Chapter 7: I’ll fight you, rich people, to the death.
The nameless kidnapper hadn’t intended to electrocute Xiang Nanli; the pulse he used was kept within a “safe” range.
Xiang Nanli regained consciousness halfway through the transit, his limbs twitching uncontrollably from the residual shock. However, he quickly realized his situation and focused on relaxing his muscles, doing his best to play dead.
“Alpha, am I being carried bridal-style?”
He kept his eyes closed, but he could feel them moving at high speed; the oncoming wind whipped against his limbs, stinging painfully.
Xiang Nanli thought to himself that he had been too arrogant. The outlaws of this world were bolder than he had imagined. Furthermore, as a nobody without status, his disappearance wouldn’t put any pressure on the police. Being kidnapped in such a public place, and the passersby didn’t even give him a second glance!
Oh, right. Before he blacked out, he seemed to hear someone shouting: “Don’t be a busybody! This kid owes our boss money!”
How is this any different from human traffickers from hundreds of years ago lying and saying they were the woman’s husband?
Is your boss a bank? How can you slander someone’s reputation like this in broad daylight?
Xiang Nanli silently gritted his teeth. I’m so pissed off.
The System remained rigid for a moment before replying: “Yes.”
“Then can you help me call the police?” Compared to turning over his income, his personal safety was more important.
System: “Cannot do. He is equipped with a signal jammer; it cannot connect to the network.”
Xiang Nanli said disappointedly, “Fine. Then do you know what this group wants to do?”
The System wasn’t a god; obviously, it didn’t know.
Xiang Nanli was stuffed into a vehicle. Someone used handcuffs to cuff his wrists behind his back, then tossed him into the backseat. The car started up quickly, heading toward an unknown destination.
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t nervous or afraid. Dying once made Xiang Nanli cherish his life all the more. Even if this shitty air cost money, even if his home were in ruins, even if the world were shrouded in a nuclear winter, even if he were lonely enough to never find his own kind again.
But Xiang Nanli knew very well that a mental breakdown wouldn’t solve the problem, and there was no one to solve it for him.
He had been a team leader, a pioneer, an industry trendsetter, the initiator of a technological revolution… Countless halos had been stacked upon him. He had seen himself in textbooks before he even died. Hundreds or thousands of years later, when people talked about AI and Omnics, talked about the Fourth Industrial Revolution, whether their assessment was praise or slander, he would be an inescapable monument.
While Xiang Nanli was alive, those around him had deified him, hoping he could solve any unknown problem. When he collapsed due to cancer, aside from deep regret, there was also a hint of relief.
Human strength has its limits. Xiang Nanli’s habit was to suppress all negative emotions, pretending everything was still under control, and settle the score with himself later.
Xiang Nanli asked: “Alpha, can you see outside? Can you transmit an image for me?”
“You didn’t install an electronic eye for me,” the System replied.
“Hehe, artificial intelligence is indeed unreliable.”
Alpha felt like it had just been insulted.
Xiang Nanli snuck his eyes open just a crack. Then he couldn’t help but shudder—out of fear.
In the passenger seat, the long-haired man who had kidnapped him was sitting backward, his arms crossed over the back of the seat, smiling at him.
This man was quite handsome. His left cheek had a slight color difference from the right, as if it had been burned, though it wasn’t very obvious. His black, shoulder-length hair was slightly curled and meticulously groomed, smooth and glossy without a single split end; this indicated his material conditions were good—he had a sufficient water supply even on the surface.
His eyes were a dull red with a glowing, uncomfortable pupil ring.
The System said, “Pupil rings, originally the mark distinguishing ordinary humans from Synths (Synthetic humans).”
The Human Alliance had originally strictly prohibited Synth experimentation, viewing it as a Damocles sword hanging over humanity’s head, just like the AIs. But as the population continued to dwindle and dangerous areas required human exploration, calls to legalize Synth experiments grew louder. Immortality Tech was also a staunch supporter of this technology.
