Is Spring Coming for the Intelligence-Type?

Yumu District. Along the edge of a concrete wall overgrown with vines and riddled with bullet holes, a sharp whistle cut through the air. The snow wolf crouching on the ground and gnawing at a corpse didn't even have time to react before a javelin impaled it, pinning it viciously to a nearby tree trunk. Fang Chang, gripping his mechanical compound bow, stepped forward to inspect the prey. It was thoroughly dead. When his eyes fell on the short spear that had punched straight through the tree trunk, he couldn't help clicking his tongue. "This is way too badass!" The trunk was easily as thick as a thigh. If he had used an arrow, he wouldn't have been able to penetrate it without a charged shot. Actually, even with a charged shot, it likely wouldn't cut it either—unless he swapped to an arrow forged from solid steel, maybe. Gale Force looked at his right hand, dumbfounded, and muttered under his breath, "...Is it really this strong?" "Brother Feng." "What?" "Use the other hand to wipe your ass from now on." "Get lost!" Gale Force stepped forward and yanked at the javelin. Only half of it pulled free; the other half had snapped off and remained stuck on the far side of the trunk. As for the mutant snow wolf, there was no need to check—it was dead as dead could be. Fang Chang said, "The Strength of that right arm has to be at least thirty points. It feels like it could punch through steel plating. Open your mind a bit—don't just limit yourself to javelins. Throwing knives, flung arrows, rocks, bricks... Holy crap, I suddenly feel like Old Bai's Strength-type is a total trap. You can just slap on a cybernetic arm and completely outclass him." "Not necessarily," Gale Force said, shaking his head. "I remember Brother Guang mentioning in the group chat a while back that gene sequences hit milestones every ten levels. Strength-types will probably unlock exclusive skills. Otherwise, compared to cybernetics, it really would be pretty lackluster." Strength-types weren't even the worst off—worst case, they could just install a cybernetic arm too. It was the Mutated-type players who were truly suffering. They had an innate debuff that made them bad at handling complex machinery, not to mention their pathetic Intelligence stats. If skills couldn't compensate for that shortcoming in the late game, the Mutated-type would be totally useless. Gale Force figured there would definitely be new developments once they reached level 10. "True," Fang Chang nodded. "Now that you mention it, that Bloodhand Clan boss... almost broke through right before he died." "Yeah. And... I have a feeling this prosthetic implant has some sort of Intelligence requirement," Gale Force mused, looking at the broken half of the short spear in his hand. "I don't notice anything during normal use, but if I crank up the power output, I feel a slight dizziness... I'm not sure what causes it, and I haven't seen any mention of it on the official website." Rubbing his chin with interest, Fang Chang suddenly asked, "Speaking of which, what's the power source for your cybernetic arm?" Gale Force froze for a moment. "Not sure, but there's a charging port here." With that, Gale Force rolled up his sleeve to show the port on his arm. Fang Chang peered at it for a moment, then said, "There's more than one port. One on the forearm, another on the upper arm... I doubt they're all charging ports." Gale Force: "What do you think they are?" Fang Chang: "Look at the port on the shoulder. Those two ridges on the outside are clearly mounting slots. My guess is it's a neural interface for plugging in external attachments. Maybe down the road you can install... uh, another arm?" Gale Force: "..." Another arm? Doctor Octopus? Didn't seem impossible. Then again, he didn't have a third arm in real life. If a nonexistent arm got installed, how would he even control it... Wait. Gale Force suddenly looked up at Fang Chang. "Do you remember the official website's description of the Intelligence-type? I recall it saying that the Intelligence stat affects the operation and number of connected neural devices." Fang Chang nodded. "I was just thinking about that. Cybernetic modification might be the true combat path for Intelligence-types. If the store starts selling prosthetic implants later on, the Intelligence-type's golden age might finally be here!" The golden age of the Intelligence-type... Gale Force's eyes suddenly went a little misty. It felt like he had waited forever, and finally, it was within reach. Fang Chang: "Still, you'd better be careful. If I drop my mechanical bow, at least I can pick it back up. If you die... even if they recover your arm, reattaching it sounds like a nightmare." Gale Force gripped his right arm and said calmly, "Don't panic. I'll take good care of my Kirin arm." Amused by his friend's deadpan, smug expression, Fang Chang chuckled. "You'd better. Oh, by the way—try not to go flex on the forum later." "...Why?" Looking at Gale Force, who clearly intended to show off on the forums, Fang Chang sighed faintly. "Bro, do you know how many players were heavily injured last night and had to be mercy-killed? I'd guess at least a quarter of the hundred and seventeen." A cybernetic