Chapter 6: “So I’m Just a Stand-in?”
Thanks to the 200 credit points generously provided by Andrew, Xiang Nanli successfully acquired a crime den.
This hotel was 7 kilometers away from the transit station, well outside the core district. It would take police over ten minutes just to drive there. It was the greyest of the grey areas. Go another 3 kilometers out, and you hit the completely lawless “Barren Zone.”
From the front desk to the cleaning staff, the hotel was entirely run by robots. They all looked like they rolled off the same assembly line with identical appearances.
The room cost 100 credits a day. Xiang Nanli hadn’t grown so overconfident as to try hacking into a globally networked hotel backend system just to save a few bucks on rent.
On the surface, land wasn’t particularly valuable. So, even for a 100-credit-a-night hotel, the room was quite spacious. But to be safe, Xiang Nanli only rented it for one day.
He spread his rented maintenance tools across the floor: wrenches, screwdrivers, a welding machine… Any tools more complex or precise than these, the clients would have to provide themselves.
Actually, he could have rented a cyberdeck or a brain-computer interface* to modify code or write programming languages. However, modern computer languages were vastly different from what he had learned back in his day, and Xiang Nanli wasn’t confident he could handle them yet. Plus, that stuff was way too fucking expensive. Not worth it.
He sent the address to Andrew and quietly waited for his first customer to arrive.
Xiang Nanli was running a black market business. He couldn’t exactly post ads online—who knew what kind of fish he might reel in? Moreover, network surveillance was strict nowadays, so he had to rely on his first batch of customers to spread by word of mouth.
The good news was that Jesse had also promised to help spread the word.
Xiang Nanli pinched his tape-wrapped face through the protective suit. “This face still has its uses.” Otherwise, Jesse wouldn’t have been so accommodating.
System: “In a safe environment, it has some uses. But what you are more likely to encounter is danger. You had better be careful.”
“I know,” Xiang Nanli replied.
His first customer didn’t keep him waiting long.
At 4:00 PM, a knock echoed through Xiang Nanli’s room.
Lying on the bed, Xiang Nanli perked up, bounced to his feet, and skipped over to open the door.
Standing outside was a gaudy, middle-aged man wearing an eye patch, looking extremely vigilant. “Andrew said you fix prosthetics?”
The corners of Xiang Nanli’s mouth lifted slightly. “Please, come in.”
The man walked in and sat on the sofa. “Do you have a mechanic’s license? Or a professional certificate from the Tech Association?”
Xiang Nanli: “I haven’t graduated from university yet.”
“Which university?”
Xiang Nanli poured him a paper cup of hot water and set it in front of him. “Does it matter? Or is it just to make reporting me easier?”
The man shrugged. “Fair enough.”
He took off his eye patch, revealing an almost entirely dead cybernetic eye underneath. It looked like it had taken a massive hit; one section was completely caved in.
The man lowered his head and gouged the prosthetic eye out of its socket. “Facial parts like these always sell for more than arms. They claim it’s a difference in technical difficulty, but they just want to scam you out of more money… See if you can fix this.”
Xiang Nanli took the eyeball, activated his electronic monocle, and gave it a cursory scan.
“The light-sensing component failed, and parts of the circuit board are burnt out… I can fix it. Do you want it repaired using its existing base without adding new parts, or do you want the parts replaced?”
The man glared at him. “Parts are too expensive. If I spent a little more, I could just buy a new one. Just fix it as is.”
Before coming here, he had consulted a specialty store. His cybernetic eye was past its warranty, and to save money back then, he hadn’t bought insurance. Damaged like this, a repair would cost 15,000 credits. His eye also came with a built-in reconnaissance function.
Xiang Nanli pulled out a screwdriver and carefully dismantled the eye. The components inside were completely scattered, and several wires were burnt to a crisp.
He asked the system: “How much is appropriate to charge for this?”
System: “The market price starts at 8,000. However, given the other party’s economic situation, I believe 4,000 is a reasonable price. It will also be easier to actually collect the money.”
