Pleasures in an Aberrant World

"No, where does this stuff get addictive!" Chu Yunyi's eyes widened, utterly baffled.

But soon.

Chu Yunyi remembered short videos he'd watched before.

Sugar, it turns out, actually has addictive properties...

The addictiveness of caffeine, cigarettes, and alcohol takes effect immediately, but sugar's addiction builds up gradually over time.

People can quit coffee, quit alcohol, quit smoking, but quitting sugar for life is very difficult.

In a way.

The addictive potential of this stuff isn't low...

After all, once sweetness is perceived, it can be directly transmitted through nerve conduction, bringing people a sense of pleasure.

It also stimulates the brain to release dopamine, causing people to crave and depend on sweets again.

A person can never have eaten sugar.

But once they get hooked, they'll never be able to shake it off for the rest of their lives.

"This is f*cking ridiculous." Chu Yunyi realized belatedly that it was actually true.

Even at this moment.

Even if it was just the White Ball's ability, as long as it was a passive effect, it was constantly activating.

NO.5 [Eidetic Memory], NO.7 [Orderly].

In an instant.

Chu Yunyi thought of something and immediately found the footage from the thugs earlier.

Those two thugs, one of them had something in his mouth...

Later, his head exploded from a gunshot, and the thing in his mouth flew out with it.

If Chu Yunyi's guess was correct.

That wasn't a cigarette...

But... a lollipop...

"Damn it."

"What the hell is going on in this world."

For some reason, Chu Yunyi felt a sliver of guilt.

He had no psychological burden killing a thug who blocked his path.

But if the guy was holding a lollipop, Chu Yunyi subconsciously categorized him as a child, and killing a child made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

Chu Yunyi was just that strange.

"My condolences to you two brothers, three seconds of silence." He closed his eyes, lamenting this messed-up world.

Watching the burly man eat, everyone around swallowed their saliva.

They all ordered one!

"Boss, I'll have a slice of red velvet cake too! With frosting!"

"Me too!"

Listening to the noisy, yet incredibly harmonious atmosphere, Chu Yunyi only felt it was incredibly messed up.

"Wait, didn't Old Jin say this was a bar?"

"Where's the alcohol?!"

Thinking about it, Chu Yunyi understood something.

His NO.6 [Words of All Spirits] automatically matched meanings. Old Jin's 'bar' might just refer to a place for leisure and entertainment, plus other things.

It was similar to the place Chu Yunyi understood, so he automatically accepted the term.

In this noisy environment filled with burly men and prosthetic modders, even if it were called a dessert shop, Chu Yunyi wouldn't have subconsciously accepted it.

Thinking about it this way.

This ability wasn't completely wrong, it was half right.

Chu Yunyi looked at the bizarre atmosphere and didn't want to stay here anymore. A bar with no cigarettes or alcohol, only red velvet cakes, was too weird...

Just as he was about to move.

Words came from beside him:

"I hunted twelve Aberrations yesterday, are there more and more of them?"

"I think you're just showing off your Credit Points, aren't you?!"

"Stop messing around, there really seem to have been quite a few lately, it's strange."

"Who cares, we'll kill one when they show up, kill a pair when two show up!"

Listening to the recent conversation, Chu Yunyi perked up.

Credit Points?

Aberrations?

Weren't these the two things he wanted?

But soon.

The table nearby shifted to other topics, and Chu Yunyi lost interest.

Thinking.

Chu Yunyi walked directly to the table, pulled up a stool, and began to inquire.

He had originally expected some response like, "Kid? Are you looking for trouble?!" or "Youngster, do you think you deserve to sit here?" followed by a physical suppression.

But to his surprise, these people were quite accommodating to Chu Yunyi, an outsider.

"I just heard you say that hunting Aberrations can earn Credit Points?"

Hearing this, the burly men at the table were stunned.

Then they burst into laughter.

It was as if they had heard something incredibly ignorant.

It was like someone asking, "Are cucumbers green?" or "Is cooked rice still called rice?" Their questions sounded utterly outlandish to them.

But soon.

One of the burly men's eyes swept over, and his personal terminal did not scan Chu Yunyi's neural terminal.

