanated from the tip of the cane and rotated with the cane at the center. Hearing this, he reluctantly tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Patience.”
Ruan Xian stared closely at He An’s every move. Except for those golden eyes, the other party resembled a human no matter how he looked at it. He even had more of a human feel than Tang Yibu, but his looks and those eyes…
“Don’t stare. Haven’t you seen an android before?” He An obviously noticed Ruan Xian’s gaze. He blew a whistle and recalled the mechanical police dogs to his feet. “Don’t you have one yourself? Fu Yu, he’s staring at me. It’s weird.”
“Not all things that have golden eyes are androids,” Ruan Xian responded quickly with a self-satisfied expression. “We are companions. I just like eyes that look like this.”
“Truth.” Fu Yu tossed the lie detector in his hand. “Okay, I apologize, but I didn’t think someone would really like that kind of thing.”
Yu Le retracted his gaze, and Fu Yu finally completed his scan. “There is currently no connectable communication, and there is no suspicious radiation. Come with us. I will arrange for you to enter the refuge later.”
“Refuge?” Ruan Xian didn’t miss the opportunity to ask questions.
“An armored off-road vehicle with weapons and food, plus two little rookies. If you two enter the city now, you’re going to be giving up your heads and resources to others.”
“I know the refuge, but what do you mean by ‘two’ rookies?” Yu Le interjected.
“Thus, we will take you to the refuge first, and then put you on the street after the curfew is over. Don’t worry, the curfew will be over in an hour or two. Right now, the streets are full of dangerous people.” He An ignored Lao Yu’s protest. “As for whether you are dead or alive after that, it depends on your abilities.”
“Thank you.”
“Fu Yu, this kid said thank you to me.” He An grinned. His golden eyes twinkle delicately.
“Hmm.” Fu Yu still looked slack, and his response was equally listless. “Hurry up and get in the car. I’ll take you…”
“The thermal conductivity controller in my car broke.” Yu Le gritted his teeth. “If possible, I don’t want to drive it. Do you have a mechanic here? I can exchange things for supplies.”
“He An, check it.” Fu Yu angled his chin towards the hood of the car.
He An, who didn’t get a response, slumped his shoulders and slowly rubbed against the hood of the car. He opened the hood and glanced in casually. “I can’t fix it.”
“What?” Yu Le’s voice suddenly rose an octave higher.
“The model of this car is too old. The brand is decades old. The structure for the new types of thermal conductivity controller is completely different from this thing. You have to make special alloys and find an old mechanic who… has an understanding of the structure of this kind of thing.” He An tapped his temple with his index finger. “At least I haven’t recorded such ancient information.”
“Well, if you don’t race it, you can still use it normally for at least three days. Anything more than that, it’s hard to say what will happen to this car. I certainly wouldn’t want to sit in it.”
Yu Le’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot. Ruan Xian sighed. “Then can we exchange materials for information. Do you know if there’s a mechanic who can repair this car?”
“Summer Street in Z-077 in lower town.” He An rolled his eyes. “The weapons control over there isn’t strict, and the black market workshops can make all kinds of alloys—but there’s a problem. As far as your group is concerned, if you’re seen as newcomers, you’ll be eaten alive with no bones left.”
“I’d like to see who can chew on laozi,” Yu Le muttered, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “As long as they can fix it, it’s fine.”
“As for the reward…” Ruan Xian turned his gaze into the car. Tang Yibu took a step forward with a sullen face, blocking Ruan Xian’s sight.
“There is no need for remuneration. I like you very much. This information is a gift. Anyway, it’s not of much value. Everyone knows that only people in lower town still remember these old things.” He An walked forward with a smile and reached out to pat Ruan Xian on the shoulder.
Pah.
Tang Yibu quickly slapped He An’s hand away, causing the latter to raise his eyebrows high.
“…He has a shoulder injury,” Tang Yibu bullshitted with a serious face.
“Hm, sorry.” He An hummed perfunctorily, walked back to Fu Yu, and stepped onto a hoverbike. “Let’s go, Fu Yu.”
After returning to the car, Ruan Xian wrinkled his brows. “What was that just now?”
“That’s an android.” Tang Yibu snorted.
“Of course I know.”
“You said you wouldn’t leave me.” Tang Yibu glanced at Yu Le, who was peeking at them, hugged the iron bead tightly, and replied meaningfully.
Ruan Xian could probably guess the other party’s concerns—after such a tussle in the Sea of Ruins, there were still a lot of bloodstains left on his white coat. He An might become suspicious if he accidentally cured something.
Up to now, he had a certain understanding of this fucking reality. It wasn’t clear to anyone whether He An was connected to the Mainbrain, or whether he would be a source that would leak the S-type Prototype information. As Tang Yibu, who controlled him and thus the S-type Prototype, naturally he wouldn’t be willing to watch his top blood bag be made public.
