Chapter 55: Reunion
Tang Yu’an stared at the familiar face, murmuring, “How…?”
Why was Wei Langxing here? He had sent him to safety. Had he encountered danger and been thrown down here too?
But the bounty meant he was at least alive.
“System, activate location tracking.”
The system deducted his health points and provided Wei Langxing’s location, less than three kilometers away.
Jinshan, seeing his sudden pallor, was startled.
“What’s wrong?”
He looked up, seeing Tang Yu’an staring at the wanted poster, realizing they must know each other.
He looked closer; it was issued by NeuroTech.
“Your friend?”
Tang Yu’an nodded. Jinshan checked the StarNet: “Hey, the bounty has been withdrawn.”
“Withdrawn? What does that mean? Why would a corporation issue a bounty for a person? What are they planning?”
Jinshan calmed him down: “Don’t panic, one question at a time… First, the information online says your friend sold himself to the company, so he’s their property. They would naturally want to find him if he was missing. But now the bounty is withdrawn, which means they found him.”
He whistled at the amount: “Your friend is quite valuable.”
Some desperate people sold themselves to corporations to pay off debts or provide for their families. Tang Yu’an, unsure of what had happened to Wei Langxing, decided to find him immediately.
He showed Jinshan the address: “Do you know this place?”
Jinshan hesitated, irritating Tang Yu’an: “Just say it!”
Jinshan told him it was a NeuroTech branch, that it was pointless to go there, he wouldn’t be able to enter, let alone find anyone.
“Your friend probably sold himself to pay off a debt. You can’t buy him back. The corporation practically controls Future City, going against them is a death sentence. Just forget about him.”
Tang Yu’an asked: “Just one question, can you get me inside?”
“I can’t.”
“Not even with money?”
“Even with money, you need an employee ID card to enter, and those can’t be forged.”
Tang Yu’an took out the ID card he had obtained from the robot: “What about modifying the information?”
Jinshan gasped: “I forgot about that. You’re quite lucky, it might actually work…”
Seeing his hopeful expression, he immediately threw cold water on it: “I’m just saying you might be able to get past the gate, but you don’t even know where your friend works. Wandering around will get you caught.”
“I’ll figure that out.”
They found the forger again, who was surprised by their quick return, but seeing the ID card, he hesitated.
“This… I know someone in the company. I can modify it, but their system has been upgraded, it’ll re-verify, you’ll be discovered within two hours.”
“Two hours is enough. Do it quickly, I’ll pay extra.”
Handing him the modified ID card with his own picture, the forger warned him not to implicate him if he was caught.
“Don’t worry,” Tang Yu’an said. “I understand the rules.”
They only had one ID card; Jinshan couldn’t enter.
He looked at the prepared Tang Yu’an, remembering videos online of people being vaporized by laser cannons for trying to rob the corporation, his lips twitching: “Are… you sure about this?”
Tang Yu’an didn’t answer, taking Jinshan’s pistol.
Jinshan reminded him: “This is nothing compared to their weapons.”
“I know,” Tang Yu’an hid the gun in his jacket. “Just for peace of mind.”
Jinshan sighed: “Alright, go then.”
Tang Yu’an: “Can you say something encouraging?”
Jinshan: “You’re walking into a lion’s den, what can I say? Good luck with your… imminent demise?”
Tang Yu’an ignored him, buying a hat and covering half his face.
Fortunately, eccentric attire was the norm on B172. No one would bat an eye at a hat, even if it was sewn to his head.
As for the weapon, countless people here had concealed weapons; carrying a gun was perfectly normal.
The corporation’s entrance was impressive, the towering, modern building visible from afar.
Tang Yu’an, keeping his head down, followed a large man, quickly swiping his ID card and entering.
But he hadn’t taken two steps when a security guard called out to him.
“Hey, you, with the hat, wait!”
Tang Yu’an froze. Had the ID card malfunctioned? Had he been discovered?
He turned stiffly, but the guard simply smiled, picking up a switchblade from the floor: “You dropped this.”
