Eating

"Hey, hello."

The senior engineer greeted him.

The next moment, Gao Yuanyuan darted into the room like a rabbit, and with a bang, the bedroom door was slammed shut. Gao Gong even heard the sound of the door being locked from the inside.

"Am I that scary?"

The senior engineer stroked his chin, expressing his bewilderment at this behavior. In fact, the act of "signing a guardianship agreement" requires the signature of a family member to be valid, which means that the other party should have known about this matter for a long time.

So, what is the other party afraid of?

Or perhaps the other party thinks they should be a kind old couple?

Don't be ridiculous, this is a cyber test site, there aren't that many normal people here.

The senior engineer shook his head, continued with his work, threw the trash downstairs, plugged in the power to the temporary operating table, and began testing it. One of the operating arms began to move flexibly.

Next to the operating table was a mobile cart filled with various medications, with the prosthetic body placed on the second shelf of the cart.

Every prosthetic doctor has their own underground clinic, and possibly more than one.

Each clinic has its own name, and the name is its unique feature.

After thinking it over, the senior engineer decided to make 'neural modification' his main focus.

The name is "Mr. G's Neurotic Hut".

In the City That Never Sleeps, while doctors aren't as rare as in the Radiation Desert, they are still considered hidden characters, and you won't encounter them without a certain connection.

This is why the senior engineer made a round of calls, and these informants readily agreed; knowing a cyber doctor is a very valuable connection.

"By the way, it's been a long time since I've bet on blueprints."

After thinking for a moment, the senior engineer realized that the players would be arriving in a few days, and there was still a good market for a large number of low-level blueprints.

Let's start with the musculoskeletal and nervous systems.

You have obtained the Level 2 Biological Blueprint [Explosion-Proof Ligament]

You have obtained the Level 1 Mechanical Blueprint [Iron Blade Arm Groove]

You have obtained the Level 1 Mechanical Blueprint [Thigh Accessory Slot]

[You have obtained the Level 1 Biological Blueprint [Cartilage Grinding]]

You have obtained a Level 1 Biological Blueprint [Hard Bone Thickened]

You have obtained the Level 1 Mechanical Blueprint [Forearm Blade]

You have obtained the Level 1 Mechanical Blueprint [Low-Grade Intraocular Crystal]

You have obtained the Level 1 Mechanical Blueprint [Implantable Socket]

You have obtained the Level 2 Mechanical Blueprint [Pain Aggravator]

You have obtained the Level 1 Mechanical Blueprint [Plastic Cat's Eye]

At this moment, the senior engineer's left hand was undergoing a routine prosthetic surgery.

Similar to the neural modifications to the right hand, except this time the modification is simply to implant a socket.

Prosthetic Insertion Port: A physical insertion port for connecting prosthetic devices; it can also be used to insert chips, neural sensing devices, etc.

Soon, a data interface appeared on the back of the senior engineer's left hand.

[You have a prosthetic implant inserted]

The senior engineer moved his left hand and inserted the chip into the back of his hand.

The next moment, a virtual projection appeared directly in front of them.

"Mr. G, you are now officially the guardian of 'Gao Yuanyuan,' citizen number 3134412 of the City That Never Sleeps."

You will inherit the three identification chips (tax, loan, and mastermind) from Gao Chaomin and Du Lili.

Since the two individuals have been removed from their positions in the main brain, the main brain's functions will be disabled.

The "main brain function" has turned gray, leaving only two items: taxation and loans.

Clicking on the tax app displayed a line of text on the projector. "15 days until the next citizen tax payment."

"Paying taxes, those are two words I miss so much."

He then clicked on the loan application.

"Your overdue tax payment amount is 240,000 machine points."

240,000?

Did Gao Yuanyuan's parents take out high-interest loans? How come they owe so much?

I have this strange feeling of taking over something that's not my problem.

As the senior engineer was pondering this, a soft "click" sounded, and a figure emerged from the crack in the door. The figure had its head down, hands clenched, face pale, and body trembling slightly, appearing extremely nervous.

"Hello, what should I call you, Yuanyuan?"

After a long while, a faint voice finally came from the other party's mouth. If the senior engineer's perception hadn't been close to 100, he probably wouldn't have heard it.

"You... you should leave."

Damn it, they won't even let me take a turn!

The senior engineer looked at the other person with great interest and asked, "Did you sign the guardianship agreement yourself?"

"...yes."

"You've changed your mind."

The girl in front of him nodded slightly, then quickly shook her head, her big eyes instantly filling with tears.

The Sadako before him possessed both a soft voice and a gentle body, which greatly pleased the senior engineer. He had seen at least 80, if not 100, lolis in the desert, each one more fierce than the last. He never expected to see such a powerful attribute in the upgraded version of the loli, the young girl.

I am greatly pleased!

"Is it because of those loans?"

Gao Yuanyuan nodded gently.

"So, personally, would you prefer me to be here, or not?"

Gao Yuanyuan's eyes widened, and her face flushed red.

"If you don't tell me, I'll assume you're happy to accept it," the engineer said, stretching and revealing his strong muscles through his t-shirt.

"Is there anything to eat? I only had a bowl of noodles this morning, and after being busy all morning, I'm hungry again."

