A Surge in Passenger Traffic

"Hot Wind, you did say that just now."

Meteor sat crouched on the stone steps, showing no intention of getting up and leaving immediately.

"I owe a debt? Four thousand five hundred yuan?"

[This is the price of using Venom; you pay, it does the work, it's fair.]

Meteor frowned and looked down at the other solvents in the incubator. According to this calculation, every minute and every second in the Shinto City would cost money as long as one was alive.

[Forty-eight hours, including sleep, will cost you four thousand five hundred, that's one hundred and eighty-seven dollars and fifty cents per hour, three dollars, one cent, two cents and five cents per minute. Every breath, every thought, you're spending money.]

[As long as you rely on VENOM to survive, you have to keep earning money.]

Meteor fiddled with the other solutions in the insulated box and asked without hesitation, "What if I drink all of this and still don't make any money?"

[Then you will be in debt.]

What if I can't repay this debt?

[If you don't pay on time, interest will accrue. If you still can't pay the interest, after a period of time—it could be very long or very short—[The Eternal World] will investigate you to determine whether you are a beast or an infant.]

[Because in Shinto City, those who cannot create value for society, those who cannot enter the industrial system, are relegated to the categories of beasts and infants.]

[If you become a beast, you will enter Extreme Bliss Space, where the [Day Patrol] will take over your body, while your spirit and soul will travel to a cyberspace, where you will live forever, becoming an exhibit in an electronic museum.]

Meteor couldn't imagine that, based on just a few words from Hot Wind, he couldn't comprehend what that infernal hell was.

[If you don't understand, your older brother possesses a wondrous psychic power called [Fragrant Dream], right?]

Meteor nodded heavily.

"Yes."

[Extreme Bliss Space is like another Fragrant Dream, but it is a special region created by the neural networks of many different Homo sapiens, where people attain eternal freedom and peace.]

[You won't even know when you entered [Extreme Bliss Space]. Before that, they'll install an [Ascension Module] on you, and when you were captured by the [Night Patrol], they injected you with three doses of a drug.]

[The first injection is saline solution, used to test the flow of fluid through your body tissues.]

[The second injection is an anesthetic, causing your consciousness to leave your body.]

[The third injection is a muscle relaxant, which makes it impossible for you to breathe on your own, and your cardiopulmonary system gradually stops working.]

[Actually, there's a fourth injection, which is chloride. This is standard execution procedure. In the moments before you die, [The Eternal World] will preserve your Liman model, and you'll become an exhibit in the Shinto City History Museum.]

Upon hearing this, Meteor broke out in a cold sweat; he realized he had been one step away from death.

[I saved you. [Night Patrol] thought you were a beast, but I took it upon myself to modify your arm, giving you Venom and making you a legal citizen of Shinto City.]

If you can't repay your debts, you'll only be treated like an infant, needing re-education and further learning.

Meteor struggled to his feet, determined to go outside the alley. Every minute that passed meant he was losing 187 yuan—time was money, and he had to do several things at once.

As he walked, he listened carefully to the guidance of the Hot Wind.

[As for this re-education and further learning, that also requires payment.]

[The basic medical insurance services you previously owed, such as these six vials of electrolyte solution, totaled 27,000 yuan. This debt, including principal, could snowball to a maximum of 30,000 yuan before triggering the medical insurance's circuit breaker mechanism.]

You will be taken to the [Classic Human] school of the [Day Patrol] unit, where you will receive skills training until you are competent in a certain position and create value for society.

The moment he stepped out of the alley, Meteor was blinded by the lights of the main street. He covered his face in defense, and after a few seconds, he felt the people around him rushing by like the wind. The warning of the Hot Wind still lingered in his ears.

[Of course, this costs money. This tuition fee requires a collateral process. If you can't pay it back now, you can use a portion of your memories as collateral.]

The meteor was too preoccupied to heed the guidance of the Hot Wind.

When he came to his senses, he stared at the crowds coming and going on the sidewalk, his mind filled with many fantasies.

What's going on?

That's not it.

Wasn't it said that Shinto City had been abandoned?

This place suffered from natural disasters and was reduced to ruins fifty years ago.

But now

He saw that the people on both sides of the street were all staring straight ahead without any hesitation, their eyes bright and piercing, dressed in simple clothes, carrying strong symbols.

Looking down from the Little Kanto, most of the people walking from the southwest corner of the street were dressed in sharp suits. The men wore ties, carried briefcases, and held electrolyte solutions of various flavors in their other hands as a supplement, as a necessary source of energy for their workday.

The women, dressed in office suits, shirts, and pencil skirts, flocked to the transportation hub and office buildings on the northeast side.

No one spoke; they followed the security signs and headed to their respective workstations.

