DBMEP CH90

Chapter 90: Unexpected Supplies

Dongfang Qingdi drove the truck, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Ahead, the silhouette of Gusu City had already appeared.

He sent a location ping to Xiang Nanli, brushed aside the long hair falling in front of his eyes, and let out a soft breath.

The heater in the truck wasn’t on, and the temperature was at least two or three degrees below zero. Yet, the breath Dongfang Qingdi exhaled produced no misty condensation.

When Xiang Nanli wasn’t around, Xiao Qing didn’t really feel like pretending to be human.

During his previous visits to Gusu City, although the surface had fewer people than the underground, there were still over a hundred thousand permanent residents. Now, however, the streets were desolate and quiet, with hardly a soul in sight.

Protective slogans were plastered everywhere along the roadside. Occasionally, a few people hurried past, their bodies wrapped in thick protective suits. In the damp corners of the street buildings, fine patches of mycelium had sprouted.

A new advertisement for Immortality Tech was playing on the wall screens.

The inhibitor had been rolled out almost immediately, without even undergoing much clinical testing.

Because there was simply no time.

The advertisement stated that the inhibitor was a drug independently developed by Immortality Tech.

It was administered via injection. The price was 150 credits per dose. Not overly expensive, making it affordable for ordinary people. After use, the effects were apparent, and biometric indicators showed significant improvement.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a permanent cure; continuous injections were required. For some severe cases, multiple injections had to be administered at once.

The rampaging mycelium disease had been brought under a certain degree of control, giving everyone a brief moment to catch their breath.

Netizens everywhere commented, “Immortality Tech really is the best.”

However, there was no report detailing exactly which scholar had developed it.

Everyone guessed it was Liszt.

But during an interview, Liszt specifically brought this up and denied it.

However, he didn’t reveal the true developer’s name either.

Dongfang Qingdi drove the pickup truck to the address of the Surface Poverty Alleviation Foundation provided by the GPS.

He handed over his electronic code and stated his business.

The guard eyed him suspiciously, looking him up and down several times before drawing out his words: “Wait a minute, I’ll go ask the leadership.”

After saying that, he tapped a few keys on his keyboard, mumbled a vague “uh-huh” twice, and then put down the phone.

This single “ask” took half an hour.

By the fifth second of waiting, Dongfang Qingdi was already feeling impatient. But remembering Xiang Nanli’s instructions before he left, he refrained from flipping out on the spot.

Xiang Nanli had specifically urged him: “Xiao Qing, you’re going alone to collect the supplies this time. You represent our base’s image. Smile more, and don’t let others think our base lacks manners.”

But no matter how you looked at it, making someone wait for 30 minutes meant he wasn’t the one lacking manners.

Dongfang Qingdi walked over and knocked on the glass: “Are you done?”

The guard frowned impatiently: “Keep waiting! Director Zhao hasn’t come into work yet.”

Today was a workday, and it was currently working hours. Yet Director Zhao surprisingly hadn’t come to work.

Dongfang Qingdi thought to himself that the violence of smashing his fist through the glass would indeed be beautiful, but it would bring some trouble for Xiang Nanli, and it wouldn’t fundamentally solve the problem.

If the guard knew he had just snapped at Alpha, he probably wouldn’t be able to resist applying to the Human Alliance for a Third-Class Medal of Bravery.

He looked up, scanning the photo of Director Zhao on the employee wall. A faint light flickered in his eyes.

Surveillance network infiltration.
Progress: 0 — 100.
Searching. Facial recognition in progress.
Locked on.

Dongfang Qingdi turned and walked away from the Foundation’s entrance. He went back to the truck, grabbed a mask, and snapped it over his face.

He passed by a medical vending machine and shot it a cold, indifferent glance. The vending machine nervously and consciously spat out a pair of gloves.

A moment later, noticing Dongfang Qingdi still hadn’t left, it tentatively spat out the most expensive item in its inventory—a vial of Tier-1 restorative Gene Serum.

Dongfang Qingdi didn’t take it. He turned and left.

The little AI felt a mix of relief and disappointment.

