Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Weekend
John didn’t sleep well.
He felt slightly better after chugging a bottle of energy drink upon waking up at noon the next day.
All the items for the cupboard had arrived.
There were so many things, the boxes stacked up blocked most of the balcony, and it would take time to sort them out.
Luckily, he had no plans today.
John first found the upgrade system’s components and pulled out a data cable to connect to the door lock.
Black Light hacked in.
He backed up the room server again and connected it with the public network. This part of the operation was about as difficult as a mechanic checking a car’s onboard system; he had learned quite a bit during his time at Tiebang Logistics.
When he first moved in, he didn’t go this far because he was new to the game and didn’t expect someone to hack the entire apartment’s local network.
Test completed.
John exhaled a long breath.
Now, if anyone tries to hack into his room, they’ll receive an alert signal.
John then began to sort out the large packages.
Inside the boxes was an entire set of Jingke Heavy Industry’s home smart mechanical arms, equipped with an integrated system that could set up an automatic bullet-making production line.
As soon as he unpacked them, the house system issued a prompt.
[Your delivery has arrived.]
A box of fried synthetic meat.
Two bottles of chilled beer — containing a small amount of stimulant, with a very low industrial synthetic material ratio, better tasting than what’s sold at the Black Engine Restaurant.
John’s recent workouts had been quite effective, making his muscles look more robust. Wearing a gray vest, he continued to be busy in the workroom.
This kind of music and soaking with mechanical equipment felt quite comfortable.
He raised a glass bottle and toasted the air.
"Happy weekend."
Black Light controlled the main system.
The mechanical arms from Jingke Heavy Industry were just connected and were instantly overridden by Black Light, integrating the equipment into the management center.
The bullet manufacturing programs were already downloaded. All that was needed was the appropriate raw materials, then a few taps on the screen to start automatic production.
Whooom——
A few clumsy twisting arms began to move.
They extended more precise tools, disassembling, making, assembling on a small metal table, and the finished bullets would be pressed into the magazine, ready for direct use when needed.
Its efficiency couldn’t compare to large equipment in an arms factory, but it was more than enough for daily needs.
John quietly observed while eating, adjusting several parameters — this was the end of it. Now, when searching for spoils outside, he should pay attention to easily disassembled raw materials.
[New device added [Workbench].]
[Progress: 14/115 [High Penetration Electromagnetic Bullet]]
[Remaining time: 7.35h]
John accessed the virtual network to see the specifics of bullet production.
During this time, the money he had earned was almost all spent on this small workshop, except for his prosthetic body.
There was a sense of pleasure in accumulating things.
Don’t underestimate this accumulation; in Eden City, people die every day, and rarely anyone leaves anything behind.
Among the things sent by the cupboard was a sealed box with the Plato logo, likely containing the bulletproof vest plug-in blueprints he had promised.
John adjusted the wall light and unlocked it with a secret key.
Fssss——
Inside the box was a chip with complete experimental data and formula ratios.
[Blueprint: Polymer Armor [Plug-in]]
Beside it were several vials of solvent, encased in tempered glass tubes, presumably catalysts needed for the synthesis formula.
John inserted the chip into his neck.
Black Light flickered, and the arcing electricity touched his fingertips, followed by the smell of scorched flesh.
He pulled out the chip, his prosthetic eye flickering continuously, with dense data unfolding before him, displaying the manufacturing process and foundational logic stacked together.
"Whew... a bit tiring."
John inserted a piece of Special Inhibitor before fatigue set in — the Black Light translation chip would place a burden on the body, which was proportionate to the complexity of the content.
[Special Inhibitor (Damaged)]
His mind felt much better, and a wave of tension followed.
If Oulos had continued probing the source of the database scan...
How would he explain it?
How to keep his secrets safe from such top-tier intermediaries, and that oppressive Armored·Behemoth?
If Black Light got exposed to the company...
John would break out in cold sweat.
He looked down at the now charred Special Inhibitor in his hand.
In the Cyber Era, everyone has a slot, and inserting a chip is supposed to be normal, but as long as someone suspects him, it’s easy to spot the anomalies.
John tossed the chip into the dissolving pit.
The hardware corroded into a dark liquid.
He resolved in his heart:
The waters in Eden City are deep, and still the same, only draw the Special Inhibitors when absolutely necessary outside.
Sizzle——
Occasionally, arcs flickered in the workroom.
John immersed himself in Plato’s synthesis formula for an entire day, thoroughly digesting the entire product.
The quality he produced now was certainly much better than street replicas, though there was still a gap from the original factory goods out of the Plato Laboratory.
[Module: Polymer Armor]
John wrapped the finished product in synthetic fiber fabric, pulled out a silenced pistol, and conducted a shooting test.
He pulled the trigger, hearing two biubiu sounds, the bullet holes in the material were clear, but they hadn’t pierced through.
The experiment was a success.
The chamber contained high-penetration armor-piercing rounds, capable of breaking through tempered glass, yet at such close range, they embedded in the material — truly an impressive plug-in.
[Equipment: Concealed Bulletproof Vest]
[Plug-in: Polymer Armor [100%]]
[Description: Hiti Industry’s improved version, king of cost performance.]
John felt a bit more secure.
He ordered a pizza for dinner, and the sunset glow, filtered through industrial smog, appeared gray and bleak, yet comfortable as it penetrated through the glass.
[Captain has arrived, loading freight manifest...]
[Special Consumable X2]
[Windfall Account x8]
The six-rotor drone steadied itself on the balcony.
All the supplies the two Black Spiders had amassed during this time were here.
John took some time to craft Special Inhibitors from the items, and the windfall had replenished his account balance back above the safety line.
Just as his amount updated, an unknown message suddenly popped up.
[Unknown Contact [Unread Message]]
[Dear Edenuser343, we invite you to test a top-of-the-line sex doll, supporting custom content and scenarios, with a new generation of implants, accompanied by sensory amplifiers...]
John scrolled to the end, glanced at the link, and directly deleted it.
Back at Tiebang Logistics, he used to receive similar items, some were advertisements from clubs through mobile bases, others were outright scams.
Getting kidnapped or extorted was considered lucky.
If the link connected you to a group of tech-savvy Ghouls, you wouldn’t even get the chance to get intimate with a girl before you got gutted.
John changed the [Captain]’s paint job.
He then specifically set up a temporary charging slot from the workroom, installing a docking area in the corner of the living room.
He set up an automatic route and left it.
Neon lights had already spread to the exterior of the apartment, marking the end of the weekend day; organizing some trivial matters, it had been quite fulfilling.
John decided to start his nightlife.
First, he planned to visit Mr. Vito, to repay the Black Gold Gang for a favor from some time ago.
John leaned back in the cabin, gazing absent-mindedly at the tiny graffiti in the corner of the ceiling.
The elevator glided down from the fifteenth floor.
Ding——
[Third Floor - Group Rental Area]
Two girls stepped in, wearing the bright sequin outfits typical for nightlife, with heavy makeup and beautiful patterns on their bellies and thighs.
The e-cigarettes in their hands were new products from the Golden Apple Company, known for inducing numbness and hallucinations.
"Is that you, big spender? Do you wanna relax your muscles?"
This girl’s implants were full, with skin that glowed pale and radiant. "What do you like to play?"
Her filler plumped her up, her skin shimmering. "What do you like to play with?"
She flipped her slick, smooth purple hair, her curves quite striking, as if she had just had her synthetic leather cleaned and polished.
John’s attention shifted from her chest to the other girl.
She wore a side-swept hairstyle that covered her bruised forehead, and her clothes concealed her ribs, with makeup seemingly marking her skin.