Corpo Age Chapter 52: Lion City

When I woke up, I felt a strange dissonance with my body. It still moved how I wanted it to, but it just felt different.

Well, I did change out almost every single one of my cybernetics.

‘Correct, host has replaced every cyberware in his body except the unit labeled “HSU Custom Shade”. Rest is recomnded.’ A feminine synthetic voice suddenly rang out in my head.

That’s right, my new SAID ca with a smart assistant. I still need to set that thing up.

A smart assistant may be a few steps down from an AI, but it was sufficient to carry out my commands and help micro-manage things as if I had a personal secretary...

‘The only setup that requires the host’s attention is my designation, voice selection, and permission level.’

Right, it was my SAID so it can pick up on my thoughts like how I used to text. I’ll call you Kiri from now on, and you can keep the voice as it is. Only pick up on my thoughts when I allow it. Is that possible?

‘Yes, I can do so.’

The surgeon soon ca in as I got used to talking to the voice in my brain. He helped calibrate the new implants, which made feel a bit better. From my knowledge, I needed so ti to get used to the new hardware. There was just no way around it.

My security team drove us back to our office building, which doubled as my residence. I took the ti during the ride to inspect and try out my new chro.

Status

Level:

15

EXP:

1480/1500

Musculoskeletal:

211

Neural Reflex:

65

Visuomotor Coordination:

87

Endurance:

59

Sensory Perception:

127

Upgrade Points:

1

Upgrades:

Stealth 7Hacking 3Cybernetic Engineering 7Stealth Technology 10Software Engineering 6

Enhancents:

SAID: Zenitech Sebastien v2

Bio-Coprocessor: SocialCorp Lightning II

Optics: Mirage Tech Clear-Sights mk.12

Cyberarm (Left): Nova Tech Heracle Mk. 3

Cyberarm (Right): Nova Tech Heracle Mk. 3

Auditory: SocialCorp Echo IV

Cardiovascular: BioGen Lifepump 5

Miscellaneous: HSU Custom Shade

My new optics had several modes that could be used concurrently, allowing the different modes to be connected to my SAID, which will alert to any findings. It could also detect if devices were giving out signals, find where wireless connections were available, and zoom much further with crystal clear clarity.

I also got a bio-coprocessor, which was a chip in my brain to boost how fast I processed things and how fast my signals went out to the rest of my body. It was the first implant I got that boosted my Neural Reflex stat. While I got the jump on others most of the ti, this would definitely increase my survivability to another level.

For cyberarms, I got a matching model that was a good balance between strength and utility. It had all the functions of my Shiva but better. It had various integrated tools in it that ranged from old ole lockpicks to a freaking blowtorch.

The other upgrades mainly improved performance and durability. It was more shielded from things like EMP attacks and hacking. Overall, it was definitely a worthwhile investnt, especially since my adversaries in the future may be more corpos.

Now that I have so wealth, I need to keep upgrading my defensive asures to be able to retain my fortune. Otherwise, I’d just be a pri target for others.

“Excuse , madam, please be seated for landing,” An air attendant said in my direction.

She wasn’t talking to though, but to the person in the seat beside .

“Oh, sorry,” Claire responded sheepishly, like a kid being caught stealing candy.

She had been glued to the window since we boarded the plane. I couldn’t bla her for it either, considering that was her first ti flying.

On this trip to Lion City were us and two teams of security guards accompanied us, totaling our party to ten. The bank of Lion City, that summoned us, paid for all the expenses, so it was a no-brainer to have our security join us.

We soon began landing, and the tropolis ca into view. They had a giant do at the center that was large enough to house gabuildings. The do was where the actual citizens of Lion City lived, where outsiders were normally not allowed.

The governnt of Lion City actually had full control of their city-state. Corporations were subject to their regulations, and despite being an authoritarian governnt, they kept the well-being of their citizens in mind.

They had so semblance to so of the countries back in my old world. I would’ve wanted to beco a citizen of this place too, if I didn’t have the system, but they were highly xenophobic.

The fact they weren’t under any corporation’s influence was why they were trusted to manage the currency of the world, the credits. They weren’t the only party as the spacers had their own organization that worked together with them to maintain the economy.

Lion City’s airport was glamorous, as expected, of a place where the wealth gathered. An employee from the bank was already there, waiting to guide us to our accommodations.

On our way from the airport to our hotel, I observed the people on the streets. Though they were all similar to what I’ve seen in Elevate City. It made sense, since most people outside the do were foreigners.

The next morning, we were brought to a gabuilding that had the Bank of Lion City’s logo plastered all over it. In the eting room they guided us to, we t the representative of the bank, a young woman.

“Hi, I’m Emma. A pleasure to et you, Mr. Halls,” She said as we shook hands.

“A pleasure to et you. Let thank you ahead of ti, as we’ll have to rely on you to guide us through this process,” I replied.

“Of course, I will do my best to be of service to you. If you would please follow .”

