Toyokawa Sakiko could relate to Kasumigaoka Utaha's feelings. She certainly understood this state of mind.
It was just like how music was being churned out in massive quantities by AI, and even further up, being wildly replaced by Stigma simulations, memory extractions, and the like.
The things she used to be proud of had also been completely eliminated.
Academy City didn't want these things that couldn't satisfy the needs of the new humans. Things that everyone had were just that cheap.
The people of the Stigma organizations needed interactions closer to experience and memory, a deeper way of communication. But this spiritual need had not yet been fully regularized to become the artistic communication tool of the new humans.
"I can understand how you feel, but in Academy City, the Stigma battlesuit is the most necessary tool. It's also a power that everyone must have in the future society of geneticism. If you just want the kind of life you had before, then Academy City will sweep everyone up into the new world and hang them."
Toyokawa Sakiko felt she should be grateful to the leadership of Academy City. Because the leadership placed great importance on lowering the cost of learning, which was crucial for her to change her own destiny.
"In the future, I might not even be as good as an Android."
Kasumigaoka Utaha was still immersed in the tragedy of losing to an Android. She had no idea what she could possibly be useful for anymore.
Androids think fast, do things thoroughly, and can be very considerate.
So what was the need for humans with their insufficient abilities?
Noldrei had never expected to encounter something like this while just casually strolling around. He hadn't created Androids to replace humans. He had already built weaknesses into the Android network from the very beginning.
But in the eyes of ordinary people, Androids were simply superior humans. Most people couldn't tell the difference between an Android and a regular person.
They were even less aware of the flaws Noldrei had left in the Android network, because in the interaction between humans and Androids, this flaw was simply not noticeable.
---||---
Noldrei was out for a walk by himself. He would occasionally take Rita out for a look around too.
Wait a minute... Why Rita?
He had also accidentally walked to the entrance of the shop Kiana had last checked out.
"Lord Noldrei, please slow down a bit, otherwise it's hard for me to keep up with your shopping pace."
Rita had just caught up from behind. She couldn't understand how Kiana used to go shopping with Noldrei.
Noldrei had no intention of telling Rita. He couldn't just say that Kiana liked to turn into a little girl and ride on his shoulders while they shopped, could he? Wouldn't that make Kiana seem very perverted?
"Rita, hurry up. Are there any organs you like? Skin, bones, or any facial features you need to modify?"
Noldrei's opening words almost made Rita lose her composure. She actually thought she was quite beautiful and not one of those cybernetically synthesized faces. Those faces had a bit of an aesthetic convergence. Rita quite liked the effect of her own randomly combined genes.
It didn't matter if she got a few small pimples from time to time. She just needed to find the Chairman and his whip to take care of it, and the discomfort would be cleared up quickly.
"Lord Noldrei, if I like something, I can buy it myself. You don't need to do this. I'm not very fond of... body modification."
Rita tactfully refused. She even wanted to die with the appearance of an old-era human, to end her life this way.
She neither wanted to become one of the increasingly bizarre modified people of Academy City, nor did she want to change her image in the eyes of others.
"Rita, oh Rita. You are the most conservative person I know. Not even Durandal has thought like you. She's even experienced Dr. Mobius's new Honkai factor fusion."
Noldrei didn't continue to persuade Rita, but just browsed the shop on his own.
With his changed appearance, Noldrei wasn't worried about being recognized. But then he overheard the conversation between the sales clerk and a customer.
Noldrei made a shushing gesture to Rita and pointed to the side from behind a shelf, signaling for Rita to follow him and listen.
"It shouldn't be possible. Androids don't have the power to create Stigmas. This is a recognized fact among the upper echelons of Academy City. And the most powerful individuals in the current civilization should be the modified warriors with Honkai factors, and the Herrschers."
"You need to have a Stigma and Honkai energy to complete the creation of a new human. If you want to change yourself, it's actually very simple..."
Toyokawa Sakiko found a few internal organs and promoted them, "Here, these are the ones. By replacing your body's organs, the Honkai factors will slowly affect your body. Then your physical fitness will gradually improve. If you're lucky, and with the help of a Stigma battlesuit to shape your new body, you'll become a member of the new humans. This way, you'll get more access to Academy City's activities."
"How about it? Do you have enough points?"
Rita could barely keep a straight face. She gripped Noldrei's arm tightly, afraid she would burst out laughing by accident.
Noldrei was still pondering the tragic lives of the common people in Academy City. The thought that so many outsiders had yet to be equipped with Stigma battlesuits made him feel pained for the miserable lives of the people in the future.
The development is too slow. The local conservative ideas are still too strong.
Kasumigaoka Utaha felt this salesperson was being a bit pushy. She asked discontentedly, "Is your commission very high? Why are you in such a hurry to recommend these? I remember that most points can only be exchanged for new genes, right? Most of the Gene Trees are monopolized by the research institutes... How are they any different from the companies of the past?"
"There are still some differences..." Toyokawa Sakiko sighed. "At least the research institutes don't eliminate a person because of their productivity, but because their research ideology is different. They are much more progressive than companies and capitalists."
On this point, Kasumigaoka Utaha couldn't really argue. Most of the money she made online now was from the information gap between the inside and outside of Academy City.
After the possibility of getting rich by writing novels completely collapsed, she had to find other sources of income.
"Academy City won't let me starve, and there's even a guarantee of medical care and education. But this guarantee is just to train me to become a new human. But what can I do after becoming a new human? I'm a bit... lost."
Kasumigaoka Utaha found it a bit hard to say. She didn't really want to do any pioneering work either.
Most of the genetic enhancements for new humans were linked to Honkai factors. And among them, the most important were mining Honkai crystals and hunting Honkai Beasts.
"What else can you do? Just find a way to join a research institute and then research your own Stigma power."
Sakiko saw that this sales pitch was likely to fail, so she stopped trying to persuade the girl to buy new organs.
KasumigaGoka Utaha gritted her teeth, looked at the various strange and bizarre living organs, and said, "Change it! Change my hands first! After I change my hands, I'll have to find a way to do what I want to do!"