From Terra to Terra, the Star Emperor's Holiday

A supply point with the flag of the Star Empire.

“I hope the price isn’t too outrageous.”

It smelled so good that the hungry Stan couldn't move any further. He could only hope that the little blue card in his hand would be useful, or that the other party would not make things difficult for him or blackmail him.

"This is supply point 1-103. Please take out your ration card."

The synth spoke in a businesslike manner. In theory, no one would come to buy food and supplies at this time because the city had not yet started to verify the identities of residents and issue temporary identification documents.

What is the best way to stabilize an occupied area? Quickly establish order and provide a stable supply of water, food and daily necessities.

However, because Si Ye had to deal with those annoying scavengers in Night City first, the time for collecting identity documents was set in the afternoon.

“…Gurgle…I, this is all I have, is that okay?”

It smelled so good. Looking at the several cans and instant food boxes opened as exhibits in front of the synth, Stan couldn't help swallowing his saliva. He didn't know what a ration card was, so he could only hand over the small blue card in his hand, wanting to try it.

"Extra credit? Sure. The balance on this card is 53. What do you want?"

It really works.

Stan raised his eyebrows, a little surprised. He was clearly prepared to bribe the other party.

"Um, is this synthetic meat? Is this synthetic rice?"

Because he was not sure about the purchasing power, Stan could only carefully choose an ordinary-looking instant rice bowl, the kind with a bag of meat and a bag of rice, which were heated and mixed together before being eaten.

"The meat is minced meat bricks made from ground meat from the agricultural planet P-133. The rice is also a product of that agricultural planet."

The synth's mind was clearly elsewhere on the public network, with only a few threads processing work, resulting in an extremely stiff tone.

"Then this."

Stan could only regard the synth's words as some personal quirk, or the quirk of this company or organization called Empire. His stomach couldn't stand it anymore, so he chose this.

"3 quotas consumed, 50 remaining. Please keep the extra quota storage card safe. It cannot be replaced if lost. To avoid financial loss, please obtain an Imperial Temporary ID card as soon as possible and store your quota."

“…a bit too cheap…”

Holding the steaming hot instant rice bowl, Stan took the little blue card again. The fragrant food in front of him seemed too cheap. Doesn't it mean that he can eat ten meals of this kind of food during one overtime work?

This reminded Stan of the one-dollar pizzas with unknown toppings on the street. As a journalist, he knew that the mortality rate of eating that thing was almost 4%.

But he was too hungry, and the food in front of him was too delicious. Even if he would die after eating it, Stan still wanted to eat it first.

The autonomous robot responsible for security slowly flew to Stan's desk. Before Stan could do anything, a bottle of water popped out of its stomach.

There is also water to drink, which is really thoughtful.

To be honest, when the hot food entered Stan's mouth, the rich fat mixed with the aroma of meat made Stan stunned. Why is the taste a little different from those synthetic meats?

The rice bowl was a bit spicy and hot. Star looked at the water without any label, loosened his tie, unscrewed it without any image, and poured it directly into his mouth.

This water…

It was only after he drank half the bottle that Sta realized something was wrong.

As a popular host, he once had the honor of accompanying the top executives of a TV station to a high-end dinner. At the dinner, apart from expensive alcoholic drinks, the only thing available for those bigwigs to drink was pure "real water".

This "real water" refers to drinking water from the few remaining unpolluted water sources on the earth, that is, mineral water.

In Night City, a 500ml bottle of "real water" can be sold for 10 euros. The taste is completely different from the filtered groundwater commonly found in Night City. Stan will never forget the taste after drinking it once.

吨~

Stan, who didn't believe it, took another big sip and broke out in a cold sweat.

There is undoubtedly "real water" in this bottle. The other party would not have made a mistake, right? Or maybe the other party just wanted to do this and then make him owe a huge debt so that it would be easier to exploit him?