arm! Never mind the players who had been finished off; even players like him, with minor in-between injuries that just needed a bandage, were practically dying of jealousy over this outrageous RNG-god luck! Thinking of the players shouting for the nerf hammer, even the usually unflappable Gale Force felt a sudden pang of nervousness. "Then maybe I should make up a story..." "That's best," Fang Chang agreed with a nod. "Just say you saved their boss's life, and that you put your life on the line to earn this cybernetic arm. That's way better than saying you lay on the ground, took a nap, and woke up with god-tier gear." Gale Force nodded repeatedly. "Right, I'll do that! If anyone asks, that's what I'll say." ... Boulder City. A VTOL aircraft soared over the towering concrete walls and the outer urban districts, landing on the helipad of a high-rise at the edge of the inner city. Flanked by three squadmates, Li Hua jumped down from the landed aircraft, walked over to the superior officer waiting at the helipad's edge, and snapped a military salute. "Reporting, sir. Mission failed. The other party refused to hand over the prisoners of war and declined further negotiations regarding ransom." The middle-aged man in officer's attire nodded without blaming them. "Understood. Dismissed." "Yes, sir." Handling disputes between the Legion and the Enterprise demanded extreme care. If they angered the Legion, the flames of war might engulf Qingquan City. Provoking the Enterprise was just as troublesome. Although they were far away and sending troops directly was unrealistic, the Enterprise only needed to raise the regional risk rating and tighten their bank's loan support for trade routes to cut the caravans arriving from the East Coast in half overnight, resulting in an annual loss of at least a hundred million chips. Regardless of who emerged victorious in the end, they were bound to pay a visit. If they could purchase the prisoners and earn some goodwill, all the better. If they failed to play peacemaker, it was no great loss. At least they had tried, leaving them with an explanation whenever an envoy from either side came asking. ... Outside the outpost, the heavy snow had eased slightly. Carrying his hunting bow on his back, Yu Hu walked the entire way until he finally spotted the silhouette of the south gate. To his bewilderment, however, there seemed to be far fewer people around today than usual. Were they all busy somewhere? The guards at the gate recognized his face, and after a routine check of his pass, they waved him through. Smoke still drifted from the industrial zone's chimneys, and the clanging of metal echoed periodically from the half-open workshop doors, suggesting people were inside working. Without lingering in the southern industrial zone, Yu Hu headed straight for the sanatorium's main building. There was a room there with a sign hanging outside. Yu Hu had no idea what was written on the sign, only knowing it was the bank, and also where his little sister worked. It was an easy job. The vast majority of players with VMs had already switched to digital payments, with only newcomers using metal coins. When there was nothing to do, Xiaoyu would hug a book and sit at the wooden table by the door, reading. Reaching the bank entrance and seeing Xiaoyu sitting at the wooden table reading, Yu Hu finally breathed a sigh of relief, the anxiety weighing on his chest lifting at last. "Xiaoyu, are you all right?" "Brother?" Xiaoyu looked up, surprised to see her second brother standing at the door. She set down her book and asked curiously, "What brought you here?" Yu Hu smiled. "I was worried about you, of course! A huge beam of light lit up the north last night. Big Brother, Sister-in-law, Dad, and Mom were all terrified for you, so I came to check on you for them." Xiaoyu said, "I'm fine. I saw that super bright light last night too, but it was really far from here. It didn't affect us at all." "As long as you're safe, I can stop worrying!" Looking at his unharmed sister, Yu Hu said in relief, "Remember to eat more meat. Eating meat is how you grow taller." Xiaoyu shook her head like a rattle-drum. "I can't eat too much. Eating too much will make me fat." Yu Hu: "Putting on a little meat is good for you!" Xiaoyu: "No, it's not!" His little sister was wonderful in every way except for her stubborn streak. When it came to arguing, Yu Hu hadn't won against her once for as long as he could remember. With a sigh, he gave up debating. "Never mind, you don't get it, and I won't argue with you... Speaking of which, what's that book? Is it good?" Xiaoyu curved her lips slightly, looking at her completely clueless brother, and showed off, "This one is the language Big Brother Chu and the others speak! Xiaoyu is learning two languages now!" Fiddling with the book, Yu Hu was dumbfounded. "Huh? Won't you mix them up?" Xiaoyu said proudly, "No way, Xiaoyu is very smart! Big Brother Chu said that as long as I study hard, he'll reward me with candy." Yu Hu looked at her with pure envy. Not because his sister had books to read. Candy. He wanted some too... ... Seeing that his sister was doing so well here—her complexion was even much healthier than when she was at home—Yu Hu's lingering