Translator: AnubisTL
Bang! Bang!
Two swift, clean punches earned Chen Mang another 20,000 points.
The scores were uniformly "15," far exceeding the standard.
The standard was 7—more than double the requirement.
After Zhang Yi stepped down, Zhang Er, who had been eagerly waiting, took his place. With three crisp, powerful jabs, he scored all "14s."
This earned Chen Mang another 30,000 points.
Just then—
Biaozi hesitated, "Lord Mang, should I give it a try?"
"You?" Chen Mang turned to Biaozi skeptically. "What's your current comprehensive physical fitness score?"
"15.5."
"Alright, go ahead and try."
Biaozi took a deep breath, planted his feet in a stable stance before the punching machine, and tensed his muscles until veins bulged on his forehead. With a primal roar, he unleashed the most powerful punch of his life. The force of the blow was so intense that the air crackled with heat.
In that moment, countless images flashed through Biaozi's mind like a revolving lantern. He entered a state of absolute focus, completely losing himself in the moment.
He thought of nothing but shattering that damned punching machine with a single blow!
A deafening sonic boom reverberated through the hall!
Then—
Boom!
The earth-shattering impact echoed through the hall, followed by the slow appearance of the number "8" on the machine's display.
"Not bad," Chen Mang said, his eyes gleaming with surprise as he looked at Biaozi. "Come on, you've got two more tries. Give it two more punches."
"I can't, I can't," Biaozi protested, his legs feeling weak as he waved his hands frantically. He shook his arm with a grimace. "Lord Mang, that one punch drained me. My legs are starting to wobble."
"Practice more when you get back."
"Yes, sir."
Chen Mang led Biaozi and the others away from the booth, satisfied with their haul of 70,000 points. Not bad at all.
His balance now stood at 149,940 points—nearly 150,000.
That was more than enough to go on a shopping spree at the Mechanical Train Parts Store.
The fourth booth's game was "You Sing, I Guess."
Chen Mang glanced at it and immediately moved on. The songs were all from the Mechanical Civilization, unfamiliar to them and impossible to guess.
After circling the area, they found none of the remaining booths' games suitable for their group and left the floor to explore the fourth floor of the entertainment city.
Entertainment City, Fourth Floor.
The floor was still teeming with beautiful women, but the quality here was higher. All of them were pleasure workers, and a quick inquiry revealed prices starting at 300,000 points.
He also saw the million-dollar madam.
"You seem quite intelligent," Chen Mang remarked, raising an eyebrow at the madam who had approached him to make a sales pitch. She was the first robot he had encountered with genuine independent thought, rather than simply responding according to programmed routines.
"I use a Tier 3 smart chip, Brother," the woman replied, her eyes gleaming with seductive allure as she gently traced circles on Chen Mang's chest with her finger. Her voice was soft and full of laughter as she purred, "With intelligence approaching that of a human, there are 3,280 girls here. Would you like to see if any catch your fancy?"
"Originally, there were over ten thousand, including many human and other races. But this place has been abandoned for so long. The girls' lifespans were too short; they've all died."
"I've been dormant for a very long time."
"It was only after you arrived that the city's energy was reactivated."
"See if you like any of them?"
"I heard you're worth a million?"
"Mmm-hmm. Do you like me?" The woman took a step closer, her watery eyes gazing up at Chen Mang, her hair brushing against his chin as she whispered like a mosquito, "You can ask me anything. This floor is managed by the sisters."
"Hmm."
Chen Mang pondered for a moment before firing off a barrage of questions: "Have you heard of Blue Star or Aquablue Star? What about the Nayi Star System?"
"Was the Mechanical Civilization destroyed?"
"How long have you been dormant?"
"Who brought about the apocalypse?"
"What do you know about mechanical trains?"
"What's the meaning of the Five-Year Pact?"
"Where can I find more iron ore?"
"Where are the energy stones in this city? Are there any fortuitous encounter spots, or any ways to make money quickly?"
The woman, who had been radiating allure just moments before, suddenly wore a human-like expression of confusion. She instinctively took a few steps back before answering stiffly, "I've never heard of Blue Star, Aquablue Star, or the Nayi Star System. My database contains no such information, nor have I received any updates about them."
"I don't know if the Mechanical Civilization was destroyed."
"It's been 49,290,000 hours since my last awakening."
"I don't know what the apocalypse is. My database contains no information about mechanical trains either. I only know from guests' conversations that everyone has a mechanical train, though they vary in tiers."
"I don't know about iron ore or the Five-Year Pact, nor do I know where the energy stones are."
"However, if you want to make money quickly, try the main hall on the first floor. If you're lucky, you can earn a lot fast."
"Um..."
"Don't you play with women?"
