Heath awoke early in the morning with a slight headache. The talent test was over, but how many levels had he achieved? The last thing he remembered was falling asleep on the sofa shortly after Commander Lorna and her entourage had left, missing the lingerie show of the Supermodel Contest.

"Did something else happen?" He racked his brain, but like pieces of a drunken blackout, he couldn't recall.

Devin was nowhere to be seen. Heath walked around the hall and into the restroom to freshen up, still no sign of the stout figure—probably at The Lustrous Club.

The wooden door of the izakaya was open, the outer glass sliding door still closed, with a "Opening Later" sign hanging.

Dawn was just breaking, the night's rain had ceased, and the eaves, lanterns, and neon signs were still dripping.

The alley and the main street's neon lights had cooled and extinguished, like all the spirits of the night had dispersed.

Without the rain, the alley was scarcely colder than the main street. Despite the absence of traffic, it was a bustling scene.

A street musician walked by the door, followed by a group of tattooed gang members, office workers clutching briefcases, scantily clad young women smoking cigarettes, preachers muttering sermons, ragged homeless...

Heath watched for a while, then turned and walked through the saloon-style bar doors into the small kitchen to find a thermos cup for himself, brewing some goji berry water.

Drinking alcohol harms the body, but goji berries nourish the liver and kidneys.

As a doctor, he fully understood the saying, "If you don't take care of your health when you're young, you'll take care of the doctor when you're old." It was essential to start drinking goji berry water from a young age.

Sipping the warm goji berry water, he found the remote and turned on the old wooden box television.

"The Sando Corporation is the big conglomerate around here, right?"

Heath had noticed the Sando logo everywhere.

There was an all-in-one desktop computer in the kitchen with no mouse, the keyboard embedded in the machine, and a 12-inch monochrome monitor.

The computer, TV, karaoke machine, and other devices all bore the same trademark—a triad of intertwined green vines.

Yet on these logos were drawn middle fingers, crosses, and various insulting vulgarities. It seemed Devin and company harbored deep resentment toward the Sando Corporation but were forced to use these devices nonetheless.

The small TV screen was broadcasting the morning news:

"The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Sando Corporation in the antitrust case."

"The Sando Corporation releases the first generation of laptops with built-in modems, heralding the arrival of the internet age."

"Unemployment rates in the Citadel District and Mud Pond District reach new highs; the mayor promises improvements."

Heath settled on the sofa, watched a few news stories, and confirmed his earlier assessments.

The technological level of this world was indeed like the 1980s, yet in some areas, it was far more advanced.

"The disparity between the rich and poor here is quite stark..."

He frowned at the TV screen showing the slums of "Mud Pond District"—shanties, unfinished buildings, garbage dumps, dirty children, and gang members with menacing stares. It was a harsh reality.

The news broadcast about the Sando Corporation, however, showed "Garden District," one of the city's affluent areas, with clean streets, towering skyscrapers, beautiful garden villas, and various schools, hospitals, art galleries, and more.

The Sando Corporation was indeed a major conglomerate, forming the so-called "New World Bank" with other major corporations.

The New World Bank held a tight grip on the city of Liuguang, controlling all avenues of ascent.

Ordinary people toiled their whole lives, often ending up dead on the side of the street, next to a pile of trash.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

There was an old saying on the street: "They're in heaven, we're in Mud Pond, but everyone has a bright future."

As for himself, he was worse off than the average person—he was a stray dog.

Heath almost choked on his goji berry water at the next news item, coughing uncontrollably.

"Police uncover an organ trafficking truck; over 100 smugglers found dead."

The refrigerated truck was discovered in Mud Pond District, filled with dismembered bodies of smugglers, their kidneys, corneas, and other valuable organs removed. The police suspected the case was connected to the Mud Pond Gang.

It couldn't be Landow's doing, could it? Were the victims his companions from yesterday?

He scratched his head in confusion. No, Landow was with the Arcade Gang, not the Mud Pond Gang...

He sorted it out in his mind. Liuguang City had twenty-nine districts.

The Mud Pond Gang was in Mud Pond District, and this was Shouei Street in Kabukicho District, far enough away.

