"Actually, a lot of people who know the inside story are curious. They just don't dare ask you to your face, Lord Qin. What does it feel like to have a physical body?"
In front of the warehouse, Brother Bang had finally relaxed after seeing the specially made power armor and the ridiculous assortment of weapons beside it. Then he seized the opportunity to ask:
"How is it different from when you were a player?"
"Not much different. After all, a player's psychic projection is made to be one hundred percent realistic. At least as far as the senses go, it's exactly the same as before. And the player interface is still here, too. Physically, it feels about the same as playing a game.
"If I had to name a difference, not being able to turn off pain or the mental calibration is a real problem."
Old Qin lit a cigarette and sighed.
"Without the black-tech mental filter, I need time to calm down after every battle. The worst part is, all those negative emotions don't matter much in everyday life, but they become a serious problem when you're face-to-face with creatures of Chaos.
"So lately, I've been working hard at meditation, trying to purify my mind that way.
"But I hear they're conducting special organ-enhancement experiments at R-9 Base. By stimulating a Chaos Core to create mental restraints, they can achieve something similar to the cognitive filter in the game helmet. To get that kind of result, though, you have to implant both a symbiote and a Chaos Core.
"And you need a physical body before either of those can be implanted.
"My body is just an experimental model. I was born with a genetic defect, so I can't withstand the symbiote's unique organs.
"So those two things won't