For a moment, Meteor felt flustered. He didn't know how to position himself in the crowd. He saw far too many things—far too many.

In the distance, the low-altitude railcar at the hub had just started moving. It was the maglev high-speed train from the Little Kanto Chiba Prefecture No. 2. It looked like a dark green Divine Dragon and disappeared in a flash.

At a higher and more distant location, atop the [The Eternal World] government center building, a scroll screen tilts down from the rooftop, revealing a virtual image of Matsushima Seiko emerging from the image, waving warmly to every citizen.

The dappled, illusory light and the lifelike, realistic figures made Meteor begin to doubt whether he was truly living in the real world.

[This is true, Bu Liuxing.]

[This is true. This is Shinto City, the first administrative office of Kanto Prefecture, street number 141.]

[According to the customs of the [The Eternal World], they like to place newborns here. When you come to this street and see the bustling street scene, the tall buildings, and the towering structure connecting heaven and earth in the distance, you should be able to adapt to this pace of life and accept the way the Shinto City operates.]

Meteor: "Why aren't they saying anything? They don't seem like human beings."

Just as the meteor described, not only the passing citizens, but also the sanitation workers working under various ultraviolet lights, showed no intention of communicating, but simply buried themselves in pruning broad-leaved vegetation and climbing high-rise buildings to plant spider plants.

Besides the different shoes and the different boot heels striking complex notes on the floor.

The image of Matsushima Seiko was constantly changing; it was a virtual projection shaped by sound waves and fine sand. Against the backdrop of these booming sounds, there was no human language in this world.

[Because they are all asleep, they live in [Extreme Bliss Space], Bu Liuxing.]

Meteor followed the surging crowd, catching up with one of the passersby and carefully observing the person's expression—

--This young man, like the others, stared straight ahead with a clear goal, allowing no hesitation. Upon arriving at the hub, he immediately extended the VENOM on his right arm toward the traffic checkpoint. After passing through, he quickly slipped into the diversion elevator and soon disappeared.

"They're asleep? They've passed out? What does that mean? Hot Wind."

Meteor looked around, countless people passing by. The morning rush hour ticked away, and when all the commuters had left and he was the only one left, he walked along the main road to the riverbank.

[Most of the office workers you see have purchased managed services. Artificial Intelligence can help you with your work, control your body, examine your mind, unleash your talents, and complete 100% of physical work and 78% of mental work.]

Artificial Intelligence doesn't slack off; it overcomes all kinds of difficulties and obstacles, maintaining a high level of focus, making it an excellent productivity tool.

During this time, you can go on vacation to [Extreme Bliss Space], for example, to appreciate other people's artwork, play in another world, build your own virtual space, or visit other people's virtual spaces—like observing the life cycle of a wild animal in an electronic museum.

As I mentioned before, death no longer exists in the traditional sense in Shinto City. If you are extremely poor, [The Eternal World] will do everything possible to help you escape poverty and even incur debt. At worst, you will go to another world and become friends with the people in [Extreme Bliss Space].

The line between life and death becomes blurred. If you become a beast in an electronic museum, perhaps someone will take a liking to you, buy your freedom, and reshape your physical form—you'll be alive again.

This is the reincarnation cycle of Shinto City.

The inland river of Little Kanto is right next to the estuary of Yong'an County.

The city radiates a dazzling array of colors, and beneath the ocean waves, there seems to be another bustling metropolis unknown to most.

Meteor watched all this silently until an elite unit from the [Day Patrol] came before him.

Day Patrol detective. "Is this Bu Liuxing?"

A Xing was startled; he looked in the direction of the sound—

The man looked almost exactly like the executioner from the Night Patrol, which made him wary and caused him to release an excess of adrenaline almost immediately.

The VENOM mechanism on the right arm released nanomechanicals, which transformed into a flexible mesh fabric, becoming nanoarmor, and the Hot Wind also went into alert mode.

The Day Patrol detective raised his hands and took two steps back.

"No! I have no intention of attacking! I just want to ask a few questions, Your Excellency Bu Liuxing!"

A Xing was panting heavily.

He could feel it, he could feel how much the Hot Wind hated those cops.

"I am not like the [Night Patrol] enforcer who arrested you. We are from the same batch of [Angel Infant], clones of the same template. But I can assure you that at this moment, I will not harm you— Bu Liuxing."

The Day Patrol officer explained in a friendly tone.

"I'm in charge of security in the first district of Little Kanto, from the [The Eternal World] Government Office to the [Forty-Three Pillars]. It's working hours now, and I see you wandering around here. Haven't found a job yet?"

Bu Liuxing: "How do you know my name? Are you two very familiar?"