Stan was ready to face his fate, but until he finished his meal and drank all his water, no one, whether the synths or the autonomous machines around him, paid any attention to him.

Oh, it’s not that no one paid attention to him. The self-discipline machine came forward and took away the disposable lunch box that he had licked clean.

"..."

Stan was silent for a long time, then suddenly rushed in front of the synth who was managing this supply point.

"Can I have another one?"

Again, in this cyberpunk world, the most natural thing most people have ever drunk is breast milk.

Stan, who suddenly had some real food, felt like he had opened the door to a new world and wanted to turn into a glutton and eat his fill.

"Of course you can. The Level 1 Supply Regulations do not limit the purchase limit for temporary citizens. However, as a friendly reminder, please do not exchange your precious water and food for currencies other than the Imperial ration currency."

There are only 700 million official residents in Night City, and if you include undocumented illegal immigrants, there are only 2000 million. There are only 100 billion people in the world.

Even if they were allowed to eat as much as they wanted, the food and supplies they consumed would not be as much as those destroyed due to warehouse explosions in the agricultural world.

Moreover, abundant supplies make it easier to win the hearts of the people, so Si Ye naturally did not impose any restrictions on them.

It doesn't matter even if someone resells the goods, because the empire's currency and contribution points will soon replace the world's economic system. I hope those who resell the goods will not be angry to death when they see the piles of euros in their accounts that they can't spend.

"Scalping? Only crazy people would scalp!"

Stan did have this idea. After all, ordering a meal comes with a bottle of "real water", which costs 10 euros.

But on second thought, it is really not worthwhile to fight for 10 euros to avoid being poisoned by drinking filtered water. Now Stan just wants to greedily eat more real meat and real rice.

Until the food was so full that his throat was full, and his self-discipline machine repeatedly reminded him not to overeat, Stan, feeling satisfied, staggered away from the supply point.

What people fear most is contrast. If you have never seen light, you can naturally tolerate darkness, but on the contrary...

All I can say is that using clean water and food to win the hearts of the world's middle and lower class people is really a surefire way to win over the hearts and minds of the people.

On the way back to the apartment, Stan passed by many supply points.

Although the food supply was still the same few kinds, Stan suddenly felt that it would be great if he could eat normal meals and drink normal water every day, work overtime and even get overtime pay.

Even if the company returns to Night City, he has the courage to pick up weapons and help the Empire drive the company out again.

Stan tightly grasped the little blue card, which was now the most precious thing in his heart. He was now the most loyal supporter of the Empire.

...

Chapter 243 A New Day in Night City (Part )

In Night City, Stan wasn't the only one in a trance.

Mann was sitting on the sofa in the afterlife, holding a box lunch in a daze.

After seeing the war in Night City, Mann originally wanted to take his team members to the Badlands to hide for two days to avoid the limelight, but Sasha argued and brought them back, and then they all fell into confusion together.

They were just harvesting wheat outside the city all night, so why did the situation in Night City change so suddenly?

Although I felt that Si Ye was extraordinary when I saw him at that time, he actually defeated a series of large companies such as Arasaka, Military Technology, and Zeta Intelligence, and truly snatched Night City from the companies and the Night City government.

Compared to the outrageous things like occupying Night City, the things Rebecca told them about Nyx being able to fly, Nian being able to manipulate metal, the legendary mercenary Adam Hammer being melted into a pool of goo, and Arasaka Prince Yoshinobu becoming Nyx's subordinate... were actually not that exciting.

Normally, Night City is ruled by a stronger order, and marginalized people like Mann who rely on chaos for a living should not be happy. After all, without chaos, mercenaries like them will have no food to eat.

But after eating a box lunch from the Star Empire, Mann suddenly felt that this was fine. If the quality of life in the future remained at this level, with a guy as big as him, he might be able to become a good bricklayer.

"...I think I've screwed you...Night City is about to switch to a new economic system...The Euro is going to be worthless."

