Prometheus Plaza, Block 44.
"Hey, you biped over there, want an energy drink?" a green velociraptor rapped at Xia Xiu, who had been watching him perform. He wore an oversized tie-dyed shirt and bell-bottoms, with several flowers tucked onto his head.
"A Vortex Music fan?" Xia Xiu took the bottle of bubbling black soda from him and had a sip.
This stuff could be considered Three Portlands' very own happy juice.
"Yeah, brother. You a fan too?" The velociraptor's green eyes lit up.
"No, I just know a little about it. I heard Vortex Music causes memetic contamination in ordinary people, so the Sanctum banned its songs from being performed in the mundane world."
"Those damned suits! They're barbarians who don't understand art. Every day it's 'heretic' this, 'heretic' that, yelling to the whole world about containing anomalies and eliminating abnormalities. Heaven? More like heavenly shit!" the velociraptor said angrily.
"Mm, you're absolutely right."
Xia Xiu, a bearer of Heaven's Red Book and exactly the sort of promising recruit the Heretic Inquisition and the Burial Agency loved most, nodded in agreement.
"You've been watching me all this time, kid. You must need my help with something. Let me tell you, if you're looking to buy Soma Suck, I don't sell it. I'm an upstanding citizen of Three Portlands. I never do anything illegal," the velociraptor told Xia Xiu with righteous conviction.
"No, no, I'm not here to buy memetic drugs," Xia Xiu said, shaking his head.
Xia Xiu took three Thaumaturgy Stones from inside his clothes, placed them in the velociraptor's claws, and said:
"I heard the people at Vortex Music have the widest variety of memetic antibodies in Three Portlands. I recently contracted an unknown kind of memetic contamination, so I wanted to ask around and see whether I could find the right antibody there," Xia Xiu said with a smile.
How can you ask something so ridiculous while wearing Deer College robes, kid? Could Deer College's memetic antibody collection possibly be smaller than Vortex Music's?
Whatever antibody you're buying, it's obviously shady.
"Brother, you've come to the right person. Helping people is my favorite thing to do." Naturally, Quinn the velociraptor kept his thoughts to himself and pocketed the three Thaumaturgy Stones without missing a beat.
Quinn sidled up to Xia Xiu and whispered the address and the contact passphrase.
"Thanks. Your energy drink tastes great."
"You're welcome. Drop by whenever you have time."
Xia Xiu then strode away. He knew Vortex Music sold memetic antibodies because he had read a game guide titled "Make Three Portlands Even Crazier" on a gaming forum in his previous life.
The guide taught players ways to bypass the Three Portlands Community Safety Department and Deer College to engage in illegal activities, including how to obtain unofficial memetic antibodies.
Incidentally, the app Xia Xiu wanted to install had also come from that guide.
The Three Portlands City Council and Deer College would not readily sell any memetic products to outsiders, so Xia Xiu could only obtain the [Anti-Muggle Meme Antibody] through Vortex Music.
The corner of Seventh Portland Street and Multi Street.
[Natural Ghost Refuge]
Xia Xiu looked up at the cemetery crowded with gravestones before him. This was where Vortex Music sold memetic antibodies.
Just as Quinn the velociraptor had said, it was a beautiful home that stayed cool and shaded all year round, offering the comfort of "coming home."
Xia Xiu entered the cemetery, his feet sinking into the soft soil as he scanned the gravestones.
Rest area one.
Rest area two.
Special services.
It really is a Natural Ghost Refuge. What thoughtful service.
Xia Xiu soon reached his destination. Quinn had told him to find a ghost named Alice once he arrived, and now the inscription on a gravestone was reflected in his eyes.
Reserved for administrator Alice.
Xia Xiu approached the gravestone and recited softly:
"The world will weep for you, like a bereaved wife.
The world will become your widow, forever mourning,
For in life you left her no likeness of yourself-"
This was the contact passphrase Quinn had given Xia Xiu. Once he finished reciting it, he waited quietly.
Crack-
A skeleton draped in a tattered wedding dress suddenly crawled out of the gravestone. Two vines extended from her eyes. After a moment, wooden eyes formed within her pale skeletal sockets.
"Hiss, hiss-what do you want-"
The lady before him, Alice, addressed Xia Xiu in a raspy voice.
"I'd like to buy one dose of [Anti-Muggle Meme Antibody]."
"Five Thaumaturgy Stones."
"Can I pay in Youyang Currency?"
"Five thousand."
"Here's five thousand in Youyang Currency."
"Wait a moment."
Alice accepted the five thousand Xia Xiu handed her, then turned and walked toward a crooked tree in the center of the cemetery.
When Alice reached the crooked tree, her skeletal hand slipped easily into its trunk. Its resinous bark sank inward with her hand.
Alice rummaged around inside the crooked tree.
After rummaging for a while, she pulled out a transparent syringe filled with red liquid and carried it over to Xia Xiu.
"Here's the antibody you wanted. It takes effect immediately upon injection and has a shelf life of three months."
"Mm."
Xia Xiu took the antibody, removed the rubber cap from the syringe needle, rolled up his right sleeve, and injected it directly into his body.
Beside him, Alice was stunned by his straightforward approach. Of all the customers she had ever met, Xia Xiu had the most faith in the quality of their products.
"Mm, I'll come back here next time I get the chance."
"Uh-"
Alice watched Xia Xiu walk away, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
After leaving the Natural Ghost Refuge, Xia Xiu found a café with privacy screens. He ordered a cup of coffee, then casually summoned the Red Book.
[New memetic antibody administered] [Current antibody count: 3]
He now had three kinds of memetic antibodies. The first two had been administered by Deer College.
Those were authentication pheromones that prevented him from being cleaved to death by the Sword of Judgment of Deer College's think tank when he connected to Deer College through a peripheral device. The [Anti-Muggle Meme Antibody] he had just injected was also an authentication pheromone, like the antibodies Deer College had administered.
As Xia Xiu sipped his coffee, he began installing an app through the Red Book.
The Lineage app he wanted to install was called [Abnormal Community Life Guide].
[Abnormal Community Life Guide] installation instructions:
① Set the Lineage frequency to the public frequency-50 Hz.
② Raise and lower the Lineage volume in sequence: 3, 4, 3, 3, 6 (rise-and-fall passcode).
③ Inject [Anti-Muggle Meme Antibody].
④ Install at a designated location (Xia Xiu's current location was one of the designated installation sites).
Xia Xiu adjusted the frequency and volume through the Red Book. When he met all the conditions, a red pop-up automatically appeared on it.
[Eden reminder: You are installing a high-risk Lineage application]
Xia Xiu simply clicked "Ignore the risks, continue installation" beside it.
(End of chapter)
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