Chapter 3: headin' to a doctor?

[Name: Noah Colie]

[Class:  ]

[Affiliation: The Crows(Crow King)]

[Level 4]

[Exp 100/500]

[Health: 950/950]

[Energy: -/-]

[Stamina: 450/450]

[Heart rate 40 BPM]

[State: Normal]

[Skills: Advanced senses(passive)]

[Perks: Make em boom]

[Traits: Monitoring]

[Body Modification: C-grade Electro-Blaster prosthetic hand(Right Weapon)]

[Balance: 20,000]

__________

Out of the shabby slums,

Walking through alleys full of garbage, drunkards, and beggars.

We received the first ray of sunshine in the day,

We had been cooped up in the house all morning.

Noah subconsciously stretched out his hand to block his eyes.

The sun is little harsh this afternoon, but very warm.

"Good day, residents of Spark City!"

"The weather is sunny today, the temperature is 30℃, please pay attention to prevent ultraviolet rays..."

...

The huge 3D screen on the high-rise building in the square plays AI weather forecasts and various business advertisements.

"Oh Noah, we might need a better operating system for the main card slot." I couldn't help but complain,

After getting used to the sunlight, we walked into the Ignis Train Station with my hands in my pockets.

There's a doctor Noah knew down at Downtown Vale, he might be able to give us access to the black market.

It's a few stops away from Little Fol, where we live but at least there is a shopping center close by.

Ding! You have a new text...

[Green Citadel Bank (reminder): 10,000-star credits have been credited to your electronic account at 14:28 p.m., leaving a balance of 10,867-star credits.

It's a pleasure to know you are with us Mr. Aiden Colie, stay safe out there.】

"Hey, has the bank ever been this polite in their texts?" I asked with a bewildered expression.

Noah chuckled while saying," Yeah noticed that earlier, at least they are a realistic bunch... I can't wait to see what it'd be like with a 100k or 1 million"

I absent-mindedly spoke while watching an Ad floating above our heads with the help of  AR "Yeah..."

I stopped, which prompted Noah to do the same. It was an advertisement for gladiators or rather bionic fighters of "Honorbound", the biggest sport in the world right now.

"Are you interested in joining?" Noah suddenly asked.

"No, but I think we'll be making a lot of star credits from here if we play right", I placed my hands into the pocket of my black hoodie while speaking.

Noah glanced at the battle playing on a loop up in the sky and said "I bet..."

__________

"I'm sending Liam and Lia 2000 credits, they might be shocked, right how much did you pay for rent?" I spoke while going through my holographic messages.

Noah couldn't help but complain, "that pig raised the rent to 2000 credits a month, and in a fit of rage I ended up paying for six months!"

Scrolling through and a new unread text notification came up:

[hey biggest bro, I saw the 1000 credits you sent!. Is it really my pocket money?. 】Liam, my Kid brother's voice came out excitedly, he was the eldest of the younger twins.

I sent a voicenote reply,  [Yeah, have fun...take care of Lia].

Liam excitedly replied: [OK! For sure]

A smile crept to my face, imagining his actions over there. The younger twins were made to stay at a boarding school because me and Noah were rarely around as we got older...

The happiness in his voice gave me a kind of satisfaction I never felt before, usually, we could barely send any money and even when we did, it was usually a little over 300 star credits for months.

'Yeah if we are doing this, we are doing it well...No going back' Those were my thoughts and the small smile on Noah's face said it all.

"Gugu-gu-gu-!"

Ah My stomach, started to growl once again...

"Gugu——! Gugu——!!"

At this time, the hunger in my stomach became even heavier.

I need something to eat now.

It appears that Noah was in the same situation as he glanced at the opposite side of the train's payment terminal,

There was a small vending machine.

There is one not far from every single payment point, and you can only buy things by swiping credit.

Noah rolled his eyes, stood up and went to the vending machine.

The red words "Please swipe card to use" on the LCD screen are particularly conspicuous.

Ding--!

It directly turns into a green subtitle as a debit from the bank arrives almost immediately

[Please pick up the selected product].

