“I…”
Yushi bit his lip, thoughts racing.
He immediately recalled a nearby cybernetic clinic.
That guy, Kuru, with his ridiculous red mohawk, was always promoting implants to anyone who walked in. And most of his products were made from Memphis.
Kuru couldn’t stand Yushi.
It was 2040 now, but there was still someone refused to get even a neck implant or a cyber chip! he used the most outdated smartphones instead!
And the man was Yushi!
Every time Yushi always turned down any cybernetic enhancements.
Utterly backward! Utterly shameful!
People like him must be the laughingstock of the world!
But Yushi was unimpressed. After buying what he needed, he’d transfer the payment with phone and walk out—a blatant provocation!
But Kuru’s shop stuck in Yushi’s mind.
It was filled with heaps of cybernetic parts, a surgical chair, and a bunch of workstations with tools, including a machine for chip repairs.
The chip machine could handle repairs, oxidation, photolithography, and could be operated manually or with built-in AI.
Of course, Kuru would only make deals that paid well, and he only repaired the advanced chips.
If Yushi wanted him to fix a Memphis machine, he would f**k him off absolutely if the money wasn’t enough.
Lately, Yushi had heard Kuru had gotten his hands on a couple of worn military-grade chips but hadn’t had the time to get them repaired.
“I wonder how much it would cost to borrow the machine?”
Yushi thought. It couldn’t be cheap, could it? And the fact answered ‘yes’.
“F**k out the way, you dumb ball! Bedbugs like you who won’t even get implants shouldn’t shit here!”
Half an hour later, just as he approached the dim, cold shop, a mechanical hand wielding a scalpel pointed straight at his nose, making him stumble back in fright.
“Hey, Kuru! It’s just an implant! Not everyone wants one, and you can’t force people to buy it!”
Yushi ducked behind the engine, nearly pushing Delena out of her seat.
She was perched on a small cart. The cart at first was shabby, so Yushi had made a few tweaks to at least make her look decent.
“Am I not the old costumer in your store? Haven’t I bought plenty of materials from you? Just see how many nano-bundles tubes I’ve purchased!
You’ve earn a few bags of pure tobacco cigarettes from me, and now you just want to kill me?”
“Go f**k yourself!”
Kuru’s head popped out, his face twisted like a cyber maniac. His fully mechanized nose couldn’t move a muscle, making him all the more terrifying.
“I could shit a few days off and still earn a lot from just two surgeries! Why would I care about your testicles? That chip machine costs a fortune! You can never afford to use it!”
“How much for once?!”
Yushi glared at Kuru, pulling out his phone to check his balance.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“One thousand!”
“What?! Are you kidding? I only make four hundred on this job! You want a thousand from me?!”
Kuru looked at Yushi, who was practically baring his teeth in frustration, and smirked lazily.
“You think using a chip machine is just some crap metal you can afford by skipping a few meals? This is HIGH-TECH STUFF! TOP-TIER GOODS!
Oh, you think it’s just expensive to use? It’s an expensive shit, bro! Every time you use it, it wears down a little more, and every use drops its precision!
And the materials for repairs? They cost money too! Even if I don’t profit from you, you still owe me eight hundred Worlb! No negotiations!”
“...Are you really trying to screw me over?”
Yushi was still breathing heavily, but his tone turned icy.
Kuru didn’t budge, as if they were born to be opposites.
“Wear and tear! Materials! Money! No compromises! If you’ve got gold, shit out! If not, get f**ked!”
“Fine, do what you want to me! When the UPF comes knocking on your door, don’t ask me which buddy reported you for body snatching!”
Yushi shot another glare at Kuru, who now had an icy demeanor in return.
UPF, the Usah Police Force, originally part of the Usah government’s police department, had become privatized during the Second Nassan War due to budget cuts.
After the independence of West Usah Free State, UPF began negotiating with state governors to maintain order.
Kuru was notorious for scavenging cybernetics from corpses and selling them.
People had seen him in the act, but with his coercion and inducement, he’d never been reported.
Yushi hadn’t witnessed it himself but had heard the stories. He often saw areas cordoned off by UPF, with a mangled corpse inside. People around here whispered Kuru’s name.
And with the mountains of cybernetic parts in his shop, it was hard not to see him as a suspect.
UPF was usually indifferent to these bodies. They were poor and often died from health issues. Even many of them didn’t even have IDs.
Why awakened sleeping dogs? Better to let it lie down. The salary for a cop was already meager, so why make so many troubles? Moreover, those dead were just some poor with no family.
But Kuru was a repeat offender. If he got reported, his assets would be absolutely cleaned out by UPF.
Even if he got out of jail, he’d have nothing left to live on—essentially declared dead.
His brow twitched, the scalpel in his hand trembling as his gaze locked onto Yushi’s vulnerable spots.
“Please don’t take our money, and I can help you fix two high-grade chips in a day to settle the debt. Deal?”
Suddenly, a voice came from beside Yushi’s leg, sending a chill down Kuru’s spine.
“High-grade chips? You think you can fix two military chips made from Zacking in a day?”
Kuru glanced down at Delena, who was hidden behind Yushi, skepticism and disdain etched on his face.
“Who the hell are you? A half-paralyzed person dreaming big? You think you can just show off and impress me?”
“I’m just someone who failed to attach prosthetic. The operation took away the lower half of my body.”
Delena spoke with a calmness that made Kuru’s heart race, his scalpel trembling slightly.
Before coming here, Yushi had shared everything he knew about Kuru with her.
Usually, whatever working or what, he was often alone, with little interaction with others. He had limited contact with strangers.
Over time, he would even unconsciously talk to himself while repairing machines.
Now that he had someone to chat with, he couldn’t let the chance slip away. And Delena remembered every word he said.
“...So, this is your bargaining chip?”
Kuru’s crimson irises fixed on Yushi, his mechanical finger twitching.
“He’s the one who recommended I come here for my operation. I want to stand again.”
Delena drew attention again, her lips moving steadily.
“Hmph… You don’t even install your own implants but try to convince others to do it?”
“Just doing a good deed. She needs operation, I have a recommendation. That’s it. Plus, recommending you... doesn’t that show that you are really skillful?”
Yushi sneered at Kuru, his body shaking slightly with laughter.
“This girl’s lower half is gone; that’s no easy fix. And it won’t come cheap.”
Kuru scoffed, but the hand with scalpel dropped slightly, and he retreated into the shop, allowing them to enter.
“Sure, I can fix high-grade chips myself, but it takes time, and AI processing eats up lots of power. If you can really fix those two chips in a day…”
Kuru pressed a switch on the wall, and the shop lit up brightly, momentarily blinding Yushi.
“...The price is negotiable!”
What was usually hard to see was now laid bare before Yushi.
To the left of the entrance was a small counter, with implants hanging or displayed on shelves, and various materials Yushi had previously bought tucked away in cabinets.
Further in was a surgical table hidden behind a curtain.
He couldn’t see what the table looked like, but the bloodstains on the curtain suggested it wasn’t exactly a pleasant place to be, even if it was sanitized.
Next to the surgical area was Yushi’s target: the chip machine.
It stood out like a crane among chickens, pristine and clean, its white exterior starkly contrasting with the messy surroundings.
The chip machine was bulky, with two massive mechanical arms and a large workbench, clearly hard to maintain, yet it was spotless.
“This is the real stuff! How can it be compared to the lives of those poor souls?”
Kuru smirked, guessing Yushi’s thoughts.
“Just remember, while you’re fixing those chips, follow the rules! If anything gets damaged or the machine wears out too much, I won’t let you pee comfortably!”