The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 1008: Red Scorpion

Chapter 1008: Red Scorpion

Darkhorse Street, Seven District, Moon City.

Upon entering District Seven, Vermilion Bird switched her motorcycle to land-traveling mode. At their destination, she parked in a designated area—a descended cubicle the size of a coffin.

Acid rain drizzled from the gray sky, its drops catching the neon lights. Vermilion Bird and Gao Yang hurried across the street to a gated community.

The square block consisted of sixteen apartment buildings, their facades covered in mirror-like screens displaying an ever-changing array of commercials. Instead of traditional entrances, rows of glass pipes resembling a pipe organ lined the ground floor.

“Use your I Chip,” Vermilion Bird said.

Gao Yang extended his left hand toward the control terminal for scanning.

“Beep—identity confirmed. Owner of Room 94.”

A holographic window popped up. Gao Yang picked “With Visitor(s)” and gave Vermilion Bird long-term access to the place.

Whoosh. One of the glass pipelines opened, revealing a capsule elevator. They stepped in, and it began its ascent, turning and twisting like a gentle rollercoaster. Within ten seconds, they arrived at Room 94's entryway.

Click. The elevator door opened, and they stepped into Gao Yang's home. Sensor lights activated in sequence, illuminating the space. The place was below eighty square meters big, divided into three rooms and two living spaces. Still, it didn’t seem cramped.

Outside of the load-bearing walls, all other walls were thin smart glass panels that were soundproof and could be switched between transparent mode and private mode. The default was transparent mode, so the layout of the whole flat and the furniture were all on clear display.

In the living room was an ergonomic sofa and a multifunctional automatic tea table. Vermilion Bird kicked off her shoes and walked in barefooted.

Only then did Gao Yang notice that her right leg was a cybernetic prosthetic, left silver and metallic without the concealment of artificial skin. Despite its mechanical nature, the smooth lines and synthetic muscles moved with natural grace.

Catching his gaze, Vermilion Bird struck a pose, hand on hip as she lifted her right leg. “During one gig, I got hit in the right leg with a plasma weapon. It got melted then and there. But the next second, the enemy’s S Chip and artificial spine were burned down. I was the last one laughing.”

Beep. The hologram vanished, leaving the room bare once more.

The sound of water droplets drew his attention. Turning around, Gao Yang realized with a start that the glass wall between bathroom and bedroom remained in its default transparent mode. Vermilion Bird stood exposed under the showerhead, aware but unconcerned.

Gao Yang quickly averted his gaze, but the red tattoo climbing from her ankle to the back of her ear had already burned itself into his memory.

“It’s nicknamed Red Scorpion.” Vermilion Bird rinsed her hair. White foam dripped down the line of her neck. The vapor gradually fogged up the glass wall.

“Cloudland orchestrated a collaboration with Closure and Spiritlife to develop the artificial neural system with the most cutting-edge technology. There are no more than thirty in the entire world. It’s still being tested in the military.”

“Yet you have one implanted.”

“Haha, this is Moon City. Nothing is improbable.” Her form blurred behind the steamed glass. “It’s essentially my second spine and brain, with a digitized consciousness conversion rate of 97.2%, a neural network delay of less than 3 milliseconds, and a reflex of 400M/S.”

“Sounds impressive,” Gao Yang said.

“It is impressive,” Vermilion Bird corrected. “Do you know the Heavenly Ocean?”

“No.” Gao Yang fixed his eyes on the wall.

“It’s a dangerous region in the Neunet where broken consciousness of all Neunet roamers converged. It’s said that the Heavenly Ocean is where you may gain anything—if you don’t lose everything.”

“Regular people can at most walk around the beach. They may die even if they just dip their feet in the water. I, however, can dive down to the middle section of the ocean. Once you get your S Chip, I can show you around the surface area.”

“There must be a price if it’s that good,” Gao Yang said.

“Haha, you’re quick. Most people will want an implant immediately when I get to this part.” The shower stopped. Vermilion Bird tilted her head up and brushed her hair back, her left hand tracing the Red Scorpion on her neck.