“He just left like that? Is that really okay?”
Watching the cleaner disappear through the shop entrance, Feng Xue’s tone was rather subtle. In the end, it had still been major surgery, the sort where you got cut open and had your insides exposed. How had he gotten out of bed the moment his abdomen was closed up? Even cyborgs had to follow basic principles, right? And judging by his degree of prosthetic modification, he didn’t look like some flesh-type metahuman either!
“That’s just how people like him are. No matter how familiar they are with you, they won’t feel at ease. They have to crawl back into their own rat hole before they can recuperate in peace. If I were the only one in the shop, he might’ve rested another couple hours, but he doesn’t trust you, so he simply left.”
There was a hint of helplessness in Old Jiang’s voice, but then he shook his head and instructed,
“There are quite a few people like that among cleaners. If you run into one in the future and they want to leave, let them. People like that all know a bit of treatment one way or another. Once the big problem is dealt with, even if the wound splits open or something, they can handle it themselves.”
“Uh…” Feng Xue wanted to say something, but in the end he shut his mouth. He had only been in this world for two months; naturally, he had no right to make comments.
But just as Feng Xue was sighing inwardly, Old Jiang suddenly said,
“Oh, right. Starting today, you’ll receive patients. Your pay will be calculated at apprentice rates—thirty percent of the profit. But you still owe me quite a bit for bullets, plus the cost of the Lingxi interface, so we’ll talk after you’ve paid that off!”
“Wait, why so sudden?”
Feng Xue had no objection to paying back his debts and whatnot. The main thing was this receiving patients business…
“You’ve already got enough theoretical knowledge. What’s so sudden about letting you receive patients to build up practical experience? But let me make this clear first: the people who come here for treatment are all broke. If you quote too high a price, don’t blame me for slapping you in the face.”
A teasing smile appeared on Old Jiang’s face. Feng Xue immediately nodded hard and said,
“Of course! If I can’t cut costs, that’s my problem. As long as you’re there to back me up!”
As he said this, Feng Xue sat down at the consultation counter. Although the process was more or less the same as when his hands had itched before and he’d wanted to try operating, in essence, it was already completely different.
Back then, he had been an absolute dabbler. Now, although he still couldn’t be like Old Jiang, who could casually wipe his hand over something and complete the machining of a part, he could at least spend some time replicating some of the old man’s previous operations.
The only thing that left Feng Xue helpless was that there weren’t many customers today. The whole morning passed, and only three came in, one of whom he couldn’t handle himself. But this was the norm. After all, in a slum like the Rust Zone, unless it was serious enough to affect work, who would come see a doctor?
“What are your thoughts?”
After another customer left, Old Jiang suddenly asked. Feng Xue hesitated for a moment before saying,
“Machining parts on demand is too inefficient. It wastes too much of the customer’s time. I can’t be like you and only start making the appropriate part after seeing the patient. Instead, I should preprocess some common, easily damaged parts first. Then, after seeing the situation, I can finish them according to the specific need. That would make things much more efficient.”
“Very good!” Old Jiang was quite satisfied that Feng Xue could realize this problem so quickly. He immediately took out a pile of dismantled old parts and placed them on the table. That wretched look on his face made Feng Xue seriously suspect that the old man had only allowed him to receive patients because he wanted him to make parts!
Still, he also knew that when working as an unlicensed doctor in a slum, experience was perhaps even more important than knowledge. In his mind, he treated every part as an experience pack for accumulating hands-on skill, and only then did he feel a little better. For a moment, he even wanted to write a program—no real functions needed, as long as it could display an experience bar in his field of vision.
Just as he was pondering the feasibility of this plan, a burst of disorderly footsteps suddenly rang out. Feng Xue’s first reaction was to think that some family members were carrying a patient in for emergency treatment. But immediately after, Old Jiang’s voice sounded beside his ear:
“The footsteps are wrong. Too heavy. Stay alert for a bit, and don’t run your mouth!”
“Ah, okay!” Feng Xue was still thinking over what Old Jiang meant when a group of people wearing exoskeletons, standard-issue helmets on their heads, and pitch-black firearms in their hands had already appeared outside the transparent shop door.
“Is this… the regular army?”
Feng Xue was instantly startled. Over the past garbage days, he had followed Old Jiang in receiving quite a number of scavengers, including no shortage of cleaners, mercenaries, and other sorts who lived by the blade. Among them, there had even been individuals with a more imposing presence than these black cans. But no matter which of them it was, none had the unique aura this group of black cans possessed.
It wasn’t killing intent. It wasn’t pressure. It was more like a matter-of-course certainty that whatever they did was correct.
Feng Xue’s mind was somewhat muddled, and at that moment, the shop door was pushed open.
The black can in the lead sent out an electronic credential through the public network, then said in an unquestionable tone,
“Military police search!”
“We will fully cooperate!” Old Jiang immediately responded, while his hands nimbly took out a storage chip. Compared with a direct transfer, the credits stored in this kind of chip could not be traced, making it suitable for all sorts of occasions that required “greasing palms.”
The black can in the lead reached out and took the chip, and his tone became slightly more amiable.
“We are pursuing a fugitive and need to inspect this place.”
“No problem.” Old Jiang immediately stepped aside. He did not even lead the way, instead pulling Feng Xue to stand off to the side and signaling for them to search on their own.
The leader was quite satisfied with Old Jiang’s behavior. He gestured for a few team members to watch them here, while the rest quickly entered the shop and began inspecting it.
A moment later, the group returned to the front counter. The man in the lead nodded to his teammates before saying to Old Jiang,
“If you discover a seriously injured person, report their information immediately! Once verified, there will be a hefty bounty!”
“Absolutely! Absolutely!” Old Jiang nodded vigorously, then stuffed another chip over. Only then did the black can in the lead wave his hand and leave quickly with the soldiers.
“What’s going on?” Feng Xue looked at the departing black cans and couldn’t help thinking of the cleaner from that morning. Old Jiang, however, said indifferently,
“If the military police have come down into the slums, it’s probably because someone important up above ordered it. I’m afraid this isn’t some simple matter.”
At this point, Old Jiang glanced at Feng Xue and added,
“These blackskins are all equipped with high-performance detection devices. If they want to search, let them search. Don’t move on your own, no matter what. Also, the amount you put on the chip is a matter of technique. Even ordinary military police members make 600 credits a day, so they don’t lack that bit of money. Stuffing them cash is more about showing obedience. Give too much and it looks suspicious, of course, but you can’t give too little either. Best to base it on your own income and give around ten percent of monthly profit…”
Old Jiang rambled on, explaining the issues to watch out for when dealing with the military police. Hearing this, Feng Xue curled his lip and said speechlessly,
“So basically, they’re here to collect protection money?”