About three hundred and thirty years ago, the Human Alliance finally approved the legalization of Synths. Most rough, inferior Synths only needed a 1-to-2-year accelerated maturation period to grow from infant to adult. However, their lifespan wasn’t long; they could live about 3 years after adulthood before rapidly declining and entering old age. These Synths were often low-intelligence, with physical fitness similar to ordinary humans. However, by injecting cheap hormonal genetic drugs regardless of cost, they could possess physical strength far exceeding that of ordinary people, enabling them to handle dangerous jobs without protective suits.
To reduce the discomfort of the users driving their own kind, the great scientists improved this technology. These Synths would grow a lot of hair, appearing more like apes than humans. As long as they were fed enough, they could spend their lives like worker ants—or slaves—devoted to the masters who created them.
Aside from this lower class of Synths, there was another kind: higher-level Synths. They were infinitely close to real humans, had the same growth periods as humans, and upon obtaining enough citizen points, could enjoy the same rights as Human Alliance residents. To distinguish them from normal humans, these Synths were implanted with a “pupil ring” as soon as they left the factory.
It was deeply ironic that higher-level Synths, due to genetic modification, were perfect in appearance, strength, and intelligence—yet they were destined to be second-class citizens, treated only slightly better than robots. If one had to say what higher-level Synths lacked, just like AIs, it was “emotions”. They had almost no reaction to feelings and didn’t develop empathy. However, during their growth, many Synths learned to disguise themselves to better adapt to life. It was just fortunate that their numbers were too small to form a movement, or they would have revolted long ago.
Xiang Nanli keenly captured the qualifier in the System’s words: “Originally? What about now?”
“Now, some trendy young people also get pupil rings on their prosthetic eyes, but to avoid being mistaken for Synths, they only tattoo one half.”
The man’s pupil rings were glowing in both eyes. They hadn’t shown color before because he was wearing contacts.
Xin Zhui reached out a hand: “Let me introduce myself. My name is Xin Zhui. There might be some misunderstanding in the way I found you, but please rest assured, I don’t consider myself a bad person.”
Hehe… villains love to say that.
He wore a black uniform, much like a tactical vest from Xiang Nanli’s past life. The armor covered vital areas like his chest and thighs. Even the electric hand was covered by a black leather glove.
At the same time, a message popped up in Xiang Nanli’s vision.
-[Citizen ID: A******] is applying to exchange social information with you.
-Y/N
In the Wasteland, what was more direct and persuasive than this information exchange? At the very least, information exchanges based on citizen chips were very difficult to fake.
Xiang Nanli chose to agree.
【Xin Zhui】
- Mechanization Level: 9/100
- Mental State Rating: S (How is he this sunny and cheerful???)
- Genetic Modification Count: You do not have permission to view this info
- Characteristics: You do not have permission to view this info
- Employer: Investigation Bureau
…
It had to be said that Xin Zhui’s data was much more detailed than Andrew’s, with three extra lines. It was also possible that Andrew’s sparse personal information simply didn’t have anything worth displaying.
Xin Zhui was very surprised: “You’re actually a Natural Human?”
It’s not easy to live this long. Your family must be quite wealthy, right? Why haven’t I heard of you? And why don’t you have a name, only a citizen ID number? Haven’t you registered at the Data Center yet?
Xiang Nanli was stunned: “You’re an investigator?”
Thanks to the blond guy who rescued him, he had a good impression of the investigators. In Xiang Nanli’s eyes, investigators were basically civil servants within the system. They shouldn’t be kidnapping ordinary citizens.
And what was so important that they had to use him? Wasn’t the Gusu City branch right next door?
No matter how good his skills were, he had only been self-studying for fifteen days!! General maintenance was fine, but if he encountered instruments not in the textbooks, he’d be completely lost.
