On the way to Gaofeng Technology, the car fell silent, and it had been some time since they had seen each other, momentarily leaving them without a topic, which seemed a bit awkward.
"Do you mind if I smoke?" Sun Jack reached into his trench coat.
"No, go ahead."
Sun Jack cracked the car window open three fingers wide, lit a cigarette, took a drag, and glanced at Linda Linda. "You're dressed quite formally today, why aren't you wearing that semi-transparent white silk nurse outfit?"
"It's not necessary anymore, just like I no longer like to curse and pretend to be strong, warning others not to mess with me. But if you like, I can wear it for you."
No sooner had she finished her teasing remark than Linda Linda quickly straightened up. "Sorry, boss, I shouldn't have said that." Her tone was respectful, her manner proper, just as she and Sun Jack had agreed upon at the beginning.
"Don't be so tense, we've known each other for so long, we're old friends. How has everyone been doing in my absence?"
Linda Linda gave Sun Jack a complicated look, "Actually, you can see for yourself how everyone has been doing now."
Hearing this, Sun Jack looked out of the window. Metropolis was still Metropolis, under the acid rain, with neon everywhere, hover cars flying over his head, and even many buildings were damaged due to the war, appearing considerably dilapidated. But it was clear that some details in Metropolis had changed.
At least the Puxi District was a lot cleaner; there were no longer any homeless people nor cans for fires used by the homeless. If there was even a little garbage on the ground, drones would quickly arrive and pick it up.
Moreover, compared to before, BCPD hover cars occasionally flew by in the sky, noticeably improving public safety, especially since the expressions on everyone's faces were no longer hostile or tense but had something else.
As they passed a fast-food restaurant, Linda Linda slowed down the car, "Boss, you only drank last night and didn't eat anything. You must be hungry by now, right? Let me order you some breakfast."
As she was about to place an online order to have a drone deliver it to the car, she was stopped by Sun Jack. "No, let's go in and eat."
This fast-food place seemed to be newly opened, very clean and tidy. Sun Jack spent 50 Dogcoins on a basic meal and sat down on one side.
When he noticed people looking at him in surprise, Sun Jack quickly adjusted the muscles on his face to disguise himself as another person.
It wasn't long before a female robot brought breakfast to Sun Jack, "Customer D:13414, here is the food you ordered. Please enjoy your meal."
In the metal round dish, besides three slices of toast, there were beans, bacon, an egg, and a few leaves of lettuce with cherry tomatoes garnishing the side.
The food was simple yet enticing, especially for Sun Jack, who had been drinking all night.
He picked up the knife and fork and started eating bite by bite. The food was delicious and not synthetic. As he ate, he recalled the nights he had first arrived in Metropolis when he didn't have money for food.
50 Dogcoins was equal to the price of two nutritional sticks back then, but now he could buy such delicious organic food; he suddenly felt very fortunate.
Metropolis wasn't the Holy Grail's market for dumping surplus production anymore; the people living there no longer had to become mercenaries risking their lives just for a bite to eat.
As he ate, tears welled up in Sun Jack's eyes, "Hilda, can you see this? We did it!"
At that moment, he finally felt that all he had done was worthwhile.
Linda Linda silently moved closer and gently embraced Sun Jack, caressing his back to comfort him, "Boss, thank you..."
"Wuwuwu~~~" The crying startled Linda Linda, she thought it was her boss. When she turned to look, however, she saw it was a punk-style chubby guy next to her, his eyes replaced with metal artificial eyes, choking as he ate and cried.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Sun Jack asked him.
"Wuwuwu~!! I'm in construction, I've never seen so many orders before, it's damn exhilarating, I wish there were wars every day!"
Sun Jack continued eating his breakfast somewhat speechlessly. "Well, it seems the Metropolitan Citizens still have room to improve their character."
Just then, someone else sat down nearby, enjoying his breakfast. Although he had tattoos, he was dressed quite neatly.
"Graffiti Gang?" Sun Jack looked at him.
"No, not anymore. The BCPD is so strict now, gangs have no future. I took over my dad's business instead."
"How's business? Are you getting by all right?" Sun Jack asked.
"It's fine, of course, it's fine! Meals are so cheap now! So many times better than when the Holy Grail was still around!" As he talked business, his face lit up with excitement.
"Indeed, thanks to our Borrow King," said Linda Linda to him.
Upon hearing this, he rolled up his sleeve to reveal a Sun Jack tattoo. "Of course! From now on, Sun Jack is my dad! Anyone who dares speak ill of him is picking a fight with me!"
"That's a bit much, what kind of business are you in?" Sun Jack stuffed the last bit of bacon into his mouth.
"Out with the old, in with the new!"
"Out with the old, in with the new? Is this a new Metropolis trade?"
"Not new, old trade. My business is an age-old brand, handed down from my grandfather. 'In with the new' means, if I think you meet my criteria, then I buy you more expensive new underwear, new socks, and you take off the original-flavored underwear and socks you are wearing and give them to me, then I put them up for sale online."
"......" Sun Jack's silence was deafening; he had never thought such a trade could be an age-old business.
"Do people really buy these?" Sun Jack felt bewildered.
"Of course, it's a special fetish. Don't think my customers only like young girls' panties and stockings. Those that smell like nothing and are scented are barely low-grade! My customers aren't those old lechers." As he talked about his profession, he went on and on, seemingly indifferent to whether Sun Jack liked listening or not.
"Do you know what premium product is? Men over seventy years old, fat bears at forty! Socks that have turned yellow and smelly from not being washed for a month! The kind that can stand up when taken off, those are premium, a pair can sell for at least 500 Dogcoin. Put it over your face and take a sniff, it's really intense, even stronger than Grade 6 stuff! Ah~! Too bad, there are so few men over 70 in the Metropolis."
"Of course, the most expensive and best are those socks and underwear from internet celebrities. If I could get a pair of Sun Jack's unwashed underwear, I'd achieve financial freedom instantly!"
Sun Jack left the breakfast place feeling beyond consolation. Although life had gotten much better, the Metropolis remained the Metropolis he knew, unchanged, with everyone still living so freely and carelessly.
But he understood that values, those kinds of things, were probably impossible to change forcefully in these people.
These guys' values were already fixed, and forcing the issue would only lead to resistance. It seemed that change could only start with education, reforming values in future generations beginning from the Breeding Factory.