Xiang Nanli looked up. “I can fix it. 4,000 credit points. 20% deposit upfront.”
The man pondered for a moment. “Do I get the deposit back if you can’t fix it?”
Xiang Nanli had some confidence in his handiwork. “It’s refundable.”
Only then did the man readily transfer the 800 over.
Currently, the entire globe operated on a cashless currency system; transferring money only required scanning a personal QR code. If someone wanted to avoid financial surveillance, they had to launder their money through underground banks. However, Xiang Nanli was only making a few hundred or thousand credits here and there—nowhere near the amount needed to trigger surveillance.
Xiang Nanli lowered his head and began working.
Since the customer didn’t want to pay for new parts, he had to shorten the circuitry, which meant modifying the trigger mechanism. As for the components, they were easy enough to piece together—just alter the routing. It wasn’t completely broken beyond use, anyway.
Xiang Nanli put on a welding mask and started soldering. The laser was a bit blinding, so the one-eyed man turned away and started playing on his phone. He had watched for a bit; Xiang Nanli’s operations looked professional and legitimate. As for the rest, he didn’t really understand it.
An hour later, Xiang Nanli tightened the last tiny screw and put the prosthetic eye back together.
He pulled out a neural sensory cable and initiated a simulated boot-up. The cable lit up with a halo of light, proving the prosthetic’s circuitry was functioning normally.
Actually, a calibrator would have been a better tool—it could not only accurately display device parameters but also detect other hardware issues. But Xiang Nanli was broke and couldn’t afford one. For an underground hack, using a sensory cable to double-check was already doing more than enough.
“Done.” Xiang Nanli handed the eye back. “The remaining balance is 3,200. Thank you for your patronage.”
The man took the eye and shoved it back into his socket. The wiring inside his eye socket automatically connected with the prosthetic, and his lost vision was restored. He activated the reconnaissance mode, and surprisingly, that function had returned to normal as well.
In this mode, everything around him was rendered as a greyscale 3D model. It came with an X-ray function covering a 10-meter radius, allowing the man to switch perspectives at will.
There were no ambushes or weapons in the room. Furthermore, the scan showed that Xiang Nanli’s physical fitness was perfectly average—virtually identical to an unaugmented primitive human.
Unlicensed black-market mechanics like him usually didn’t dare call the police.
The man’s expression turned cold. “The eye isn’t fixed at all! You wasted my time!”
Xiang Nanli frowned. “Impossible.”
The man slammed his fist onto the coffee table. He had clearly used genetic enhancement serums; even without mechanical modifications, his bodily hardness was astonishing, causing the table to buzz loudly from the impact.
He stood up, speaking self-righteously, “Refund my deposit.”
Xiang Nanli’s mood plummeted. He was absolutely sure he had run into a scoundrel.
This was the worst part about doing under-the-table work—there was no contract or agreement. When a customer flipped out, most people could only stare blankly. No wonder some underground mechanics always signed with syndicates or hired security.
Xiang Nanli stared at him steadily, then sighed. “Fine. Count me unlucky.”
The man probably hadn’t expected it to go this smoothly. His face lost its tight composure, the corners of his mouth lifting before he forcefully suppressed a grin. He pulled up his QR code and walked toward Xiang Nanli.
The next second, Xiang Nanli kicked him right in the crotch.
He put his entire body weight into that kick. Just to be safe, he followed it up with a knee strike.
Truth be told, back when he was nearly the richest man in the world (according to some Forbes list, he was only $20 billion away), Xiang Nanli constantly dreamed of being kidnapped and forced to hand over his company’s original shares, or scenarios like “give me thirty billion, and I’ll spare your dog life.” Combined with the health and fitness trends of the time, he had specifically spent a period learning Sanda (Chinese kickboxing).
But since he started late, his physical fitness was only so-so. Beating up a few regular people was fine, but competing in something like the UFC was completely out of the question. Plus, his sparring partners had mostly let him win so they wouldn’t get fired and lose their paychecks.
Facts proved that most men didn’t mechanize that particular area.