Gao Yuanyuan opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Doesn't this person realize he's a huge burden?

"Hey, is anyone there?!"

"Paying back debts is a matter of course, and children should repay their parents' debts. Although our Welfare Gang isn't the original creditor, we're the ones who took down those scumbags."

"Who agrees with me? Who disagrees?"

The senior engineer turned his head and saw a young man with tattooed arms standing at the door, banging a kukri on the door.

These are the same people who took over the arcade yesterday, right?

Welfare Gang, a new gang? The name sounds wholesome.

Leaky Guy is not a typical gangster in the city. He is an illegal immigrant from Fuqing Island and a free citizen of the East Eighth District. He has not yet had time to get the unique marks of urban gangsters - gang tattoos that can project in 3D and transplanted screens that repeatedly play gang slogans.

But as an outer member of a newly formed gang, he was not lacking in ruthlessness. The gaps in the iron blades on the inside of his forearms were filled with a mixture of black mud, bone fragments, and flesh and blood, like leeks stuck between his teeth. His ill-fitting suit jacket and the tiny motors hanging on his two metal prosthetic legs, with the hand crank running all the way to his waist, transformed this rather rustic Fuqing boy into a diesel-electric killing machine.

Clearly, this young man was far more terrifying than the senior engineer, Gao Yuanyuan almost instinctively darted behind the senior engineer.

"Don't worry, I will protect you."

After calming the girl down, the senior engineer casually walked up to her.

"You're not Gao Yuanyuan," the tattooed young man paused, then double-checked the IOU. "Who are you?"

"I am Gao Yuanyuan's distant cousin. How much money does she owe you? Name your amount."

"City folks are so straightforward. It's 22,000 credits in total. Give me the money, and I'll be gone right away." The other person's expression softened.

"I have no money."

The leaky man was furious.

"What's wrong with city people? Just because they owe money doesn't mean they don't have to pay it back! Believe me or not, I'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs!!"

"Keep your voice down," Gao Yuanyuan suddenly whispered.

"Huh? What did she say?" The leaky guy looked at the senior engineer.

"She told you to keep your voice down, and also, not to turn on the lights."

"What do you mean? You think I'll just turn off the lights? I'm warning you, because of that, I'm going to chop off another finger of yours today!"

"You want me to keep the lights off? Humph! I'm turning them on anyway!"

The guy who was leaking water didn't believe in superstitions, or rather, he was stubborn and turned on the light directly.

The next moment, the 3D debt text automatically popped up outside the door and landed at the doorway, hitting the high-pitched level of over 100 decibels.

"Paying back debts is a matter of course!!!"

This feeling is like a hundred people shouting in your ear at the same time.

The leaky boy felt as if he had been hit hard on the back of the head. A stream of heat flowed down his thin skin, becoming increasingly damp along his spine. Finally, his waist shuddered involuntarily, and a trickle of yellow liquid flowed down his crotch.

"..."

The three of them fell silent.

The leaky guy's eyes were red, his lips were trembling, and he raised his left hand, 'whoosh' and pulled out a bloodstained dog leg knife from the inside of his forearm.

"None of you are leaving here today."

"The incorrect installation of the engine affected the urethra," the senior engineer glanced at the other man's crotch. "After each time you chop someone up, do you feel an intense urge to urinate, and sometimes even lose control of your bladder?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?!" the leaky guy gritted his teeth.

"It's not a big problem, we can just adjust the wiring. Come on, sit on the operating table, I'll fix it for you. Oh, and let me clean your pants first."

The guy stared intently at the other person, who had his back to him. He could easily sever the other person's head with a single slash.

After a long while, he finally managed to utter a sentence.

"I... I didn't come here for that."

"So, are you here to collect money, or do you want me to solve your problems with frequent urination and urinary incontinence?"

After much internal struggle between gang loyalty and personal issues, Leaky Guy finally made up his mind.

Gangs are nothing!

"If you help me solve this problem, I'll pretend I never saw you today."

"Make a deal!"

Ten minutes later—

[You have completed the adjustment of the inferior mech, experience +100]

The leaky boy felt completely relaxed and even jumped up and down a few times.

"Refreshing, very refreshing."

"Remember this, there won't be another chance like this. Anyone who offends my Welfare Help will be punished, no matter how far away they are!"

"These are some oral medications I prescribed to relieve your pain when you urinate."

"Thank you, boss."

After the other person left, the engineer stretched and turned around to see Gao Yuanyuan looking at him with bright eyes.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot about the important matter."

The senior engineer slapped his forehead and pulled out two small shovels and two earplugs.

"Let's go and scrape those words off the outside."

"Um!"

The electronic rain continued to fall, enveloping the entire city that never sleeps in a rainstorm. In a dilapidated building, a sliver of warmth squeezed out from the gloomy environment.

After the last word was erased, those large, Sadako-like eyes finally curved into a big crescent moon.

"Have a meal."

"Wait a minute," Gao Yuanyuan jogged into the room, took out a palm-sized "player," placed it on the table, and with a flash of electronic light, the two lumps of nutritional paste quickly turned into two exquisitely shaped steaks.

"Have a meal!"

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