However, considering the sporadic blood stains on his coat, the possibility of the above happening was horribly low.
“…I was just saying things.” Ruan Xian felt like he had a headache coming. He rubbed his temples, and his tone was helpless. “I was just being a bit cliché. After all, none of us knows where Summer Street in Z-0777 in lower town is. Now, I think that android—”
“Oh, Tu Rui said before that your kid likes androids, and I thought he was joking.” Yu Le clicked his tongue from the driver’s seat, interrupting Ruan Xian’s words. “Now it seems that you really do have this kind of fetish. Xiao Tang, it seems like it was necessary for you to dye your eyes. Where did you do it? The effect is pretty good.”
“Have you heard of the Capital of Color north of Xinxili Street in S City? There’s a survivor who happened to be an employee there, so I asked him to dye it for me.” Tang Yibu answered back fluently. “Anyways, it’s just a nano-injection. All the printers in the forest refuge are good, provided you can afford the synthetic money.”
“It’s a pity, I always felt that my eyes were too light before, and I wanted to dye them into something scary. Since there hasn’t been a beautician caught in all these years, perhaps life in the Sea of Ruins is too difficult.” Yu Le’s tone was relaxed. He didn’t even look back. “As for Summer Street… Don’t worry, Xiao Ruan. I’ll let you know in a moment.”
In fact, Yu Le didn’t even need to say anything. After staying in the dusty, empty warehouse for an hour and a half, He An followed Yu Le into the car and went straight to the front passenger side seat.
Before Ruan Xian had time to greet him, Tang Yibu, who was sitting next to him, tightened his body.
He An smiled generously at Ruan Xian and curved his eyes. “I need to go pick up some goods ordered by Fu Yu, and since Yu Ge gave me a lot of good things, we can all go together.”
Tang Yibu thought for a moment, then slowly stretched out his hand and put his arm around Ruan Xian’s shoulder. Ruan Xian almost laughed out loud. Tang Yibu’s movements were almost indistinguishable from his protectiveness of his food under Yu Le’s eyes.
“Thank you.” Ruan Xian’s voice was full of smiles. Tang Yibu’s hand on his shoulder tightened instantly. The iron bead climbed onto his knees and began to bark at He An.
“Be quiet π. Those mechanical police dogs have already left.” Ruan Xian knocked on the shell of the iron bead, but this only turned the harsh rattle into a threatening low growl.
“This glass stands well.” He An said with emotion, touching the bulletproof glass that divided them from the back seat. “It still hurts to be bitten by this thing. Hey, pay attention to the front and brake in time—Without the thermal conductivity controller, braking sharply is tantamount to playing with your life.”
Yu Le immediately toned down his driving on the majestic off-road vehicle, as if he was pedaling on a tricycle. They staggered to a stop in front of a gate. He An rolled down the passenger window and asked the scanning drone at the door to scan his eyes one by one.
In the next second, the gate slowly opened.
This was the first time Ruan Xian had seen this three-dimensional city up close. It reminded him of the Kowloon Walled City recorded in history. Except for the ground, buildings were crowded from all sides. The walls of various materials were dilapidated and gray, but there was white or yellow light slowly overflowing into almost every window. The pipes were like the roots of plants. They gathered together, so densely packed that one couldn’t see the beginning and end of where they were connected to. White smoke steamed out of the damaged mouths. Many buildings were hung with bright, dazzling neon lights, and there were many light screens projected into the air. Unfortunately, the image quality and content were cheap. Ruan Xian looked around and saw only explicit pornographic advertisements and various drug recommendations.
It was like a giant maze of light and walls.
The small machine undoubtedly proved the level of science and technology, but the atmosphere here was full of decadence and decay. The turbid air was mixed with a strange putrid smell, like a patient’s breath before he died. Ruan Xian was almost knocked down by the overly strong stench, and he subconsciously leaned back.
“This is midtown. The air here is pretty good. Uptown is a little cleaner than here. As for lower town… People who are used to it say it is fine, but you better put on a gas mask first.”
Yu Le simply turned on the car’s air filter. “We have gas masks, thank you.”
“Nn.” He An pointed to a road hidden in the depths of the buildings. “In that case, we can go straight down. Also, don’t bother scanning. This place is like the Sea of Ruins. You can’t figure it out even if you take two or three months.”
He stopped talking, turned his face, and glanced at Ruan Xian, who was still smiling, and Tang Yibu, who looked like all his hair was about to explode.
“Although the lie detector proved that the two didn’t lie, this friend’s appearance is special, so I still want to remind you. It’s particularly dangerous for old android models in lower town, so it’s best to pay attention.”
After that, he smiled. “A well-preserved cybernetic brain is worth a lot of money.”
The author has something to say:
The coconut in Tang’s coconut is experiencing a crisis (X
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