Cyber ​​Ghost Record

Chapter 17: Flight
When Suger woke up, he was still very groggy.

He barely managed to open his eyelids a crack, only to see the blurry lights overhead and the mechanical arm lying across the room.

He tried to sit up, but found that his limbs were firmly fixed in place, and he was immediately fully awake.

He was lying on a single medical bed, his legs and feet were restrained, several robotic arms were above his head, there were two empty medicine bottles on the cabinet next to him, and under the cabinet, there was a used syringe in a yellow trash can labeled as an infectious agent.

Hospital?

But this place is not quite the same as a normal hospital. The shelves are filled with medical equipment, and there are also some disassembled prosthetics and biological specimens, making it look like a laboratory.

It took Suger a while to remember that he had lost consciousness outside the bar. Now his head was no longer hot, only throbbing with a hangover-like pain.

He didn't know how long he had been unconscious; his vision had been removed, and his mask was pressed against the bedside table.

There was someone speaking outside the room. It was a woman with a deep voice and a heavy regional accent. Without a simultaneous interpreter, Suger could only barely make out what she was saying.

The woman said, "The symptoms seem like an immune response, but he doesn't have any implants in his body. I can only lower his fever, but I can't say for sure what the illness is."

"Hmm." The voice that answered sounded like Shen Ke.

The woman asked again, "Where did you find this person?"

Shen Ke said, "They are clients."

The woman said, "What kind of business can a hibernator have? His exoskeleton might be worth some money, but his body is worth more. Give him to me, and I'll give you 120,000, how about that?"

Sug became alert and looked down to check. He found that the Gu Diao was still on his body. He tried to re-establish that "connection" with it, but the headache made his body spasm. He grimaced and endured it without making a sound.

At this point, Shen Ke said again, "I'm not going to make that money."

The woman laughed: "Afraid of ruining your reputation? Heh, he just had a sudden immune reaction and couldn't be saved. If we don't tell anyone, who will know? Here's what we'll do: I'll give you 150,000. Any more and I won't make any profit."

"Forget it."

Socrates fumbled around the restraints and found a button. He pressed it, and the restraints opened on their own, surprisingly without being locked.

His hands were freed, and he carefully got up and untied the bindings on his feet. Then he put on his vision and mask, and took out a scalpel from the medical equipment next to him and held it in his hand.

Just then, footsteps approached from outside the door. Sug only had time to turn around, and with a flick of his wrist, he concealed the knife in his hand.

Shen Ke left the room. Beside her was a middle-aged woman wearing a white coat, with long, dark blue hair tied up, thin, wide lips, a small nose, and a honeycomb-shaped array of high-definition cameras embedded in her eye sockets. She looked a lot like the bandit doctor in the Night Sky Tower.

The doctor hadn't expected Suger to wake up. She knew that the conversation had probably been overheard, but she wasn't worried that a hibernator could cause any trouble.

Shen Ke then gestured with her chin towards Su Ge.

"You're awake? Let's go then."

After saying that, she turned and left. Su Ge glanced at the middle-aged woman, thanked her, and followed Shen Ke.

As he passed the woman, he gripped the scalpel silently, his entire body tense.
Outside the treatment room was a cramped reception room, with advertisements for prosthetic bodies displayed on the walls, casting shadows on the brown leather sofa.

Suger had his back to the woman, feeling as if he had thorns in his back. He turned around, and the woman stared at him, her face half-lit and half-shadowed.

"what happened?"

What about the medical expenses?

"Payment has been made."

Suger hummed in agreement, turned, and left. He only breathed a sigh of relief after he had walked out of the reception room and out of the woman's sight. He had just acquired a powerful exoskeleton, yet he found himself still in constant danger.

Before him was an extremely long underground passage, with many "people" sitting on several rows of benches against the wall.

These people’s bodies seemed to be pieced together from a variety of completely incongruous implants. The corroded zinc cyanide plating, the faded silicone rubber pad printing marks, and the poor engineering design made them look more like abandoned garbage than Suger.

