Unconventional security

East African Bridge?

The two were immediately intrigued when they saw the mission details, which included a map and route – it was all so easy to obtain.

"What exactly is this AI tax?"

Chen Bei was puzzled, and Ye Zhixue also looked bewildered.

They've been awake for three to five years now, and they've never even heard of this word before.

"It seems we need to find out more about the upper city first; it's completely different from the lower city."

Chen Bei sighed softly; he hadn't processed his interview identity at Security 001.

It is still unclear whether it will compare facial information with a database; the safest approach is to avoid it altogether.

Anyway, Ye Zhixue has already succeeded and knows the route to the target location, so just follow her. She can also help him complete the interview task.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket. I hope Ta Yezhixue can get in by himself. He can also go to the research institute or the Kashgar caves to investigate.

After all, they had limited time; the caravan had to leave the upper city in five days.

"To Sector D?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Bei glanced around briefly.

There are newsstands on the street, but they look like high-tech little rooms from the future; who knows how they'll be used.

To avoid causing further trouble, Chen Bei nodded and decided to go to Zone D to check the information.

Taking a ride to District D, you can clearly feel the difference from District B as you get closer; it's definitely not the same as District D in City 103.

The environment remained as clean and tidy as ever, but there were noticeably more people on the streets.

There are street vendors selling grilled skewers, even though the grills are fully automated and temperature-controlled.

Several children were playing football, even though the goal was an intelligent device that automatically scored.

You can even see several elderly people sitting on benches basking in the sun, even though the chairs automatically adjust the temperature.

These numerous signs of activity gave him a different sense of life compared to Area B.

It is said that a place should have the warmth of everyday life and the festive atmosphere of the New Year, and the D area has a strong sense of human presence.

In addition, Chen Bei also noticed other differences among these people.

The people here all have white light above their heads.

It wasn't that thin, almost dissipating white light, but rather a real, living human soul.

Some people are stronger, some are weaker, but everyone has them.

But in just a moment, the white light dissipated.

This was his initial grasp of soul power; he could use it somewhat, but only for a few seconds.

"People in Zone B and above have weak souls." Chen Bei suddenly realized, "They rely too much on technology, to the point that their souls are atrophying."

Ye Zhixue didn't understand, but she didn't ask.

"Let's go, let's find a place where we can connect to the internet."

Chen Bei spoke, and the two got out of the car and walked towards District D. The streets and alleys were full of pedestrians. After walking for a while, they saw a newsstand.

The sign above reads "Information Newspaper," and in the lower right corner are a few small characters: "(88 per copy)."

"Boss, do you have any overall information documents about the Upper City area?"

Chen Bei spoke up, explaining that the newspapers here were different from those outside; there wasn't a single page of paper, but instead, USB flash drive chips.

Or it could be a holographic tablet with a code decomposition button, truly achieving "read and then burn".

"188 city-state coins. Buy this set if you're entering the upper city for the first time. It's updated in real time."

The shopkeeper took out a holographic tablet, which was only the thickness of a piece of glass and the same size as a normal tablet.

"If you have any specific keywords you want to search, just enter them into the search box here."

Chen Bei thanked him, paid for two meals, and he and Ye Zhixue each had one. They then found an open space to sit down.

They need to learn a lot. In addition to the four points, they also need to investigate the Earth's core, space programs, resurrected humans, and even IRC-IV.

"Sharpening your axe won't delay your woodcutting."

Chen Bei murmured, took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it to his lips. Just as he was about to light it, an environmental robot suddenly walked over.

"Sir, smoking is prohibited in this area."

"You can go to the smoking area 5000 meters away, or pay 500 city-state coins per second to purchase an instant air purification service."

Chen Bei glanced at it.

White light.

This android is completely clean, without a trace of white light, indicating that it is just a piece of code.

It costs 500 city-state coins per second, and hundreds of thousands to finish a cigarette.

Immediately, he put the cigarette back in his pocket and said in a low voice.

"Alright, when in Rome, do as the Romans do."

Seeing that Chen Bei had stopped smoking, the environmental robot then left.

Chen Bei opened the holographic tablet and began to review the information.

The Upper Town, being the most technologically advanced area, is at least centuries ahead of the Lower Town in terms of technology. Major decisions in the Upper Town are made through a council vote.

[The highest-ranking human councilors are also the founders of human cities; there were 37 in total, and 17 remain.]

Chen Bei's eyes were sharp as he looked at the names and photos of the 17 people. These were the members of the Adaptive Project.

Unexpectedly, only 37 people remained after the disaster, and 20 people died during that time.

"These 17 people must all be at least five-stage genetic unlockers, right?"

Chen Bei silently calculated in his mind that the number of his own gene locks could not be small if he had lived for so long, not to mention that he had survived under those conditions.

Maybe they're all awakened individuals with six gene locks.

"It turns out that a group of terrifying old monsters with such high combat power are trying to capture me..."

Chen Bei couldn't help but feel a little alarmed. He knew there were human councilors, but he didn't know their exact number.

Information that is easily found in the Upper District, and is not even considered a secret, is harder to find in the Lower District than climbing to heaven.

[After the cataclysm, all of humanity's industries were paralyzed, including the satellite industry, which prevented us from transmitting information efficiently.]

However, we unearthed a special substance from deep underground. After scientific research, we discovered that this substance could achieve the same effects as the satellite industry, thus enabling the initial restoration of human communication.

"Is that why people on the space program are still safe?"

This information resolved a question that had been bothering Chen Bei. Logically speaking, with human technology developing so rapidly, space should definitely be a renewed center for industry.

If we really need to find a reinstated figure, the people from the space program might be the first to slip up.

Why would they go to such lengths to find a few resurrected individuals among the hundreds of millions of people in the world?

Now it all makes sense; it turns out that humanity hasn't even explored beyond space yet.

Just as Chen Bei was about to scroll down further, a message popped up at the top.

[The latest research from the institute shows that although IRC-IV was stolen, significant progress has been made in the production of fiber wafers.]

[IRC-IV injections are not yet stable, and side effects are still unknown. We hope the thief will return the product voluntarily and receive lenient treatment.]

[Fiber optic chips will undergo a comprehensive upgrade, filling the gaps in traditional chips in areas such as wearable devices, bio-implants, and flexible systems. This will provide key technological support for emerging industries such as smart fabrics, brain-computer interfaces, and virtual reality, accelerating the arrival of a ubiquitous computing era where chips are "everywhere."]

Increased environmental tolerance, adapting to extreme cold or space environments...