[Meteor Boy, in this city, anyone who possesses VENOM has no secrets from the six departments. They know who you are.]

Day Patrol Detective: "I'd like to be your friend. Your life experience is a valuable asset to [The Eternal World]—it can bring many contributions to this society."

Meteor couldn't understand the unspoken meaning of the metal android; it simply remained vigilant and slowly retreated step by step.

Day Patrol Detective: "Bu Liuxing, your VENOM should have shown you the way, right? It tells you what to do next, it analyzes your essence, interprets your mental state, and arranges a job for you, is that right?"

Bu Liuxing was about to speak.

[Hey bro, don't expose me, I'm an illegal person.]

A Xing nodded. "Yes."

Day Patrol detective. "So, where are you going next? I can give you a ride."

A Xing: "Me"

[Become a fitness instructor to help people improve their physical health.]

A Xing: "I want to be a fitness instructor."

The Day Patrol detective beamed with joy, a smile emanating from his sharp, angular face, which sent chills down Meteor's spine—that smile truly came from the heart; intense emotions cannot be faked.

"We do indeed need a teacher like you. If your knowledge could reach the [The Eternal World], and every soldier were as strong as you, that would be wonderful. In that case, I won't disturb your studies and cultivation any longer. I'll take my leave now."

Ignore him, he'll leave on his own. Don't say anything unnecessary.

The shooting star stopped moving.

The Day Patrol officer, clutching his chest, bowed to A Xing in gratitude, then paged the drone and flew away.

Meteor's legs went weak; facing the violent machinery, he could barely breathe.

After the executioner on Night Patrol forced Brother Ping An to his knees, Meteor was haunted by a demon in his heart. He couldn't think of a way to defeat these androids.

When that drone flew over just now, you could see the weapon backpack in the center of its six rotors. It was far more than the firepower displayed by the executioner.

Meteor: "Hot Wind, you seem to really dislike these guys."

If many people used your face and your body to live in this world, would you like these guys?

Meteor: "What do you mean?"

[Typical humans, also known as classic humans—the babies born in this medical and educational institution mostly look alike; they are clones, created based on different genetic blueprints, corresponding to outstanding warriors, scholars, artists, educators, researchers, and so on throughout history.]

These babies are called "Angel Infant," clones cultivated in artificial wombs. The blueprint for the violent institutions and personnel used by the six major departments comes from me, Hot Wind Boy.

[The Night Patrol executioner who cut off Luo Ping'an's arm is my mortal spirit left behind in this city.]

[The filthy idiot who broke your arm is my son.]

[The detective who stopped you earlier, telling you to get to work immediately, is also my clone.]

[If they find out that I, Hot Wind, am still alive in your arm, you'll be wanted by the highest level.]

Meteor: "Were you a damn criminal before? Or a super soldier?"

[Meteor. It's all fate that brought us together. Right now, [The Eternal World] doesn't even know what you're carrying, but these guys are pretty humane. They won't do anything to you until they verify my identity.]

Meteor: "You used to be a criminal, didn't you?"

Bu Liuxing: "Hot Wind, what do you want me to do? What do you want to use me for? My Ming Ge said, there's no such thing as a free lunch. You help me, I help you, that's a good thing—but if other complicated things get involved, it becomes very, very bad."

The area of Little Kanto is enough to keep Meteor exploring for quite some time.

Let alone a virtual world like [Extreme Bliss Space], it would take him quite a while to even walk through the city's twenty-odd main roads. Without the help of the Hot Wind and the guidance of VENOM, this city is just a steel jungle to Homo sapiens. Without modification, humans are indeed like infants and wild beasts.

[I want revenge, bro.]

I want to smash this city to pieces, to overturn it completely, inside and out.

I once had a wife, a lover; she was a rose in the flames, and we shared a revolutionary friendship that transcended life and death.

A Xing: "You must be very happy."

In this era, anyone can fall in love with her in [Extreme Bliss Space], anyone can bring a copy of her home, anyone can. Now my wife is like the subway—passenger traffic skyrockets during holidays.

A Xing: "Damn it, that's such a despicable thing to say! Buddha won't forgive you!"

[I'm a fun person, but I never expected to become the fun of it all.]

A Xing: "And then?"

Tell me what you're planning to do?

A Xing said fiercely.

"I need to find my Wolf Brother. Xue Ming entrusted Ahei to me, and I can't abandon him. I also need to find Brother Ping'an, and then cut off the Night Patrol Executioner's arm. I must avenge this."

[The time you spend here, converted into money]

A Xing: "Stop talking nonsense, tell me how to make money. I need to go to work, right?"

Forget about working. What wage earner in this world gets rich? You have great collateral, it must be worth a lot of money. We need to find a place to settle down first.

Let's go to the bank first.