Tang Yu’an, relieved, took the knife and turned to leave, but the guard called out to him again, making his heart skip a beat.
He forced a calm tone: “Is there anything else?”
The guard pulled him aside conspiratorially, handing him a business card: “Buddy, I see you’re wearing a hat, are you having hair loss problems? I have a miracle cure, only five thousand star coins, guaranteed results, interested?”
Remembering he only had two hours, he took the card, saying he would consider it, and quickly left, leaving the guard happily imagining another customer falling for his scam.
Following the location tracker, he arrived at a ten-story building, but the elevator only went up to the tenth floor.
Wei Langxing was on the twelfth…
Then he saw a tall man in a black suit open a door to an inner area. He quickly followed, slipping inside before the door closed.
He had expected an alarm, but nothing happened.
He didn’t know that someone was watching his every move on the surveillance cameras.
He found another elevator leading to the upper floors. Reaching the twelfth floor, he quickly hid behind a shelf, avoiding the staff.
The tracker signal grew stronger. He reached a white corridor; Wei Langxing was in the room at the end.
The thought of seeing the protagonist made his heart race.
He had it all planned out, he would get him out, return to the sky city, and contact the real government to deal with these imposters.
He opened the door, his eyes widening.
The room was dimly lit, filled with rows of treatment pods, each containing a sleeping figure.
He checked the monitors; they were in deep sleep.
What had the corporation done to them? Why were they unconscious?
He didn’t have time to think about it, checking each pod for Wei Langxing.
Finally, he found him in a pod near the back, his eyes closed.
He opened the pod, calling his name, but there was no response. He gently touched his shoulder, but Wei Langxing remained unresponsive, like a vegetable.
What was going on…?
He tried to help him sit up, then noticed a bundle of colorful wires inserted into the back of his neck, connected to the machine!
He was stunned, he had never seen anything like this, and he didn’t dare remove it, afraid of injuring him.
So, he contacted Jinshan, calling him on his wristband.
Jinshan, hearing his description, exclaimed: “That damn corporation, still engaging in such inhumane practices!”
He explained that it was a neural interface, connecting their minds to a virtual world, temporarily uploading their consciousness.
“Like a holographic game?”
Jinshan hesitated, then replied: “You could say that, but they’re not in there playing games, they’re working.”
“What?!” Tang Yu’an was puzzled. “If the corporation wants them to work, why not in the real world? Why a virtual environment?”
“That’s the most disgusting part… In a specially designed virtual environment, time can be manipulated. An hour outside could be months inside. And their uploaded consciousness forgets everything, only remembering the company’s instructions – that they’re employees, and they must work forever.”
Tang Yu’an felt a wave of nausea.
Endless work, without even knowing who you are, were they even treating them as human beings?
The thought of Wei Langxing trapped in there made his anger rise.
They messed with the protagonist’s mind?
He made a dark joke: “Is this NeuroTech corporation called that because its management is neurotic?”
Jinshan wholeheartedly agreed.
Tang Yu’an asked if there was a way to disconnect them.
“You can’t, unless the company remotely modifies the program and makes them want to leave.”
Otherwise, they would either be trapped forever or die from forced disconnection.
So, unplugging them wasn’t an option. He looked at a nearby empty pod, a thought suddenly occurring to him: “What if I go in?”
If he could awaken Wei Langxing’s consciousness and make him want to leave, he could bring him back to reality.
Jinshan’s tone immediately changed: “Don’t do anything stupid! You’ll forget what you’re doing the moment you enter. The program will wipe your memory. You’ll be trapped too!”
“I won’t,” Tang Yu’an said calmly. He had the system; his consciousness wouldn’t be affected.
Ignoring Jinshan’s protests, he hung up and activated the empty pod.
The screen lit up. He exhaled, lying down and selecting the automatic connection mode.
He felt something cold and cylindrical against the back of his neck, immobilizing him.
He swallowed, then felt a sharp sting as something pierced his skin.
Like being ejected from a spaceship into the void, darkness enveloped him.
