534: Chapter 534: I Have Arrived (Large Chapter for Monthly Votes) 534: Chapter 534: I Have Arrived (Large Chapter for Monthly Votes) Pfft—
He Ao’s feet splashed into the muddy water; he stowed his dagger and walked step by step toward the thin man’s collapsed corpse.
He squatted down, grabbed the man’s ankle, and dragged him towards the deep shadows of the night.
C-level bodies could potentially turn into dangerous Transcendent artifacts or even contaminate the surrounding area, creating C-level bizarre phenona.
Either case could lead to the innocent deaths of nearby residents.
Therefore, the body could not remain here and needed to be taken to a place where it could be properly disposed of.
The rain curtain continued to fall slowly, washing the blood mixed with mud from the old cent cracks, following the trickling streams into the gaping crevices of the ancient sewers.
After an unknown ti, darkness again gave way to light as a window was illuminated.
A silhouette pressed against the glass of the window as if attempting to glimpse through the opaque dark glass at the scene outside.
Just then, a loud noise burst from behind her.
She shuddered and quickly turned around, only to hear the innocent voice of a child follow, “Mommy, look, the superhero defeated the bad guy.”
“Baby, don’t just turn on the TV like that, you almost scared Mommy to death.”
The shadow rose and retreated from the window.
…
In the shadowy curtain of night, He Ao dragged the thin man’s corpse forward at a steady pace.
Raindrops splashed beneath his feet.
Soon, he reached the exit of the section, and not far ahead, a middle-aged man dressed in rcenary gear was holding a walkie-talkie, calling out sothing.
Then the man seed to sense sothing, lifting his head to see He Ao approaching through the rain curtain.
His gaze shifted to the corpse behind He Ao, and he took half a step back, his voice hoarse, “Mr.
Jess, we have no grudge against each other, I’m just doing a job for the money.
So of my brothers were also killed by that C-level, we’re all victims here.”
This was the rcenary captain who had just run away.
He Ao glanced at the rcenary captain, who wore an exoskeleton armor that was clearly more luxurious than what ordinary rcenaries wore; this was probably why he was able to run faster than the others, escaping from the thin man’s grasp.
This exoskeleton armor, which Vian had once studied, was one of the advanced individual soldier pieces of equipnt produced by the Yiwis Space System Company.
There was a high-energy laser cannon in the chest, capable of firing a super-high-energy laser that could even injure a C-level at close range.
However, after that single shot, the exoskeleton armor would be essentially ruined and need to return to the factory for repairs.
He Ao’s gaze left the rcenary captain’s exoskeleton armor and looked ahead with a calm expression, not saying a word, step by step proceeding towards the exit.
“I beg of you to let go.”
The rcenary captain continued to back away, speaking slowly.
He Ao tilted his head to the side, and his gaze moved back rest on the rcenary captain.
When Jess was driven into a desperate situation, why didn’t this man stand up and say, ‘Let go’ then?
Jess really did ‘let go.’ He had the ability to kill the rcenaries but killed none of them.
He didn’t even inflict a fatal wound on anyone.
And then he was cornered by a sniper’s bullet.
As He Ao drew closer, the rcenary captain’s expression beca resolute, abandoning his previous pleas, and pressed a button on the exoskeleton armor on his arm, “If you don’t spare , you won’t get off easy either.”
His chest laser cannon unfolded and began to charge.
And at that mont, He Ao looked up at him, and the next second, he appeared right in front of the rcenary captain.
He retrieved a silver cylindrical object from his chest and handed it to the rcenary captain.
The rcenary captain subconsciously accepted the cylinder and expressed his gratitude, “Thank you.”
“No need.”
He Ao shook his head, pulling the thin man’s body forward.
It was only then that the rcenary captain realized what he was holding in his hands.
It was a silver alloy tube with a glass vial embedded in it, inside which a viscous orange-yellow liquid flowed.
At the top of the alloy tube, there was a crude red button which had already been pressed, and a piercing, urgent alarm sounded from underneath it.
The experienced rcenary captain instantly knew what it was.
Simple liquid explosive!
He violently raised his hand, intending to throw the tal tube away.
But by this mont, it was already too late.
The roaring explosion sounded like thunder.
The intense flas turned the curtain of rain into a pure white mist, which instantly surged out and enveloped everything around.
Bricks and stones flew in every direction.
He Ao walked calmly through the streets, step by step heading deeper into the night.
Just now, he had handed the explosive to the rcenary captain using the Almsgiver’s skill.
Jess, in fact, had the capability to easily kill that rcenary captain.
Pieces of broken exoskeleton armor scattered, rolling onto the quiet street.
——
Bang——
He Ao closed the trunk of the car.
Then he turned around, left the car parked by the roadside, and walked to a nearby street.
