Chapter 1017: Medicine

"Eighty-some years left..."

Walking out of the Life Bank, Chloe looked at Aaron as if gazing at a gold mine, her tone filled with indescribable envy: "That means you can live at least a hundred years. What a long life..."

"Are there no long-lived people around you?"

Aaron asked casually.

Chloe's expression instantly turned bleak: "No... many people die shortly after losing their jobs because their accounts run out of time... My parents, they, they also chose to transfer the remaining balance in their accounts to me after being laid off..."

"Sorry..."

Aaron frowned, seeing a woman with black curly hair lying on the floor of the bedroom, her legs spread out as she half-leaned against the foot of the bed.

"Upper City District guards!"

First, a black dot appeared abruptly on the horizon.

"Very fitting!"

Aaron didn't care what Chloe was thinking and stated his own thoughts.

And outside the city center, there was an area ten times this size...

Aaron looked at the old man: "You're only in your forties?"

Mechs appeared one after another, their sleek lines allowing them to run at high speeds, holding high-firepower firearms in their hands.

"They are people who have lost everything and sold themselves to the Cyber Corporation. After modification, ninety percent of their body's organs have been replaced, leaving only a brain encased in an iron shell..."

Aaron sighed and pressed his glasses.

'Even if accounts possess Unique Existence and are bound, there are plenty of ways to rob them...'

A moment later, Aaron, disguised as a young master from the slums, arrived at a block under the guidance of lackeys like Jason, Wilson, and the old man.

【Firearm Shooting: Advanced】

Aaron heard a brand-new term.

By the time dusk arrived, the silhouette of a massive city appeared before Aaron's eyes.

"Is this damn place a slum?"

This was the exit program he had set up.

"If I want to buy it, how do I trade?"

Jason wore a satisfied smile: "The old man is smart after all. This trip means we've returned with a full load; everyone can get at least seven days! I want a vacation, I want a half-day vacation, no, a full day!"

The few of them lay there like that, and only after the pursuit had left did they get up as if nothing had happened.

Boom!

"Don't listen to Jason, he doesn't know a ghost!" The old man parked the car and said with a sneer: "Better let me find you a reliable middleman; it only costs a tiny, insignificant commission..."

Looking at it now, such a city did indeed exist, but only in the Upper City District!

The slums of the Lower City District still maintained the filth, chaos, and even darkness that had remained unchanged for thousands of years!

"Welcome to Night City, the city where the light never sets!"

"Plus, in the virtual reality metaverse, one can enjoy any delicacy, beauty, and satisfy all of one's desires... This is no longer a 'tittytainment' level of spiritual anesthetic, but a spiritual atomic bomb!"

The high-rise buildings he had seen before were indeed there, but only in the center of Night City.

He thought for a moment, looked at Chloe, and revealed a smile: "You are very honest, Miss... Then, I would like to hire you again."

The old man cursed: "Natural Sciences people are all lunatics! Those from the Mysterious sects are even crazier!"

Aaron understood immediately, pressed his virtual glasses, transferred 30 days to the old man, and simultaneously paid for the glasses equipment to Jason.

The old man shouted boisterously, but there was no response in the empty corridor; the floor was covered with various fast-food boxes and empty bottles of nutrient solution.

【Driving (General Type): Elementary】

Her eyes rolled back, her face was vacant, and she had lost control of her bladder.

Especially their heads, which were reinforced layer by layer, resembling iron skulls.

Although she was a bit puzzled as to why this Natural Sciences person didn't know about the Forest Society, Chloe still answered quickly: "The Mysterious sects are just a general term; the believers inside worship all kinds of past deities, guys now called 'Old Gods' or 'Old Ones'... Their brains aren't quite normal—no, wait, there are still normal people, I'm not talking about Mr. Aaron..."

Jason answered as a matter of course, as naturally as people needing to eat and drink water.

【Price: 50 days】

The old man tapped his own head and revealed a hair-raising smile: "If you pry open the skulls of those guards, you'll see a brain sitting in a glass petri dish..."

Countless airships, Psionic Aircraft, and even the flying car driven by the old man were like dense swarms of bees, constantly flying in and out around the hive.

"Even if a person downloads a module via a chip and learns how to fly a spaceship, they only know that it is so, but not why it is so... If this continues, all that will be cultivated are technicians, and scientific research capabilities will be completely finished!"