worries vanished completely. He had planned to greet Big Brother Chu before leaving, but as luck would have it, Big Brother Chu wasn't around. According to the old man managing the warehouse, he seemed to have headed north just a few minutes ago. Recalling the nuclear blast to the north the night before, Yu Hu couldn't help feeling a bit worried, hoping where Big Brother Chu was headed wouldn't be too dangerous. Every year in Bet Street, one or two unlucky souls fell sick from radiation, left to lie in bed and wait for death because they couldn't afford expensive anti-radiation drugs. And compared to the radiation itself, the mutants drawn by the fallout were even more dangerous; the chances of them breeding dangerous species were far higher than anywhere else. In any case, may he live a long life. In this ruined world, kind people like Big Brother Chu were far too rare! ... "Achoo!" Sitting in the light truck, Chu Guang sneezed without warning. Xia Yan glanced at him from the passenger seat. "Catch a cold?" "Nah, someone's probably thinking about me." It was just a casual remark, but for reasons beyond him, the woman sitting next to him seemed to take sudden offense and glared at him. "Wh-who's thinking about you? Stop flattering yourself." Chu Guang: "...?" What was she on about? While they spoke, the truck pulled up beside the Pioneer. Chu Guang hopped down from the vehicle and lent a hand to the limping Boss Xia. Stepping down from the truck, Xia Yan glanced left and right, looking at the massive steel platform and treads, and then at the endlessly rumbling production workshop nearby. She muttered under her breath, "By the way, why did you bring me here? Is there a new job? Let me make this clear beforehand—I don't want to be too far from the shelter, and I don't want to live outside..." Heh. Picky, aren't we? Chu Guang said, "All right, settled then. I'll toss you outside for two days." Hearing that her post really was being changed, Xia Yan's face scrunched up like a bitter melon, and she grumbled aggrievedly, "Hey... If you have a problem with me, just say so. Can't I just change?" Chu Guang glanced at her without a word and led her straight to the Pioneer's elevator. A woman dressed in a white thermal suit had already been waiting there for a while, offering a smile as the two approached. Her name was Wu Ya, a medical officer in the Pioneer's Logistics Division, specializing in surgical operations and prosthetic implant research. Walking up to her, Chu Guang cut straight to the chase. "Doctor Wu, this is the cripple. I'll leave her to you." Amused by the moniker "cripple," Doctor Wu smiled warmly. "Rest assured, our techniques are fully professional." "Right. Don't let her die." "Wait, die?!" Totally baffled by their exchange, Xia Yan's face turned stark white, and she stepped back nervously. "Wh-what are you going to do to me?!" Wu Ya couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into a chuckle. Giving Chu Guang a reproachful look, she turned back to her patient. "Your boss is just teasing you. He purchased a cybernetic prosthetic for you, and I'll be installing it shortly. Please don't worry, prosthetic implant surgery is a very mature technology for us. The chance of an accident is less than one percent, and even if an unexpected event occurs, the risk is completely controllable." A prosthetic implant? Surgery? Xia Yan froze entirely. Only after a long while did she turn to look at Chu Guang in disbelief. "You..." Knowing what she wanted to say, and knowing that this crude woman could never formulate a graceful word of thanks anyway, Chu Guang waved his hand dismissively to cut her off. "Save your thanks. Just work hard to repay me." Tossing those words over his shoulder, he strode off toward the operational camp, where the players were still waiting for him to assign tasks. Watching Chu Guang's departing back, Xia Yan stood dazed, her heart welling with complex emotions. A prosthetic implant... That had to be expensive. At least, in Boulder City, it was exorbitantly expensive. She had seen them in shop display windows several times. Some high-end prosthetic implants were even as costly as an android equipped with elementary intelligence. Even residents with citizen status shook their heads at the sight, lamenting that they could never afford one. Normally, only formidable mercenaries or private security forces retained by wealthy tycoons ever had the chance to use such expensive gear. To be honest, after seeing what had become of her leg, she had basically abandoned all hope for the future. Even though Chu Guang had once told her he would give her a leg if she performed well, she had never taken it seriously, regarding it as nothing more than an empty promise. After all, that was something worth tens of thousands of chips. How could it possibly be wasted on someone like her... Not to mention, the guy had spoken in such a teasing tone back then. "Do you need a moment?" Doctor Wu Ya asked gently, stepping up beside her. "You're the only surgery scheduled for today anyway." Tugging up her collar to cover her ears, red from the cold, Xia Yan gripped the crutch planted in the snow once more, turned toward the elevator, and whispered, "No..." "Let's go."