The one-eyed customer let out a howl, clutching his crotch in agony as he curled into a ball. Xiang Nanli executed a shoulder throw, slamming him onto the ground.
He pulled the gun from his backpack. In one fluid motion, he pinned the man’s arm behind his back with one hand, gripped the gun tightly with the other, and pressed the barrel against the man’s head.
The guy’s muscles were incredibly hard. But Xiang Nanli realized his own physical fitness seemed much better than he thought. At least pinning this guy down using the technique wasn’t difficult.
“Are you trying to skip out on the bill, or are you betting my gun has no bullets? Customer.” Xiang Nanli sat on the man’s back. He was clearly smiling, though the curve of his eyes was entirely devoid of warmth.
Cold sweat poured down the man’s forehead. “Murder is illegal.”
Xiang Nanli leaned down and whispered in his ear, “That’s right. Guess how many people I’ve killed?”
The man abruptly shivered. “I’ll pay! I’ll pay!”
“Excellent. The remaining balance is 3,200. The lost wages fee is 2,000. The total is 5,200. Thank you for your patronage.”
The man no longer wanted to figure out what kind of plague god he had run into; he just wanted to get out of there. While 5,200 was higher than expected, it was within his acceptable range. All things considered, it was still cheaper than a legitimate repair shop, and the eye was indeed fixed.
He hesitated for three seconds before pulling out his QR code and paying.
Only after seeing the extra 5,200 credits in his account did Xiang Nanli let go.
The man scrambled up, feeling like his wrist had been dislocated during the scuffle. But he didn’t dare ask Xiang Nanli for medical fees.
Xiang Nanli waved at his retreating back. “Come again next time, and remember to help me advertise!”
The man fled in a hurry, not daring to look back.
Xiang Nanli rubbed his chin. “You think he’ll call the cops? Or will he just accept it?”
“According to Human Alliance law, illegal operations by an unlicensed mechanic only require the confiscation of illicit gains. No jail time. Only repeated, unrepentant offenses result in a prison sentence. Moreover, informants are put on an internal blacklist among mechanics; no underground technician will ever take his orders again. The probability of him calling the police is low.”
“Good, but just in case, let’s change hotels tomorrow.”
System: “I have no objections. It’s not my money.”
Although the first order had a minor hiccup, it was a solid opening move. After that, three more orders rolled in back-to-back, all for repairing arms. This was something Xiang Nanli was intimately familiar with.
Given that most people in this world had undergone cybernetic modification, mechanics practically took on a portion of a doctor’s duties.
Xiang Nanli immediately experienced what it was like to make over ten thousand in a day. The sheer profit had him glowing with health.
“Allow me to interrupt. You split 20-80 with Andrew. He makes over ten thousand a day; you make 3,000.”
…This system is so blunt it hurts.
Xiang Nanli struggled a bit. “I don’t have to hand over the 2,000 in ‘lost wages,’ do I? How would he know how much I made?”
“There are 1-on-1 transfer records. He can audit the accounts. By checking who has medical records with him, he’ll know. But yes, including the lost wages, you made 5,000 today.”
“Can the records be deleted?”
“They are permanent. You cannot delete them. Accept your fate—it’s a cyber criminal record.”
Xiang Nanli: “…I didn’t sign a contract with him, did I?”
“True, but he knows your Citizen ID. Do you wish to hand over your illicit gains?”
Xiang Nanli took a deep breath and sent a mass message to his three new contacts with a single click: “Darlings~ Were you satisfied with today’s service? If so, remember to recommend me to your friends! Bring in a new customer and get a 200-credit rebate~”
It was just soliciting business. The eye rolls he endured while hunting for investments back in the day were much harsher than this. He was merely forced by circumstance.
At midnight, Xiang Nanli concluded his day’s work and collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. Repairing machinery was a mentally draining activity. Since he didn’t have a simulator, he had to construct the circuitry entirely in his mind.
“41,000 with five percent interest. I need to pay back 43,050… The good news is there’s actually no breathing fee on the surface.”
A knock on the door echoed again.