So stores on both sides of the street were still open.
The bright lights were unexpectedly glaring against the dark road.
He Ao glanced at the ti on his bracelet, 10:10 PM.
Nearly no mories of West District in Vitland City could be found in Jess’s mind.
For Jess, who had received an elite education from childhood, attending the best schools from elentary to university and later becoming a faculty mber, Plante District was the extent of his understanding of civilian life.
The chaotic and murderous West District existed only in hearsay and the occasional fleeting glimpse when passing by.
Before his appointnt in the West District tonight, he even held so romantic illusions about it.
Of course, all romance had vanished the mont he was embarrassingly cornered into the ‘hunting grounds’.
He Ao moved slowly, staggering into a communication store.
Although Jess had no mories of the West District, He Ao’s mind contained many mories of Aston District in Dawn City, with its bustling tropolis harboring similar chaotic abysses.
Not far from where He Ao and the rcenaries had fought, such large-scale gunfights at this ti of day ant any store bold enough to remain open was backed by so foundation.
Either the boss had personal strength, or there was strength behind them.
The store He Ao entered clearly fell into the latter category.
The communication store was not large, resembling Roger’s, except the boss here was not an underground doctor like Roger, but rather a young man with tattoos and seven or eight earrings, who was wearing only a loose T-shirt despite the cold weather.
Based on this young man’s attire, he should belong to so gang nearby, and not a small one at that.
“What do you want to buy?”
The young boss was watching a drama.
He glanced at He Ao as he walked in, his gaze lingering montarily on He Ao’s bloodstained clothes before quickly looking away and casually asking.
He was not curious about He Ao’s blood-soaked appearance.
In the West District, people covered in blood were everywhere; whether it was their own or soone else’s, it was nothing unusual.
Still, he sat up, his hand moving to the back of his waist, watching He Ao with caution and seriousness.
A bloodied person pulling a gun out of their pocket and slamming it on the counter would not have been surprising.
“Get a smart bracelet, the latest model,” He Ao said, walking straight up to the young man, lifting his hand, and speaking softly.
The young man jolted noticeably as He Ao raised his hand.
“Which brand do you want, Nord?
Trison?
Musicnote?”
Upon realizing He Ao hadn’t taken a gun out to slam it on the table, the young man let out a sigh of relief.
While fumbling in a cabinet below, he asked in a soft voice.
“Trison,” He Ao said softly as he glanced at the bracelet on his hand.
Trison was a leading conglorate in the communication equipnt industry.
“Alright, just a mont.”
The young boss rummaged beneath the counter and first grabbed a sowhat dusty box.
It was at this mont, from such a close distance, he saw the ghastly and terrible wounds on He Ao’s body and the indifferent, yet not fully dissipated, murderous aura on his bloodstained cheeks.
At that ti, He Ao looked at him puzzled, and for an instant, he felt as if his soul had montarily left his body; his body, which had never experienced cold even in the depths of winter, was now soaked with cold sweat.
He decisively abandoned the original box and pulled out a brand-new box,
“That will be a total of 1099 federal coins.
Would you like to pay by card or sign a contract?
Of course, if you would like to pay in installnts, we also offer installnt services.”
Paying by card ant directly using a credit card, while signing a contract ant signing at least a two-year contract with the service provider, bundling a fixed plan from the provider, allowing the custor to get the bracelet at an extrely low initial paynt.
In essence, the contract was a disguised form of installnt paynt.
Due to the lack of competitive pressure, the Federation’s contract devices, including the taxes and fees for the plan, ended up being much more expensive than costs for a credit card installnt.
Of course, for those who couldn’t use credit card installnts or whom banks wouldn’t grant credit, this was a good option.
And after signing up for a specific plan, because of the additional services involved, the installnt paynts for the contract devices didn’t seem too ‘high.’
So this type of contract was very popular in more chaotic and poorer areas.
Fundantally, it was a form of high-interest loan targeting the poor.
The installnt plans offered by these kinds of shops differed from those provided by banks; shop installnts typically ca from financial companies registered by gangs.
These installnts targeted clients who even communication companies were unwilling to offer ‘contracts.’
Gangs had ways to retrieve loans from these people, so they dared to lend boldly.
Of course, the interest might be ‘a bit’ higher than the Federation’s officially maximum allowed rate.
And behind these high-interest lending gangs, there were usually large conglorates offering support.
“Card,” He Ao said.
He Ao looked at the price tag of 3299 on the package, opened it directly, and took out the new bracelet, checking that it was indeed new with no signs of use, he raised the old bracelet on his hand.
Shops in chaotic areas liked to pass off second-hand bracelets as new or refurbish old bracelets to sell at higher prices.