"Nice!" I grinned, Noah took out the 'food', and tossed me a snack, without much thought I opened the package and ate it like a wild beast.

"belch--!"

After eating, Noah patted his belly with satisfaction.

I wasn't any different.

"We should really stop eating Junk... Oh look, The hover train is here" Noah notified me after speaking and I grunted in response.

Swipe your card to enter the train,

Once entering the Ignis train.

Most seats are already occupied, and many of them are company dogs rushing to work during the afternoon shift.

It can be seen from the logo on the suits that they are basically employees of either Daydream, Radiance or Zion.

Daydream Corporation,

The true king of Spark City,

The top capitalist, a giant consortium.

56% of the current group of employees rushing to work during the afternoon rush hour are mostly slaves of Daydream Corporation.

People who live at the bottom are exploited like dogs.

It's both hateful and pathetic.

I raised my hood over my head and leaned against the pole not far from the cart door as I began surfing the Cybernet for any useful info.

Noah couldn't help but reveal a frown nervously, "we have to think carefully about how to bargain with that Psycho Doc' Matt later."

A prosthetic doctor and also an information broker in the black market of Spark City,

Only recognizes money and not people, he's someone that would go through any length for money!

If Daydream Corporation and the like, are the master who enslaves the lower class, then the black market doctors in Spark City are leeches that suck the money of the lower class.

So, When dealing with black market prosthetics doctors, it's best to be cautious!

"Look it's not time to bargain yet, I'll leave a Neon Neurostimulation chip for him to try out while we use that to gain access to the black market and buy the materials for 'Fatelinium' alright?"

Noah was much more relaxed and said, "Yeah, you are right but isn't the chip addictive?"

Hearing his question, I responded with a casual laugh "I'm banking on that, that way we leech more off him or have him sell himself to us...haha"

___

The Ignis train drove smoothly all the way.

Passing through about three stations, everything was business as usual.

Two stops later is the destination.

Looking at the scenery passing by outside the car door, it can be considered a quiet day.

The sun shines through the tall buildings,

intermittently,

I lazily raised his head and squinted his eyes to enjoy the moment, because I had a feeling things weren't going to be so leisurely for a while.

_______

At this time, the Ignis train came to a stop, and the announcement began to sound: "Ding dong——! Dear Passengers, please pay attention, Shcriel Downtown Vale Station is here, please..."

I opened my eyes and stepped out of the train with Noah, we followed the flow of people and walked out of the train station.

After leaving the train station,

What comes into view is the bustling street scene of Downtown Vale.

A combination of various modern cyberpunk styles and the architecture of London in the 1980s.

There is remarkably a lot of personal graffiti everywhere.

Also, the constant flow of land vehicles and flight cars on the streets gave it a weird Mix when placed in the same area.

Noah was quite familiar with this downtown area, the Luna Bar where he used to work was also nearby.

I'm thinking we could get a place here, a safe house, and grow from here.

Noah took me passed a nearby underground parking lot.

Seeing that there was no one around, Noah turned towards a strange alley!

There was only one shop there and it looked abandoned and unattended on the outside...

He knocked on the door in a strange manner and the door suddenly went ajar, allowing us to enter.

Inside was a different story altogether, the neon light flickering reception made it look more like a cozy club's VIP section. There were about three maroon-shaded sofas with a wooden table at the center, a minibar on the side, and a door that looked like it was embedded into the wall.

Pssh...

The door suddenly opened and white gas crept in from the other side of the room, reducing the temperature lightly as an exhausted-looking 'Doctor' Matt came from behind the door.

I tensed up for a second but the gas stopped as soon as he closed the door and walked up to us calmly.

He was a middle-aged man with brown hair, He looked to be in his late 40s, and he had a lab coat over his t-shirt and khaki shorts. He walked up to us while speaking lightly, "Good afternoon Mr. Colie, to what do I owe this visit, I didn't know you were an identical Twin, Hello to you too sir"

'He's surprisingly polite' I thought silently while watching their conversation. I noticed the man's cybernetic limbs and prosthetic eyes but didn't think much of it, this was a basic setting in this world.