String Bean, String Bean

Although the three had different opinions, each also felt that what the others said had some merit.

Somehow, the proposal to leave the decision to fate passed unanimously.

The silver coin flew high into the air, spun several times, then landed on the table.

"Why is it standing on its edge???"

"What do we do? Revive half? How are they supposed to play without their lower bodies?"

"Then revive the lower bodies!"

Those whose contestants had died were weighing the pros and cons, while the contestants who had successfully cleared the Amusement Park were racing onward as though their lives depended on it.

Duncan sat on the hood of a jeep, whipping the horse's rump in front of him.

"Hyah! Faster! Hyah!"

The horse's rump was red and swollen from the whipping, but it dared not slacken. Its four legs almost blurred as it desperately galloped forward, dragging the jeep behind it, which was little more than a decoration.

Their reason for doing this could not have been simpler.

Behind them, a gigantic python was twisting its body as it bore down on them.

Duncan glanced back and saw that enormous maw and its terrifying forked tongue. Frightened, he went back to whipping the horse's rump.

"Hyah! Hyah, hyah, hyah-"

The horse angrily looked back and glared at Duncan, full of complaints. Unable to speak human language, it could only bottle up its anger and keep its head down as it ran.

Similar scenes were playing out in every contestant's livestream. Those with vehicles had it easy enough; the ones who could only rely on their own two legs were suffering.

"Why are you chasing me so hard? Didn't I throw food out for you? Go eat it!"

As Weir ran, he kept tossing food to the mob of frenzied cannibals behind him.

He wished he could turn into a centipede and grow another eight or ten legs to shake off the crowd behind him.

Among so many people, there were some who stood out.

In Samba Country's livestream, Taco was speeding down the highway in his upgraded Go-Kart.

A tiger had his head in its mouth. Even with all its might, its fangs could not pierce Taco's skin while he had [Harden] activated.

More importantly, the tiger had wanted to let go of Taco long ago, but Taco had clamped his own teeth firmly onto the tiger's teeth, refusing to let it release him.

The tiger was utterly desperate now. It badly wanted to give up the prey in its mouth, but the prey in its mouth had no intention of letting it do so.

Tangled together like that, they charged onward.

However, with his head covered, Taco could not see the road ahead. He kept bumping into things and driving in circles in the same spot. The tiger was repeatedly slammed into things too, suffering fractures all over its body, with tears of regret clinging to the corners of its eyes.

In the misty district, Himeko walked along the street, the thin mist slightly obscuring her vision.

On the main road, the traffic lights worked normally, and all the vehicles moved in an orderly fashion. Himeko wanted to get a map somewhere so she could work out where she was.

Then she discovered that the roadside newsstand was locked. Its rolling shutter was already covered in rust, like an impassable chasm separating the inside from the outside.

The navigation app on her phone had no information about this world either. Hoping to rely on it for directions was nothing but a pipe dream.

With no other option, Himeko could only find a random passerby to ask for directions.

She stopped a passerby by the roadside.

"Hello?"

The passerby's face was ashen, and his pupils bore strange patterns that extended onto his cheeks, with a distinctive glow flowing through them.

After Himeko stopped him, his vacant eyes regained their focus, and he murmured,

"String Bean, String Bean, a passerby stopped me while I was walking down the street. She said [hello] to me. How should I respond?"

While Himeko was still puzzling over this, the passerby smiled and gave the most standard, authoritative response.

It was every bit as authoritative as the [I'm fine, thank you. And you?] that followed [How are you].

"Hello. Can I help you?"

"...I'd like to know what this place is, and where I can buy a map."

"String Bean, String Bean, the passerby asked me where to find a map. How should I answer her?"

Himeko did not understand why this man seemed so dependent on that dim-witted thing, String Bean. Still, as long as he could give her an answer, that was good enough.

"A map? Those became obsolete ages ago. We all use navigation now. Would you like me to load a navigation module into your brain-computer interface?"

The passerby answered with a smile.

"A brain-computer interface? You put this sort of thing in your heads-"

Himeko had wanted to say "moronic AI," but that would have been impolite. As a navigator, the art of language was an important skill too.

"Something with a promising future?"

The passerby still consulted String Bean before giving his response.

His answer was extremely comprehensive, dividing the reasons into four main categories, each with four subcategories. Himeko admitted that, for a moment, he had her fooled.

Himeko passed no judgment on their behavior and steered the subject back to maps. The passerby seemed to have come to regard String Bean as his own brain. Whatever the decision, he had to ask it first.

"Maps have been phased out by more advanced navigation systems. If you need a navigation system and don't have a brain-computer interface, you can have one installed at a roadside self-service Cybernetic Implant shop."

"It's that... convenient?"

Himeko looked around and indeed spotted many shops along the street with mechanical limbs on their signs.

"I have a question!"

Himechi Cat raised a paw.

"If you get a mechanical arm installed, what happens to your old arm?"

"Your old arm? You put it on ChopChop for recycling, of course. High buyback prices, great service, and payment within two hours!"

"Why didn't you have to ask String Bean for that part!?"

"Because ChopChop bought my advertising slot. Whenever relevant information is automatically detected, I automatically play that ad."

"That's way too absurd!"

After thanking him, Himeko entered a Cybernetic Implant shop at random.

The shop was not particularly large. Its few shelves held plenty of mechanical arms, mechanical eyeballs, strange chips, and the like, none in particularly fancy packaging.

A strange little box also stood in the corner of the shop, roughly as tall as a person and looking very much like an upright coffin.

[Self-service Cybernetic Implant installation: After selecting the desired Cybernetic Implant, enter the installation chamber to complete the self-service installation. Any natural limbs you have before installation will first be amputated. You may choose to sell the amputated limbs to offset the cost of purchasing the Cybernetic Implant.]

"Is this thing actually clean?"

Himeko peered doubtfully through the installation chamber's glass window and saw long-dried bloodstains in the area responsible for cutting. Its hygiene left much to be desired.

There was no need to worry about appraisals either. The shop also had a scanner that allowed customers to see exactly how much they were worth.

Curious, Himeko activated the scanner. Infrared light instantly swept over her, and a price list was then projected to one side.

[No brain-computer interface chip information found. Unable to identify individual.]

[Modification level: 0%]

[Condition: healthy. Value: high.]

[Arms: Depending on the portion sold, quotes for a single arm range from 30,000 to 450,000. Selling up to the shoulder is recommended for a quote of 500,000.]

[Legs: Depending on the portion sold, quotes for a single leg range from 45,000 to 700,000. Selling up to the hip is recommended for a quote of 1,000,000.]

[Eyeballs: Quote per eyeball: 500,000.]

[Internal organs: No brain-computer interface chip information available. A visit to a Cybernetic Implant hospital for an examination is recommended to obtain a quote.]

[Note: Your body has been detected to contain a recently cataloged energy: Trailblaze Power. You may rent yourself out to a Cybernetic Implant company and receive up to three billion in compensation, depending on your daily working hours!]