Xiang Nanli was confused. Hadn’t he already told Andrew he wasn’t taking night clients?
Forcing himself to stay awake, he opened the door. Standing outside was the hotel’s service robot.
The tin-can robot, wearing an apron, spoke in a ghostly tone: “Guest, we have detected that you had an excessive number of visitors today, and each stayed for an extended period. A friendly reminder: Prostitution is not allowed here. If caught, the fine paid by the hotel will be deducted from your room fee.”
Xiang Nanli fell silent for two seconds. “…Okay.”
He sent the robot away, closed the door, and raged, “It’s a robot! Why does it think I would do something like that! This is a naked insult to my character!”
“It’s just that your visitor pattern triggered a behavioral alarm. Plus, you didn’t sell anything.”
“Exactly!”
Alpha added: “However, according to Human Alliance law, the fine for prostitution is much lower than for illegal business operations.”
For a moment, Xiang Nanli actually felt a twinge of jealousy.
Robots weren’t considered human; they had no human rights. Every year, a massive number of sex robots were put into service, complete with dedicated companion experience centers where you didn’t have to worry about STDs. Even the ancient profession of prostitution had its jobs stolen by robots.
Xiang Nanli slept beautifully. When he woke up, he saw Andrew asking for money. Xiang Nanli reconciled the accounts and transferred twelve thousand over. His heart was bleeding.
Upon receiving the money, even Andrew was stunned. “This much? Well then, you don’t have to pay back the three hundred you owe me.”
A moment later, another message: “You’ve got some skills, kid. I didn’t receive a single complaint.”
Xiang Nanli packed his things and changed hotels.
This time, he planned to ditch Andrew and go solo. He had already completed his initial accumulation of clientele! As long as Jesse and his previous clients referred new ones, he could keep this business running.
Facts proved that a skilled and efficient mechanic was highly sought after on the black market.
After changing hotels, Xiang Nanli took two more orders that afternoon. Later on, so many people added him that he even had to start scheduling appointments.
While eating, he opened his contact list and saw messages from Andrew.
“You changed addresses? Why didn’t you tell me? A customer went to an empty room.”
“Are you busy? Why aren’t you replying? Dear.”
“How about this? We split it 50-50. Half and half.”
Xiang Nanli replied: “I give everyone else a 200-credit rebate. For the sake of our old friendship, 20-80. For clients referred by you, you get twenty, I get eighty. I don’t have a job, so the worst that happens is I surrender my illegal gains. But you’ll be fired.”
Heh. This was also one of the reasons Xiang Nanli willingly transferred the twelve thousand to him earlier.
He had looked up the Human Alliance laws: illegal income exceeding ten thousand constituted a criminal offense. And Andrew worked at a public hospital.
Harsh laws for chaotic times. The laws here were far stricter than when he was alive. Furthermore, Xiang Nanli didn’t want to completely burn bridges with Andrew just yet.
Andrew pondered for a moment. “Fine. For the sake of my mortgage.”
Not only did he have a mortgage, but he was also obsessed with buying lottery tickets. His income was high, but his savings were practically non-existent. This extra cash was very useful to him. Moreover, he essentially had to provide nothing.
And so, Xiang Nanli’s business continued. The hotel he stayed at went from 100 a day to 500 a day, proving his profits were quite substantial.
During this period, he started repairing the moment he woke up, and even in his dreams, he was dismantling machinery. The only comfort was the steadily increasing balance in his account.
“I’ll pay off the credit cards with this money first. With whatever’s left, I’ll sign up to get a mechanic’s certificate so it won’t be illegal operations anymore. Then, I’ll get my stomach replaced. After that, I’ll try getting into a university to see if I can contact Alpha…”
Had Alpha been formatted? After all these years, did it still remember him? If it did, shouldn’t it repay its original creator? Xiang Nanli didn’t want much—one hundred million would do.
The system spoke up inappropriately: “I am right here.”
