Chapter 80 – Sin City (14)
◎ You are famous now ◎
“How is he?”
Lu Xiaoyu lay pale on the bed, his silver hair falling over his shoulders. Even in deep slumber, his brows were tightly furrowed.
Song Ke anxiously gazed at him.
After escaping from the Death Prison, Lu Xiaoyu only managed to hold on until they reached the safe house before losing consciousness.
“There is no immediate life-threatening danger, but he needs some time to recover.” Fang Zhixu continuously inputted white energy into his body, and the surgical procedure went very smoothly. Hundreds of injuries on Lu Xiaoyu’s body were treated properly.
“Why did he go into a coma?” Song Ke asked.
Fang Zhixu looked serious. “All the tubes you see are connected to his nerves. While he can manipulate the data in the entire Death Prison, his own life force is also being absorbed and lost. So when the connection is severed, he becomes even more fragile than an ordinary person.”
No wonder Lu Xiaoyu called himself a “tree.”
Trees absorb nutrients from the soil and then transport the stored nutrients to various branches and leaves. If he weren’t a powerful awakener, he might have already been depleted of his life force in the daily torment.
The pain Lu Xiaoyu endured when those tubes were pulled out could be imagined.
Equally sensitive, Lin Youyou sighed deeply by his side. “Is there hope for his legs to heal?”
Lu Xiaoyu lay under the blanket, and where his two legs should have been, there was nothing.
Fang Zhixu shook his head slowly. “We can only consider using prosthetic materials or mechanical replacements.”
A silence fell, and after a while, a faint sigh could be heard.
Zhuang Qingyan spoke with a cold, clear voice. “Lu Xiaoyu is a hacker-type awakener. Even without his legs, it won’t affect his abilities.
“However, I still suggest you put away your sympathy and compassion. He doesn’t need them. He’s a strange person by nature. Your excess emotions will only disturb yourselves and won’t cause any fluctuations in him.”
Lin Youyou sighed, “You’re right, but I’m not sighing out of sympathy for him. I’m sighing as I look up to the big shot. Just thinking that the Crime Record where you get zapped into oblivion was his doing gives me the shivers.”
“You’ve never been zapped,” Su Cha unexpectedly chimed in, causing a disruption.
When it comes to unlucky individuals who have been zapped, the one among them who was most deeply affected by the Crime Record is Su Cha. The coldness that penetrated his mind is unforgettable for him. Fortunately, Lu Xiaoyu removed it for them; otherwise, if he had been zapped a few more times, he might have ended up like Jorik, confused and dazed.
“I’m using a metaphor here, highlighting how strong he is. Do you understand?” Lin Youyou shot him a glare. Today, she had finally put on a full face of makeup, and with that one glance, the aura of a female celebrity instantly radiated, simply dazzling and captivating, too bright to look at directly.
Su Cha paused and casually turned his head away, acting as if nothing happened.
Speaking of the Crime Record, it reminds them of awakened abilities. Song Ke tugged at Zhuang Qingyan’s sleeve and asked, “What level is he?”
“Lu Xiaoyu awakened before the apocalypse. In his mental power test as an adult, his potential is 97%, just one step away from S-level.”
Zhuang Qingyan continued in a solemn tone, “Even if he wasted a few years in the Death Prison, he should have no problem breaking through to S-level.”
S-level, mystical hacking-type awakener. Song Ke’s eyes sparkled, “Wow.”
Xu Xing pursed his lips and, with a serious expression, calculated how much time it would take for his 90% potential to break through.
“So who’s more powerful, him or Ilya?”
Song Ke immediately ruled out Lu Xinglan. Judging by the colors of their irises alone, Lu Xiaoyu’s pure ice-blue eyes were more dominant. Among the people she knew, the one with the most formidable data manipulation abilities was Ilya, the lord of Ferrara.
“Never had a chance to cross paths, so I can’t say… but AI naturally fears his abilities. Don’t forget, just before Lu Xiaoyu escaped, he created an artificial intelligence.”
