Cyberpunk Exchange System

"Awake, are you?"

Chen Feng looked at the Drill Instructor's battered face. "I won't get to see that pig face of yours anymore. I'll kind of miss it."

Such blatant provocation naturally pissed off the Drill Instructor.

Bang!

Once the door to the dark room slammed shut, Chen Feng, now the lucky recipient of seven days in solitary confinement, began working out a way to break the situation.

First, he sorted through what he knew.

Rabbit Nurse's barrier really was invincible. Physical attacks certainly weren't getting through it.

So he needed help.

She Qingqing's petrification ability activated as long as she looked at someone.

And as it happened, whoever held the Logbook had to stare at an opponent for a full minute to learn their name.

Stare at She Qingqing for a minute?

Yeah, right. Even the Landlady and the Water Ghost, who were clearly stronger than She Qingqing, had turned ashen and stiff after a single glance.

A full minute of staring would kill Rabbit Nurse for sure.

To get She Qingqing's help, though, he had to free her. That would also let him complete his check-in plan along the way.

Breaking the barrier around the confinement room required both the Sheep-Face Key and the Rabbit-Face Key.

If he wanted to get the Sheep-Face Key without clashing with the professor, he could only make his move when the professor left for a meeting in a week.

As for the Rabbit Face Key, he would have to enter the Nurses' Station to get it.

"Never mind how I'm supposed to grab the key and get out in one piece with Rabbit Nurse interfering."

"Even the Sheep-Face Key is a problem."

"If I go into the Internet Addiction Academy, I can get the key with the Trio. But by then, She Qingqing will have spent seven days locked up and already joined the hospital."

"I have to contact She Qingqing early and make sure she holds out until the seventh day. But then I won't be able to sneak into the Internet Addiction Academy and steal the Sheep-Face Key."

"Damn it. If only I could split myself in two... Wait! I've got it!"

Chen Feng suddenly remembered that on the seventh day, the Trio would steal the key but discover they couldn't get through the main gate. Li Guolong would then venture into the sanatorium alone to cut the wires running across the high wall.

The foggy playground lay between the main gate and the sanatorium, so the Sheep-Face Key had to be on Li Guolong.

I'm a genius. Newton had nothing on me.

With a solution in mind, Chen Feng let out a long breath and checked the system:

[Loads remaining: 1]

[System points: 9]

"Spend one point to buy another load."

Although he had a fair number of points left, Chen Feng bought only one extra life.

He was being that strict with his points so he wouldn't end up one point short of something he wanted to buy because he'd spent it on a load first.

Now, someone might ask:

Why not wait until he had zero loads left before buying one, then? Wouldn't that save another point?

It wasn't that simple.

Chen Feng had once thought the Save-Load System meant he could do whatever he liked. Then he'd gotten stuck with a dead save and nearly died for good.

That close call had taught him the Save-Load System wasn't foolproof. If he got trapped at a respawn point and died twice in a row, something incredibly stupid would happen.

He'd be dead with points still unspent.

So, to be safe, it was better to keep at least two lives ready at a save point.

Chen Feng checked what remained in the check-in system.

As expected, the unfinished Fourth Mental Hospital mission was still there.

The check-in missions for the Crazy Zoo and Horror Amusement Park, which he'd heard about earlier, were there too.

Chen Feng groaned at his mistake. "Damn it. I should've talked to snake girl longer. As a local... uh, local snake, she must know plenty of check-in spots."

A new box had arrived as well. Its designation was YX-03-HKS, and it said, "Technology and dirty tricks."

YX meant it was a system from a game.

But "technology and dirty tricks" made Chen Feng think first of prepackaged meals, additives, and artificial sweeteners. None of that seemed to have a damn thing to do with games.

Was it a cooking-game system?

After what he'd gotten from the Three Kingdoms system, Chen Feng wasn't about to underestimate another game system.

But right now, he needed to escape, so a system that boosted his combat strength was still his best choice.

Chen Feng opened box KH-02-SBFS.

Come on. Let's see what kind of system starts with SB.

[Ding! Congratulations, user. You have activated the Cyber Ascension System.]

[Users may spend points on body modifications to achieve the great goal of mechanical ascension.]

[Skin modification: Subdermal Armor. Increases the recipient's defense, allowing them to withstand handgun/shotgun/sniper-rifle attacks.]

[Arm modification: Mantis Blades. Implants blades in the recipient's arms, allowing them to execute biological enemies with less than 10%/30%/50% health remaining.]

[Leg modification: Reinforced Tendons. Increases the recipient's running speed and endurance by 1/2/3 times.]

[Immune-system modification: Reverse Inductor. Converts electrical shocks or electromagnetic pulses received by the recipient into energy at 50%/80%/100% efficiency.]

[Circulatory modification: Secondary Heart. Revives the recipient upon death, restoring 30%/50%/100% health.]

The modifications came in three tiers: ordinary for 5 points, epic for 10, and legendary for 20.

Holy shit! That's expensive!

But they were good stuff. Unlike Warlord's Protection, which cost points every time he activated it, these cybernetic modifications were permanent.

The Reverse Inductor in particular would turn the professor into a walking power bank.

Still, spending five points just to deal with the professor wasn't worth it.

And if these cybernetics came from a cyberpunk world, then surely there was...

Chen Feng suddenly remembered the incredible implant David had used in Cyberpunk 2077, the one that made everyone around him seem to slow down.

Do they have it? Come on, do they?

After frantically searching the shop, Chen Feng soon found it:

[Sandevistan: Active cyberware. Once activated, it grants the host extraordinary reflexes and mobility, allowing them to move at more than 4/8/16 times the speed of an ordinary person.]

[Warning! Using this cyberware will severely harm the host's health, causing muscle damage, neural overload, memory loss, and other symptoms. Ultimately, the host will lose their personality and become a Cyberpsycho.]

[Tip: The stronger the host's body, the fewer side effects the Sandevistan will cause.]

As the saying went, speeding himself up was the same as slowing everyone else down.

Overusing it might cause memory loss and physical damage, but if everyone around him moved four times slower, wasn't that practically stopping time?

Chen Feng weighed it in his mind. My body's already at Brick-Burst Level. Using it once or twice should be fine, right?

"Come on, system. Install the ordinary Sandevistan for me."

[Ding! Cyberware installation in progress.]

"This feels like it might hurt. Go easy on me, system."

"Aaaaaah!"

After the modification was complete, Chen Feng played the fool again and managed to get back into the sanatorium.

That evening, he slipped up to the confinement room door and told She Qingqing his escape plan.

When she heard that Chen Feng intended to kill Nurse and escape the Fourth Mental Hospital in a week, She Qingqing asked doubtfully, "Just the two of us? Can we really do it?"

Chen Feng said, "What are you so scared of? Why won't you fight Nurse?"

After some coaxing from Chen Feng, She Qingqing finally agreed to give it a try.

Before long, the seventh day arrived.