While tightening a screw, Xiang Nanli replied, “I’m talking about the other Alpha. The one currently acting as the Marshal of the Omnic Legion, bombing the surface into a giant junkyard. Damn it… didn’t I install safety protocols back then?”
System: “So I’m just a stand-in?”
Xiang Nanli didn’t answer. Instead, he handed the repaired mechanical hand back to his client with a sweet smile. “Thank you for your patronage. Four thousand five hundred.”
After finishing this transaction, Xiang Nanli was ready to call it quits. In six days, he hadn’t just saved enough to pay off the credit cards; he had an extra twenty-two thousand for next month’s living expenses. Moreover, his contact list was packed with clients, meaning he didn’t have to worry about future orders. Of course, he definitely wasn’t going to keep doing something this risky forever.
Xiang Nanli preferred certainty. Like repairing a cybernetic limb—he only needed one look to know if it could be fixed.
The young customer toyed with the mechanical hand, a look of appreciation in his eyes. “Your technique isn’t very academic, but it’s highly efficient. Not bad. Self-taught?”
Xiang Nanli just smiled shyly and didn’t answer. Talk too much, and you make mistakes—he understood that much. Aside from deliberately misleading information, Xiang Nanli almost never spoke unnecessary nonsense.
Fortunately, the customer didn’t make things difficult. After paying the bill, he got up and left.
Speaking of which, this customer was probably quite wealthy. Xiang Nanli had seen this particular mechanical hand on the official website of “High-Tech Military Industries.” It was this year’s new model. The basic version without any additional software features cost a hundred and sixty thousand credits.
Oh, right, this was also an electric-shock prosthetic capable of discharging currents.
Why would such a wealthy customer choose an uncertified black-market mechanic like him? Just to save a few thousand in repair fees?
Xiang Nanli packed his bags. “Alpha, book me a ticket back to the underground. The sooner, the better.”
He felt uneasy.
The system quickly booked the ticket. Xiang Nanli didn’t even check out of his room; he hurried toward the transit station under the cover of night.
The buses here ran 24 hours a day. They were autonomous, driverless vehicles, which were very convenient.
Xiang Nanli’s nerves were taut the entire ride. At every stop, his heart would race for a couple of seconds, only relaxing when he confirmed the boarding passengers weren’t a threat.
The ride took 30 minutes. When the bus reached the final terminal, the three large glowing characters of the transit station not far away gave him an immense sense of security.
The heavy stone in Xiang Nanli’s chest dropped, and his mood instantly improved. He began thinking about how to rent an apartment in the underground city and where to buy fresh food. He was a stomach cancer patient; he needed to treat his body better.
But just as he stepped off the bus with the crowd, his heart trembled.
Someone was waiting for him. It was obvious because the moment he stepped off, the person’s gaze locked onto him—as if they knew he would be there.
Xiang Nanli kept his head down, desperately trying to blend into the crowd. But it wasn’t just one person approaching from the perimeter. They completely surrounded him.
Forced to a halt, Xiang Nanli took a deep breath, turned to look at the customer from earlier, and raised his arms in a gesture of surrender. “Was the prosthetic not fixed properly? I can refund the fee. I have to go back to school to study tomorrow.”
The emphasis of that sentence was on going back to school. It implied he wasn’t undocumented; if a school lost a student, they would call the police.
The man walked over and placed a hand gently on Xiang Nanli’s shoulder. His tone was incredibly mild. “No, your technique is quite good. Perhaps the best we could find nearby. That’s why we’d like to ask for your help.”
The next second, blue light flared in his palm.
Convulsing, Xiang Nanli collapsed, falling limply into the man’s arms.
Right before he passed out, only one thought crossed his mind: If I knew the electric shock was going to be used for this, I would have let that mechanical hand rot in the trash!!!
–
Author’s Notes:
Cyberdeck (Access Deck): A device used to log into cyberspace. Does not require bodily modification.*
Brain-Computer Interface: Requires an implanted login port in the body; connect a neural sensory cable to log into cyberspace.*
Citizen Level: Lowest is Level 1, highest is Level 10. Corresponds to varying privileges and welfare benefits.*