She led us to a room that looked like it was part of a hospital, with all the dical equipnt. A nurse there then led us to each device to take a detailed scan that recorded our biotrics. It took over two hours, but at least we were done after that.

“Thank you so much for visiting us for this. Your accommodations for the next two days are covered, so please feel free to tour the city until you are ready to leave. Did you have any questions?” Said Emma, on our way out.

“Thank you. I think we will take a look around the city. By the way, why are there so many foreigners here? They can’t all be here for the bank, right?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“There is a healthy population of rcenary and adventurous people that are here for the nearby dungeon,” She replied.

Dungeon? She isn’t going to tell there’s magic next, right? Kiri, what do you know about the dungeons in Lion City?

‘The dungeon in Lion City is believed to be the bunkers the people from the past built before the nuclear war. It is a dangerous place with various mutants inhabiting it, but contains many relics from the past. These relics include technologies and knowledge that are long lost and can have trendous value.’

“I see. Thank you for taking care of us. I don’t have any more questions,” I answered. With Kiri’s explanation, there was no need for her to clarify.

“Thank you guys for coming. You may want to check out the auction house if you don’t have any plans. They usually have so relics you can get a closer look at if that interests you.”

We were then driven back to our hotel, where they simply told us to inform them when we wanted to leave and they would acquire the plane tickets for us.

Claire and I decided we would stay until our free accommodations ran out. We weren’t in a hurry, so we would take full advantage of the freebies.

In the afternoon, we rented cars to go tour the food markets where they had a wide selection of exotic fruits that weren’t commonly found in Elevate City unless you paid an exorbitant price. The things we saw on the streets and in malls were too similar to what we had back ho, so we skipped them.

We planned to listen to Emma’s recomndation and visit the auction that started later tonight, so we spent ti in a nearby spa until dinner.

When we entered the auction house, a man in a suit soon ca to greet us.

“Welco, dear guests. The entry fee to the main area is five hundred credits per person, or ten thousand if you would like a private room. Which one will it be?” He got straight to the point politely.

“The main area is fine. Lead the way,” I declared.

“Of course, your bodyguards may go to our waiting area if you would like. Your security is guaranteed while you are in our establishnt.”

I agreed to his offer and got seated with Claire in the auction hall. It wasn’t that packed, though we would’ve had issues finding a seat where we could all sit together if the guards ca along.

The auction soon started as scheduled and various items were brought forth. I’m not sure what I expected, but it was plain boring. Relics sounded exciting until you found out it was just trash from the world before the nuclear wars.

The most common items being auctioned were various pieces of furniture made of wood. It seed like organic wood was scarce nowadays with how much the nuclear wars destroyed the planet’s ecosystem.

“Look at that desk, Rollo! It’s made from authentic wood, you should get it for your office. It’d look cool and stylish,” Claire held onto and said.

“Yeah…No thanks, maybe for yourself?”

She shook her head, “Too gaudy.”

Then why would you recomnd it to …?

When the auction went into the category of overpriced artwork, we took our leave as neither of us was that interested.

“Where do you want to go next?” I asked Claire.

“Umm, how about we get a snack and drive around to see how the nightlife scene is around here?”

“Sure, let’s go.”

The ten of us split off into the two rental cars and headed to one of the local fast-food chains that was still open. We got off to view the nu and ordered takeaway, so we could relax back in our hotel.

When we returned to the parking lot, Kiri suddenly spoke up.

‘I have detected suspicious individuals from the observing digital layer of your optics. There are four detected individuals to your nine o’clock that aren’t visible to the naked eye.’

My optics instantly entered the digital mode, where I could spot digital wireless connections. I could see so signals coming from my left that matched what you would see coming from a SAID that most people had.

“Hostiles! Claire, stay down!”

I quickly pulled out my pistol railgun and shot toward the invisible foes before activating my own active camouflage.

A mber of our security imdiately pushed Claire to the ground while the other shot in the sa direction as I had.

I watched as an arm suddenly ca into existence, having been damaged. A mont later, more enemies started firing at us while still hidden by their stealth devices.

My guards scattered into cover and turned on their camouflage as well. I was likely the only one who could reliably spot the enemies, but our company software allowed us to share targeting information. I peaked out in stealth, without firing, highlighting our foes for my allies to see.

Whenever I marked an enemy, my security team followed up with a hail of bullets. Following this strategy, we soon neutralized all our foes. They were all shot up pretty badly, so I finished them off for so experience points.

10 EXP

10 EXP

10 EXP

10 EXP

“Rollo, are you okay?” Claire ca up imdiately once the fighting was over.

“Yeah, how about the rest of you?” I directed my question to the leader of my squad.

“Just two lightly injured, sir.”

Before we could get out of there and examine our wounds, sirens rang out all around us. In the blink of an eye, the Lion City police had us surrounded.

Why do you have to make miss Elevate City PD of everything out there…?