Xin Zhui nodded: “Yes, we are all from this vehicle. Honestly, we aren’t kidnapping you; we just hope you can assist with an investigation.”
The bald driver was called Rock. The silent, cool guy sitting behind Xiang Nanli was called Bodhi, wearing a string of red prayer beads around his neck. In modern society, not everyone has a surname, and not everyone has parents. A name could be changed once for 1,000 credit points. What was far more important than a name was the unique, unchangeable Citizen ID.
Bodhi, the cool guy, held Xiang Nanli’s little backpack: “Security check, huh.”
He dug out the gun from the bag: “Oh, not bad. The official website sells this gun for 120,000, and they don’t even offer discounts during the New Year.”
Bodhi pointed the muzzle at his own temple and pulled the trigger.
Xin Zhui, sitting in the front row, felt his pupils shrink. He instinctively leaned forward and extended a finger—
Even through the layer of the glove, Xiang Nanli could see blue-white electric light lighting up on his fingertip. Xiang Nanli could even smell his own hair burning.
“Bang.”
A bunch of ribbons fluttered out of the muzzle.
Bodhi slapped his thigh and laughed out loud: “I felt the weight was a bit off. This ribbon gun is pretty realistic, right? Did you make it yourself? Very fun.”
“Too bad, this kind of gun can’t kill anyone.”
Bodhi stuffed the toy gun back into Xiang Nanli’s bag.
A flicker of annoyance flashed across Xin Zhui’s face. It was clear that Bodhi had done similar suicidal, dangerous things more than once.
Xin Zhui sat back in his seat and rubbed his temples, seemingly pondering how to explain it so Xiang Nanli would accept it: “Our investigation team set out a week ago. For some time now, mutants have been moving toward a specific coordinate.”
Xiang Nanli had seen this on TV three weeks ago, on the subway. At the time, passengers had said the Investigation Bureau only knew how to ask for fiscal appropriations and didn’t do any real work.
Xin Zhui: “We originally thought it was a special magnetic fluctuation causing the mutants to mistakenly end their hibernation. But at the destination, we found…”
Xin Zhui stopped instinctively. He was thinking about whether he should tell Xiang Nanli.
A few seconds later, he continued: “A large number of out-of-control Omnics and traces of the Black Cross Inquisition.”
But Xiang Nanli intuited that this definitely wasn’t what Xin Zhui had originally wanted to say.
The System offered an annotation at the right time: “Black Cross Inquisition*, a surface-ruin-based black organization with religion at its core. Members are mostly surface relics. They believe the people underground abandoned them, and the only way to survive is to save themselves. Unlike those weaklings underground pursuing mechanical ascension, they are almost all genetically modified humans, holding strong hostility toward underground residents. By the way, the Inquisition is suspected of receiving massive aid from the Omnic Legion. You guys are quite split internally, aren’t you?”
Xiang Nanli: “Don’t you think that sentence of yours has strong subjective bias? Why is pursuing mechanical ascension weak?”
Although he hadn’t undergone mechanical modification, he still had feelings for the “novice village” where he was born.
System: “Ask yourself; I am just an out-of-touch, offline AI. My linguistic style adjusts according to your dialogue.”
Xin Zhui pulled out a photo and placed it in front of Xiang Nanli. Xiang Nanli’s hands were still cuffed, so he had to crane his neck to look.
The shooting time was 6:30 AM. Under a grey, gloomy sky, tattered wire fences stood atop ruins. Thick fog rolled in from the walls. Through the mist, hummingbird drones could be seen hovering in midair, searching for intruders. At the same time, countless flight drones were perched on cable-like wires, like sleeping night hawks.
A massive Crawler was struggling to climb over the wire fence. Scorching electric light had roasted half its body to the point of melting, yet it didn’t seem to notice, its scarlet eyes even revealing yearning and excitement.
On a crumbling metal wall revealing its under-layer, two crosses had been painted with black oil paint. It looked exactly like the word “End” (末) but was missing the last two strokes—it was the mark of the Black Cross Inquisition.