Because Sasha had been exposed for the hacking, she had the permission to log into the Empire's public network. Looking at the various policies and regulations about the [3. Cyber] world, that is, this world, on the public network, she looked at Mann and others with an embarrassed expression.

"what?"

Pyrrha exclaimed beside her.

"I'm also planning to get two of Zeta Intelligence's latest technological arms!"

“…The euro is no longer usable? What should we do then?”

Dolio was enjoying her lunch box, but when she heard that the money could not be used, she suddenly looked up. If she had no money, she would not be able to eat. This was a very serious problem for her who came from the Animal Gang and could eat because of physical reasons.

"Everyone, please be patient. The Empire will process temporary identities for everyone this afternoon and distribute compensation to you all."

In the next life, the synthetics are also in charge. They kill a few disobedient troublemakers, and provide free lunch boxes made of natural ingredients. With the double combination of candy and sticks, the unruly mercenaries are turned into huskies.

“The ratio of this compensation is…”

The people in this world have been cheated so badly by companies that it seems difficult for them to have confidence in any large organization. Even though the Empire has just provided these people with food that they may never eat in their entire lives, they are still wary of the Empire.

"It will definitely not be converted based on your savings. This world's backward production capacity is meaningless to the Empire. However, the approximate amount of compensation will ensure that you can maintain this standard of three meals a day."

The world's monetary system is a piece of shit. Corporations have a monopoly on pricing, making the value of money a bubble that bursts at the slightest touch.

If it were announced that Euros could be exchanged for Night City's temporary ration points, Si Ye believed that those crappy companies would definitely dare to frantically inject money into the accounts of the remaining employees of Night City, intending to disgust the Star Empire of unknown origin.

Because it was so shitty, after the company was wiped out, the world's economic system would definitely collapse for a while, so Si Ye simply did not allow the local economic system to be integrated into the imperial model, and directly carried out drastic reconstruction.

"As for the prosthetic replacement service this gentleman mentioned, the Empire has more advanced and superior prosthetic technology, but it's not currently available to temporary residents. However, the Empire's medical services are free. Based on my scans, you all have some issues with your bodies and prosthetics. You can seek help at the newly completed medical center."

The synth also responded to Pira's previous complaint, saying that the Empire's prosthetic technology was undoubtedly far superior to that of this world in terms of manufacturing technology, materials science, and applied technology.

However, in the Empire, because of the existence of psychic powers, prostheses have always been just prostheses, a tool to fill the body's defects.

No one would ever use prosthetics as a weapon, and no one would replace their arms or legs to increase their combat effectiveness. Even synths don't do this.

However, after seeing the various cyborgs in this world, the Imperial Academy of Sciences said that the inspiration was good, but it was a bit weird.

Therefore, it won't be long before Pira, if he accumulates enough ration points, will be able to exchange them for an Imperial-made prosthetic body that has no mental oppression and is more powerful and functional.

"So we leave Night City? I heard that the Star Empire doesn't forbid people from leaving."

Qi Wei leaned back in her chair, her expression hidden in the smoke from her cigarette.

"...No...we stay,"

Mann, who usually prefers to discuss major issues, was decisive this time. He took off his sunglasses, his eyes sparkling.

"What are we fighting for as marginalized people? Money? Fame? No, no, no. We live for the stable life that comes only with money and fame. I have a feeling this is an opportunity. Night City right now is a chance for us to live the life we ​​long for."

“…You’re the boss, you have the final say.”

Qi Wei thought for a moment, put out her cigarette, and looked at the empty lunch boxes on the table, feeling a little depressed.

"Is it that delicious?"

"It feels like the meat in here is real meat, not synthetic. Qiwei, you really should try it."

Dolio put down the empty lunch box somewhat embarrassedly. Because of some bad experiences Qiwei had in the past, the mouth and jaw under the mask were actually just a simple feeding hole, so she couldn't eat solid food.