Chapter 837: Chapter 746: Medical Immortal’s Secret Transmission (1)
"Today will be the greatest day in history."
"We call it Union Day."
The old-fashioned projector resembling a movie screen displayed images. At the ceremony bathed in radiance, a blonde girl’s expression was glowing with determination and confidence under the gaze of tens of millions, the image freezing at the horizon where a white dove spread its wings.
The young man sat by the lathe, staring blankly outside at the bustling scene.
This is Gale Street, situated in an unremarkable corner of Echo City. It’s a typically lawless zone. Gangs rampage, Moon Sugar smuggling, human trafficking, and violent crime are the norm, with gang turf wars breaking out almost daily.
Echo City, also known by outsiders as the City of Echoes, was once the southern world’s pinnacle of advanced civilization. The Curtain War destroyed it; the thriving technological metropolis became a ruin ravaged by warfare. The fall of the large space station scattered polluting energy throughout Echo City, causing many to suffer from incurable energy sickness.
The young elites moved away, leaving behind either violent thugs or some handicapped elderly; they were neither able, nor willing, to leave the place they had lived their entire lives.
The young man loathed those ’big shots’, despising how they could, with a single word for so-called profit, engulf his hometown in war, shatter countless families, render people homeless, dying of hunger and cold.
"Apprentice One, pass me the wrench from the workbench over there."
In the cramped repair room, an elderly cybernetic doctor poked his head out, shouting at the dazed young man.
The man lying on the operating table had a lean physique; the mechanical hand extracted his right cyber-eye. His remaining narrow fox eye squinted slightly, revealing a shrewd glow.
"I say, Old Wu. I’ve played with the usual stuff; do you have anything new?"
Hearing this, the prosthetic doctor known as Old Wu paused, then raised his eyebrows, revealing a lascivious smile, his five mechanical claws dancing animatedly.
"Dream Lover PD4, the professionals call it the Pile Driver 4, it functions both as a heater and an electric shocker. It caused fatalities, so the 4th generation was discontinued."
"Get out of here, who’s talking about that? Don’t give me that dumb look, you know what I mean?"
"A few days ago, a Legion ’Gabriel’ stumbled to this place, and that guy was full of treasures. Old Wu, guess what?"
"I went with the Gale Gang brothers to check him out, took him apart almost entirely, and removed all the valuable cybernetics, expect for one neural implant operating system. Damn it, that was Angel Legion XII, even a cripple with that could punch out a bear!"
"Someone said, late at night, they saw a sneaky guy sneaking into the crash zone and then sneaking out again. The more I heard the description, the more it sounded like you, huh, Old Wu?"
Faced with the man’s aggressive cross-examination, Old Wu internally wiped his sweat, unsure what to say for a moment.
"It was me." At this moment, the young man stood up and said.
The man coldly chuckled upon hearing this, not caring that his cyber-eye hadn’t been installed yet, reaching for the gun at his waist, his face abruptly turning fierce and savage.
"Is that so, kid? Didn’t anyone teach you not to touch what isn’t yours?"
"Believe it or not, I’ll cut your hand off!"
"Now, tell me, where is Angel Legion XII? Hand it over!"
"Or else..." The man sneered, aiming the gun at Old Wu.
"Apprentice One!"
Old Wu raised his hand, frantically signaling to the young man with his eyes.
At this moment, the young man remained exceptionally composed. He summoned the curtain display, connected to the lathe’s operating system. After swiftly typing on virtual keys, numerous informational pages popped up rapidly.
"I’ve checked, the serial number of that Angel Legion XII. Its owner is named Fermil, rank Lieutenant. However, he’s a member of the Tribunal, specializing in disciplining other Legions’ Angels."
"Once such a person goes missing, the Legion will surely take it very seriously."
The man squinted, glancing at the information that popped up, still focusing more on observing the young man’s expression.
The latter remained calm throughout, speaking as if it were a matter of course.
"Keeping such a hot potato might just land you in trouble any day now."
"So?" The man slowly disengaged the safety.
"I sold it to the Wasteland Gang; the more trouble those Saji People bring, the better, right?"
"Screw you!" The man cursed angrily. "You think you can scare me with a few words?"
He slapped Old Wu to the ground, snatched a cyber-eye from the tray, and, regardless of its compatibility, roughly jammed it into his own eye socket.
Then, he grabbed the young man’s hair, dragged his frail body, searched and smashed through the repair shop turning it upside down.
After a few minutes, the man, finding nothing, stopped furiously, throwing the young man to the side, giving him a vicious glare.
"I told you, I sold it to the Saji people; maybe it’s already on the black market of the Desolate Stone Plateau. Whatever the case, it’s the safest bet..." The young man said, blood oozing from his nose and mouth.
"You can tear this place apart and you won’t find it!"
"I’ll find someone to sort this out." The man squatted, pressing the gun muzzle against the young man’s forehead.
"On Gale turf, you should obediently work for the Gale Gang. Don’t forget, once you’re out, no one can protect you."
"You better pray you’re not bluffing, or tomorrow I’ll come back with my men, and turn you and that old fart into disposable toilets."
With that, the man snorted, storming out and slamming the door.
The crisp sound of the door banged, and after a long while, the young man’s rapid breathing gradually calmed down.
Old Wu cast a worried look: "Apprentice One, he didn’t break anything, did he?"
His eyes were full of concern, not out of worry for the young man, but for the prostheses installed on the young man’s body, all belonging to Old Wu. The cost was that the young man would have to work for him for a lifetime. If anything were damaged, he would have no recourse.
"It’s fine; I dodged." The young man shook his head.
"So, where exactly did you hide that Angel Legion XII?"
Old Wu glanced at the mess in the repair shop; the wall storage units were practically smashed, not a single complete corner left to hide anything.
The young man said nothing, just turned around, and pointed to his own back.
Old Wu nearly screamed, "You installed it on yourself? Are you crazy!?"
Realizing his loss of composure, Old Wu quickly lowered his voice, suppressing his anger.
"You have a death wish, installing such a high-level operating system with your physical condition?"
"No wonder it was so noisy last night, you were tinkering with this behind my back!"
The young man chuckled softly, spreading his arms and lying on the ground, his gaze vacant.
"Don’t worry, Old Wu, I haven’t activated it."
"It’s just like an ordinary spine, replacing my original one, merely maintaining basic physiological functions, just heavier."
The young man’s empty thoughts gradually condensed, memories replaying before his eyes.
If all those big shots disappeared, would wars not occur?
The survival wisdom of little people? He saw it as a form of humiliation.
If his parents hadn’t been framed, would he not have to live like a rat, in this dark, sunless place, relying on moldy, stinking food, always watching others’ faces?
Even his own surname, he dared not mention to outsiders for fear of attracting unwanted attention.
"Ning Yi." The young man murmured softly this name.
This name that should have been forgotten.
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