Xiang Nanli memorized the contents of the photo and continued asking: “Fine, but what does this have to do with a law-abiding citizen like me? I pay taxes on time, and I love charity.” (Although it was for tax avoidance, and it had been hundreds of years ago.)
“Vice-Captain, don’t you think you’re saying too much to him?” Rock, who was driving, said. “This counts as confidential content in the investigation report. Or do you want to hit on him? I’ll remind you, his occupation is ‘unemployed’, not the kind of college boy you like.”
The corner of Xin Zhui’s mouth twitched: “We want to apply for support to continue the investigation. But headquarters didn’t agree and demanded we retreat immediately. Our captain didn’t want to give up, so he was injured while sneaking in to search for information. His mechanization level is quite high, and he needs someone to repair him; that’s it. To a machine-modified human like him, you technicians are like doctors.”
System: “He is deliberately hiding something. Normally, the investigation bureau wouldn’t ignore a severely injured employee. If they were worried about being forcibly taken back, is there anything more important than one’s own life? I can’t figure it out. Too bad there’s no internet here; otherwise, we could check the news to see if an investigation team has rebelled.“
“How did you start analyzing it for me on your own?!” Xiang Nanli grumbled, “Are we intimate to that degree?”
The System was silent for two seconds: “Helping to reduce your decision-making costs.”
Xiang Nanli ignored it and blinked innocently at Xin Zhui: “Then can you let me go back after repairing him? Do you really have to entrust such an important matter to me? What if I don’t fix it?”
Xin Zhui smiled, a perfunctory reply: “Let’s try first; we can’t find anyone better.”
Xiang Nanli sighed: “Fine, I promise I won’t call the police. But can you let me connect to the net for one minute? Or you can help me operate it?”
Xin Zhui’s eyebrows arched high, his slender fingers tapping on the seat: “Uh-huh?”
Xiang Nanli found it hard to say, “My credit card is about to be overdue. There’s enough money in the account; I just haven’t made the payment yet.”
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come to the surface to do black-market work. And now he’d almost gotten himself killed doing it.
Xin Zhui: “It’s fine; it will automatically deduct when it’s due. No internet needed.”
“Then the protective suit I rented hasn’t been returned yet.”
“I’ll buy you a set,” Xin Zhui said dismissively.
The protective suit Xiang Nanli was wearing cost 300,000 credit points.
Damn it! I’ll fight you, rich people, to the death.
Xiang Nanli wasn’t sure how fast the car was going, but the rail cars and maglev vehicles in the Underground City were pretty fast. He looked up, and the scenery outside the window changed constantly, so fast he couldn’t see anything but a blur.
Xiang Nanli maintained the position of a criminal suspect for at least two hours before he couldn’t take it anymore: “Brother Xin Zhui. Can you unlock my handcuffs?”
Even though the seat cushion was comfortable and obviously expensive—far better than any bus or subway he’d ridden—his body couldn’t take it. Furthermore, Xiang Nanli had figured out that Xin Zhui definitely held the highest status in this four-person gang. They all called him “Vice-Captain”.
Xin Zhui sat in the passenger seat with his eyes closed, in a light sleep: “Almost there. Wait a bit. Every ridiculous rule has a reason; I’m really afraid you’ll dismantle parts of the car.”
Many mechanical technicians couldn’t keep their hands still. Even when encountering a nuclear bomb, they’d want to touch it a couple of times first. There had even been more than one news report about a “mechanical technician being kidnapped, only for them to dismantle the car halfway, causing it to crash”. And though Xiang Nanli’s mechanization level was 0, who knew if he was secretly wearing some mechanical exoskeleton?
Xiang Nanli waited another two hours for that “almost.” Fortunately, halfway through, Xin Zhui had humanely cuffed his hands in the other direction, saying he was worried about his hands going numb.
