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Chapter 8: To win you have to lose
“Why do you feel like I’m lying?” An Wujiu asked.
“It’s nothing,” Zhong Yirou changed the topic, “Luckily, you have this mechanical skeleton. The synthetic metal is highly durable; otherwise, your wrist would have been ruined.” Zhong Yirou turned her head, picked up An Wujiu’s intact hand, and held his wrist as well as his five fingers.
Then she muttered to herself, “If only I could open your hand directly…”
Just as she finished speaking, a bright light made Zhong Yirou unable to open her eyes, and she waved her hand to shield her eyes. “What are you doing, Masked Man? I didn’t say I’m going to open it now!”
Only then did Shen Ti realign the flashlight in his hand on An Wujiu’s wrist.
Zhong Yirou rolled her eyes, “I just had a feeling that something was off with his bones and wanted to see what was wrong. But we can’t scan now.”
Though Zhong Yirou’s explanation wasn’t very clear, An Wujiu somewhat understood her implicit meaning. His wrist bones were artificial metal, but what about the other bones?
“I suspect my memories have been artificially erased.” An Wujiu confessed his speculation directly to her.
Zhong Yirou raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat skeptical, “Were the neurons in your hippocampus tampered with?”
As a bionic doctor, she had seen all sorts of strange surgeries, so after thinking for a moment, she suggested another possibility, “Maybe they were selectively removed and replaced with new ones.”
On the side, Shen Ti heard this and started shining the flashlight on the back of An Wujiu’s head. Zhong Yirou called him back and cut off the thread end with scissors. Then she wiped the blood off An Wujiu’s skin and applied some medicine.
“Does it hurt?” Zhong Yirou asked, “Shall I give you an injection of endorphins?”
“No need, I’m fine,” An Wujiu replied truthfully, his speech still calm and composed.
“Alright then, that stuff is expensive, and I’m not willing to waste it.” Zhong Yirou didn’t know what to say. Even after such an injury, the person in front of her showed no reaction, and he didn’t even flinch during the deep, unanesthetized suturing.
An Wujiu silently observed Zhong Yirou and noticed that her brain’s virtual interface was exposed behind her ear. The black carbon material arc extended from the interface, bypassing her right ear and forming a special kind of ornament on her head.
Subconsciously, An Wujiu glanced at Shen Ti, but he was wearing a helmet, and An Wujiu found nothing.
Zhong Yirou noticed his intention and told him, “We had these installed before entering the Holy Altar. If someone had brain implants before, no matter how much money they spent on them, they were removed before entering. What we have now are the virtual experience machines inside the Holy Altar.”
Saying that she turned her head to look at the side of An Wujiu’s ear, but she found that it was different from hers. There were no sensory interface rings on his auricle.
“Let me see where your interface is,” she muttered to herself, putting away her tools and then gently grabbing An Wujiu’s hair. “Your hair is even longer than mine.” She twisted a strand of hair and seemed surprised. “It’s actually real.” Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she said, “By the way, I wanted to check earlier.”
Zhong Yirou turned around and pinched An Wujiu’s face with her hand, then pulled it and carefully observed the pores and tiny, light-colored fuzz on his face.
“Your face is real, not bought.” She couldn’t help but sigh, “Natural handsome guys are too rare nowadays. Many undergo facial changes before reaching adulthood.”
“Is the face really that important?” An Wujiu asked.
Zhong Yirou raised an eyebrow, “Of course, what are you thinking?” Shaking her head, she said, “In this world, violence, hallucinogens, and sex are all valuable commodities, and beauty is essentially a form of sexual prowess. Especially natural beauty; rich people hate those cellular faces made in labs. Do you know what a cellular face is? It’s grown from someone’s skin tissue. It might sound alright, but the skin grown in those culture dishes is eerie, like rubber…”
When it came to her profession, Zhong Yirou became more talkative. But An Wujiu didn’t have much feeling about his appearance and didn’t consider it a rare trait.
Zhong Yirou supported An Wujiu’s chin and carefully examined his face, coming to the conclusion, “But it seems current technology can’t replicate this level of face. This skull and the shape of your eyes are really something…”
Shen Ti’s flashlight continued to scan wildly over An Wujiu’s head, reminding Zhong Yirou to focus on the task at hand. However, she glanced at him and asked, “Masked man, why do you wear a mask? Did you ruin your face?”
An Wujiu also turned to look at him, only to see Shen Ti shrug, seemingly acknowledging her statement. Zhong Yirou showed a hint of insincere pity on her face, “I’m good at plastic surgery; I guarantee I can give you a decent face. Although you won’t turn into a great, handsome guy, you won’t need to wear a mask.”
“And the price is fair, no deception. How about considering it?” Once the money was mentioned, Zhong Yirou’s beautiful eyes lit up.
But Shen Ti just shook his head and pointed the flashlight at An Wujiu’s head.
“Forget it,” Zhong Yirou pouted and stopped promoting her plastic surgery skills. She lowered her head and focused on checking the back of An Wujiu’s head.
“Found it.”
Two interfaces were located on An Wujiu’s ears, 45 degrees above each tip, hidden in his hair. They were small square protrusions with sealed thresholds of liquid metal electrodes. “Your virtual machine and ours are different, and the electrodes are also different. Why is that?”
