The Undying Transmigrator

Chapter 4: Entering the City

The self-driving off-road vehicle slowly approached the toll station at the city’s outskirts.

It was deserted, but when the vehicle automatically stopped, a drone floated over smoothly.

The drone was painted deep blue, round-bodied, with a large “eye” at its center, looking harmless and unthreatening.

However, Mo Wen still felt a bit tense. After all, the messy corpses piled in the backseat clearly weren’t something a normal driver would be transporting. Meanwhile, K Ai remained exceptionally calm, patiently waiting for the drone’s scan.

The drone emitted green waves of light that swept over K Ai’s entire body. His cybernetic eye flickered a few times in response.

“Beep. During this entry, 0.02 credit points have been deducted from your account. The funds will be used for road maintenance and expansion. For details on fund allocation, please consult the Corporation’s official website.”

Next, the drone scanned the corpses in the back.

“Beep. Multiple corpses incomplete, cybernetic eyes missing, morphology difficult to scan.”

“Please lift the corpses and position them as vertically as possible in front of the camera, ensuring cybernetic eyes are located at the head.”

“Your cooperation will help the deceased’s families receive confirmation of death sooner and accelerate related procedures.”“If dissatisfied with this service, please scan the toll station QR code with your cybernetic eye or log into the related website to invest in the ‘Dream Corporation’—‘Xisuo City’—‘Border Autopsy Service’. Current project funds: 14.2 credit points. Estimated requirement: 15 credit points to purchase Autopsy Officer Model 3 drone.”

Naturally, K Ai had not invested. He opened the car door and obediently dragged the corpses out, showing them to the drone as instructed. For the more fragmented corpses, he carefully tried to prevent them from falling apart further. For those without cybernetic eyes, the drone completed registration based on their shapes and K Ai’s descriptions.

Mo Wen roughly understood the situation, but the behavior before him was far milder and more abstract than the capitalist forces he remembered.

Wait—how exactly did local laws handle murder?

Regardless, since there was no trouble at the moment, Mo Wen decided not to rashly question these abstract procedures.

After all the corpses were scanned, it was his turn.

The drone’s green light swept over Mo Wen. “Beep. Cybernetic eye unrecognized. No related information found in the local resident database.”

“Speculation: Extreme Purist from afar.”

“Hello, are you intending to attack this city?”

Mo Wen was uncertain. “Uh? No.”

The drone paused for a moment. After a while, another drone emerged in the toll station—an older model with a large screen in the center, looking much more outdated.

“Please spread your hands and prepare to receive an identity chip.”

Mo Wen spread his hands, and the old drone shot a small chip into his palm.

“You have been granted temporary stay qualification in the outer ring of Xisuo City. You may use this chip for transactions or services requiring identification within the city.”

“Since you have not undergone the basic popular modifications, it is recommended to purchase an external linking device at the toll station for convenient use of city services.”

On the old drone’s central screen, three head-mounted devices resembling AR glasses appeared. Their stock was low, and all were priced above 5 credit points.

Considering the earlier 0.02 credit deduction for entry, the 15 credit points needed for the autopsy drone raised via crowdfunding—it didn’t seem cheap.

Mo Wen looked at K Ai, trying to seek advice. He wasn’t sure if he should spend money here; after all, there was no mandatory purchase, and maybe there were cheaper devices sold by resellers inside the city.

K Ai looked at the drone’s screen and waved at Mo Wen. “Hold on, don’t rush to choose. These external devices are too old; after nationwide modification popularization, they stopped producing them. This is at least twenty years old. Let me look online and find a buddy who knows old stuff to check it out.”

Mo Wen patiently waited with the drone.

After a moment, K Ai pointed at the middle one. “Dream Model I, Dream Corporation’s classic masterpiece. I can’t speak for other companies, but Dream Corporation is a district-level mega-corporation that also controls this city. Their products are definitely reliable—you get what you pay for.”

“The others are brands wiped out during the company wars. Even if you throw money at them, you won’t find repairs.”

“You’re new to our city. Your identity chip has no funds and even owes a debt for activating it. I’ll buy this device for you. Remember, you owe me 5.15 credit points, no interest.”

Without waiting for Mo Wen’s answer, K Ai’s cybernetic eye scanned and immediately purchased the drone.

Mo Wen awkwardly watched the drone return to the toll station, retrieve the device, and hand it to him.

He guessed this world was a cyberpunk-type setting where money came first, but for those not entirely corrupted by capital, life-saving favors might still hold more value than money.

He wasn’t sure, but at least that was the current reality.

Mo Wen awkwardly inserted the identity chip into the AR glasses-like external linking device, scanned himself according to the device instructions, then sat back in the car and put on the device.

It was quite easy to operate, and with his good learning ability, he adapted quickly and went straight online.

K Ai wasn’t surprised. This friend indeed needed to understand this world more intuitively through the network. Meanwhile, he continued the autonomous driving, setting the destination to the best middleman nearby—the “Broker.”

The outside environment shifted from desolation to beauty.

Orderly buildings, clean and tidy streets, rows of greenery… Compared to the outside, the city was always so wonderful.

Just thinking about seeing family and friends made K Ai feel a wave of relief. The pulsing in his brain gradually ceased with the free wireless charging.

At this moment, the gang leader’s communication came through. “K Ai, I have received news of Tucker’s death. Now, tell me exactly what happened.”

K Ai replied in his mind. “A conflict broke out during the deal. The other party had no money and tried to shoot us. Brother Tucker fought back and killed them all, but two of our brothers also died.”

“Later, a drifter appeared. The other party misunderstood the situation and accidentally killed Brother Tucker and the others but spared me.”

The gang leader sounded somewhat dissatisfied. “Misunderstood the situation? Tucker lost his temper, right? Tell me, what exactly was the misunderstanding?”

K Ai didn’t tell the whole truth. He tried to shoulder more responsibility. “I wanted to test the sneaking drifter and used the cybernetic eye flash to signal Brother Tucker…”

The gang leader was exasperated. “You idiot don’t have x-ray vision installed. With your counter-surveillance, you couldn’t have acted before Tucker. Fine, if you want to take the blame, take it. I’ll tell their families that you caused their deaths.”

“When the time comes, you handle their problems. Whether they want to kill you, cut you up, or have you support them for life, you endure it all.”

“Then it’s that drifter’s turn…”

“According to the car’s dashcam, you’re taking him to the Broker. Are you planning to let him trade our goods with the middleman?”

“No matter what, bring the stuff back, or I’ll get it myself.”

K Ai quickly agreed, “Understood! Task will be completed.”