High-Tech

Tu Ran gave Xie Xu a complicated look.

Xie Xu didn't spare the woman a single glance, walking around her and leaving without mercy.

Once he was gone, the woman's gaze fell entirely on her.

"Handsome sir—" She even leaned toward Tu Ran.

Startled, Tu Ran quickly sidestepped to avoid her.

"I'm a woman!" Tu Ran said.

As she said this, Tu Ran distinctly noticed the woman's eyes go blank for a moment, her body stiffening along with it, as if an electric-wire-crafted mental circuit wasn't enough for her to process the fact that she'd mistaken the customer's gender.

Just as Tu Ran thought she'd move on to her next target, the woman suddenly smiled with the same seductive charm as before. "We serve women too."

Those words hit Tu Ran like a thunderclap.

She hurriedly skirted around the woman and fled in a panic.

Only after catching up to Xie Xu did Tu Ran feel relieved.

She vaguely caught a low chuckle from Xie Xu.

Tu Ran could already imagine him silently calling her an idiot again.

"Truly a society with highly developed technology—even the means to handle physical needs are this sophisticated," Tu Ran said with cold sarcasm.

"High-tech doesn't mean high civilization."

"This is still under Federal Government jurisdiction, and it's this chaotic," Tu Ran said, picking a fight. "Back home, all of this is illegal. It would never exist."

Xie Xu's voice was calm. "Every city has places light doesn't reach. You say your city is beautiful, but I think it's because you live in the beautiful parts. Those darker corners, you've never set foot in them."

Tu Ran's lips moved, but she found nothing to say.

Fine, he had a point.

"Then does the Federation just not care?" Tu Ran said, looking around.

Mechanical humans like the one who had turned to prostitution were far from rare—she saw one nearly every few steps.

"Can't control them. If all this were banned, some people's violent urges would have nowhere to go and would shift elsewhere—robbery, rebellion, murder... Those would all harm Federation interests."

"So the Black Market exists with the Federation's tacit approval?" Tu Ran's tone grew heavy.

"Pretty much," Xie Xu said.

Tu Ran fell silent.

Xie Xu's aura cooled as well.

It wasn't a pleasant topic.

They finally reached the maglev station, and the two boarded the train one after the other.

Tu Ran found a seat and sat down. After an afternoon of activity, her whole body was sore, and she really didn't want to stand anymore.

Xie Xu stood four or five meters away, leaning against a handrail with his arms crossed, his cap brim low as he stared at the floor, lost in thought.

Neither of them spoke again.

For now, they were strangers.

The train started smoothly, heading for the next station.

It was nearly an hour from the Ansa Black Market to the Administrative Building.

Along the way, people got on and off in waves.

The doors slid shut again, and a mechanical female voice echoed through the car: "Next stop, Yongchang Station. Passengers alighting, please prepare."

One stop after Yongchang was Liming Station, where Tu Ran would get off.

She would finally be able to go home and rest. Tu Ran felt a surge of joy.

She'd take a hot bath, put some medicine on her body, then collapse onto her bed and sleep straight through to tomorrow.

Suddenly, screams erupted from the front of the car, interrupting her thoughts.

"Ah—ahh—ah!"

The cries of women and children grew louder, mixed in with men's curses and the pounding of rapid footsteps approaching.

A man running at full speed reached their car and shouted, "Run! Someone up front went crazy—biting everyone!"

Without explaining further, he ran on to the next car.