At five in the morning, Qin Xuezhong awoke.
It was still dark, and rain was falling outside.
She stretched and turned to look out the window.
The dense skyscrapers glowed with high-saturation neon lights, stretching toward the darkness at the horizon. Raindrops on the glass reflected dazzling colors before her eyes.
It had been two days since she'd arrived in this world, living in this small room, three meters wide and five meters long. The metal window frame showed signs of rust, and there were scattered mold spots in the corners of the room.
The space was cramped; the bathroom, kitchen, sofa, and cabinets were squeezed together, leaving only narrow gaps for moving around. Only near the bed was it slightly more spacious.
Old, cheap, but clean, it felt strangely cozy.
Based on her limited understanding of this place, this was considered luxury in the slums.
The entire area held a million such rooms, stacked with brutal efficiency to form the most towering and dangerous settlement zone in the northern outskirts of Creek City.
In each room's corner, a massive drainage pipe jutted out from the wall, made from special alloys at considerable expense. Just the section passing through each room was worth more than the tenants' entire possessions.
Every morning, the five million people in these million rooms would dump their wastewater into the pipes, as if squeezing an entire sea into the system. Amid deafening roars, the water would descend into a vast underground treatment facility with attached power generators.
If it was one of the rare clear mornings, sunlight would filter through the maze-like gaps between the towering apartments for just five minutes, timed perfectly with the thunderous sound of the pipes.
These five minutes alone raised room rent by 20%.
Judging by the thick rain clouds outside, it didn't look like the sun would make an appearance today.
Despite the harsh environment and heavy air pollution, Qin Xuezhong had slept comfortably in her two days since the crossing.
Before, every morning she woke up to face a hectic workday and a crushing 300-yuan mortgage payment.
—300 a day, 9,000 a month, eating up most of her salary.
This was how she pushed herself to survive each day.
The constant work pressure took a toll on her health.
Two days ago, while working overtime in the office, she had briefly considered getting a government job to ease up a bit. But then she felt a strange flutter in her chest, and amid her coworkers' cries, she collapsed.
When she awoke, she was in this cyberpunk world.
From the fragmented memories left by the body's former owner, she learned a bit about her new identity.
The original owner had been a high-ranking officer in a secret division of a large company, but something had happened, leading to her being demoted and sent to the slums.
Disheartened, she'd found a quiet position within the federal government, wanting nothing more to do with the corporate mess.
Shortly after, some incident occurred, and the original owner died, paving the way for Qin's arrival.
The former owner's final feelings were regretful yet relieved, suggesting that her death was neither an accident nor an intentional murder.
Qin Xuezhong knew of the former owner's death because, upon her arrival, she hadn't been in the real world, but rather inside the mind's void of this body.
In that void, there were two spheres of light—one vibrant and one lifeless.
Qin inhabited the vibrant one, while the lifeless one likely belonged to the former owner, with scattered memories on its surface.
When she tried to probe deeper, she found that the original's sphere felt locked and inaccessible, so she could only scrape the surface memories.
Interestingly, the two spheres led her to discover a unique phenomenon.
In this technologically advanced cyberpunk world, every federal citizen has a chip implanted at the C1 vertebra on their neck at age one.
Due to its deep neural integration, the chip allows the brain to access data directly. People could apply a transparent "neuro-patch" to the chip, effectively using their minds as smartphones.
However, any virus, data hack, or identity scan would be absorbed and suppressed by the inactive, lifeless sphere, rendering them completely harmless.
In the treacherous world of the cyber network, even without a traditional brain firewall, she enjoyed absolute security.
This unique advantage gave her some peace of mind in these unfamiliar surroundings.
But it also posed a minor inconvenience—she had too few of the former owner's memories and knew next to nothing about this world.
So on her first day, she spent her time researching online, even looking up the former owner's name and information, with no results.
On the second day, she was figuring out how to navigate.
The complex layout of the tenement buildings and roads would leave anyone unfamiliar hopelessly lost.
It took her a full day to learn how to reach the metro.
Because today marked her first day at her new job in the Federal Security Department's local precinct.
Though she'd never been a high-level executive before, nor had she experienced what it was like to take a cushy government job to "coast," it seemed like the perfect start!
Work was meant for coasting, after all!
Earning more, climbing ranks, playing office politics—none of that mattered to her.
In her past life, she'd worked herself to exhaustion just to pay off a mortgage, only to end up here, leaving it all behind.
She'd come to see through it all. None of it was real—she just wanted to enjoy the moment.
After finishing her morning routine, Qin Xuezhong went downstairs to buy a pot helmet (a type of Chinese flatbread) and soybean milk from a breakfast stall.
The food in this world was decent, though the ingredients were lacking. Even a generous sprinkle of spices couldn't mask the faint plastic taste in the synthetic protein. The soybean milk wasn't the real deal either; it was a flavored nutritional liquid with a hint of a fishy odor.
Despite this, she savored every bite.
—How long had it been since she leisurely enjoyed a breakfast like this?
She tapped the chip at the back of her neck to confirm her payment of 8 credit points.
The vendor raised his oil-splattered mechanical arm, giving her an "OK" sign to indicate receipt.
After eating at home, she followed an online tutorial to dress in a new, well-fitting outfit, navigating the maze-like streets of the slum area to the subway station.
The subway ride from the slum to the Bay Area in the center of Creek City took about 40 minutes.
Compared to the surrounding commercial skyscrapers towering two or three hundred stories high, the Bay Area's precinct building, with its less-than-one-hundred floors, looked somewhat shabby.
Yet it still appeared to be two centuries more advanced than the slum apartment where Qin Xuezhong lived.
In the center of the lobby was a massive circular design made up of a string of zeros and ones.
According to online sources, this was a binary code that translated to "The Sword and Shield that Protects the World."
