Chapter 102: Chapter 79: When Snow Covers the Ridge (Part 2)
"Can you fall asleep with the Super Sensing Chip?"
"Not recommended, you’ll miss out on something good..."
"What?"
John lay back and lifted his head, just in time to see:
Angelica took off her jacket.
Something flashed past his face, then two hands cupped his cheeks.
Lips touched, becoming warm.
He smelled the fragrance emanating from her neck.
Angelica’s hands were slightly cool.
The room was stuffy.
Her fingertips felt like a precise coordinate.
Even though John’s view was obscured by her soft body, he could still clearly feel— her hand gliding along the seams of his subdermal armor, stretching forward to the limit, then pressing down...
[Eden City - Dan Street Apartment (Angelica)]
The sound of running water came from the bathroom.
Through frosted glass, John could see a figure with curves holding up its hair.
This virtual scene had quite the flavor.
The process was enjoyable; afterward, though, there was a taste of retreat.
"Did you relax physically and mentally?"
Angelica didn’t ask him to stay.
She knew:
John had been genuinely running around outside for two days.
He had went to Bolago Club for a fighter qualifier match, strolled through Sakura Cross Street, hunted wild birds and groundhogs at Radiant Dust Farm, and even took an assignment...
Still able to mess around for half a day, his body was certainly strong.
After all, as street dwellers, once their pants were up, they all had things to handle.
A few minutes later.
Bang.
John supported himself on the elevator panel.
His arms trembled, cold sweat dripping.
Though both lived at the Dan Street Apartment, they were in different buildings.
The elevator stopped.
John passed through the skywalk, took another elevator, and returned to his place.
Swoosh—
The door opened and closed.
[...Computation halted.]
John covered his mouth, kneeling on the ground, cheeks puffing, watching blood seep out from between his fingers.
He took out a Special Inhibitor and inserted it.
Angelica mentioned the player’s stability, and John sensed an oddity.
Black Light had hacked the equipment at that time, sharing the computation load during the chip load process.
John felt nothing in the Super Sensing Chip, only a combination of dizziness and slight weakness.
He thought it was a typical reaction to watching a scene and didn’t think much.
Once the player was removed...
All the familiar, damning side effects swept in.
Narrowly escaped f*cked.
John simply washed his face, looking at the newly fallen sun outside, feeling a sense of emptiness and relief.
Being sleepy felt good, and he slept deeply.
John lay at the Dan Street Apartment for two days, completely clearing the fatigue from previous missions.
Having experienced the allure of the Super Sensing Chip, he planned to upgrade the outdated equipment in his apartment and pick out some exciting chips for occasional relaxation.
The cabinet indicated the headband was easy to find, but the large playback equipment for home use needed to be pre-ordered.
The prices were outrageously high.
John discreetly inquired about the cost of Angelica’s set of equipment and consulted Tinfoil, realizing through expert comparisons and introductions:
That thing was a fortune!
Could even open a private cinema.
Angelica installed a new model from Raqi Industry in a room for personal enjoyment, and combined with the car in the basement, indeed, made a name in Eden City.
John’s consumption level hadn’t reached that yet, so he ordered a new model headband from the cabinet.
Prepared to try AR indoor fitness.
John took advantage of his free time to understand chips, then became aware that their functions went far beyond watching scenes.
Auxiliary chips could test Prosthetic Bodies, similar to Harbor’s combat simulator.
Even the profession of Cyber Zen Master.
Supposedly used to stabilize emotions for anxiety sufferers, claiming some aid for cyberpsychosis.
Two days passed leisurely and comfortably.
John scheduled fresh products via Angelica.
[Angelica: Fully cooked steak paired with red wine, delivered directly to your home, via the elevator upstairs, with the plate still sizzling when sampled.]
[John: Care for a dinner together?]
[Angelica: Hmm? Savoring the taste, don’t get so addicted to the Super Sensing Chip that you leave yourself emptied. Plenty of girls in the West District streets want to meet you; go make an acquaintance, babe, I’m not your regular fling.]
[Angelica: Don’t overthink, I don’t dislike you, but it’s not to the point of something long-term, you understand? The bar door is open for you; if you took on an interesting job, come share with everyone. Bye~]
John released the pull-up bar.
Angelica certainly was straightforward.
Everyone enjoyed the night, each meeting their needs.
He sent the message, feeling inexplicably relieved.