"Wait, why don't you have a personal terminal?"

"Damn, he really doesn't!"

"A young master who ran away from home in the upper city? Or a pitiful orphan who hasn't been registered..."

Upon mentioning the latter, the burly men at the table fell silent, looking at Chu Yunyi with pity.

The leading burly man slammed the table and shouted:

"This damned world!"

"Ask away, kid. We'll help if we can." The burly man looked at Chu Yunyi with clear eyes.

Chu Yunyi felt a bit ashamed.

"I'm from another world... Never mind."

"By going to kill Aberrations, I can get Credit Points, is that right?"

"And where are the Aberrations? Outside the city?"

Hearing this question, the burly men looked around and quickly replied to Chu Yunyi:

"You must have a personal terminal. Oh... you're wearing a portable one, an old model."

"Not outside the city, but in the 'Outer Domain'. There are many Aberrations in the Outer Domain."

"Aberrations are also divided into many types. The most troublesome are the 'Tumors' that can multiply infinitely. Others depend on their combat power."

"If you're lucky, killing a few of the weakest 'Skeleton' Aberrations would make the trip worthwhile."

"If you're going, take this advice from your uncles: find a team."

Hearing this, Chu Yunyi's heart filled with doubt: "Team?"

"That's right, you have to go in groups for this kind of thing."

"If you have nowhere to go, considering the time, the Wild Dog House should be coming soon."

"They like bringing in newcomers the most, and they're good people."

After listening.

Chu Yunyi took their advice to heart and quietly waited for the Wild Dog House to arrive.

Suddenly.

The metal door of the tavern was violently pushed open again, making a loud noise.

"Hey, hey, hey! Give me a syrup toast! I don't want to eat liquid nutrient paste anymore!"

"Quiet down, be quiet."

"One Bavarian cream, eight parts sugar."

"I want caramel pudding."

Five people entered, dressed in various styles.

The man leading them was tall, his prosthetics predominantly black, but his mechanical arms were even more striking, each half as tall as he was.

There was also a curly-haired guy, the one shouting the loudest.

He was otherwise normal, but the prosthetics on his hands were very obvious, appearing to be movable composite structures.

There was also a short, scrawny man, but he was the most striking.

Both of his legs were prosthetics, two mechanical legs, and a mechanical spine connected them at his back, looking quite terrifying.

Finally, there was a simple, strong man and a young girl.

The simple, strong man had relatively simple prosthetics, but he had undergone some modifications. He carried a large backpack on his back, like a moose.

The young girl looked normal at first glance, but the joints of her skin were sealed with metal wires, suggesting her entire skin was a modified prosthetic.

Looking at this group, Chu Yunyi fell into thought.

So this is the so-called Wild Dog House?

I don't know.

How much strength do these so-called modified prosthetics grant beyond human capabilities?

But Chu Yunyi knew.

Since he had made a request to the [Void Door], his opportunity for improvement might not be prosthetics, but the nearly endless Aberrations outside the city!

As long as he kept killing them, he could continuously acquire new abilities!

By then.

If Chu Yunyi could draw an ability like Space Slash, would he still need to worry about Xia Tian?

He could just send his brain to outer space, his torso to lava, and his lower body to the water to feed the fish!

Besides that.

The more abilities the better. Even if a pile of passive skills stacked up, he would directly touch the transcendent!

Thinking this.

Chu Yunyi walked forward directly and stated his purpose to the people of the Wild Dog House.

Surprisingly, there were no incidents. The people in this tavern seemed very friendly, even overly enthusiastic.

This situation would be fine in a peaceful world.

But in a world full of Aberrations, where everyone had combat power, it was truly unbelievable.

After staying in the tavern for a while longer, Chu Yunyi finally understood.

So.

It wasn't that there were no conflicts, but rather that all the conflicts and rifts here were blocked by a single social class.

The lower city dwellers extremely despised the upper city dwellers, wishing they could curse them a dozen times a day.

But towards their 'own people' from the lower city, they became helpful instead, especially towards native humans like Chu Yunyi.

Although he could understand it.

It still felt subtly strange.

It even gave Chu Yunyi the illusion that by being in this world, he had become one of the few bad guys.