Xiang Nanli was very moved—and secretly held a grudge.
Finally, the off-road vehicle stopped in front of a tunnel.
Late-night fog hung thick in the air, making it impossible to see the road ahead, with only faint red lights flickering in the distance. It was winter, and everything was covered in white snow and ice. The yellow-white snow could almost submerge one’s knees. The railroad tracks on the ground had long since corroded, and countless weeds and vines grew from the gaps; only by trying hard to push them aside could one discover traces of past civilization.
From the fog came the occasional hoarse roar, sounding like monsters tearing each other apart. That must have been the Crawlers coming from various places.
Xiang Nanli was wearing a protective suit, and the filtered air kept him from smelling anything strange. But Xin Zhui could smell a rotten, stinking stench, like rotting meat left in the sun for an afternoon, oozing yellow fluid and crawling with maggots. Disgust, pity, and something else indescribable flashed through his eyes.
These Crawlers… they had once been his kind.
Besides the Crawlers, there were Lurkers, Rippers, and Berserkers. These different categories of mutants were nothing but monsters unleashed by greed.
Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting.
But now wasn’t the time to think about so much. Xin Zhui looked at Xiang Nanli as he walked out of the car, pointing to the tunnel ahead: “Through the tunnel is the shooting spot for the photo I showed you. That’s an industrial hub; the town’s residents are all employees of the same factory. The company is called ‘Donghuang Heavy Industry.’ It hasn’t been cleaned out yet; it’s a Wasteland. But the danger level… hasn’t reached the level of a Forbidden Zone yet.
“However, that’s not our destination. It’s too dangerous. Let’s go.”
Xiang Nanli took the little backpack handed to him by Bodhi and obediently carried it on his back. It should be very cold outside, but fortunately, the protective suit was reliable. Xiang Nanli felt no chill. 300,000 for one piece was actually a fair price.
Xiang Nanli was 1.8 meters tall, not short. But he was surrounded by three tall guys, and wearing the airtight protective suit made him look like a white peanut-person.
The car stopped in front of the tunnel, and Xin Zhui led him up the hillside. Xiang Nanli had people in front and behind, sandwiched in the middle.
Centuries had passed, and the path up the mountain had long since vanished. Under the yellow soil, a few stone slabs could occasionally be seen. The snow on the mountain was un-swept and very thick, making walking incredibly difficult for Xiang Nanli. He often had to wait for Xin Zhui to walk a bit ahead, lagging ten or so seconds behind just to barely keep up.
Moreover, because they were traveling by night, Xiang Nanli didn’t dare walk too fast, terrified of stepping into a void and falling.
After walking about a few hundred meters, Xin Zhui stopped, turned around, and asked with a smile, “Do you prefer to be carried bridal-style, or would you rather be carried on my back?”
Xiang Nanli: “…The back.”
Brother, we’ve only known each other for half a day. Carrying each other bridal-style is a bit too intimate.
Xin Zhui brushed off the dew clinging to his sleeves, found a relatively level piece of ground, and crouched down: “Get on.”
Xin Zhui was tall and lean, not built like a broad-supported tank, and his shoulders were far narrower than those of big brother Rock behind them. However, giving a piggyback ride, he was surprisingly steady. Even in such a steep, primitive forest, it didn’t feel shaky at all.
Behind his neck, partially obscured by his long hair, some black lines were faintly visible. It looked quite like a corner of a product barcode.
Xiang Nanli suppressed his unnecessary curiosity.
Gotta admit, Synths have nice bodies. With a waist that slim and core strength that high, he’s got a real athletic build.
“Xiang Nanli,” the System suddenly spoke, using his full name, its tone as mechanical as ever.
Xiang Nanli jumped: “Ah?”
System: “It’s nothing. Just a friendly reminder. Synths all suffer from erectile dysfunction, so they cannot reproduce offspring.”
Xiang Nanli was entirely dumbfounded: “…Uh, what??”