While waiting, some people closed their eyes and recited Buddhist scriptures, with mantras such as "I take refuge in Amitabha Buddha," "Endless nectar," and "Perfect accomplishment" humming in the air.

The walls are covered with graffiti depicting Buddha heads and lotus flowers, and are filled with the words "Rebirth in the Pure Land".

Shen Ke was waiting ahead. Under the dim argon light, she leaned against the wall, her titanium-white hair and the red light shimmering between her fingers particularly eye-catching.

Suger recalled her conversation with the black doctor in the treatment room and walked over in silence.

Shen Ke put down her cigarette. "You said you didn't want to go to the hospital, so I brought you here."

Socrates looked at the people in line. "Where is this?"

Shen Ke glanced at them casually. "They all have illegal implants. Legitimate doctors won't treat or repair them; only unlicensed doctors will."

She turned and left as she spoke.

The two walked through the underground passage, and from the other side of the wall came the faint vortex noise of the vacuum rail transit.

Based on Suger's current understanding of this era, its productivity is already extremely high, but the control over technology is very strict.

He was trying to access the gray area to obtain illegal weapons and equipment for greater performance, while the haphazardly cobbled-together prosthetics on those people seemed to be just for prolonging their lives.

“Why don’t they remove the illegal implants?” he asked.

Shen Ke paused for a moment, looked at Su Ge, and curled the corners of her lips into a smile.

"Are you paying?"

“I’ve heard that as long as you’re open-minded, you won’t lack money.” Suger originally wanted to say “sell out,” but he used the more conservative term “open.”

Shen Ke turned her head away and walked into the shadows ahead.

"Not everyone's brain is valuable."

"What do you mean?"

"Some people have congenital immune diseases and cannot have brain-computer interfaces installed. Others have their thought data contaminated, which restricts their access to the internet. And some people want to ascend to heaven, making themselves neither human nor ghost."

Shen Ke walked ahead, her expression unseen, only her voice echoing in the underground passage.

Suger remained silent; that fleeting glance had etched those figures into his mind.

Most of the work has been replaced by machines, but people have not been liberated.

The outline of his enemy suddenly became clearer in his mind. To them, the only value of a person was the production of thought, and those whose thoughts had no value were the useless class to be abandoned.

Suger understood that he was also part of it, and if he couldn't find the organization within three months, or before he ran out of loans, that would be his future.

Resisting the enemy means resisting the times—Suger realized this as early as when he moved into Luyingting, but he had always avoided thinking about it.

He unknowingly walked uphill and left the underpass.

As darkness fell, various holographic images floated amidst the blinding light pollution, with an abandoned parking lot sign above his head.

The time displayed on the screen was already 9 p.m., and there were also several notifications indicating that he was in a high-risk area with chaotic public security, and that the security bureau's priority for dispatching officers was also low.

This is the western side of Quanjin Road, the border between Fuxue District and Chongming District. Yingchuan City is a religious autonomous city-state, with four temples on the top of Fuxue District alone, while Chongming District is home to many national agencies, including the Security Bureau. This border serves as a buffer between the two districts.

Including the time in the Six Desires Heaven, this is the second time Su Ge has ventured into a high-risk area, yet he feels no panic at this moment.

Compared to the enemies who made him feel powerless, the outlaws who roamed the gray area at least had a chance to fight back.

Shen Ke walked to the vending machine outside the parking lot, asked for a bottle of soda, and while waiting, she turned to ask Su Ge.

"Do you have some old illness, or is it a side effect of hibernation?"

"No." Su Ge changed the subject. "By the way, did you pay for my medicine?"

"It's a small amount, it'll be included in the agency fee." With a snap, Shen Ke opened a can of soda and handed it to Su Ge. "Want one?"

"Need not."

