Helping each other with countless me.

Chapter 511: When you're poor, no one cares even in the bustling city; when you're rich, even distant relatives come calling.

Li Zhongren placed his hand on the doorknob and gently squeezed it, leaving a handprint on the metal handle.

"Please come with me."

The hostess at the door took a deep breath as she looked at the clear palm lines.

She knew that she had encountered a true superhuman. Although Boss Wakako managed various underground industries near Fusang Street in Dog Town, most adventurers would go through the back door. There was only one explanation for someone going through the front door like this: the other party was not a local.

She wouldn't provoke such a powerful outsider, because if something went wrong, he could just walk away and she would be the one who suffered.

So, she decisively led the man inside, while her eyes glowed with a pale blue light, activating the communication system inside her prosthetic eye. She then transmitted the information here to her immediate supervisor, the shop manager for the day, in text format.

Then, the supervisor asked her to lead the man to the underground area behind the pinball store.

That place is the trading center for the entire Fusang Street, the center of all the black market industries.

It's like a huge trading market or bar.

The queen of Japan, Wakako, lives here year-round and almost never leaves.

"Beep beep beep~~"

Li Zhongren walked down the corridor into the underground.

At that moment, he was unaware that his image had already appeared on the screen in front of Wakako.

Along both sides of the corridor, various detectors frantically sent out various waves to scan Li Zhongren's body.

However, all fluctuations were directly distorted and rebounded when they approached Li Zhongren, as if they had hit the hardest wall in the world.

Therefore, the body scan data of Li Zhongren on the screen was a blurry mess.

"It seems to be a powerful outsider."

Sitting in a rocking chair, Wakako, who looked to be in her sixties, held a Japanese-style palm-leaf fan in her hand, covered her mouth, and chuckled softly a few times.

"Should we ambush him, boss?"

Why would you ambush someone?

Wakako glanced at her loyal bodyguard standing to the side.

"There is no information about him in the database. This person either changed his facial features or was born a wilderness wanderer."

"However, no similar person was found in the big data analysis model. At the same time, he did not have the air of a wilderness dweller. He was more like someone who was somewhat unfamiliar with this world."

"A cryogenically frozen person??"

The burly bodyguard standing beside Wakako immediately brought up this term.

The term "cryogenically frozen" refers to people who were frozen for various reasons before the three World Wars, mostly due to terminal illnesses, hoping to be rescued in the future.

For example, the most famous case was that of the "King of Trams" before World War III. He developed cancer due to excessive drug use in his youth, so he was cryogenically frozen. Moreover, he built his own cryogenic device.

It is buried deep underground and has a nuclear reactor to maintain its power.

The theory is that it can operate for ten thousand years without being destroyed.

He actually survived until the technological explosion following World War III.

He not only cured his cancer, but also rebuilt his tram kingdom in the post-apocalyptic cyber world, which can be considered a mythical miracle.

Since then, some frozen people have been revived from time to time.

Moreover, perhaps it was because of the three wars that occurred while the world was frozen, and the great changes in the world.

Most of these cryogenically frozen people possess remarkable superpowers.

This once prompted many companies to want to study the underlying principles.

The result is that this thing is like gold created by a supernova explosion. It was a benefit that only cryogenically frozen people could enjoy at the moment of the apocalypse. Now that the world environment has stabilized, even if they are frozen, it is useless.

He must be a cryogenically frozen person. However, unlike other cryogenically frozen people, he has access to information. Otherwise, a cryogenically frozen person who has only recently awakened would find it difficult to adapt to this post-apocalyptic world.

"Please invite him to my office."

"Yes, boss!"

Li Zhongren naturally sensed the various rays emitted by those instruments, but unfortunately, these rays were all blocked by the superhuman bio-force field.

After all, Li Zhongren's body is now vastly different from that of a normal human. His bones and blood contain a massive amount of energy, which are his trump cards. How could he allow outsiders to easily probe them?