—This was the motto of the Federal Security Department.
On one side of the lobby, an exaggerated red holographic banner read:
"Federal Security Department Creek City Bay Area Precinct Newcomer Reporting Office."
Qin Xuezhong suppressed her nerves, cross-referencing the online tutorial with the on-site instructions as she verified her chip information, biometric data, and filled out her reporting forms.
She noticed that when people around her learned she was assigned to the "Chip Data Analysis Department," they wore mocking expressions and subtly distanced themselves.
She overheard a few whispered comments:
"Wow, she's going to Analysis?"
"Once you go there, you'll never get promoted."
"I've heard people there aren't quite right in the head."
"Keep it down; don't let her hear you…"
When she completed her paperwork and stepped out, even more people began to avoid her, as if she were heading into a den of vipers.
She smirked internally. Before her crossing, she had endured 996 work culture, 007 hours, and constant workplace harassment, all while living under a mortgage… who had time to worry about gossip?
These people clearly hadn't faced the harsh realities of society.
What did they mean about never getting promoted?
In a federal agency, a laid-back job with no chance of promotion meant what? A stable position sipping tea and reading the news!
The more she thought about it, the more she looked forward to it.
Following the onboarding guide, she made her way to the B3 level of the precinct, stopping at the door of an office labeled "Chip Data Analysis Department."
As she stood there, the door recognized her signal and slid open automatically.
—Inside was a moderately sized office, illuminated by warm, bright colors.
It was quiet, with dry, fresh air. Despite having no windows, it didn't feel stuffy at all.
The long desk was divided into several workstations, cluttered with snacks, drinks, stress toys, and holographic headsets.
There were three people in the office.
A cute girl was watching a concert on an extravagant holographic screen; another person wore a massive headset, playing a game, obscuring their appearance.
At the far end of the desk sat a middle-aged man, reclining in his chair, eyes closed, arms crossed, nodding to the music he seemed to be listening to.
Qin Xuezhong was shocked.
This was her dream job!
Noticing her entry, the middle-aged man opened his eyes, quickly got up, and smiled, "You must be Qin Xuezhong! Welcome, welcome! I'm Xue Zhishi, the head of the analysis department."
Seeing his movement, the girl watching the concert glanced up, waved at Qin Xuezhong with a smile, then returned her focus to the holographic performance.
"Hello," Qin Xuezhong replied simply, anxious about revealing her unfamiliarity with this world.
Noticing her nervousness, Xue Zhishi kindly said, "Don't be nervous, come on in! What do you think of our office?"
"Very nice!" she replied, her voice a little higher in pitch, genuine in her approval.
Xue Zhishi laughed, recognizing her sincerity. "Looks like you'll fit in well here. Welcome aboard!"
She quickly added, "Thank you, Supervisor."
"Ah, just call me Old Xue like everyone else. No need for 'Supervisor,'" he said, his tone becoming much friendlier. "I'll send you the onboarding documents; no rush to read them. Today isn't a formal workday, so if you'd like to stay and watch the concert with Jin Anan, feel free. If you want to leave, you can go anytime; just make sure to come in on time tomorrow. The rest… you can learn gradually."
How should one react when the department head tells you on your first day, "No need to work, play if you want, leave if you want"?
For a moment, Qin Xuezhong was at a loss.
"Here's the deal," Xue Zhishi seemed to notice her bewilderment and gestured for her to wait a moment. He turned to Jin Anan and said, "Anan, I'll fill out an off-site work form for you. You can leave early with Xiao Qin; it's already getting late."
Qin Xuezhong instinctively glanced at the holographic clock on the wall.
It was eleven twenty.
This… is what he meant by "getting late"?
What kind of amazing department had she walked into?
With an air of nonchalance, Jin Anan led Qin Xuezhong out of the office area.
On the way, she comforted her, saying, "Don't worry; our department often does this. I'm just accompanying you because I'm worried you might feel uneasy on your own. Old Xue is always considerate. Let's catch a concert together again when you're free tomorrow!"
Jin Anan, sensing that Qin Xuezhong was still getting used to things, didn't linger for long and chatted politely before happily leaving.
Qin Xuezhong, however, stayed behind.
Going home now? There wouldn't be much to do there.
Or maybe she could find a place to explore? The problem was, she had no idea what was around.
As she hesitated, a message popped up on her device.
[From: Brother (Qin Huaigui)]
[You worked hard on your first day! How does it feel? I've prepared a gift to celebrate your new job. Come to my place after work; I'll be home all day.]
[Location: No. 9 Circular Apartment, Bay Area, 73rd Floor, Room 005]
[Your family access has been granted by Qin Huaigui.]
She recognized the name "Qin Huaigui" from her contacts but hadn't expected him to be her brother!
Not only did she have a cushy job now, but she was also moving into a new home, and it seemed her brother was quite caring about her…
Everything felt surreal, too good to be true.
How wonderful it was to have such simple happiness!
Eagerly, she hurried towards the subway station.
The Bay Area truly lived up to its reputation as the city center; even a modest circular apartment was surrounded by a much better environment and people compared to the slum.
A hint of doubt crossed her mind: her brother lived in a nice place, so why did the original owner reside in the slum? Were there family conflicts in the past?
When she opened the door, the sight of a bright, clean living room and her smiling brother warmed her heart.
Feeling a bit anxious, she smiled in anticipation, but before she could speak, her brother's expression changed, revealing a complex mix of admiration, regret, excitement, expectation, and fear.
"Chairman Qin, oh no, I mean, Team Leader, you worked hard today! The encrypted module we prepared is ready. I've already notified the undercover members of the group; we'll have a meeting tonight to announce your appointment."
?!
Undercover? And a team leader?
Is it too late for me to run away?