"What is the Forest Society?"

"Heimansha! Heimansha! I've come to introduce you to some business!"

"The boss is generous! Anything else you need service for?"

Aaron suddenly thought of a question.

"Young Master Aaron, this place is called 'Comet Street'; it's the best and safest place in the slums..."

Aaron always felt this woman looked a bit familiar, as if she had the same skin as the female bank employee.

Chloe screamed and, with experience, led Aaron to lie down and find cover.

Chloe gave one last piece of advice: "Watch out for those gangs; they are just like scavenging Hyena."

"Brother Aaron!"

"Hire... me?" Chloe pointed at herself, slightly vigilant: "What do you want to do... I'm telling you, my mechanical hand is very powerful..."

【Price: 1000 days】

"Missing... basic subjects!"

"I understand, I understand..." Aaron said with a smile: "And then?"

Red, green, blue, yellow... neon lights of all colors began to bloom with brilliant Light before the sky had even turned dark.

"Among all the Mysterious sects, the Forest Society is the most radical. They worship an Old God named 'Pupa' or 'Cocoon', believing that the excessive exploitation of energy is the main culprit behind land desertification and environmental pollution... They madly hate all high technology and will incite attacks, especially against the Cyber Group!"

"Damn it... ran into the lunatics from the 'Forest Society'!"

Although this neighborhood was still quite poor, at least it was made of reinforced concrete buildings; while they were generally only one or two stories high, they were still much better than shacks built from waste cardboard.

"Yeah, yeah! Those noble lords in the Upper City can generally live for several hundred years..." Wilson nodded vigorously, his face showing indescribable envy: "And as for the Life Bank, a Leviathan giant, it is said that those directors never die of old age; they have lived from the time the bank was founded until now. They call themselves 'Immortals'! But we prefer to call them vampires!"

It looked just like a doll that had been played until it broke.

Uh...

Jason draped his arm around Aaron's shoulder from the side: "But brother, your money is barely enough, but your identity definitely won't pass... You're an undocumented person in Night City! Do you want to get registered? I know someone who can give you a twenty percent discount!"

Aaron looked at those low, dilapidated shacks, where various pipes and wires were directly exposed, and some were even three-no houses built from waste cardboard, and he couldn't help but fall silent.

Aaron rested his right hand on the car door and narrowed his eyes slightly.

The old man introduced with a look of deep emotion: "I know a landlady here who happens to have a house for rent. It's definitely big and quiet enough to meet your needs!"

'That's true, the Life Bank chases the highest profits and wishes that all Natural humans in the world would connect to the Gaia Network and digitize their lifespans... Mere Night City nobles count at most as local tyrants in a small area; they can't compare at all to world-class giants like the Gaia Network, the Life Bank, and the Cyber Group...'

All sorts of dazzling skills and knowledge... radiated an alluring Light.

According to Jason, just get used to it, just get used to it...

"Of course..." Wilson on the side chimed in to explain: "Around here, the average person is laid off at thirty-five, and anyone who can live to forty is an old man..."

If it weren't for the fact that Life Bank accounts are directly bound to personal brainwaves, they might even have had the heart to rob Aaron!

Aaron sighed and turned to mention other questions: "Can one connect to the Metaverse anywhere in the world?"

"So... except for a few Natural humans, almost all humans have accounts at the Life Bank, and since time can be traded... wouldn't those bank executives and directors... be able to live for a very long time?"

Looking at the old man's weathered appearance, Aaron could only put his hands in his pockets.

Aaron sighed.

Not far away, a few sneaky guys who looked like gang members were collecting Protection fees from some children...

When they got closer to 'Night City', Aaron felt that something was wrong.

Aaron showed an expression of interest.

It's just that I don't know if they are male or female in reality.

"So that's how it is..." Aaron's expression remained normal: "Although I come from a Mysterious sect, our tenets are relatively peaceful and friendly; we do not advocate using violence to solve problems."

Various colors clashed together, completely Rending the darkness, and even causing terrible light pollution during the day.

"Living in the slums doesn't require any identity, just money... and money can be transferred and traded through the virtual reality network..."

"I..."

The balances in their accounts were all single digits!

How can one compare with such a local tyrant?

"Living... for more than forty years?"

