Volume 02: Charon's Ferry Boat

Two days later, Shi Shanyan was undergoing a re-examination in the Segregation Zone. The re-examination included a personal statement section, which required him to use beautiful and positive language to describe his aspirations for a good life. Shi Shanyan drew a few goose eggs on the paper and said, "I'm turning it in."

The system couldn't detect any words on the paper and replied, "Please answer the question seriously, SN 01AE86."

Shi Shanyan twirled his pen and said, "I'm done."

The system was silent for a moment, then said frankly, "If you want to eat eggs, I can file an application for you."

"I'm bored," Shi Shanyan said, leaning against the back of his chair, his gaze cold. "Hurry up and fucking let me out."

"You can go outside," the system said. "The lawn in front of the building is always open to you."

"Am I a dog that needs to go piss on the lawn?" Shi Shanyan retorted with a smile.

"Please refrain from doing so, SN 01AE86," the system said, its light flashing red. "Although no one lives here, this is still a public..."

"I said I want out," Shi Shanyan said, holding his pen upright and rubbing his temple with it as he stared at the system. "Don't pretend you don't understand."

The system's database could never cope with how difficult Shi Shanyan was. It felt a human "headache" and tried to adopt a gentle communication style, like a guidance counselor: "The vacation is a good time for rest. You can sleep, or read a book."

Shi Shanyan leaned forward and said to the system, "Shut up."

Yan Junxun had just received a replacement temporary ID from the Supervisory Bureau. He'd rigged up a Communicator for himself and was sent out by Panda to buy groceries. He was wearing a white T-shirt today, standing in the market near his home, so hot that his forehead was beaded with sweat.

Panda was nagging Yan Junxun endlessly through the earpiece: "Don't buy the yellow vegetables. The news said they were stockpiled in an empty lot next to the Coke Plant, covered in coal ash. You'll get sick if you eat them!"

"Mn," Yan Junxun said, holding a reusable bag. "I know."

"And the Southern Front Alliance's ironwater bean sprouts," Panda said, washing dishes in the kitchen, swishing its paws in the water. "That stuff is a mutation, it's almost as hard as a block of iron. You won't be able to eat it at all."

The market was packed with people. Yan Junxun felt so hot he could barely breathe.

The Docking Area was truly unsuitable for human habitation. The dust was severe in the scorching summer, and although everything looked lush and green, if you removed the system's data overlay, the place was nothing but a desolate wasteland. The smokestacks of the Coke Plant had no days off, constantly spewing thick smoke.

Yan Junxun grew increasingly unhappy about being kicked out of the house. He hated standing in crowds, especially noisy ones like this. A fishmonger was killing a fish for a customer by slamming it on the ground. The fish wasn't dead yet; it stubbornly flapped its tail, nearly jumping onto Yan Junxun.

Yan Junxun wanted to go home.

"After you're done with the groceries, remember to stop by the milk shop," Panda said, oblivious to what Yan Junxun was going through. "I ordered fresh milk and some yogurt curds."

Yan Junxun turned sideways to let a plump woman pass. She squeezed her way to the front of the vegetable stall and asked loudly, "How much is the bitter melon from the Light Rail District..."

The call was cut off. A few minutes later, the Communicator rang again.

Yan Junxun held the reusable bag high, answered the call, and said, "I know already!"

"...Is that so?" Jiang Lian paused hesitantly. "Did he go to your place?"

"Who?" Yan Junxun turned away, frowning. "Shi Shanyan? No, I haven't seen him. If he broke out of prison, it has nothing to do with me."

"He smashed the system cameras in the Segregation Zone," Jiang Lian said quickly. "Did you forget to put the Restraint Lock on him?"

Yes, he had forgotten.

"Call Su Heting, or Fu Chenghui, anyone from Black Panther will do." Yan Junxun clutched his bag and glanced behind him. The vegetables he needed to buy were almost gone. If he didn't get them, Panda would definitely nag him to no end when he got home. He just wanted to hang up quickly. "He has a tracking chip on him."

"Do you think he'll run?" Jiang Lian was doubtful and uncertain about Shi Shanyan. "I can't get in touch with..."

"He won't run," Yan Junxun said without hesitation. "I'm hanging up. I'm on vacation."

Without waiting for Jiang Lian's reply, Yan Junxun hung up. Buying groceries was the mission he was now fighting for with all his focus. Never mind Shi Shanyan running away—even if the Docking Area fell, he had to buy his groceries first!

Resources were scarce everywhere after the war. Panda had once said it used to worry about supplies. The situation was much better now; at least no one would go hungry. But fresh vegetables all came from developed regions, shipped out from vegetable production bases on a monthly schedule. If he missed today, the vegetable transport ship wouldn't arrive in the Docking Area until next month.

Yan Junxun couldn't squeeze in. He also saw fruit for sale, but it was all expensive. In the midst of this fierce scramble, the Communicator rang again. Yan Junxun ignored it; he just wanted to get this over with quickly. By the time he squeezed out of the crowd, his white shoes were covered in scuff marks.

Yan Junxun, clutching the heavy reusable bag and drenched in sweat, stopped in front of a vending machine. He wanted a beer, but he couldn't hit the right spot on the light screen while prodding it with his pinky. He saw out of the corner of his eye that no one was around. After a moment of silence, he said softly, "I want—"

"Welcome," the vending machine purred with a cute meow, speaking in a moe-girl voice. "Please use kitty language to activate voice interaction~"

Damn it.

Yan Junxun knew it! The vending machines in this area had added a voice interaction mode to cater to the otaku population in the residential district. It was a gimmick from a few years ago that was now outdated. Only little kids would stand here and "meow meow meow" back and forth with a vending machine; mature adults just tapped the screen directly.

Yan Junxun refused to give in. "Please give me a can of beer."

The vending machine played a cheerful sound effect, and the moe-girl voice continued, "Activation failed! Please repeat after this little vendor, meow~ 'Oh, you cute little vendor, please grant me a can of super-refreshing summer ice-cold beer, meow!'"

This is insane!

Yan Junxun took a step back, only to be driven forward again by the sun. He stood there for several minutes, finally gritted his teeth, and, suppressing his shame, said, "...Meow..."

A hand suddenly reached out from behind Yan Junxun and tapped the light screen.

The vending machine said dejectedly, "You've given up on interacting with this little vendor. This little vendor has sadly lost a cute little kitty."

A beer clanked down. The vending machine was still whimpering. There was no one else around, only the oppressive heatwave. There wasn't even a breeze.

"Did I interrupt you?" Shi Shanyan poked his head out, teasing, "Ah... you can continue meowing."

Yan Junxun's expression was indescribable as a blush crept up from the roots of his ears and his neck. He turned his head, his eyes glistening as if he were about to cry, but his tone was ferocious, "...I'll kill you!"