Chapter 4: A New Identity

[Shop - Black Engine Restaurant]John had nowhere to go and could only stay at the restaurant.

Genius lent him the washroom and a bunk bed, on the condition that he help wash the dinner glasses.

He offered to pay rent, but the owner said —

"Your new life is just starting, there are many places to spend money on. If you can trade work for things on the street, don’t waste money."

Night fell.

John took a refreshing shower.

The pressurized water was strong, washing away the blood clots and landfill stench from his body.

The scenes from the black clinic kept flashing in his mind...

The burst sprinkler system.

Corpses scattered all over the floor.

Sizzling, flickering circuits.

He wiped the steam off the glass, finding his reflection both familiar and strange:

Short brown hair, high nose bridge, slightly sharp eyebrows, and the arrogance cultivated by the company was worn down by life and death, leaving a tenacious look in his eyes.

John found an oil drum at the restaurant’s back door and burned his clothes bearing the company logo into ashes, lighting a cigarette in the process.

He stared blankly at the neon sprawling in the distance.

The cold black outlines sketched out skyscrapers.

"Hello, Eden City."

...

John woke up early and walked towards the downtown along the ring line, where many shops lined the patrol boundary of the drones.

They sold clothes, shoes, hats, etc., with styles updated periodically. If you had money, you could even buy guns, bulletproof vests, or the trendy implants online.

The company controlled the e-commerce platforms, with drones delivering 24/7, and real-time outfit changing software that allowed you to try clothes online...

Physical stores struggled to survive without pushing boundaries.

John bought a shirt and pants, carefully compared weapons at several shops—the prices were cheaper than those in the display case, the guns were more shoddy, but he did find the protective gear interesting.

[Equipment: Concealed Bulletproof Vest]

[Description: Modified by Hiti Industry, king of cost performance.]

A description floated before John’s eyes.

He paid for it, then added a loose windbreaker over top, enabling him to switch identities between respectable people and street thugs.

Eden City’s dress is very free, with high tolerance.

Two types of people have particularly exaggerated outfits.

One type are the lowly Shark Coin gangsters.

The other is big figures with clout. Their clothes are often customized and modified to meet certain special needs, with high-tech content and difficult material collection. Wearing them enhances combat effectiveness.

If you were lucky enough to take one of them down...

Besides taking their wealth and weapons, don’t forget to strip off the clothes worth a fortune, provided you don’t get killed, of course.

Eden City is a vast and complex crime city.

Many stories and stolen goods lurk in the corners.

If you diligently explore streets, buildings, underground passages, and the like, you may find some discarded or missing stolen goods.

These clothes come with risks.

If you don’t know the blood debts and cases a piece of stolen goods is linked to, don’t put it on lightly, or you’ll easily catch a bullet.

The job Genius introduced is related to this.

John is to meet a dealer who specializes in collecting and cleaning second-hand clothing.

[Mission Update]

[Proceed to the specified location, mention Genius’s name, and deliver the packed goods outside the city. Have the camp leader confirm receipt. (Not Achieved)]

The text in John’s mind changes according to real circumstances.

[Oil Drum Street - Junction]

As John approached, he was hit by a strong burnt smell; an intense gunfight had taken place in the abandoned factory area.

The ground was a mess, fires burning everywhere.

"Lost your way?"

A hard object pressed against John’s back.

The silenced handgun at his waist was pulled out by the other party.

John couldn’t help but quip, "Damn, every deal I make ends up with a gun pointed at me!?"

The attacker walked to the front.


John first noticed the weapon in her hand.

[Weapon: Rum Electromagnetic Short Cannon-VI Single Shot]

[Module: No Hacking Module]

She pulled back her hood, her blonde hair slicked back, flaxen skin, and piercing cobalt blue eyes swept over John’s whole body.

[Scan detected, signs of no hacking]

John had seen things at Tiebang Logistics.