"But with my status as a stray dog..."

Heath knew that the death of a few stray dogs in Liuguang City was of no concern to anyone; it wasn't even news unless at least a hundred died at once.

No, he had to cling tightly to Miss Ayane's coattails...

If he couldn't become a male escort, without Miss Ayane's help in getting a legal identity, he could fall back into the clutches of the Arcade Gang, and organ harvesting would no longer be just a threat.

"Damn it, God." Heath clutched the thermos cup bitterly, wondering why he had ended up in such a world.

He longed to return home, where he had family, friends, and safety...

After a while, he sighed and took another sip of goji berry water. Attitude mattered. For now, it was best to go with the flow.

"What were the results of last night's test?"

Heath tried to recall. When Commander Lorna and her group left, he was still steady, and the swirling orb in his mind continuously displayed "neural hyper-speed gear."

Come to think of it, that hallucination was quite realistic.

With that thought, suddenly, he felt the swirling orb appear in his mind again.

"What the hell?" Heath was startled from slouching to sitting upright, the goji berry water losing its appeal.

Why was the hallucination still there, a remnant of his blackout?

As he focused on the orb, uncontrollable blue and purple lights spilled out, reminiscent of the intense glare from city advertising screens that caused specks of light in his vision.

As the dazzling lights fell, an old-fashioned electronic panel appeared where the orb had been.

The panel, about the size of a keyboard, was veiled in a misty light, seemingly not fully activated. He could only make out a few progress-bar-like light strips and some buttons.

The buttons that were clear enough to see included:

【Database】【Compiler】【Share】

"Great, demons and ghosts at play..."

Heath shook his head in a desperate attempt to clear the vivid hallucinations but to no avail.

He remembered being electrocuted by his computer during his transition, and the panel did give off a vibe of a computer control console.

Could it be that a cheat code had gone online?

But as a psychologist skilled in applied psychology and psychiatry, who liked to flip through "Madness and Civilization," his first thought wasn't of a miraculous encounter, but...

"Am I going mad?"

Heath stared blankly at the control panel in his mind.

If a therapist believed a patient's hallucinations to be true, he'd soon stop being a doctor and become the lackey of "World President," "Alien World Liaison Officer," "Reincarnated Emperor," and other extraordinary characters...

Even transmigration could be a mental issue.

"Reduplicative Paramnesia"

It's a rare mental disorder where patients firmly believe that some things around them have been swapped, such as a spouse being replaced by someone else, their hometown being somewhere else; some even believe the entire world has been swapped.

After a while, the illusion in his mind remained unchanged.

Heath cautiously began to explore, but both the 【Database】 and 【Compiler】 were inaccessible.

He tried clicking on the 【Share】 button...

Suddenly, uncontrollably, various information boxes flashed:

"No available share contacts""The number of new share contacts that can be created now is: 1""Establishing a new share contact"

In an instant, Heath's mind was filled with strange light beams, his nerves boiling, and all the scenes around the sofa in the hall were stretched into dazzling, frozen light and shadows.

It was as if he had entered another dimension, clearly feeling the control panel connected to another brain across the distance...

The indescribable sensation, a graceful silhouette flickered in the light and shadow ahead, a woman.

She seemed to be sitting on the ground, looking around in astonishment and confusion.

"Who are you..." Indeed, a female voice came through, though the signal was poor, the voice muddled with static like a jammed tape, not clear enough to discern her tone, and seemed to cut off at any moment, "Is this... the Mind Network?"

Madness, I've truly gone mad...

Heath was even more astonished than she was, thoughts of dissociative disorder, schizophrenia, and delusion flashed through his mind.

From her words, it seemed like he had indeed connected his mind to hers, much like a video call.

But he was more inclined to believe he was mad, developing another personality, conversing with himself.

The static continued, and the connection hadn't broken, but the other side was also cautiously silent.

After a standoff, the female voice suddenly spoke again:

"Are you sent by the Sando Corporation? I don't know how you can do this, but I will continue to investigate, and I won't give in."

Uh, miss, who are you, where are you, what are you talking about?

Heath was full of questions, tentatively saying, "I've been watching you for a long time, watching you for a long time..."