Opportunity City, Lower District outskirts.
A straight highway extended into the deserted outskirts of the city, where a lone green sign stood by the roadside, reading, "Welcome to Opportunity City."
A few kilometers behind this metal sign lay seven or eight low, interconnected two-story buildings—these were cheap motels in the suburbs.
Before crossing over, Lin Mo's living arrangements and equipment had been entirely managed by Si's consortium with its powerful backing. Naturally, Lin Mo never had to worry about various logistic issues.
But now Chen Ke could only rely on himself.
To stay in the large hotels and inns in the city, you needed either a driver's license or a passport. The United Federation was a nation built on wheels, and almost everyone over 18 had their own driver's license.
In a sense, a driver's license was the identity card of the United Federation. Without a license, residents had to obtain an identity proof from the federal police system, but few did.
Not to mention a passport, Chen Ke didn't even have a driver's license, nor could he boldly go to the federal police system for identity proof. Therefore, he couldn't stay in the city's hotels.
Not only were motels cheap, but they were often dangerous too. Here, no formalities were needed for accommodation; as long as one could afford the room, no questions were asked.
By the time Chen Ke arrived, he ran out of water and was reeking of sweat. The owner slightly frowned but said nothing.
Staying a night here cost only 15 union coins, without long-term rental options. Chen Ke paid for seven days and chose a room on the edge of the second floor, pushing the door open as he entered.
The door lock had been changed, the bed had been moved, and he glanced at the lampshade, which had two spots of blood on it.
Chen Ke opened the blinds to let the sunlight penetrate the small room, which had seen some incidents but was relatively clean.
He tossed his triangular pack on the bed, removed his jacket, and on a whim, lay down on the floor to peek under the bed.
Nothing there.
He moved to the bedside, meticulously inspecting the drawer and the walls, tapping and knocking everywhere, finding them solid.
Then he went to the wall opposite the foot of the bed, examining it carefully for a long time.
The ticking sound caught his attention; Chen Ke turned to look at a plastic alarm clock on a five-drawer chest nearby. It was an old white circular alarm clock with a cartoon face painted on the dial, and its eyes curiously stared at Chen Ke.
He picked up the alarm clock and shook it, unscrewing the faceplate, and saw a tiny hole in the painted eyes of the cartoon sticker.
He pulled out a switchblade and pried the casing of the alarm clock open, revealing a miniature camera inside.
The camera was the size of a button, half a finger thick, with a 16GB memory card inserted.
Chen Ke put the camera and clock back in place on the chest, leaving only the memory card behind.
He went to the bathroom, which was fully equipped with toiletries. Chen Ke checked them all routinely and spotted a small hole at the top end of the wall facing the bathtub.
He pulled a wad of toilet paper from the sink and plugged the hole. It seemed this motel had it all—it had seen murders, and its owner was a pervert.
He was actually curious about what was recorded on that 16GB memory card.
Stripping off his stinking clothes, he let the hot water cleanse his body as Chen Ke began to ponder what to do next.
Now, he was also a person who could only live for 10 hours, and his perspective had to be long-term. The lifespan countdown showed that he had 8 hours and 52 minutes remaining.
Chen Ke had considered going directly to Si's consortium branch in Opportunity City to try his luck, maybe he could actually find Pankia. But in the end, he dismissed the idea.
He wasn't sure how many people there were like him in the consortium, the number must be no small. Moreover, the most important point was that when Chen Ke had just awakened, a countdown timer of his lifespan had popped up with an impressive line:
"Transcendent Skill: Lost"
He once possessed transcendent skills, but now, he had none.
Pankia was either the boss of the consortium or a high-level executive, definitely surrounded by numerous assassins with transcendent skills. If he just showed up there now, it would be no different from suicide.
What exactly were transcendent skills like? Combining his experience with using the Holy Relics, Chen Ke couldn't help but fantasize, maybe he could swing a hammer like Thunder God Thor and unleash electricity…
Now, what Chen Ke needed to do was constantly fight; he could only live by fighting.
During the intervals of combat, he constantly thought about how to find and approach Pankia, to make him tell how to remove the lifespan countdown in his head.
Aside from that, he needed a place somewhat like a logistics base for recuperation.
Chen Ke didn't need to eat or sleep, although he would feel fatigue, just sitting for a bit would allow him to recover quickly. Chen Ke didn't have the physiological needs of a normal person, but he desperately needed a safe warehouse to store necessities.
Various kinds of bullets and firearms equipment needed a safe place, future potential large sums of cash also needed a safe to guard, Chen Ke's wounds could be treated with lifespan, but his clothes couldn't, he also needed a lot of clothes for changing.
And then there were the Holy Relics, these little diamonds were his trump card, his strongest armed force, now he only had a few diamonds, but what if he had dozens, hundreds later?
He couldn't always carry all his belongings with him, that would be too much of a hassle.
He also needed a mobile phone.
Speaking of mobile phones, in the United Federation, mobile numbers and phones were generally bundled together; carriers would cover a part of the phone hardware costs for customers, who in turn had to sign contracts with the carriers for a certain number of years. Without an identity card and a driving license, Chen Ke couldn't even buy a phone.
He could not continue using the consortium's phone. As soon as a battery was installed, that phone would be detected by the consortium. Even if he just placed the SIM card in another phone, the consortium could probably track his exact coordinates. He didn't want to take the risk until he was ready.
He thought of Pihom.
He didn't know what that stylish old man was all about, but he might be able to handle the phone situation. Although Chen Ke hadn't decided whether he should join his "small group" yet.
Chen Ke had a hunch; the old man's organization was not engaged in anything decent.
Just then, Chen Ke felt an inexplicable pinch in his chest; he instinctively looked down, the area below his left chest appeared no different from that of a normal person, but only he knew, that spot had once been pierced by a dagger.
He had no heart, how could his heart hurt?
That throbbing pain felt like there was a steel wedge inside him trying to chisel out, as if something was trying to break out of his body, his mind immediately raced to Alien and the G-virus…
Chen Ke clutched his chest, unsure what the pain was all about, he tried to use lifespan to heal it, but the lifespan countdown did not react at all, just ticking away unhurriedly.
The pain continued to spread, radiating from the heart to all internal organs, he felt as if a large iron bar was continuously stirring inside him, making it impossible to straighten his back.
The pain grew even wilder, Chen Ke gasped heavily and collapsed into the bathtub, surprised to find many tiny things moving under the skin on his body; they converged towards his heart, forming a palm-sized mark on his left chest.
It looked like a vortex, and also like the sun.
Chen Ke watched as the mark slowly rotated on his skin, he reached out to touch it, feeling its uneven texture, just in that moment, the pain disappeared, and his body calmed down as if nothing had happened.
Chen Ke sighed, pushed himself up by the edge of the bathtub, glanced at the dirty clothes on the floor, at that moment, the sky suddenly filled with peals of thunder.