"How many cities like New Shanghai 0297 are there?" Electronic Sheep frowned.
"All I can say is, far more than you know. To make management easier, the corporations divide cities into different living zones, but I don't know the specifics either. Like you, I'm just an ordinary employee at Shen Tang Morgan's New Shanghai 0297 branch." As he spoke, Qiu Ming led Zhang Heng and Electronic Sheep through the crowds at the station.
The three took the escalator to the Fourth Layer. There were no more job applicants here, only staff in blue uniforms driving forklifts back and forth, transporting 2m x 1m metal crates down to the station below. Two men who looked like security guards stood outside the main doors as well.
Qiu Ming showed them his employee ID, and only then were the three allowed through. He then pointed at a small building ahead. "Xu Qian is in there. You came just in time. Any later, and her memories would have been rewritten. She'd be molded into someone suited for her next job, then packed into one of those crates you saw and shipped off to another city. You'd never see her again."
Although the walk from the main doors hadn't been far, Electronic Sheep felt as if he had been walking for years. He stared at the door before him, his emotions complicated.
Zhang Heng didn't urge him on and simply stood to one side, waiting quietly. Electronic Sheep took ten seconds to compose himself, then drew a deep breath and used the wristband on his hand to unlock the door.
The room was much larger than he had imagined. From the furnishings alone, it looked more like a hotel suite than a prison cell. Xu Qian was sitting on the sofa, watching a projected soap