She felt puzzled and tried to open the sealed threshold, but found that the entire virtual machine was in a suspended state.
“I can’t open it.” Zhong Yirou tried several tools and even used forced startup codes, but to no avail. “It’s not working. This startup program is an internal encryption program; I can’t bypass it.”
An Wujiu understood and said, “It’s okay; I am in the Holy Altar now, so it means it’s working internally. Perhaps some programs have temporarily stopped.”
Not being able to fully handle the situation, Zhong Yirou felt somewhat dissatisfied. After all, she considered herself a very capable bionic doctor. After some thought, she clapped her hands, “Right! I can help you install a sensory interface ring. Your loss of sensation might be related to this.”
She took out a space-gray streamlined ring with a metallic sheen from her toolkit, one end attached to An Wujiu’s auricle and the other end’s magnetic induction device linked to his concealed interface.
“This is the latest generation of space-carbonized silicon, much better than what we have installed in our heads. Originally, it was meant for me. By doing this now, it won’t work in the Holy Altar, but if you survive this round, I’ll install it for you in the real world, along with scanning your bones.”
An Wujiu expressed his gratitude to Zhong Yirou.
“I will help you,” he spoke gently and sincerely, but Zhong Yirou still wasn’t used to it and just smiled, “Then there’s no need. Just give me the money, 10000 holy coins.”
Zhong Yirou said it casually, and her hand was just reaching out absentmindedly. After all, ten thousand holy coins would be enough to smuggle half a box of space-carbonized silicon materials into the real world.
However, to her surprise, An Wujiu immediately and quietly brought up the interface panel and proceeded to transfer the amount to Zhong Yirou after confirming her personal information.
Hearing the notification sound, Zhong Yirou finally realized the speed of the transaction, leaving her momentarily speechless.
What a joyous occasion to meet a pair of spendthrifts at once.
As she was sighing, the fourth person entered the lounge corridor. It was Wu You.
“You… why are you all here?” He held onto the door handle, hesitating whether to enter or not.
“Just checking out the rest room,” Zhong Yirou slung her toolkit onto her back again, holding the rope in her hands and tying a knot around her slim waist.
Wu You glanced around cautiously and then directly broached a topic they had not discussed or even avoided discussing.
“Will you guys form an alliance with Yang Ming?”
Zhong Yirou was momentarily taken aback, then burst into laughter, “You’re so straightforward, kid.”
“I’m not a kid,” Wu You straightened his posture, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, “I’m sixteen.”
“Hehe, okay,” she raised both hands in a surrendering gesture, “You’re not a kid, you’re not.”
But this kind of straightforwardness and openness to strangers didn’t look mature at all.
“At least, he won’t form an alliance with me,” An Wujiu said slowly, “Regardless of the situation.”
“That’s true,” Zhong Yirou nodded, “Yang Ming is probably trying to figure out how to kill you right now.”
Wu You looked at Zhong Yirou and asked, “What about you? Why are you trying to please An Wujiu? Could it be that your red line is connected to him?”
Zhong Yirou showed a puzzled expression, “What nonsense are you talking about?”
Wu You pointed at the toolkit she was carrying on her back, “I saw it. You stitched up his wounds, didn’t you? You’re secretly in love with An Wujiu.”
“I’m in love with him?” Zhong Yirou sneered, “I’m more in love with you.”
Watching their playful banter, An Wujiu suddenly had the feeling that this wasn’t a life-and-death game. But it only lasted a second. Although he was initially unaccustomed, he now understood the rules of this game.
Zhong Yirou patted his shoulder, “Let me tell you, you can’t give up so easily. If you really lose your memory, you’ll be a novice in this game. I have to kindly remind you that you can’t be soft-hearted in any game in the Holy Altar; otherwise, you will definitely lose.”
An Wujiu’s lips curled slightly, “But you can’t be reckless either.”
Zhong Yirou looked puzzled, “…That’s true. But in any game, if you get the worst hand and find yourself in the worst situation and you don’t fight back, things will get even worse. Just like a person with no value, how can they survive?”
An Wujiu remained silent.
Indeed, it’s challenging for a person with no value to survive.
But a person with no value can hide in the midst of deceit. Especially if they are considered a formidable and invincible figure, once they lose and keep losing, once they retreat and keep retreating, their opponents will become complacent, and their pride will swell, making them underestimate the valueless person.
This was the only way for An Wujiu to escape with his life.
He was seriously injured, had no supplies, his health bar was not at its maximum, and he was considered the strongest person and the biggest obstacle to victory.
To win, he must be willing to lose.
“Why are you not talking?” Zhong Yirou sighed, “I’ve never seen someone like you in the Holy Altar who doesn’t scheme. Look, even though Yang Ming has a low health bar and can’t directly duel with you, he will definitely use others…”
Before she finished speaking, a sharp alarm sounded in the room, followed by the familiar holy voice.
“Player initiated a duel.”
Shen Ti, who was standing by, let out a whistle, but he didn’t blow it; he looked a bit awkward.
No one expected peace to be so short-lived.
“Initiating player: Robber — Liu Chengwei.”
“Challenged player: Intern — An Wujiu.”
“The duel will begin in three minutes. Both parties should proceed to the duel room on the right side of the reception hall. The challenged player cannot refuse the duel; otherwise, they will lose health points for this round.”
As expected, it had begun.
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