The old man parked the car outside a dilapidated garbage dump and shouted loudly.

Chloe was still hesitating, but the old man and Jason quickly agreed: "No problem, Chloe is very happy to serve you... As a team, we will also provide support for Chloe."

Then... the black dot grew larger and larger, towering like a mountain; it was a city built from a mixture of countless reinforced concrete and metal.

'The higher-ups of Night City and the three great Leviathan giants do not have consistent interests...'

No sooner had the words fallen than Aaron saw a two-story building not far away blown into the sky, and a figure rushed out from the dust and smoke, shouting as they ran: "Accept the revenge of Nature... you disgusting modified humans!"

Aaron followed the old man and ducked into a building.

The life limits of this world seem to have been bypassed!

He did indeed need a 'guide'.

【Price: 100 days!】

"Chloe, you are a good person. I have just arrived in this city and would like to ask you to find me a safe, quiet room, as well as water and food... Of course, I will not short you on your commission and Protection fees."

Further away, there were occasional sounds of explosions and gunfire...

"What a... very vibrant city."

Aaron pointed to a mechanical arm.

The next moment, he returned to the airship car in reality, with countless yellow sands flying toward his face.

While speaking, he rubbed his right index finger and thumb together.

Aaron looked over and saw, in a shack not far away, a gorgeous woman with undulating mountains on her chest chasing and beating a skinny man: "Dare to dine and dash? Watch me smash your lower body to pieces, you bastard!"

Aaron nodded and went to browse the virtual shops of the Cyber Group in the Metaverse.

Fine... you guys are the boss!

He came to the virtual skill area and looked around casually:

Originally, he thought that since this world was so advanced, he would see a city full of sci-fi aesthetics like in the Metaverse!

As for being scammed out of money?

For a true 'Immortal', even a hundred or a thousand years... is just a passing cloud.

【Driving (General Type): Intermediate】

Aaron watched coldly from the sidelines, feeling that these four people probably wouldn't rob him; they were generally still good people.

Beside him, the small Arthur and the ugly-faced Wilson shouted excitedly: "From now on, you are our own brother!"

【Combat: Beginner】

Beep-beep!

It only takes time! Enough time!! And you can buy the corresponding module, inject it into the chip, and learn it instantly!

Chloe rolled her eyes: "Jason, stop throwing money into virtual reality games, you'll die!"

"Oh no, something's wrong!"

After cursing, he saw Aaron beside him and hurriedly waved his hand: "Sorry... Young Master Aaron, I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about those idiots from the Forest Society!"

The old man was very experienced and headed straight for Heimansha's bedroom.

"Iron-headed guards?"

"Of course!"

The old man straightened his back even more, putting on the appearance of a butler: "Respected Mr. Aaron, I have lived in this area for over forty years. I know where the cheap lodging is, where the most beautiful women are, and where the best goods are, the old man knows it all!"

【Price: 300 days!】

【Description: Master most civilian mechanical piloting techniques and some military airship piloting techniques... Requires a Gaia Sequence 017 or higher chip to carry!】

Aaron, however, keenly sensed a slight difference from these descriptions.

She looked at Aaron again and suggested very seriously: "Actually, a Night City household registration is useless... What is most important here is noble status! Without noble status, you cannot enter the Upper City District and will be beaten to death by those iron-headed guards!"

A beautiful woman wearing a shop assistant's uniform replied in a sweet voice: "Our company provides free home delivery for physical goods; as long as you are within a city, we can deliver... If it is just a skill, as long as your chip is suitable, sir, it can be transmitted immediately!"

Various mechanical prosthetics are sold here, such as the mechanical arm that sells quite well—Labor Type III!

If you don't have one, you don't even have the qualifications to go to a construction site to move bricks!

After kicking open the bedroom door, an indescribable smell rushed into his nose.

【Description: Can proficiently master the ability to pilot Class C hovercars and airships... Requires a Gaia Sequence 007 or higher chip to carry!】

Aaron scanned the area with interest, but suddenly felt something was wrong.

"All cities are like this. If you want a safe environment and a beautiful community... it's very simple, go to the Upper City District!"

"Oh no, Heimansha is having another episode, does anyone have medicine?"

Chloe looked anxiously at Jason and Wilson, only to see the two of them awkwardly turn their pockets inside out, finding nothing inside...

(End of this chapter)