The fact that Lu Xiaoyu could create AI was enough to shock the world. He could create AI, but of course, he could also destroy it. S-level hacker-type awakeners were the number one nemesis of all artificial intelligence.
Song Ke couldn’t help but let her mind wander. If Lu Xiaoyu had gone to Ferrara in the first place, she wondered how Ilya would have dealt with it. Could he have easily dealt with it like he did with Lu Xinglan, taking over his body? No, Ilya wanted an “unrestricted body,” and with both of Lu Xiaoyu’s legs broken, he clearly wouldn’t meet the requirements. Moreover, he and the Lu family were sworn enemies and probably wouldn’t do any favors for them.
After thinking it through, the addition of S-level awakener, Lu Xiaoyu, to V587 represented a significant boost in their overall strength. As the captain, she had a responsibility to protect this valuable asset.
Song Ke turned to Zhuang Qingyan with a sly smile, “Or maybe you should give him the wheelchair?”
Zhuang Qingyan squinted his eyes, his tone gradually became colder, “Song, Ke, Ke.”
“Do you really have such a fickle heart? Do you like the new and dislike the old?” He hummed softly.
Song Ke nervously cleared her throat and shook her head repeatedly.
“Is there something you’re not satisfied with about me?”
“No, no, I’m not… you, don’t talk nonsense!”
Song Ke quickly waved her hands, feeling very wronged. After all, she was the fairest captain!
“Knock, knock.”
Cheng Yi entered the room just in time, rescuing Song Ke who was sitting on pins and needles.
Thanks to Cheng Yi’s timely support, they were able to evacuate quickly. She had provided this safe house, but of course, Song Ke had also contributed a substantial amount of crystals. After all, businessmen never took a loss.
Song Ke turned her head to greet her, and Lin Youyou asked, “By the way, Boss Cheng, I’d like to go out and purchase some supplies. Do you have any suggestions?”
Cheng Yi immediately stopped her, “No, please don’t go out!”
Song Ke was taken aback, “What’s wrong? Is something happening outside?”
Cheng Yi laughed heartily, “You guys have become famous! It’s all over the streets. V587, mighty and domineering, demolished She Liang’s ten billion, defeated Warden White, rescued a mysterious Death Prison inmate, turned the Death Prison upside down. Now the entire Sin City knows your notorious names!”
Song Ke nervously asked, “Are we going to be hunted down?”
Cheng Yi chuckled as she shook her head, “On the contrary, thanks to you, the Crime Record is now ineffective, and both She Liang and White have been toppled. With the new Warden taking office, the Death Prison is thriving, and people outside are raving about you. You might be swamped by fans if you go out.”
“But there’s something I’m really curious about…” Cheng Yi stroked her chin, her eyes scanning the group, “You caused such a huge commotion, turned the Death Prison upside down, and repairing the damage and cleaning up the mess are substantial tasks. Why hasn’t the Death Prison issued an arrest warrant until now?”
Zhuang Qingyan suddenly asked, “Who is this new Warden you’re talking about?”
“He just emerged these days. His name is Hu Yong. White has been defeated, She Liang is critically injured, and… Lord Hades, who has been in seclusion for a long time, is no longer overseeing the situation in the Death Prison. This Hu Yong is quite capable. For some reason, even the prison guards willingly obey him. In any case, he quickly cleaned up the mess, and now the entire Death Prison follows his orders.”
“I heard that he has already ordered a reevaluation of the inmates’ records, releasing some and arresting others. It seems that the personnel in Sin City will undergo a major reshuffling in the near future.”
Song Ke and Zhuang Qingyan exchanged a look, silently thinking of the same person.
That silent prison guard was indeed a formidable individual. Even after forgetting his past personality and memories, he had still, in another form, fulfilled his long-standing wish.
“Thanks for giving me a free show. In return, let me handle the procurement of supplies,” Cheng Yi said as she stood up, flipping her half-dyed purple hair with a shrewd and cunning smile. “As for the service fee, I’ll give you a discount~”
In her smile, Song Ke quietly clutched her money pouch.
…
Early the next morning, Song Ke went to visit Lu Xiaoyu.