… …

Bypassing the surveillance cameras, Dongfang Qingdi arrived at Director Zhao’s home.

Director Zhao was currently in his surface residence, snoring loudly with his arms wrapped around a love doll.

With technological advancements, the price of love dolls had plummeted. They were priced just about twenty percent higher than ordinary humans, but the quality was far superior, gradually making them the top choice for petty rich men seeking companionship.

Dongfang Qingdi pulled the gloves from his pocket, put them on, and then grabbed a fistful of Director Zhao’s hair, hauling his head up.

Director Zhao clearly hadn’t woken up from his dream yet and cried out in pain: “Who?! What are you doing! Ahhh… Ah! It hurts, hurts, hurts—”

He opened his eyes and met a pair of emotionless eyes.

There were pupil rings—this was a high-tier Synth. The pupil rings in the intruder’s eyes were as blinding as a solar halo, and the lower half of his face was concealed by a black, fanged mask.

Although Director Zhao ran amok on the surface, engaging in petty corruption and extortion, he knew exactly who he could afford to provoke and who he couldn’t.

He only bullied the little guys. The kind of nobodies who, after being bullied and unable to find a single connection, could only cry and say, “I’m going to get a lawyer.” He was absolutely certain he had never seen Dongfang Qingdi, nor could he have possibly offended a scion of a powerful family who owned high-tier Synths.

Director Zhao’s heart hammered like a drum, his voice trembling: “Y-You… What is your business here? I will absolutely cooperate. I’ll cooperate.”

He didn’t think the other party was here to kill him. The reason was simple: Zhao never felt he had committed any particularly heinous, heaven-defying crimes—at most, he was just morally corrupt.

Xiao Qing spat out four words: “Poverty alleviation supplies.”

Cold sweat poured down Director Zhao’s face: “Ah, is there a problem with the goods given to Brother Hei, or is it not enough? Big brother, I’m not the only director at the Foundation. If a leader has spoken, I definitely have to give face. We can discuss this amicably.”

Human society is truly complicated, Xiao Qing thought. If I hadn’t worked in the Human Alliance for 126 years, I genuinely wouldn’t have understood a word Director Zhao was saying.

Dongfang Qingdi slowly tightened his grip on the man’s hair: “Not giving them to me?”

Director Zhao could practically hear his own skull creaking. The agonizing pain and the pressure of impending death made him scream: “I’ll give them! I’ll give them!”

Only then did Dongfang Qingdi let go.

He called out: “Daniel.”

Daniel was the security robot Director Zhao had spent 1.2 million to purchase for his own safety. Equipped with weaponry, it had helped Director Zhao solve many problems over the past decade.

Under Director Zhao’s shocked gaze, it replied: “Here.”

“Go to the kitchen and grab a knife.”

Daniel went to the kitchen and returned to the bedroom holding a knife.

Dongfang Qingdi took the knife and pressed the tip against Director Zhao’s head: “I’m not here to make things difficult for you. I only want the supplies. If you dare try anything else, you’ll have to be careful around every single robot you meet from now on. Understand?”

Director Zhao crouched on the floor. The tip of the knife pierced his scalp, and a trickle of bright red blood slid down the top of his head.

Trembling, he nodded frantically. He couldn’t fathom why a faction capable of hacking even a localized security system would set their sights on a paltry batch of poverty alleviation supplies.

Half an hour later, a fully dressed Director Zhao and Dongfang Qingdi arrived together at the Foundation’s warehouse.

There were security robots at the entrance. After Director Zhao flashed his credentials, the large truck smoothly drove into the heavily guarded storage facility.

The warehouse was located in the urban district, just two streets away from the police station.

Yet Director Zhao didn’t entertain the slightest thought of calling the cops. After all, he hadn’t paid for these supplies out of his own pocket. Furthermore, if a real investigation took place, his own hands weren’t exactly clean.

He still had a good life ahead of him; he couldn’t afford to go to jail.

The storage center contained 16 massive warehouses. Opening any door required dual authorization.

The first authorization belonged to the Foundation, and the second was the electronic code from the poverty-stricken households.

