Naming Technique of the Night - Chapter 62

Chapter 62: 62, A net

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Qing Chen stood on the tarmac, the whirring turbines of the hover car stirring up a tumultuous wind.

Suddenly, in the distance.

A light rail was moving through the sky between the cities, its densely packed windows emitting white light, like a white steed.

More wondrous still, it was traversing through the dense buildings.

It wasn’t passing through the gaps between the buildings, but rather, holes had been hollowed out in the bodies of these tall structures. The light rail seemed to shuttle through tunnel after tunnel, piercing through the buildings.

This city mysteriously came to life.

“Since you can come out at any time, why stay in Prison No. 18?” Qing Chen suddenly asked.

“Because the prison is quieter than here,” Uncle Li Dong replied without a direct answer.

As the waiter turned to lead the way, Qing Chen asked in a low voice, “It’s already one in the morning; is the restaurant still open?”

Uncle Li Dong gave him a look: “The life of Night City is just beginning.”

“Doesn’t anyone need to sleep? Don’t they have to work tomorrow?” Qing Chen wondered.

“Qing’s Family previously discovered a unique function of the neural connection technology; it can simulate the neural wavelengths outside the brain, helping people enter deep sleep. Just two or three hours of sleep each day is enough,” Uncle Li Dong explained.

“Are there no side effects to this technology?” Qing Chen asked.

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“Of course, there are,” Uncle Li Dong said: “After using this technology for a month, even if you wanted to sleep in, you wouldn’t be able to.”

“That’s a bit harsh,” Qing Chen reflected, for although he worked hard, he occasionally enjoyed the pleasure of sleep.

“Technology is a double-edged sword; no one knows whether it brings a blessing or a curse to humanity,” Uncle Li Dong said to Qing Chen. “For example, the Li Family once developed genetically modified fast-growing timber, corn, and soybeans, which resulted in swathes of land that could no longer grow plants thirty years later. Deer Island Financial Group, which originally had a thriving livestock industry, discovered after gene modification that their transgenic livestock lost the ability to reproduce after three generations.”

As humanity continually reaps the benefits of technology, it also continuously suffers from the backlash of intelligence.

Uncle Li Dong continued: “When humans no longer needed to sleep as much, the efficiency of production did not really improve, but it led to a void in the human spirit.”

Of course, Qing Chen felt that the Outer World hadn’t yet suffered such fierce backlash, possibly because they were not as aggressive as the Inner World.

At that moment, Qing Chen saw a huge flower boat sailing between the buildings under his feet, its illuminations full of splendor yet emitting a sinister aura.

He couldn’t understand the totems on the boat at all.

Uncle Li Dong followed his gaze: “Don’t bother looking, it’s a procession ship of the Mechanicus. Every second it ejects liquid oxygen methane, it uses the sweat and blood of its followers.”

As he spoke, Uncle Li Dong’s face was expressionless.

The two sat in an exquisite and luxurious restaurant, where an elegantly dressed waiter served a plate of braised pork to Uncle Li Dong.

There was only one pair of chopsticks.

“What about mine?” Qing Chen was puzzled.

“You’re wearing a mask, you can’t eat,” Uncle Li Dong nonchalantly picked up a piece of braised pork.

Qing Chen: “…”

After a while, Uncle Li Dong looked up and smiled at him: “Hungry?”

“A bit,” Qing Chen said.

To his surprise, Uncle Li Dong actually called over the waiter: “Bring him a bowl of Zhajiang noodles.”

“Right away, Mr. Li,” the waiter responded politely.

Even though Sunlight Pavilion never made Zhajiang noodles.

Once the noodles were ready, Uncle Li Dong dismissed everyone and then said to Qing Chen, “Take off your mask and eat the noodles.”

Qing Chen mixed the noodles while looking out the window.

This must be one of the tallest buildings in City No. 18. As he surveyed the area, only two distant towers stood with it against the sky.

“That’s a building owned by the Qing’s Family and the Li Family,” Uncle Li Dong explained.

Qing Chen looked down again; among the dense buildings, interconnected corridors and walkways spiraled, making the whole city look like a galaxy, with lights and neon signs as the stars within.

Occasionally, a hover car would fly by, its jet flames resembling shooting stars.

At one moment, standing in the skyscraper on the 88th floor, Qing Chen felt as if he was suspended between heaven and earth, vast and magnificent.

“Is this the most beautiful scenery in the 18th city?” Qing Chen asked.

“Eternal Building is built atop six towers; it’s because of those that it has its current height and beauty. If you disregard the graffiti, urine stains, sewage, and crime on the lower-level buildings, then yes, this is the most beautiful view,” Uncle Li Dong replied, “Today I brought you to see the most beautiful side. If there’s another chance, I can show you the ugliest side of this city.”

As he spoke, Uncle Li Dong pointed to the side: “There’s a telescope next to the window, provided specifically for diners to enjoy the view. You can have a look.”

Qing Chen walked over to the telescope.

He saw the never-ending flow of vehicles on the ground and the playful, raucous crowds.

Some were spray-painting strange but trendy images on walls, while the white smoke from a barbecue restaurant and flags from a pub fluttered in the wind.

Suddenly, he saw two black helicopters slowly descending onto the plaza below, from which more than twenty combat team members jumped out, rushing into the Eternal Building in tactical formation.

There were also two mechanical dogs rapidly running alongside them.

These men were armed to the teeth, carrying weapons Qing Chen could not name.

They were clearly coming for Uncle Li Dong.

Qing Chen turned to look at Uncle Li Dong, who just smiled calmly and said, “Let’s eat first.”

“Sure,” Qing Chen said, concentrating on his noodles.

Now Uncle Li Dong seemed more interested: “Not afraid?”

“It’s the first time a teacher has taken a student out to see the scenery; surely you wouldn’t let your student die halfway through the trip. Otherwise, that would be a rather unqualified teacher,” Qing Chen said matter-of-factly.

Uncle Li Dong’s hearty laughter echoed outward.

He was truly growing more and more fond of Qing Chen.

At this moment, inside the building, the more than twenty combat team members split into two groups—one took the elevator towards the 87th floor, while the other entered a safe escape passage to search on foot.

Outside the Eternal Building, the two Black Kite-01 armed helicopters once again ascended towards the sky.

They hovered slowly around the 70th floor of Eternal Building, ready to provide heavy fire support at any moment.

In a temporary military base farther away, more than ten armed helicopters and airships had just taken off.

Even farther away, Qing’s Family’s ‘Land Cruiser’ large airship began to load new solid fuel pods amidst the bustling logistics personnel.

All of this was like a net that was tightening gradually.

At the very moment when the net was tightening, a squad leader on the communication channel calmly said, “Stop, check the charge status of each mechanized limb on the spot and report back to me.”

After speaking, he signaled to all the tactical squad members in the stairwell of the security passage to enter a silent state, temporarily shutting down all communication systems.

Once he was certain that no sound would carry back to the command center, he said calmly, “Boss Chen specified that if we want to live through the night, we shouldn’t fire a single shot. Remember, don’t drag anyone else down.”

“Squad leader, I don’t understand,” one of the combat team members hesitated.

The squad leader said, “You’ll understand later. Repeat, do not fire; repeat, do not fire.”

But before they could reconnect their communication devices, a silent shadow silently descended among them on the staircase.

Fierce, powerful.

…

Third update