To her surprise, he was already awake, sitting alone in a wheelchair, with electronic sounds from various key adjustments constantly ringing.
Curious, Song Ke leaned in for a closer look. To her amazement, Lu Xiaoyu had built himself a pair of mechanical legs. They had a shiny, silvery texture that blended seamlessly with the basic wheelchair. When he wanted to “stand,” the mechanical legs automatically extended and fastened around his waist to help him stand up. With these legs, he stood at over 2.5 meters tall, exuding an imposing and powerful presence.
Song Ke gazed up in awe, watching Lu Xiaoyu proudly demonstrate his new legs.
“How do you like it? With the materials available, this is the most perfect state I can achieve.”
“Amazing!” Song Ke applauded enthusiastically, truly impressed. She didn’t expect that, in addition to being a top-tier hacker, Lu Xiaoyu had such remarkable talent in mechanics.
“My GPA in ‘Practical Theory of Mechanical Design and Engineering Structures’ is 5.0, hmm, he’s only 4.2.”
Lu Xiaoyu lifted his chin slightly, appearing casual but taking the opportunity to subtly take a jab at someone.
That “he” naturally referred to Zhuang Qingyan.
Song Ke thought of something: Lu Xiaoyu had just mentioned “with the materials available.” She asked, “Where did you get the materials for this?”
He had been unconscious just yesterday and hadn’t even left the safe house. Where did he find the materials to modify his wheelchair?
“Oh,” Lu Xiaoyu’s expression remained unchanged, his tone casual. “I disassembled Zhuang Qingyan’s wheelchair.”
Cough, cough! Song Ke choked on her own saliva, coughing violently.
Lu Xiaoyu spoke confidently, “He has two extra legs compared to me, he’s just limping. Why should he use a higher-grade wheelchair? Does he deserve it?”
Song Ke: “…” Whether he deserves it or not, you can’t just disassemble his wheelchair!
She felt that this was a major problem, and if Zhuang Qingyan, who was quite petty, found out, it would not be good. She needed to check on the situation quickly.
“You should rest…”
“Wait,” Lu Xiaoyu stopped her. “Can I borrow your terminal?”
He had been imprisoned in the Death Prison for over five years, mostly cut off from the outside world. He urgently needed to catch up with the current state of the world. As for the F180 District not having internet access? What a joke. He was a hacker-type awakener; as long as there was data, as long as he wished, there was no information he couldn’t access.
Song Ke rummaged through her backpack, frantically searching for her terminal and the old-fashioned light screen she carried. She handed them over to Lu Xiaoyu.
Then, she hurriedly ran to Zhuang Qingyan’s room and eavesdropped on the door for a while. No sound could be heard; he was probably still asleep.
Hurry! She needed to get a new wheelchair.
Song Ke donned her full disguise, wearing a hat and mask, and rushed outside.
The overall atmosphere of Sin City was indeed different from the past, with more law enforcement personnel on the streets.
“Azhen!” A thin man ran past Song Ke, scooping up a woman in front of him.
“Aqiang, how did you get out?” The woman was surprised and delighted.
“I was released; I’m innocent!”
A special police officer in Death Prison uniform passed by the two embracing, crying people and entered the adjacent Red Willow Hotel.
“Jade, is it? You are arrested on suspicion of intentional homicide.”
Trading Street was still bustling, but there were people both rejoicing and worried.
As Song Ke walked past the restaurant where Su Cha had been arrested before, it was business as usual inside.
“Have you seen V587?” someone asked excitedly.
“More than just seeing them. They even robbed me of my crystals!” The burly Gaida climbed onto a table, spouting exaggerated stories, his words flying like spit and making the ceiling fall apart. “It was a scorching afternoon, and my brothers and I were hunting mutant zombies in the desert…”
“What kind of people are V587?” someone in the audience asked impatiently.
“I only know the most famous one is called Su Cha. It seems… there’s also a woman who plays with curved knives, but I don’t have much impression of the others.”
Song Ke tugged the brim of her hat down low and discreetly walked past, keeping her achievements and identity well hidden.