Pushing open the door, Li Zhongren was greeted by a lively scene.

And several huge screens hanging from the ceiling.

Various tasks are displayed on a scrolling screen.

"Please come with me."

At this moment, a burly man walked over. Judging from his attire, most of his body was cybernetically enhanced, including his eyes.

Despite such extensive cybernetic enhancement, the person's aura remains very stable.

He was also quite ruthless.

The reason is simple: this cyber world also has cyberpsychosis.

Its definition is similar to that of Cyberpunk 2077, but not exactly the same.

Cyberpunk is caused by too many prosthetic bodies, which leads to cyberpsychosis.

This is also true of the world.

However, the difference is that in this world, even if you only have one prosthetic body, there is still a certain chance of developing cyberpsychosis.

Also, if you have a prosthetic body installed and have been running for a certain period of time without developing cyberpsychosis, then in your current state you will never develop cyberpsychosis.

The answer given by scientists around the world is quite simple.

Cyberpsychosis is actually a problem of interaction between hormones, nerve conduction, and the interaction between flesh and inorganic matter.

Simply put, the human brain is a very fragile organ. If the stimulation from an external prosthetic is too intense, the brain cannot handle it and goes insane.

But if you can handle it, then there's absolutely no problem, it's that simple.

This is one of them.

Secondly, the interaction between organic and inorganic matter, that is, the interaction between prosthetics and flesh and blood, especially at the neural level, and even more so at the brain nerves, may lead to cell lesions.

There are vaccines available to prevent this disease, but they are not effective for everyone.

With a certain probability, even just installing a prosthetic body could lead to cyberpsychosis.

Therefore, the higher up in this world, the less likely it is to install cybernetic implants.

Since superpowers exist in this world anyway, the higher-ups prefer to use genetic engineering to transplant something similar to the X gene into themselves.

For those at the bottom, there's not much to say. Take this man in front of us, for example. He gambled his life, and if he won, he would become a powerful cybernetic warrior.

Following in his footsteps, Li Zhongren arrived at Wakako's office.

Although it's called an office, it's more like a Japanese izakaya (Japanese pub).

Wakako was sitting on the tatami mat, and on the tea table, she poured two cups of sake.

Li Zhongren finally got to see this gang leader from Fusang Street.

A sixty-year-old woman.

The man was very old, but one could still vaguely see that he must have been beautiful when he was young. However, he was a little curious. With the technology of this world, it wouldn't be difficult to have plastic surgery to maintain a youthful appearance. He wondered why this gang leader didn't do it.

"Please sit down. May I ask your name?"

"Li Zhongren".

"So, you are a cryogenically frozen person?"

"Ah."

Li Zhongren nodded; this was the perfect excuse.

"Welcome to Fusang Street. So, what is your purpose?"

"There's not much to do, I'm a bit lost, so I think I'll just go back to my old profession."

Li Zhongren shrugged. "I used to be a mercenary, so I'm planning to go back to my old profession."

"Hehe, of course we welcome you."

Wakako smiled and drank a cup of sake.

"However, it's not that I don't trust you, but nowadays employers prefer to hire people they know well. So, I wonder if you could demonstrate your abilities? I will assign you tasks based on your capabilities."

"So, do you have a complete set of evaluation criteria?"

"Yes, professional organizations have very rigorous testing, but in our gang system, we generally use big data network models."

Wakako said.

"Based on the data collected by the model, a level will be automatically assigned to you, and once you can complete three tasks of the corresponding level, this level will be officially valid across the entire network."

"can."

"Then please go ahead."

"it's here?"

"Yes, control is also a measure of one's own power."

"Right."

Li Zhongren thought for a moment and looked at the bodyguard beside him.

"Do you have a gun? Can I borrow one?"

"What kind of gun do you want? I have energy guns and physical bullet guns."

"The latter is more straightforward."

"Ok."

The bodyguard pulled a revolver from his pocket.