This woman’s voice was icy cold, tall in stature, and moved silently; the black implant in her palm was definitely high-grade stuff.

A standard killing machine.

John raised his hands, expressionless, and spoke before she fired, "Genius sent me here to make a delivery."

"Are you John?"

A battered second-hand dealer emerged, confirmed John’s identity, and said to the woman holding the gun.

"Alonna, he’s that driver."

The crisis was averted, and John retrieved his gun.

"So, what happened here?"

"You’re late." The dealer shook his head and sighed, "The cargo you were supposed to deliver was robbed by a group of Exiles."

"What do they want with second-hand clothes?"

"They were after the truck. I modified the sound system, just played a broken rock song from the 2020s and it drew these lunatics."

The dealer kicked the oil barrel. "Damn it, bad luck!"

The woman named Alonna didn’t speak, turning to inspect the scene, her cybernetic eye calculating continuously, scanning the tire tracks on the ground.

John gestured with his mouth. "What about her?"

"Alonna, the War Mother of the Damascus Camp, and your employer. Originally, you were to drive this batch of clothes to a new camp outside the city. Now that the goods are gone, she’s here to solve the problem."

As they spoke, she walked over.

"You have two choices now."

Alonna looked at John. "Cancel the job and leave here, or come with me to get the stuff back. It’s more dangerous, but the commission will increase."

[Mission Objective Updated]

[Retrieve the stolen cargo. (Optional)]

John nodded and followed, checking his pistol before setting off.

Alonna led him to an off-road vehicle parked outside the warehouse.

"WTF?"

John was stunned on the spot.

Thunder Miles - Beast Series MT450.

Black skull paintwork, honeycomb bulletproof armor, all-terrain tires, and a reinforced anti-rollover frame.

"If you drool on the car, I’ll break your ribs."

Alonna said expressionlessly.

She tossed him the car keys, carried a person-sized bag with one hand, and sat in the passenger seat.

John sat in the driver’s seat, caressing the art of leather and steel, the roaring engine made him want to moan.

"Do you even know how to drive?" Alonna frowned.

She needed to shoot from the passenger seat.

If the driver’s intelligence or skills were lacking, it would affect her performance.

John gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"I can drive anything you can think of."

Vroom vroom vroom~

The mechanical beast roared, mud splattered, charging onto the Ring Line.

"Connect to the system."

Alonna pressed her temple, her blue cybernetic eye flashing. Seeing John’s hesitation, she added.

"The firewall is military-grade, you can’t hack me."

"Alright."

John pressed the onboard port, pulled out a Bluetooth chip, and plugged it into the data slot.

[Confirm connection to data terminal? Confirm.]

Black Light howled, hacking silently.

The firewall was useless.

[Beast Miles onboard system (hacked)]

John suppressed a chuckle.

Alonna’s cybernetic eye kept flashing, unaware her car had been hacked.

[Holographic navigation loading...]

A 3D projection appeared before John and Alonna, simulating the van’s driving path on the road.

"Follow the trail up, grip the steering wheel tight."

"What an amazing plugin."

John marveled.

He had been in the transportation business for years.

He’d only ever heard or seen combat personnel using such technology, never having the money to experience advanced plugins himself.

The throttle revved, the Beast raced.

The vehicle sped off the Ring Line, and they saw a van moving ahead, swaying like a drunkard.

The harsh music was audible from afar.

Several Exiles were sticking half their bodies out, sitting on the windows, screaming and shooting into the sky.

John started to accelerate.

The car activated hostile infrared scanning, the glass displaying thermal imaging outlines, clearly seeing the number and seating positions inside the van.

"What a great car."

He expressed his admiration.

The next moment.

A long leg stepped onto the dashboard in front of the passenger seat.

[Equipment: High-tube Ceramic Military Martin Boots]

Alonna opened the sunroof, her golden short hair fluttering in the wind. She picked up a rocket launcher, propped herself on the car frame, and leaned out.