Why the hell are you suddenly telling me this?
They climbed the mountain for another half hour. Xiang Nanli could even hear the sound of babbling water. The surrounding slope gradually leveled out.
Xiang Nanli spotted an abandoned Buddhist statue. He didn’t recognize which deity it was—perhaps it was carved in the likeness of Guanyin—made entirely of stone. The statue lay toppled on the ground, its face turned toward the sky. Its expression remained as full of sorrow and compassion as ever. Snow fell upon its face, melting and tracing lines downward like winding tears.
It was hard to imagine what kind of mindset the people of the past had when they dragged this statue from somewhere else to their dwelling.
Did praying to gods and bowing to Buddha ever grant you a blissful afterlife?
“We’re here.” Xin Zhui put Xiang Nanli down, massaged his somewhat aching arms, and then stepped forward, knocking on the stone wall. “Sister Yan—”
Even deep in the mountains, his voice was very quiet.
The small hill beside the Buddhist statue surged slightly, and a stone door receded inward. A short-haired woman with pink hair appeared at the entrance, letting out a sigh of relief. “You’re finally back. Hurry up, the Captain is about to run out of power.”
Unlike the pitch-black darkness outside, there were actually electric lights inside the cave.
Places with light always make people yearn for them. Xiang Nanli admitted that when he saw the woman and the lights, his anxiety eased significantly. Though if Xin Zhui had wanted to harvest his kidneys, he could have done it halfway up the mountain anyway.
“This place used to be a human survivor stronghold. Later, when almost everyone died out, the settlement dissolved,” Xin Zhui introduced as they walked.
The air quality inside the stone cave wasn’t great. Fortunately, except for Xiang Nanli, none of them had a high demand for oxygen.
Rock conversed with the woman named Xiao Yan for a moment. She nodded, retrieved an oxygen tank from a supply crate in the corner, and hooked it up to Xiang Nanli’s protective suit. The burning sensation in his lungs subsided.
And finally, Xiang Nanli laid eyes on the cybernetic human he was brought to save.
Xiang Nanli admitted that when he saw that familiar head of blond hair, he froze entirely for three full seconds.
“This is our captain, Xiu,” Xin Zhui introduced briefly. He looked troubled, his voice very low. “He was burned by corrosive chemical agents.”
Xiu’s appearance looked terrifying and abstract. He was sprawled on a crude, mobile wooden board, having been wheeled out. His neck was immobilized by a brace, and his lower body from the waist down was completely gone. His left arm had nothing left but the biceps. Wires protruded wildly from the exposed areas.
The outer layer of synthetic skin was presumably scalded, showing the same raw red color as a mutant. Across his entire body, only that handsome face remained completely intact.
A blue electronic heart, the size of a fist, was beating inside his chest cavity. This was the cybernetic human’s power core.
—This is actually a living human?
Beyond the horror, Xiang Nanli felt profound shock.
Xiu seemed to be conscious; his eyes could still move. His ocean-blue eyes slowly shifted onto Xiang Nanli’s face, devoid of emotion.
Xiang Nanli realized he recognized who this was.
This was the very investigator who had fished him out of the cryo-chamber back then and sent him to the hospital.
Oh, and he had even given him a free shot of genetic gene medicine.
Author’s Notes:
- Alpha: Synths can’t get hard.
- Xin Zhui: Omnics don’t have bodies.
【Unlockable Data/Lore Elements】
- Pupil Rings: A glowing small ring within the iris. Permanently present. Can be hidden with colored contact lenses. The signature mark of a Synth.
- Synths: For specific settings, see Chapter 7.
- Black Cross Inquisition: A black organization based in the surface ruins with religion at its core. Its members are mostly surface relics who have undergone genetic modification. They harbor intense hostility toward underground residents. Suspected of receiving backing from the Omnic Legion, they have launched multiple terrorist attacks on the surface.