Through some unknown backdoor channels, Director Zhao could freely open all the doors.

It seemed he was quite used to reselling Human Alliance supplies.

He gritted his teeth and said, “Don’t take all of it; you have to leave some for me. Otherwise, I’ll have no way to report back. Also, some of these were arranged by other big shots. Specifically, the boxes marked with red circles… if you take those, I’m dead meat anyway! If you insist on taking them, I’ll have no choice but to fight you to the bitter end!”

Dongfang Qingdi felt that, at most, the fish would die, but the net certainly wouldn’t tear.

He scanned the contents of the red-circled boxes and discovered they actually contained crates of dopamine pills and some relatively outdated military firearms. Uninterested, he withdrew his gaze.

Yes, a thousand years had passed, and the most profitable businesses were still the ones written in the penal code.

Dongfang Qingdi picked and chose items from the warehouse as casually as if he were shopping at a wet market. It was glaringly obvious that something was wrong, yet not a single passing robot reacted.

This was the rigidity of programming; a human security guard would have come up to question them long ago.

Gusu City’s supplies had just arrived, and Director Zhao hadn’t even had time to resell them yet.

Xiao Qing loaded them into the truck bed, then went to other warehouses, picking and choosing a few more things, acting as if he were browsing a self-service supermarket.

After filling the truck, Dongfang Qingdi remembered Xiang Nanli’s instructions and said very politely, “Thank you.”

Director Zhao: “…?”

Picking up the supplies delayed him by another day. By evening, Dongfang Qingdi received a message from Xiang Nanli.

Li Li: Xiao Qing~ Did you get the stuff?

Me: Yes, it went very smoothly.

Me: I’m heading home right now.

When the word “home” blurted out, Dongfang Qingdi froze for a moment.

Then, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly in a barely noticeable smile.

Director Zhao saw him off as if he were seeing off the God of Plagues.

When the base got busy, from top to bottom, even a mechanical dog had its own daily work schedule.

Not to mention Xiang Nanli, who sat at the very center of the whirlpool.

Whenever this happened, Xiang Nanli missed Xiao Qing exceptionally.

Their opinions were always so flawlessly aligned.

When Xiao Qing handled things, Xiang Nanli’s mind was completely at ease.

A notification chime sounded in his cochlea.

Xiang Nanli opened it and took a look.

It was another image sent by Liszt, accompanied by a massive block of explanatory text.

The image was a data analysis chart from an experiment, alongside a biological imaging weight chart that Xiang Nanli couldn’t understand at all.

Heh… if it were research on how to design network sampling programs, maybe I’d have some say in the matter.

Liszt: Send this to your Chief.

Survivor Base: Understood~ dear~ I will help pass the message along~

Ever since paying sixty million for the patent, Liszt would log online from time to time to demand after-sales service.

This “after-sales service” included jointly discussing the progress of subsequent experiments.

Initially, Xiang Nanli was a bit worried that Beichen would get sold out and still help count the money.

But Beichen admitted frankly that Liszt’s research was highly inspiring to him and had even helped eliminate many incorrect variables. If anything, the base was the one profiting from this exchange.

Only then did Xiang Nanli put his mind at ease.

“Our laboratory resources aren’t exactly abundant. Liszt has helped us save a massive amount of expenses,” Beichen had said over the phone.

Well, as to why they didn’t just bypass Xiang Nanli and communicate directly…

That, of course, was because the base didn’t have internet. Beichen could only communicate with Eternal City (or more accurately, with Xiang Nanli).

The efficiency of relaying messages was much lower.

It generally took until the next day for Liszt to receive Beichen’s replies.

Liszt endured it time and time again until he finally reached the edge of his patience: Does your Chief have a non-disclosure agreement or something? Can you just let him communicate with me directly?

If there was an NDA, the information they had been exchanging recently already bordered on core classified secrets anyway.

Survivor Base: No~ dear, it’s just that our base doesn’t have internet~~~

Liszt: …

A few minutes later.

Liszt: Send me your base’s address. I’ll donate a communications antenna.

Xiang Nanli: Σ(O_O)?!

Such a good thing exists??