After Sug finished speaking, he felt hungry. He had been unconscious for more than ten hours and had not eaten anything. So he went to the vending machine and ordered a bottle of water and a serving of the porridge he had been eating for half a month. This time it was a hard, portable version.

Shen Ke put down her soda, wiped her mouth clean with her fingers, and then saw Su Ge lift a corner of his mask, stuff his rations inside, and chew them like a herbivore ruminating.

She watched as Suger finished his ration, and as he broke off a second piece and mechanically put it into his mouth, she finally couldn't help but ask, "You eat like this?"

Suger stopped holding the rations near his mouth. "How are we supposed to eat this?"

“You…” Shen Ke looked at Su Ge’s brainless forehead, “Never mind, wait for me a moment.”

……

Su Ge watched Shen Ke cross the street and disappear into the gap at the bottom of the building ahead.

He sat on the bench, swallowed the last bite of food, pulled down his mask, and threw the packaging into the tin box.

He then rolled up the sleeves of his jacket, examined the matte black exoskeleton covering his wrists and hands, clenched his fist, and released it, looking from his palm to the back of his hand.

Even though his head was still throbbing, he was still captivated by the feeling of connecting with the Gu Diao.

He sensed a vast amount of information imperceptible to human senses and foresaw his opponent's movements, giving him the illusion that he had become a superman.

A retired military exoskeleton from the last century has already made him, with his frail body, so powerful. What about the cutting-edge technologies that are now under control?
The ground reflected the dim blue-purple neon light from afar, and several extremely long shadows appeared at the alley entrance.

Su Ge turned his head and saw three figures at the alley entrance. At the same time, a voice came from the end of the alley: "Dr. Ruan lost something. Did you take it?"

Sog turned around and saw two figures emerging from the darkness, their bodies adorned with various prosthetic devices. He slowly stood up and asked warily, "You're asking me?"

The uninvited guests did not answer, but silently approached.

It's that shady doctor's person.

Without making a sound, Suger put his hand into his pocket and gripped the scalpel.

It wouldn't be worth going to such lengths for just a scalpel. Dr. Ruan's purpose was clear, just as she said outside the treatment room: she wanted his body.

His eyes swept over the five approaching men as he pondered a course of action.

In his current state, he cannot establish a connection with the Gu Diao. Even if he does, a scalpel alone cannot cause enough damage. And if he faints again, he might wake up on a shelf next time.

He glanced at the wall beside him.

In combat mode, the Gu Diao can climb walls, but he's unsure if it's still possible now.

But after only a moment's hesitation, he sprinted forward, leaping four meters into the air. The friction from his feet against the wall propelled him another meter or so, allowing him to grab onto the platform where the drone was storing its cargo.

With his palms resting on the edge of the platform, the friction provided by the bionic bristles held Suger's body in place. He pressed his other palm and toes against the wall, and his body immediately stabilized.

The metal box beneath them made a loud noise, and messy footsteps trampled over the garbage as the black-clad doctor shouted.

Using both hands and feet, Su Ge scaled the walls and rooftops, quickly climbing to the 30-meter-high rooftop via the windowsill, the wind whistling past between the tall buildings.

Climb over the thick ventilation duct above, and the rooftop becomes another ground-level plaza in the city.

The footsteps behind them followed closely.

Suger walked through neon-lit stores and musical fountains among flowerbeds.

We entered another alley and climbed up a rusty wall ladder.

The lights and darkness shifted several times, and figures chased each other.

……

Suger grabbed the edge of the roof, but used too much force when he climbed over, and rolled on the ground.

Several yellowed foam boards were knocked away by him, passing through the huge projection of the celestial maiden scattering flowers in mid-air, and falling onto the street.

He stumbled, stopped, and looked around for an escape route.

A voice called out from the upper left.

"come over!"

Su Ge turned his head and saw Shen Ke standing on the platform at the edge of the other side of the tall building, with the metal bridge under her feet about five meters away from this side.