[Contact - Tinfoil [Video Call]]
[Hey, John, first a reminder, don’t forget you promised Eden to come to the company weekly for training and clock-in.]
"Got it, I’ve been waiting for a middleman call these past two days, not sure where they’ve disappeared to, I’ll pack up and head to the company now."
John wiped the sweat from his workout.
He pulled a gray shirt from the dryer and donned the bulletproof vest.
He contemplated:
It’s time to buy two sets of clothes for changing along the way.
"Anything else?"
[The serum left clues in the host, the password is pretty simple for members of the Wanderer Alliance.]
"Unlocked the treasure, and then?"
[Nothing important inside, just some medication records for cyber psychosis and unintelligible garbled text. I’ve already published it in cyberspace, a lot of hackers who follow Pandora are intrigued. Let’s see how they react.]
"I think it’s great, throw the bomb out there, whoever’s interested can pick it up, and we just watch the fun."
[Delivery request [unread]]
A buzzing sound came from outside the window.
It seemed there was a flying device looking for a landing spot.
"The takeaway I ordered has arrived, it’s something good, I’ll bring it to the office later for you all to try."
[The signal is a bit weak, what are you doing?]
"Hold on while I pick something up."
John had already walked to the center of the living room.
ZZZ~
The electromagnetic doorbell suddenly rang.
John stopped in his tracks, turning to look at the door—Angelica mentioned it seemed like the elevator was used for delivery.
Then what was outside the window?
Was the headband ordered from the cabinet delivered?
Buzz buzz—
The vehicle finished hovering.
The wind blew the clutter on the balcony all over, it had to be something big at least.
This didn’t seem like a delivery drone, more like a...
Hovercar?
"Tinfoil, are you still there?"
[Giving a bad review for the takeaway? I’m busy.]
"I think I’m in trouble."
[What?]
BANG!
The window glass shattered.
John’s prosthetic eye briefly unfocused due to the strong light, his chest took a heavy hit.
He uncontrollably fell backward.
[Contact - Tinfoil [disconnected]]
[Communication signal poor, reconnect attempt.]
His chest felt heavily blocked; the combination of high-grade subdermal armor and bulletproof vest insert plate prevented him from losing consciousness.
Bang, bang bang.
John drew his revolver to counterattack.
All he could see were yellow, green, and blue mixed garbled texts, flashing a few times, still wobbling.
Messiah’s Eye activated combat mode, rapidly restarted focusing, he saw two armed men jumping into the room.
Bang, bang bang.
John rolled and ran into the workspace.
He took a few grenades and threw them back into the living room.
BOOM—
The entire room was shaking, half-shattered window debris enveloped in dust displayed a jet-like effect.
The remnant ruins fell down.
The citizens below the apartment building screamed.
John leaned inside the workspace, panting.
He wanted to switch to indoor surveillance, but found the connection had been cut.
The balcony was blasted.
The other party seemingly used an EMP weapon, physically shutting down the nearby electronic devices.
"F*ck!"
John gritted his teeth, reached into his clothes, and dug out a blood-covered bullet from between the layers of skin.
A non-lethal weapon, trying to capture him alive?
[Detected hacking intrusion.]
John felt something drilling into his brain.
[Prosthetic eye reboot: 33%↑]
[Obstructing movement: 47%↑]
A red filter covered his vision.
Two data streams extended outside the living room.
The intruders guarded at the workspace door, the person on the hovercar was hacking John’s prosthetic body.
The progress bar soared rapidly!
The attackers were professionals.
John fortified himself with a burst of combat agents, picked up a kinetic energy rifle from the workspace, and loaded it.
[Weapon: Rongju Short-Nosed Crocodile K-1]
Didn’t dare use smart firearms.
If the other side could hack in, a jam during mid-fight would mean death.
John rushed out, taking a few bullets.
The other side wanted a live capture, no aiming for the head.
John used positioning to protect his joints, the strength of his armor exceeded the other side’s expectations.
He also fired, aiming for the head, first taking down the nearest one, then engaged in a shootout with the other in the room.
Bullets flew in the narrow space.
This group wore black tight combat suits, orange-red light strips on their limbs, seemed like cooling devices.
Fully enclosed helmets.
High penetration smart rifles.
John saw a badge-shaped emblem, initiating a scan confirmed the other side’s identity.
[Faction: Internet Surveillance]