The arrival of the military police was like an insignificant interlude, stirring up little trouble for the cybernetic clinic. But for the Rust District, things did not seem quite so simple. The most immediate change was that the number of injured patients coming to their door had begun to surge.
Thanks to the increase in customers, Feng Xue gained a great many chances to practice, along with his share of the business. Even the debt on Old Jiang’s side had been mostly paid off. If he had to say there was anything bad about it, it was that the customers were not exactly easy to deal with.
“Hoo…”
After swiftly finishing the cybernetic calibration and waiting until the customer had left, Feng Xue finally let out a long breath and muttered, somewhat exhausted,
“Are there really that many three-star cybernetics in the Rust District? Or did some new technology come out recently that caused cybernetics to depreciate?”
“What are you thinking? If it were over in Da Yan, that might actually be possible. But in the Ge Union, even if some new technology came out and made costs plummet, the retail price would absolutely never fall. Capitalists would only monopolize the new technology, then keep making ten times the profit at one-tenth the cost.”
Old Jiang curled his lip in disdain, then tossed Feng Xue a data cable, signaling for him to connect to the network.
As the data stream linked up, a forum immediately appeared in Feng Xue’s mind. At the same time, the old man’s voice sounded by his ear:
“This is Saint Luotan’s intercity darknet forum. You can exchange some content that isn’t too sensitive but would either cost money or be banned from circulation in the Ge Union. You can basically see all the big and small news in the city here. The trading section can even let you buy things like cybernetic drivers. But remember this: posts about sensitive materials, technical documents, and the like are basically all bait. Don’t believe them!”
“Oh.” Feng Xue nodded, thinking to himself that this was probably similar to the resource websites from his previous life. It was fine to watch some videos and browse gossip inside, but one absolutely must not click on ads like “First Online Casino” or “Meet a Teacher for One Yuan.”
After instantly completing the mental substitution, Feng Xue suddenly felt that the forum had become much more familiar. His gaze swept over all sorts of titles, and he soon found what he wanted to know—
“Damn. So the military police wiped out the gangs in the Rust District?”
“Mm. Those bedbugs rolling around in garbage heaps had gotten used to throwing their weight around down here. They actually tried to act tough with the military police, and then they got flattened.” The old man spoke in a subtle tone, but Feng Xue frowned slightly—
“But it says here… it was because the big shots backing those gangs fell from power…”
“Bullshit!” Old Jiang gave a denial without the slightest hesitation.
“If it were gangs in the city, then yes, there really would be people above them. But this is the garbage district. If they had someone above them, how could they be digging through dirt in a place like this? Black gloves exist so people don’t dirty their own hands when doing dirty work, but what dirty work in the garbage district would require some big shot up above to get involved? Even if they really did have backing, at most it would be a city gang. The vassal of a vassal is not my vassal, understand? There are plenty of idiots on the darknet who pretend to know what they’re talking about. When you read the news, just look at the conclusion. Ignore those analyses.”
“I get what you mean.” Feng Xue nodded. “So these customers… were injured by the military police?”
“You’re overthinking it. Since the military police made a move, how could they possibly leave anyone alive?” Old Jiang waved his hand and said,
“These are all people fighting over territory. Once the original gangs were cleared out, naturally newcomers would fill the gap. The Rust District will be very chaotic lately. If you have nothing to do, it’s best not to go out.”
“Do I look like someone with any desire to go outside?” Feng Xue was utterly speechless. Ever since he had transmigrated here, the farthest place he had gone in these past few months was the neighboring warehouse, all right?
“That’s true.” Old Jiang did not dwell on the issue and instead changed the subject to remind him,
“For these customers lately, just make sure you provide basic treatment. Don’t talk too much. If the other party tries to get close to you, try not to respond either. Before the situation stabilizes again, don’t let them think you can be recruited, or there’ll be no end to the trouble.”
Feng Xue was someone who listened to advice. Not to mention, he had never been the sociable type to begin with. Taking advantage of the fact that there were no new customers at the moment, he sank his consciousness into the data network and began searching for a name—
“Skullsplitter Gang.”
This was the enemy he had encountered the first time his exploration failed. It was not that he wanted revenge or anything; he simply wanted to know whether this gang truly existed.
Since that bald, burly man had been able to say something like he had been in the game for decades, even if he was just some small fry, he should still have had some reputation in the local garbage dump. If Feng Xue could find him, that would prove that the garbage dump really was beside the Rust District…
“All right, no such gang found. Looks like even if it isn’t an instance fabricated by my golden finger, it probably isn’t in the same city, or even a nearby city.”
Feng Xue looked at the darknet, which had not a single related piece of information, and then searched for Scrap Iron Alley. But what left him helpless was that this name was just like place names such as Ma’anshan or Willow Village in his previous life. He could not say it was unique; in fact, it could practically be found everywhere.
After arriving in this world for several months, he had also gained a rough understanding of its social structure. Although it was called a nation, the Ge Union was more like a polity formed from a large number of relatively independent city-states. Each city had a population exceeding ten million and relatively independent laws. The most ridiculous part was that there was not even any intercity public transportation. The vast majority of people would never be able to leave the city where they were born in their entire lives.
In other words, as long as he could confirm that the garbage dump his golden finger sent him to was not in Saint Luotan City, then no matter how big a commotion he caused there, it would not be traced back to him.
Although his current strength was weak, with the help of his golden finger, sooner or later he would be able to stir up something big. Now that he had this understanding, Feng Xue could not help feeling much more relaxed. At the very least, he did not have to worry that causing trouble inside his golden finger would implicate his main body.
…
It was another Monday. Feng Xue got up as usual, planning to make preparations for the afternoon’s garbage recycling. The old man had also already gotten up by then. Seeing Feng Xue busying himself in the shop, he casually pointed toward the back and said,
“Things nearby have been pretty turbulent lately. There’ll probably be fighting over at the garbage dump. Go tidy up the wards and operating room. We might have to admit a few inpatients this afternoon. Once you’re done, rest for a bit. You’ll probably be busy this afternoon.”
“Oh.” Feng Xue had no reason to doubt him and quickly went up to the second floor. As he cleaned the rooms, however, he felt an irrepressible agitation in his heart.
Ever since he had begun earning income, cobbling together cybernetics had become more and more aboveboard. He had also created several more characters to enter the garbage dump, all made from cheap goods, mainly for the sake of figuring out the rules.
One had entered on Sunday night with the thought of, “Tomorrow is garbage day, so there probably won’t be much competition today.” But only after entering did he realize that he was not the only one who thought that way.
Another had entered in the early hours of Monday, intending to take advantage of the moment when the garbage dump was closed to pull off a little trick. But after being smashed to death by falling garbage from the sky, he finally understood why the garbage dump had to close during discharge.
Aside from that, there had been a few times when he entered on a whim just to take a look. Without exception, he had been killed out every single time.
He had always been thinking about going in on garbage day itself to take a look, but because every garbage day was when he was busiest, the matter had been delayed until now. Today, however, he had finally gotten some free time.
He swiftly finished cleaning the wards and operating room, then returned to his little workshop before seven o’clock. Taking out a set of materials he had already saved up, he began crafting a new character.