Apocalyptic Island - Chapter 64

Chapter 64

“D*mn it! D*mn it! D*mn it! This is survivor bias—everyone, stop eating the crystals! Put them down!”

“Back-Scratcher, you’ve caused so much harm! Who allowed a livestream like that? It’s going to kill so many people!!”

“While that’s true, shouldn’t adults have their own judgment? They greedily want the powers the crystals bring but won’t accept the consequences. The official announcements said ‘don’t eat them,’ but good advice can’t save a ghost determined to die!”

“How can you talk like that? Someone died and you’re standing there making sarcastic remarks. Don’t you have a family!”

The girl’s death caused the forum posts to erupt into a total brawl. No one knew what her mother would think if she saw it. Back-Scratcher’s livestream had indeed caused a sensation and bore some responsibility, but only a small part. The girl’s own choice was the primary cause. Her stream, however, served as a deterrent that made many restless people stay their hands.

Yet, many still ate the crystals, gambling for the benefits. These desperate people had been trapped in their homes for days. The paralysis of local Federal governments had left many with almost no means of survival. The entire Federation witnessed this frenzy; without weighing the costs, people swallowed the crystals they had obtained. The number of mutations skyrocketed during this period.

Wen Yishu felt a headache just looking at the dense pop-up notifications. However, she didn’t feel much sympathy for those who sought their own end in this disaster. They brought it on themselves. Eating a crystal without knowing the hidden dangers was no different from suicide; even if one wanted to go outside, there were many other ways. One should not pin their hope for survival on someone else.

Looking at the piles of comments cursing him, Back-Scratcher didn’t feel much emotion either. He had obtained the traffic he wanted. He had gambled with his life; he didn’t think he was in the wrong. If people couldn’t control themselves, why should he bear the consequences for them?

He was eager to experiment with his abilities. He looked through the window, seeing everything outside clearly. However, he knew he probably wouldn’t be staying here much longer. There would always be factions wanting to recruit talent like him, though that also carried a certain level of danger. But the first to arrive wasn’t any of the tech companies—it was an underground organization known as the “Memory Brokers.”

There was a polite knock at the door. Back-Scratcher was still looking out the window; he removed his headphones and sat back in front of the light-screen. The comments were half of what they were at the start, but many were still reminding him not to open the door or go out.

Back-Scratcher brushed it off. He had been waiting for people to come to his door; now that they were here, he was definitely going to open it. In a hotel like this, he wasn’t afraid. Or rather, he was someone who wasn’t afraid of death to begin with.

Room service wouldn’t knock like that. Back-Scratcher dressed himself and prepared to negotiate well with the visitor, intending to livestream the recruitment process. The person outside showed no impatience, knocking again after a few minutes. Back-Scratcher finally walked over.

The moment he opened the door, a hand holding a handkerchief covered his nose and mouth. In just two seconds, he lost consciousness. The door slammed shut with a bang. The headphones originally hanging around his neck fell lonely to the floor.

Time passed. The livestream showed only a large bed. The people in the chat gradually realized something was wrong.

Back-Scratcher has been kidnapped! Kidnapped in broad daylight! Within two hours, the internet was in an uproar.

Wen Yishu opened a bag of snacks for herself, and regardless of whether the String-of-Pearls could eat it, she stuffed a little piece into it. Bai Mi finished cooking and came out to see her still looking at the Real-Time Feed. She took the snacks from Wen Yishu’s hand. Holding Wen Yishu’s hand, she used a wet wipe to clean her stained fingers.

Wen Yishu patted her hands and looked up at her, asking jokingly: “Do you have a ‘housekeeping robot’ attribute?”

During the morning, the two had cleared out everything that Aix could link to. Fortunately, the facilities in this apartment were old, and many devices could have their networking functions completely disabled. Bai Mi’s eyes flickered; she put down the wet wipe, her cold brows furrowing slightly as she began to eat in silence.

Wen Yishu was a bit puzzled by her sudden withdrawal, but she rubbed her fingers and started eating. The refined rice was made from sprouted grains and was very safe. Previously, like others, she didn’t have high standards for food, but now she felt that eating a good meal was true happiness. Although the dishes were pre-packaged cans, they tasted good; with a little extra cooking, they were delicious.

Once they finished their meal quietly, Wen Yishu spoke of her afternoon plans: “I think I need to find out where Zhan Xiaofan went.”

Zhan Xiaofan was Back-Scratcher’s real name. In the age of big data, real names are easily unearthed, especially for a major vlogger whose information was basically transparent.

Bai Mi asked: “Do you know where he is?”

Wen Yishu nodded and began to analyze: “There are only a few top-tier hotels in Binhai City; his location is basically public. The chat just said he was kidnapped, and our district is under blockade. It certainly wasn’t the tech companies—they still care about their reputation. It wasn’t the Federation either. That leaves only one possibility.”

Bai Mi finished her sentence: “There are quite a few underground organizations in Binhai. Which one do you think it is?”

Wen Yishu smiled: “I don’t even need to guess. I just asked Qu Yue; she said it’s most likely the Memory Brokers.”

Wen Yishu originally didn’t know much about Binhai City, but to adapt better after arriving, she had done her homework overnight. Naturally, she knew about this underground black-market organization. This organization was notorious for being ruthless, doing practically anything. Every now and then, the Federation would crack down on them, but they were never completely uprooted. They occupied a marginal area between Binhai’s city center and the slums. Their trading floors sold firearms, ammunition, and rumored organs and mercenaries. One could say that wherever Bai Mi’s flamethrower came from, this place was the source of the trade.

