“Connected.
Can you hear me?”
David stood at the gangway between the metro carriages, conducting a silent call with Lucy.
This was a private neural communication technique based on brain-computer interfaces.
As long as one actively recited the words in their mind, the corresponding neural impulses and micro-muscular movements would be captured in real time and converted into digital voice signals.
“I hear you.”
Lucy sat on a bench near the middle of the carriage, separated from him by several rows of seats, looking like two complete strangers who didn’t know each other.
“I hear you loud and clear here too,” David added, asking, “Where’s the target?”
“Three o’clock.”
David tilted his face, his peripheral vision sweeping to the right side of the carriage.
Sitting by the window was a middle-aged man in a brown suit, his tie loosely hanging from his neck and a briefcase clutched in his arms, his head nodding downward again and again.
He was clearly exhausted out of his mind.
“Infiltrating now.”
The red light in Lucy’s eyes flickered faintly.
The thumbnail-sized chip popped silently out of the employee’s neural interface, tracing a barely visible arc in mid-air.
In that very instant, David’s vision was engulfed by a light blue haze.
The world slowed down.
He reached out his hand, cleanly catching the tiny chip between his fingers.
Time resumed its natural flow.
The lights inside the carriage returned to their normal flickering rhythm.
The employee didn’t even lift an eyelid, his head slumping down another few inches.
“Success.”
David lowered his head, looking at the chip in his hand with a faint smile.
Although it couldn’t compare to that guy making tens of thousands of eddies at a time, earning his very first sum of money with his own hands still gave him a strong sense of accomplishment.
“That was just the beginner tutorial,” Lucy’s voice came through the comms, carrying a hint of a smile.
“The next one’s for real.”
“Alright.”
An office lady engaged in conversation left completely unguarded, a guy immersed in a braindance easily within reach…
With Lucy’s coordination, David effortlessly pulled off two more jobs.
“Isn’t this a bit too easy?”
The corners of his mouth curved upward.
“Is it time for me to graduate from the tutorial?”
Compared to the jobs that guy pulled…
Stealing stuff was indeed far too simple…
“OK.”
Lucy’s voice suddenly took on a playful edge.
“Well then, it’s finally time for the monster hunting round.”
Monster?
David turned his head according to her instructions.
Standing next to him was a man built like a sumo wrestler.
His height nearly brushed the carriage ceiling, his shoulders were wider than a double-door refrigerator, and his suit was stretched so tight it looked ready to burst at the seams.
“This guy isn’t a corp employee, is he?” David was somewhat surprised.
If this guy caught them, they probably wouldn’t walk away without shedding blood…
“Arasaka bodyguard,” Lucy gave him no time to refuse: “3, 2, 1!”
The chip ejected.
Sandevistan activated—the world slowed down!
David stepped forward, threading past the frozen commuters, walked up behind the giant man, and successfully snatched the chip.
Time restored.
He looked at the man’s reflection through the carriage window glass.
If there was any sudden movement, he was ready to draw his gun at any moment.
Fortunately, the man merely cracked his neck without any further reaction.
“Next stop, get off.”
The metro decelerated, and the doors slid open.
The platform at Corporate Plaza was blindingly bright, its marble floor polished enough to reflect shadows.
The two walked out of the carriage one after the other, neither looking at the other.
Leaving the platform…
David leaned against a roadside railing, smiling as he asked Lucy, “So?
How did I do?”
“We’ll keep going after we transfer,” Lucy stood beside him.
“We need to change the route.”
Her gaze fell onto the distant exit gates: “Someone should have noticed by now…”
Lucy didn’t notice at all that beside her, blood was pouring uncontrollably from David’s nose.
Oh no!
David’s head spun with dizziness.
He had almost forgotten Vik’s warning…
His body went limp, and he pitched straight forward.
…
When David opened his eyes again, the first thing that met his sight was a blood-stained ambulance cabin.
An ambulance?
She didn’t just throw me onto the curb?
“How’s his condition?” Lucy’s voice came from the side.
“Common rookie mistake,” the paramedic fiddled with equipment without raising her head.
“Forcing use before adapting to a high-load implant.”
“Which type of suppressor did he use?
Does he have insurance?”
“No idea,” Lucy sat beside the stretcher, propping her face up with a casual tone.
“Doesn’t look like he has any.”
“Is there a family member to contact?
An emergency contact?” the paramedic pressed.
Although David knew Gloria’s phone number, he remained silent in the end so as not to cause trouble at home.
“Told you, I don’t know,” Lucy glanced at him.
“An academy student ought to have parents, right?”
“Arasaka?”
The paramedic’s fingers paused for a moment, her tone turning subtle.
“No wonder he has this kind of implant.”
“Wait a moment…”
She temporarily left the cabin.
Lucy didn’t notice the paramedic’s sinister expression.
Seeing David open his eyes, she leaned closer: “How are you feeling now?”
“Feel sick to my stomach.”
“Which suppressor are you using?”
With a thought, David retrieved the green syringe Vik had given him from his inventory space: “I don’t know, see for yourself.”
“Where did you pull that out from?”
Lucy’s eyes widened slightly: “Magic?
You know how to do tricks like that too?”
Looking at the cute, surprised expression on her face, David couldn’t help but smile.
Just as he was about to answer…
The ambulance horn suddenly drew both of their attention.
Lucy looked out the window.
Without them realizing it, the ambulance had driven onto an elevated highway—this was definitely not their intended route.
“Hey, we missed our stop…”
She frowned, speaking to the paramedic.
Before she could finish her sentence…
The metallic clink of a pistol safety being clicked off echoed through the cabin.
The paramedic held up a gun, threateningly: “This kid’s cyberware is worth a fortune.
As long as you shut your mouth and cooperate…”
Before she could finish, Lucy interrupted her with a soft chuckle.
“What…”
“Looking to sell him to Scavengers?”
She had seen scenes like this far too often.
Instead of feeling threatened, she found it utterly ridiculous.
“If you’re unwilling, then we’ll take your implants too!” The paramedic aimed the barrel straight at her.
“Haha.”
“David, looks like the split is definitely eighty-twenty for me after all.”
Before David could react, Lucy kicked out with her shapely leg against the gurney cart.
The gurney bounced violently forward, slamming right into the paramedic.
Pain surged through her, and the pistol slipped from her grasp.
Taking advantage of this split second, Lucy unlatched the door lock, straddling the gurney face-to-face with David.
The corners of her mouth curved up as she kicked the doors wide open.
The gurney tumbled right out of the speeding ambulance, plunging into the nighttime traffic below.
The gurney slid rapidly across the pavement.
Lucy turned her head to observe the flow of traffic, her back slightly arched like a cat poised to pounce.
Looking at her side profile, David felt a rush of excitement amidst his nervousness.
Truly crazy!
To actually use a method like this…
Lucy maneuvered the stretcher back and forth through the oncoming traffic.
The screeching of wheels frictioning against the pavement mixed with the blare of car horns, surging in from all directions.
Her fair face flushed with a light rosy hue from the adrenaline.
“Tonight is just amazing!”
The stretcher wove through the traffic.
Lucy looked down at him, her eyes reflecting the streetlamps gliding past overhead one by one.
Even if he were to be struck and killed by a car on the road in the next second, there wasn’t a trace of fear in David’s eyes.
In this suffocating, oppressive city…
The girl’s passionate, uninhibited appearance at this very moment was so dazzlingly bright.
So…
a person can actually live like this…