Of course, the price the young boss offered He Ao was the normal rate; at 1099, it was even sowhat lower than the official stores outside, and there were no signs of this bracelet being refurbished.
He Ao felt that perhaps his amiability had touched the boss.
“Very well, just a mont.”
The boss nodded lightly and quickly reached under the counter for a card machine, swiping it over He Ao’s bracelet.
Soon, He Ao’s bracelet vibrated, indicating the credit card had been charged.
Federation banks provided debit cards that allowed users to deposit money for withdrawing cash, but these debit cards typically couldn’t be used for consumption.
Most shops in the Federation only supported credit card paynts, and often custors had to apply for a credit card from the bank after opening an account to be able to make purchases.
Accounts ant for deposits only supported deposits, withdrawals, transfers, and the purchase of the bank’s financial services.
He Ao replaced his bracelet with a new one and left the shop.
He transferred his original number to the new bracelet and then connected with Eve.
…
“Hello, K.”
A little girl in a white dress appeared on He Ao’s bracelet.
“Hello, Eve.”
He Ao was lying on the driver’s seat, placing the bracelet on the bracelet stand above the vehicle’s control screen.
Through this stand, the bracelet established a data connection with the vehicle’s control system.
“Eve, scan the whole car for .”
After placing the bracelet, He Ao straightened up and stepped out of the car.
“Your vehicle has a Trojan virus, I’m removing it for you now, removal successful, now scanning the whole car.”
Eve’s voice slowly filled the car, “There is a navigation device inside your right hub.”
He Ao walked over to the position of the right hub and reached out.
On the inner side of the right hub, he felt a black square block only the size of a thumb.
This small block was firmly attached to the fra, and He Ao had to use so strength to pull it off.
There was a red light still shining on the small block, proving that it was still operational.
With his index finger and thumb, He Ao crushed the small block.
Then he took out his old bracelet, also crushed it, and threw them both into the nearby trash heap.
It was possible that a virus had been installed on Jess’s bracelet as well, capable of monitoring his movents.
Although He Ao could rely on Eve to decode this virus, his actions in logging into the Eve website before binding her might be captured as well.
So, just in case, he decided to purchase a new bracelet.
Ding-ding-ding—
Just then, the jarring sound of a bracelet alarm slowly rang out.
The ringtone was not from his new bracelet, nor from the destroyed old one, but from the trunk of his car.
He Ao opened the trunk and glanced at the emaciated man’s body he had stuffed inside.
He took the bracelet off the man’s wrist.
At this mont, the bracelet was vibrating slightly, and the screen displayed an [Unknown Caller].
He Ao answered the call.
“How’s the situation?”
A low voice inquired from the other end of the phone.
This voice, ‘Jess,’ was eerily familiar to him, coming from the Mysterious Person who had initially brought him into the project.
After years of working with this ‘boss,’ Jess was more than familiar with him.
Yet, to this day, Jess didn’t know the Mysterious Person’s na, and the number of tis they had t could be counted on one hand, with the Mysterious Person always initiating the contact with Jess.
“The situation is good,” He Ao said, glancing at the body in the trunk, his tone polite and calm, “looking forward to our next eting.”
Then he hung up the call and threw the bracelet into the trash heap.
In the past, it was always the Mysterious Person seeking ‘Jess.’ Now, it was He Ao’s turn to find him.
After manually checking once more to ensure there were no other navigation devices, He Ao opened the car door and sat in the driver’s seat.
“Eve, activate automatic driving.”
Leaning in the driver’s seat, He Ao slowly spoke.
“Automatic driving has been activated for you.”
The little girl in a white dress on the central control screen smiled and said, “Please set your destination.”
He Ao raised his hand, chose a destination, then leaned back in his seat and slowly closed his eyes.
—
It was only when daylight was nearing that He Ao awoke from his slumber.
He touched the wounds on his body, most of which had significantly healed.
Perhaps due to the influence of the system power, his body always exhibited powerful healing abilities on the first day of opening a Copy World.
He looked up at the buildings around him, picked up the bracelet from the base, put it on his wrist, and re-downloaded the communication software and various basic applications.
First, he browsed through the news, to find that the information Jess had given to the detective agency hadn’t leaked out.
Then he opened the communication software, and the first thing that caught his eye was the contact for the detective agency, who had sent many concerned ssages his way.
More so, they were asking for He Ao’s exact location, seemingly eager to co to ‘Jess’s’ aid.
Upon He Ao opening the software, the person on the other end seed to see the notification of He Ao coming online and quickly sent a ssage over,
[Where are you now?]
He Ao looked up at the sign reading [Norbeck Detective Agency] above his head, and as he walked into the building, he replied with his bracelet,
[I’ve arrived]
Reviews
All reviews (0)