87: Chapter 87 The Transformation of the Nest City Economy

The cold, bitter rain pattered against the metal roof of the Hive City's lower levels, making a monotonous and depressing sound.

The air was filled with the smell of engine oil, low-quality synthetic fuel, and the sour stench produced by crowded people.

Cheng Yu pulled his worn, faded waterproof trench coat tighter around himself, bowing his head as he squeezed out of the rusty iron door of the Security Forces substation.

A Security Forces officer with a rigid face and mechanical red lights in their eyes followed him out, shoving a thin, cicada-wing-like data pad into Cheng Yu's hand, their cold voice devoid of emotion: "You, sign here!"

"Don't come back here again. You're not getting any younger; it's time to find a wife, get a proper job, and live a peaceful life."

Cheng Yu twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing a smile uglier than crying, and pressed his fingertip against the light spot.

This was already the third, no, the fourth time this month he had been invited to the Security Forces substation for "tea."

The charges were as vague as ever: "Suspicious behavior, unsightly appearance" or "Loitering, suspected potential unstable factor."

He knew full well that this wasn't because he had actually done anything, but because ever since the dark was released, traditional information brokers like him were no longer needed by the Hive City.

Once upon a time, in the information-isolated, channel-is-king lower Hive City, information brokers like him with keen senses and extensive connections were the capillaries connecting various gray corners, earning huge profits by reselling key information.

But now, more and more people were using the dark, and even the lowest-level gang members could instantly transmit messages and trade intelligence via encrypted channels.

What made Cheng Yu feel even more aggrieved was that those envious peers or those who simply didn't like him now had the most convenient weapon for retaliation: the "One-Click Report Violation" function built into the dark.

He had practically become a moving target for some bored guys; just looking at a street corner a few times while walking could get him reported for "suspicious behavior."

This last time was the most dangerous; the reporter accused him with certainty of "attempting to steal communication data from the Imperial Psychic Tower," almost sending him directly to the exile ship bound for the "Du Zihao" mining planet.

Fortunately, he had saved up some wealth over the years and cultivated some connections, paying a heavy price to redeem himself from the life sentence of hard labor.

Cheng Yu walked blankly through the noisy and numb crowd.

Huge holographic billboards projected twisted light and shadows in the damp fog, advertising the latest features of the dark.

On both sides of the street, many familiar shops had pulled down their roller shutters, with signs posted on them saying "Poor management, temporarily closed" or "Imperial digital transformation pilot, store cleared."

Several familiar news-selling Cheng Yus were now riding clanking second-hand motorcycles, with large thermal insulation boxes tied to the back seats, racing against time through the traffic to deliver food orders.

Because too many clones had flooded in, the pay per order had been driven down to an appalling level.

"Yes, it is time to transform." Cheng Yu leaned against a huge pipe dripping with condensation, lit a pungent synthetic cigarette, and muttered to himself.

In the swirling smoke, the wrinkles on his face became clearer. "A speck of dust from the era, falling on any person, is a mountain heavy enough to crush them."

He took a deep drag of the cigarette, threw the butt on the ground, crushed it fiercely with his foot, and a flash of desperate determination flickered in his eyes.

Fortunately, he had more money than those completely unemployed clones.

The Hive City's administrative approval center always kept its doors open to capital.

A few days later, in a relatively clean but small unit in the Mid-Hive, "Hive City Frontier Media Co., Ltd." quietly hung up its sign.

Cheng Yu had staked almost all his remaining net worth, paid a huge registered capital of 150 million credits, to barely meet the Empire's minimum entry requirements for the news media industry.

He purchased a batch of second-hand but still functional information collectors and editing terminals, and even gritted his teeth to hire a dozen fresh-faced outsiders who had just graduated from re-education institutes, along with a few old peers who had been forced to change careers like him.

The office was piled with semi-new equipment and server cabinets emitting a cold metallic light, forming a sharp contrast with the decaying and dilapidated Hive City scene outside the window.

Cheng Yu stroked the cold equipment casing, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

He knew that the price of the dark was still high and far from being popularized in every corner of the Hive City.

But Cheng Yu knew even better that the will of Main Body was irreversible, and the future torrent of information would surely be dominated by these small screens.

As an old shrimp washed ashore by the tide of the era, he had to learn to swim in the new ocean before he completely suffocated.

Deep in the Imperial Palace, the daily life of Main Body had long been submerged by endless government affairs.

Nowadays, even reviewing memorials had entered the electronic age.

On the huge holographic screen in front of Main Body, colorful electronic memorials scrolled like a waterfall.

However, every electronic memorial had to be submitted simultaneously with its corresponding paper original.

This was not a redundant move; it was to prevent Tzeentch, as that old schemer loved to pull tricks like electronic demons.

A secret memorial from the front line made Cheng Yu's fingers pause.

It was an official report regarding General Victor... no, now it should be called General Victoria, accompanied by detailed medical records and even a captured image.

In the image, the once dark and rugged man had now become a delicate young girl with agile eyes and wheat-colored skin.

Cheng Yu's mouth twitched, wanting to write something but unable to, and finally, he could only approve three words as usual:

"Understood."

Concubine Isabella, who had been waiting on the side to grind ink for him, happened to catch a glimpse of the content of this memorial.

She first covered her small mouth in astonishment, then, a brilliant light instantly burst forth in those beautiful eyes. She cupped her face with both hands and whispered in a tone mixed with extreme excitement and dreamy yearning:

"Heavens... this... this is so romantic!"

Her intoxicated appearance, with tears of emotion even faintly shining at the corners of her eyes, looked very much like a yandere girl about to turn dark in some anime, full of a certain dangerous and fanatical beauty.

Main Body was already annoyed by this outrageous event. Hearing Isabella's exclamation, he rolled his eyes at her unceremoniously.

Then he simply pushed hard, sliding the mountain of memorials in front of her:

"You think it's romantic? Fine, you handle the rest of the memorials, and you can go be romantic all you want."

The Empire's territory was thirstily expanding outward, and the desire of front-line soldiers to make merits and request rewards was infinite, but Main Body's time and energy were limited.

The memorials he needed to review every day were enough to fill thirty huge bathtubs for bathing... With all his energy focused on these matters, how could he have time to bathe with his concubines?