If she had malicious intent, she would have had the opportunity to strike while she was unconscious.

Without much hesitation, Suger took a step back, ran, jumped, and grabbed the metal bridge frame. The pursuers had already caught up to the rooftop behind him.

Shen Ke took Su Ge's hand, and as Su Ge used it to climb up, she didn't let him use it. Looking down, a strange smile appeared on her lips.

Su Ge's heart skipped a beat as he suddenly thought of the general.

The current situation is exactly the same as it was then; the general also gained his trust when he was too busy to think.

"Want something more exciting?" she said.

Before Suger could react, his body began to fall.

Shen Ke landed with him, her feet landing on the edge of the metal cable tray, and hugged Su Ge from behind.

Her gray trench coat snapped to its fullest length, stretched out by the alloy frame extending from her back, billowing in the wind from the high-rise buildings.

Graywing unfolds amidst the steel jungle, weaving through the gaps between buildings, soaring over crisscrossing sky tracks, and plunging into various giant projections.

Suger's heart, which had plummeted to the bottom, was suddenly pulled back up.

The light and shadow shifted in his eyes.

The strong wind tore at his mask, and the advertisements, music, and vortex noise flashed by in an instant. He could barely hear the whistling sound behind him.

……

Luyingting Apartment, rooftop.

The fans were arranged in an array, emitting a loud humming sound.

Shen Ke put away her trench coat and looked at Su Ge, who was still not recovered, with a half-smile.

"You were able to beat Qiu Lianglongzhi this morning, but now you can't even run properly? I thought you would take care of them."

“Not feeling well.” Su Ge sat on the ventilation duct, his chest heaving. “That Dr. Ruan…”

“Ruan Qiuheng never used to earn this kind of money, I didn’t expect her to be so smart now.”

She spoke as if she were being sarcastic, yet also as if she were speaking the truth, as she handed over the plastic bag in her hand.

"It's cold."

Su Ge took the plastic bag; inside was a box of dumplings.

He froze for a moment.

"I thought this had been phased out."

"Yes."

Shen Ke shook her hand, as if trying to dispel the lingering smell of dumplings, then flicked her finger and bit down on another cigarette.

Su Ge didn't see the chopsticks, hesitated for a moment, took off his mask, picked up a dumpling, took a bite, and found it to be filled with scallion and pork. The dough, oil, meat filling, and scallion fibers created distinct layers of flavor and texture, which gradually blended with his saliva as he chewed.

Shen Ke turned around, flicked a flame from her fingertips, and her clothes swayed in the wind from the fan.

Su Ge glanced at her back and then practically wolfed down his dumplings.

Shen Ke chuckled softly.

"Once you get a brain-computer interface, things won't be this bad."

Sog hiccuped and shook his head.

"I don't use brain-computer interfaces."

"why?"

"It just doesn't feel real." Suger couldn't tell her the real reason.

What is real?

Shen Ke exhaled a wisp of smoke.

"The spiritual realm has developed to a level that is beyond human comprehension. You know that everything in it is made up of data, just as you know that everything in reality is made up of elementary particles. What's the difference?"

What you feel is the reality.

"Maybe so, I don't understand the virtual world."

"That is a higher world. Like the Paranirmitavasavartin Heaven in Buddhist scriptures, people can perceive each other and enjoy pleasure at will, and men and women can make love just by looking at each other."

She glanced at Su Ge, their eyes met, and then looked away.

Suger didn't know if she was doing it intentionally or unintentionally, but that fleeting glance suddenly made his heart race.

"I'm heading back now. Remember to contact me next time you have business."

She stubbed out her cigarette and walked towards the door on the rooftop.

"and many more."

Suger stood up and called to her, but she turned her head away.

"how?"

"There's still business to be done; I need to train the equipment for anchoring consciousness."

"I thought you were going to say something."

She curled the corners of her lips into a smile.

"There are actually quick ways to achieve a mental anchor."

(End of this chapter)