The black market is underground in the city.
Not figuratively, but literally underground – 30 meters below the ninth slum is a vast labyrinth of abandoned subway tunnels, bomb shelters and underground pipe networks.
This is a place outside the law, a place where the sun cannot shine, and it is also ... A place where hope and despair intertwine.
Zhou Xing walked through narrow passages, dodging patrolling mechanical guards and preying gang members. The old ghost showed the way in his mind, like an experienced guide.
"Turn left... Yes, that vent... Be careful, there are two thugs with electromagnetic sticks in front of you, go around..."
Finally, they came to a rusty iron door.
On the door, a strange symbol was painted in red spray paint - an eye bound by a chain.
"It's here." The old ghost said, "The territory of the 'one-eyed doctor'." He is the only person in the area who dares to do 'illegal brain-computer surgery'. "
Zhou Xing pushed the door open.
Behind the door is a simple operating room. The air was filled with a pungent smell of disinfectant water mixed with the smell of blood. In the center of the room, on a dilapidated operating table, a yellowed plastic sheet was laid.
A middle-aged man sits in the shadow of a corner. He wore a white coat stained with oil, a black blindfold over his left eye, and a mechanical prosthetic eye with a red glow in his right eye.
"Yo, are there any guests?" The one-eyed doctor raised his head, and the mechanical prosthetic eye scanned Zhou Xing, "It looks ... is a desperate little guy. "
"I'm going to have surgery." Zhou Xing said bluntly.
"What surgery?"
"Brain-computer interface... Upgrade. "
The one-eyed doctor was stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter: "Upgrade? Just you? "
He stood up, walked up to Zhou Xing, and scanned the back of Zhou Xing's head with his mechanical prosthetic eye at close range.
"Let me see... Oh, a second-hand scrap chip, still a three-year-old model. That's it? Do you still want to upgrade? "
"It's not about upgrading that chip." Zhou Xing said, "Yes... Access what's inside. "
The one-eyed doctor's laughter stopped abruptly.
The light of his mechanical prosthetic eye flashed a few times, as if analyzing something.
"You... Do you know what's in there? His voice became low.
"I know." Zhou Xing looked him straight into his eyes.
The two looked at each other for a few seconds.
The one-eyed doctor suddenly turned around, walked back into the shadows, and took out a syringe from the drawer.
"Listen, boy. I don't know who you are or where you came from. But I can tell what's going on in your head... It's dangerous. "
"Very dangerous."
"If you insist on accessing it, there is a 70% chance that you will die on the operating table. There is also a 20% chance that you will become a vegetative state. There is only a 10% chance that you will survive and ... Get the power you want. "
"Are you sure you want to gamble?"
Zhou Xing did not hesitate.
"I'm sure."
The one-eyed doctor shrugged: "Okay, that's your life." Lie on the operating table. "
Zhou Xingzhao did it.
The surface of the operating table was cold and biting, which made him shudder.
The one-eyed doctor began to prepare surgical instruments. The instruments all looked rudimentary—rusty scalpels, hand-welded electrodes, and even a ... Electric screwdriver?
"No anesthesia." The one-eyed doctor said, "This kind of surgery, you must stay awake." "
"I know."
"It will hurt."
"I know."
"Let's start."
The one-eyed doctor attached the special electrode to the chip position on the back of Zhou Xing's head.
"Old ghost, are you ready?" Zhou Xing asked consciously.
"Ready, boy." The old ghost's voice was extremely serious, "Remember, no matter how painful it is, don't pass out." Once your consciousness is disconnected, the rabies will get out of control, and when the time comes... The gods can't save you either. "
"I understand."
"Okay. So... Get started! "
The one-eyed doctor pressed the switch in his hand.
Boom!!
A powerful electric current instantly ran through Zhou Xing's entire nervous system!
That pain is beyond the limits of human language.
Zhou Xing felt as if his skull had been sawn open little by little by a blunt saw, and every nerve was torn out and roasted on the flames. His eyeballs fluttered wildly in his sockets, and his throat roared like a beast.
"Hold on!" The old ghost shouted in his head, "Direct the current! Let it flow into the chip! Wake up the rabid dog!" "
Zhou Xing gritted his teeth hard, his gums oozing blood. He desperately concentrated, directing the violent current towards the chip on the back of his head.
The first time... failed.
The current rushed through his neural network, causing more pain.
The second ... failed again.
Zhou Xing's body began to convulse violently, and the operating table was shaken with a thud.
"Damn! He can't hold on!" The one-eyed doctor's face changed drastically, ready to cut off the power.
"No... Don't stop..." Zhou Xing squeezed out a few words from between his teeth, "Come again... Once ..."
"Are you crazy? You're going to die! "
"Again... Once !! "
Zhou Xing's eyes had turned blood red at this moment.
What burns in it is an unyielding will, a madness in a desperate situation, and a destiny that wants to be torn apart... Ruthless.
The one-eyed doctor was shocked by his gaze.
"... As you wish. "
He flipped the switch again.
This time, the current was stronger and more violent, like an out-of-control throntodragon, roaring and rushing into Zhou Xing's nervous system.
Zhou Xing let out a heart-wrenching scream.
But at the same time, his consciousness finally touched the depths of the chip... That sleeping black existence.
[Contact Confirmation ...]
[Authorization ... Pass ...]
[Swire Rabies Virus... Unblocking Progress: 1%... 5%... 10%...]
Boom!!
An indescribable force gushed out from the chip, instantly filling Zhou Xing's entire body!
The power rushed through his veins, jumped through his nerves, in every cell of him... Roared.
The pain is gone.
Instead, it is an unprecedented ... Clarity.
Zhou Xing felt that his perception was magnified ten or a hundred times. He could hear the footsteps of mice outside the operating room, feel the fluttering of every speck of dust in the air, and even ... He could "see" the flow trajectory of the current in the one-eyed doctor's body.
This is ... What does it feel like?
"Succeeded..." The old ghost's voice trembled with a hint of trembling, "You did it, boy... You really did it..."
"Now... Feel it... Your power...
Zhou Xing slowly sat up from the operating table.
Under his skin, black lines were faintly visible, like some kind of living creature. His eyes, one remained scarlet, and the other returned to normal black.
"How does it feel?" The one-eyed doctor asked cautiously.
Zhou Xing did not answer.
He just raised his hand and gently ... clenched his fists.
Snap!
The air burst in his palm.
"Very strong." Zhou Xing said, his voice low and calm, "But... Not enough. "
He stood up and walked to the door.
"Wait!" The one-eyed doctor shouted, "... your surgery fee."
Zhou Xing stopped and looked back at him.
That glance made the hair on the one-eyed doctor's body stand up.
That's ... The look of the hunter.
"Money, I'll give it to you." Zhou Xing said, "But not now. "
"Wait for me... After getting back what belongs to me. "
After saying that, he pushed open the door and disappeared into the darkness of the underground labyrinth.
In the operating room, the one-eyed doctor slumped on a chair, gasping for breath.
"Madman... he muttered, "that kid... It's a madman..."
"But ..."
The corner of his mouth suddenly arose a meaningful smile.
"Maybe... This era... Such a madman is needed. "
(Chapter 4 End)