In the past, Wen Yishu would never have set foot there even if she knew of its existence. But now her strength was different, and the things she wanted were different too. She wanted to know why these people had taken Zhan Xiaofan. She was also an Ability User; even if she didn’t save him, she needed to know if this was a danger or an opportunity.

She certainly wasn’t the only one who had awakened an ability. The Federation would surely try to control such people. She wanted to know who had the nerve to go against the Federation and kidnap a citizen in broad daylight. The Memory Brokers were most famous for their core neural-link technology; Wen Yishu believed there was an 80% chance a tech company was supporting them behind the scenes. It might even be a dark hand placed in the open by one of the tech companies.

Seeing that Wen Yishu’s mind was made up, Bai Mi silently began to pack her equipment: “Can I go with you this time?” She asked with her back turned, leaving Wen Yishu a stubborn silhouette. Her voice was more insistent than ever. It was as if if she said no, Bai Mi would immediately turn around, clenching her fists in anger to stare her down.

Wen Yishu said without thinking: “Of course not.”

A second later, she indeed saw Bai Mi’s hands clench. Before Bai Mi could ask, Wen Yishu said: “If you come with me, I’ll have to be distracted taking care of you. That’s not good for me either.”

The fact that her strength wasn’t as great as Wen Yishu’s was indeed a reality.

“I know you’re worried about me,” Wen Yishu patted her shoulder. “But after everything we’ve been through, I will definitely take good care of myself.”

Bai Mi opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing. Wen Yishu put on her bag and buckled her belt; there wasn’t much to bring except the flamethrower and ammunition. The Memory Brokers’ underground black market was vast and remote. Wen Yishu’s physical fitness was good, but she couldn’t just run there. She pulled an old hoverboard out of the apartment storage. After swapping in a fresh battery, she headed out. There were plenty of pedestrians on the street, everyone rushing home. Occasionally, she saw people looting and burning shops with no Federal agents in sight. She gave them a wide berth to avoid a confrontation and a waste of time.

The voice of Warp Speed’s internal AI didn’t sound as human as Aix; it gave her directions in a businesslike manner. This voice made Wen Yishu feel comfortable; the feeling of being pried into vanished. She had grown quite a bit taller, and since she was bundled up tightly like everyone else, no one would notice her as long as she didn’t pull down her mask. The feeling of being able to walk around boldly while being “wanted” was novel to her, and she looked around quite a bit on the way.

When she reached the edge of the city, Wen Yishu put away the hoverboard. The greenery here had either not been cleared out or was newly grown and neglected. The entrance to the underground market was located in a massive commodity trade center, but it had stalled when the plant mutations first erupted. The people at the top were those who valued their lives; there was no point in making money if you weren’t alive to spend it.

Wen Yishu stood behind a rusted iron fence, watching the numbers on the elevator climb. This abandoned industrial elevator was once a freight passage for some giant corporation; now it served as the “legal” entrance to the underground black market. After the people above evacuated, this place was completely taken over by the underground market. The prerequisite for entry was paying three chrome credit coins or being willing to let the guards scan your retinal information.

Wen Yishu felt a bit of a sting in her wallet. She didn’t have much money to begin with. Had she known, she might have feigned agreement with Aix to squeeze some money out of them—but she really couldn’t bring herself to lie. Since she couldn’t let the guards scan her retina, she painfully exchanged the coins.

The walls of the elevator shaft were covered in thick cables and condensation pipes, with occasional electrical sparks illuminating the fierce mechanical idols in the graffiti. The red light at the bottom grew closer, accompanied by the unique soundscape of the underworld: hawking, the roar of modified engines, and intermittent screams coming from some corner.

Wen Yishu’s hand in her pocket clenched into a fist. Insane. How much time had passed, yet the underground market was still abnormally active?

“Welcome to the Rust Cage,” the elevator guard grinned, revealing a set of low-quality metal dental implants.

The moment the elevator doors opened, a wave of sound and heat hit her simultaneously. The temperature here didn’t seem affected by the outside. Wen Yishu squinted, feeling uncomfortable with the murky air inside. The black market was built on a collapsed subway hub; a twisted steel skeleton supported a dome dozens of meters high, with bags hanging from chains sliding overhead from time to time. Neon billboards were parasitic like tumors on every metal surface, flashing words like Cybernetic Modification, Memory Vending, and Live Subject Rental. The air was a mix of pungent machine oil, the cloying sweetness of synthetic illicit drugs, and the smell of scorched flesh.

The trading area was actually crowded with people. They were used to seeing newcomers and barely reacted. Wen Yishu spent a little money to buy a guide from the guard. She pulled her hat down low, walked through the crowd to a corner, and examined it carefully. The rules of the black market were simple: don’t make eye contact with anyone, don’t touch anyone’s goods, and don’t ask any questions.

Next to her was a clinic. A neon sign hanging at the door read “Painless Removal,” and the hum of a chainsaw cutting through bone came from within. The smell of scorched flesh originated from there. Wen Yishu covered her nose and mouth, casually plucking a piece of paper with illegible content from the wall to pretend she was reading while keeping the map underneath. Her gaze locked onto a point on the map: the central area, the largest neural-link trading post. That was where the Memory Brokers were located.

As she was planning her route, someone suddenly tapped her on the shoulder. By reflex, Wen Yishu nearly pulled out the short blade at her waist.

But she heard the person behind her say: “Are you here to apply for human experimentation?”

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