"Sir, this is my modified revolver. It uses elephant-caliber bullets and has a special bullet tip, so its penetrating power is comparable to... comparable to the Barrett sniper rifle before the apocalypse."

"learn."

Li Zhongren picked up the revolver, opened the hub, and looked at it. There were five bullets, each about the same thickness as an adult's penis.

All I can say is that it lives up to its name as an elephant bullet; this shot would probably blow the elephant's skull open.

"Hu~~"

He took a slow breath.

Li Zhongren pried open the firing mechanism.

Then, he pointed the gun at his temple.

"Bang!!"

The next moment, a muffled thud resounded, causing the entire room to tremble slightly.

A bullet flew out and struck Li Zhongren directly in the forehead.

Time slows down!!

In that instant, Wakako's bodyguard activated the time deceleration device.

Of course, what is called time slowing down is actually a way to greatly enhance human neural response and processing capabilities through the circuitry inherent in the prosthetic body.

Therefore, in the bodyguard's eyes, the bullets seemed to move in slow motion.

Amidst the fireworks, a bullet spurted from the muzzle and struck Li Zhongren in the temple.

After that shot, ripples appeared on Li Zhongren's temple. Then, the powerful alloy bullet seemed to have struck some extremely hard object, deforming directly into a metal disc that stuck to Li Zhongren's forehead.

be quiet
The only sound was the metal disc falling to the ground with a thud.

Wakako looked at Li Zhongren's temple; there wasn't even a red mark there.
"sharp."

Wakako clapped her hands.

"Your actions have truly broadened my horizons."

A moment later, she spoke again.

"The big data analysis results are in; your rank has been preliminarily determined to be at the city level."

Towards people.

The village.

To the town.

Opposite city.

To the country.

This is the simplest way to categorize adventurers in this world: so-called combat power is actually influence, not just melee ability.

Therefore, this level only indicates the level of ability you have, but it does not mean that you should leave to work alone. The specific circumstances need to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.

This is why the classification system is so crude.

In fact, only some ancient sects have more detailed classifications.

However, this division is not for the purpose of fighting, but for the purpose of better improving one's realm.

To put it bluntly, those so-called realms are more like a professional title for people in ancient sects.

"Okay, I'm quite satisfied, so give me a task."

"No problem, please wait."

After learning that the other party was a powerful expert at the level of a "pillar of strength," Li Zhongren noticed that the attitudes of those around him improved considerably.

It just goes to show that when you're poor, no one cares even in the bustling city; when you're rich, even distant relatives come calling.
Wakako's eyes flashed blue light, wide open, when someone pushed open the door, carrying an unopened cell phone.

"Considering that you have just awakened, have no identity, and have nowhere to stay."

"Therefore, I have decided to give you a cell phone. This thing can be used to register an identity in Dogtown. After registering an identity, you can claim the house I am giving you."

"You're so generous?"

Ha ha"

Upon hearing this, Wakako couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Your Excellency, what makes you think I, a mere woman, could possibly become the boss of Fusang Street?"

"Why?"

Li Zhongren asked curiously.

“My business was inherited from my husband, who died in a conflict. Everyone thought that Fusang Street would disband, but I survived. The reason I was able to survive was simply that I was never stingy when I needed to be generous.”

"sharp."

Li Zhongren couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

It was a short, simple sentence, but Li Zhongren knew that this woman must have paid a huge price for this territory.

But this also proves that this woman has a very strong intuition.

Because not everyone in this world is grateful; many more are insatiable ingrates. If she didn't have the ability to recognize and utilize talent, and was simply generous, she probably would have been absconded with the money long ago.

Right now, she's investing in herself.

"Thank you very much."

Li Zhongren didn't hold back either.

He sought out such a local strongman to gradually understand the world and its underlying logic, and then decide what to do next.

Right now, this woman named Wakako is a good business partner.

(End of this chapter)