NOVPUB64: Chapter 64: Waking Up (Please add to favorites, follow, and vote for the monthly ticket)
64: Chapter 64: Waking Up (Please add to favorites, follow, and vote for the monthly ticket)
“Exotic beast?”
He Ao frowned and looked at Roger, “Where did you get it from?”
According to Federation law, anyone caught smuggling an exotic beast into a Barrier City could be facing at least twenty years in prison.
“Picked it up next to the lab,” Roger shrugged nonchalantly. 𝓃ℴ𝓋𝓹𝓊𝓫.𝒸𝓸𝓂
He casually picked up a nearby alloy scalpel, and with the blade dancing between his nimble fingertips, he deftly split the ‘Lizard’ into three neatly separated parts of flesh, bone, and skin in a blink.
Then he set the scalpel aside and continued explaining,
“This can’t really be considered an exotic beast, just an ordinary creature that has undergone a slight mutation in a polluted environment.”
“Polluted environment?” He Ao raised an eyebrow.
He clearly remembered Roger just said it was picked up next to the lab, “What kind of shady stuff are you up to?”
“Don’t look at me like that; you know my lab is close to the sewers of Dawn City.
Although the sewage system of the Barrier City is sealed, you can always find some interesting little things in there.”
Roger chuckled and shrugged, “What’s the matter, Old Geezer, trying to be a paragon of justice?
Getting hot-blooded at your age?”
Memories from Regit told He Ao that Roger’s idea of ‘close to’ probably meant he had directly drilled a hole beside the sewer.
He didn’t press on the matter.
Those who lived comfortably in the underground world often had their secrets, and prying into someone else’s with relentless curiosity was considered impolite.
Even if Regit had a decent relationship with Roger, it wasn’t to the extent where they shared secrets, and Roger obviously did not wish to elaborate.
So He Ao just noted this clue in his mind and casually picked up one of Roger’s cigarettes from the table, lit it, and put it in his mouth, “How long have I been asleep?”
“Three days,” Roger squinted at him, “Old Geezer, your body really is quite remarkable.
Other elderly folks who suffered injuries like yours would’ve died long ago, yet here you are, able to stand here after only three days, lively enough to chat with me.”
Three days,
He Ao paused, this was a bit unexpected; in fact, his wounds had almost completely healed by now.
Although Regit’s body was strong, with age and the body’s deterioration, injuries of this magnitude would usually require at least ten to fifteen days to recover.
This time, he was back on his feet in just three days, which was abnormal.
He Ao didn’t know if it was due to his own constitution.
Previously, Ande’s body also seemed to recover very well.
He took note of this detail and looked at Roger, continuing to ask,
“How much?”
“No charge, just let me study your body,” Roger said with a smile.
“Not interested,” He Ao said with the cigarette in his mouth, leaning casually on the table, “Give me a quote.”
His wounds were mostly healed, but big movements could still pull at the freshly mended tissue, causing a clear pain.
Hearing He Ao’s refusal, Roger yawned listlessly and said offhandedly,
“For bandaging, suturing, surgery, anesthesia, and the topical medicine, plus the glucose injection while you were unconscious, give me five thousand three hundred.”
“I didn’t need anesthesia while I was unconscious, it’s not like you to use it on me,” He Ao spoke with the cigarette still in his mouth, “Your homemade medicine caused someone else an infection that led to amputation before, it’s not worth that much, three thousand eight.”
“Elderly at your age and still so stingy,” Roger leaned back in his chair, “Alright, three thousand eight it is.
Transfer it to my account.”
Seeing how readily he agreed, He Ao was not pleased but rather taken aback, and then cursed under his breath,
“You’re asking too much, kid.
Even though you’re young, you’ve got quite the heart of darkness.
Do you have any unopened wristbands?
Give me one.
My wristband got smashed the night I was attacked.”
Underground doctors without a business license can’t operate legally, so they usually have a front.
Roger’s clinic is disguised as an intelligent wristband store, where he treats patients and incidentally sells intelligent wristbands.
In fact, not only his wristband, his original clothes had also been destroyed in the fight, and now he was clad only in bandages.
“Old Geezer, always pinching pennies,” Roger grumbled as he got up.
“That’s why no old ladies like you.”
“Back in my youth, I’ve had my share of fun,” spat He Ao.
“Hurry up, give me one, the most expensive.”
“Take it, if you want it.”
Roger went to the front of the store to find He Ao the simplest style of intelligent wristband and slapped it on the table.
He Ao immediately took up the wristband and opened it.
It was the latest model O37 intelligent wristband from the Nord Consortium, designed with simplicity, affordably priced and primarily aimed at students and the elderly.
The wristband was worth about two hundred federal coins, which was essentially a successful indirect bargain.
He Ao strapped the wristband on his wrist, borrowed a set of clothes from Roger, and slowly left the clinic.
Roger was taller than him, so the clothes were a bit too large, but it didn’t impede his movement as he began walking towards home.
Three thousand eight, that was about two months’ salary as a library administrator, but Roger had indeed given a very good price, even negotiable.
If he had gone to a regular hospital, first the ambulance dispatch would cost over a thousand federal coins, then add the treatment and various other charges at the hospital, and after deducting the health insurance, he would have to pay at least ten thousand federal coins.
So, seeing an underground doctor for treatment, apart from a slightly higher mortality rate, was preferable in every way.
The rental where Regit stayed was close to both Roger’s underground clinic and Dawn City Library, about a fifteen-minute walk away.
The location was at the boundary between Aston District and Crown District, teetering between prosperity and chaos.
He Ao passed the place where he had killed the Mech Cultist that night.
The crater left by the high-performance battery explosion was still clearly visible, though the surrounding traces had been cleaned up long ago.
Pedestrians hurried by, vehicles bustled with noise.
No one talked about the incident, nor were there any police investigating nearby.
In these chaotic districts, death was as common as anything, and the tax revenue of Aston District couldn’t support a police force substantial enough to maintain stability.
Therefore, the district government would prioritize protecting high-end residences and average common homes, as their inhabitants were the main source of tax revenue for the Aston District.
As for the chaotic lower-tier districts, the police could only do so much with limited resources.
Mech Cultists are often those who have undergone Mechanical Modifications without registration, mostly lurking in the lower strata of society, labeled as dangerous individuals.
If it were an ordinary citizen who accidentally died, the police might investigate seriously.
But a lowly mechanized madman, someone without even a healthcare card number?
His death would just be another page in the file of unsolved cases.
This is Dawn City.
The city seen by Regit and the city seen by Ande was the same city, yet not the same city.
He Ao passed through the crowd and turned into a narrow alley, a shortcut that was secluded and often dwelling ground for gang members getting high, but they generally didn’t cause trouble for no reason.
As he slowly made his way through the alley, a group of unfamiliar young men suddenly blocked his path.