Chen Mang shook his head without elaborating, then turned with Biaozi and the others to head downstairs, preparing to leave the entertainment city. The upper floors were all hotels, making further exploration unnecessary.
Although this woman was the only robot he'd encountered capable of conversation, her intelligence still seemed inferior to Xiao Ai's. Her database was practically empty, containing nothing of value.
Blue Star was the name of his previous world's planet, Aquablue Star was the name of this planet, and the Nayi Star System was the galaxy where this planet was located.
Over 40 million hours equated to roughly 5,000 years.
Since the Mechanical Civilization had built this "Eden" for indulgence and hadn't reactivated it in 5,000 years, it likely meant either their civilization had collapsed or they simply lacked the resources to maintain it.
Based on the scenes he'd witnessed in the Sky Piercing Tower, he believed the former scenario was more probable.
Leaving the Sun Entertainment City with nearly 150,000 credits, Chen Mang headed toward the next entertainment city. Once he'd drained the wealth from all three, he could try his luck elsewhere.
He was already satisfied with this sum—enough to purchase several Virtual Map Chips.
On the deserted streets, only eleven motorcycles sped through the night.
Chen Mang slowly squeezed the brakes, bringing his motorcycle to a stop in front of a shop: the Garden of Eden Memory Bank. Next door was the Mechanical Train Confessional. He had seen both locations marked in crimson on his map.
Curious about what these shops offered, he wondered if they might hold opportunities.
He entered the Garden of Eden Memory Bank first.
As he pushed open the door, a bell chimed, and a raspy male voice greeted him.
"Welcome."
A man in a waiter's uniform stood by the entrance, holding a tablet and offering a professional smile to Chen Mang and his group. "This is the Garden of Eden Memory Bank."
"We offer the following services:"
"1: Memory Acquisition"
"2: Memory Implantation"
"3: Memory Deletion"
"4: Memory Printing"
"5: Memory Banking"
"Which services would you like to inquire about?"
"Memory Acquisition?" Chen Mang raised an eyebrow, sizing up the waiter with curiosity. "Explain what these services mean."
Finally, a male service worker in this city!
"Certainly."
The man smiled and invited Chen Mang's group to sit before bringing out eleven chilled bottles of mineral water.
"Memories are each person's most precious asset, many possessing unique and irreplaceable qualities."
"For example—"
"Let's say a peerless beauty has only slept with you. After her death, no one else can ever experience her again. If you sell us the memory of your time with her, we can sell that memory to others, allowing them to experience her as well."
"That's what we mean by uniqueness."
"Because the dead cannot be resurrected."
"Or, for instance, if you miraculously survive a fall from the 20th floor, that memory becomes incredibly rare. By copying and selling it, we allow many others to share in your unique experience. Not everyone can be as fortunate as you."
"However, not every memory holds value."
"Using our advanced equipment, the Garden of Eden Memory Bank can identify all your most significant memories and automatically assign them fair prices. Once you agree to sell and sign the Memory Authorization Agreement, the transaction is complete, and you'll receive substantial compensation."
"The entire process is painless and comfortable. The only cost is that the memory will be completely erased from your mind."
"However, Memory Stripping Surgery can only be performed on individuals with a mental power of 16.0 or higher."
As he spoke, the man swiped through the screen a few times. "Judging by your attire and demeanor, you don't seem to be short on funds. You're likely not here to sell memories, as the purchase price for memories is significantly lower—after all, memories can be replicated multiple times."
"The more unique a memory, the higher its price."
"Feel free to browse our catalog and see if there are any memories you'd like to purchase."
"Purchasing memories doesn't require a specific mental power level. However, if your mental power is below 16.0, we recommend purchasing no more than 20 units of memory to avoid the risk of mental fragmentation."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing thoughtfully at the portion of the product list displayed on the screen.
1: Fragmentary memories of frontline workers' arduous labor, 380 units, 2 million points.
2: Beginner's memories of piloting the Stellaris I mech, 90 units, 180,000 points.
3: Complete memories of sharing a room with Zhang Meiqi, 980 units, 700,000 points.
4:
"..."
After scrolling through the catalog for quite some time, Chen Mang finally spoke up. "Fragmentary memories of frontline workers' labor—why are they so expensive?"
"Mm-hmm."
The man smiled warmly and explained, "The Memory Stripping Surgery requires a mental power of at least 16.0. Very few frontline workers possess such high mental power, so the rarity naturally drives up the price. Typically, these memories are purchased by politicians."
"This allows them to deliver speeches to workers with greater sincerity and emotional resonance, making the workers feel more understood."
"Can knowledge-based memories, like piloting mechs, also be sold?"
"Mm-hmm, but those are usually beginner-level memories used to quickly learn something new. Since mech pilots generally have mental power above 16.0, these memories are relatively inexpensive."
"Is Zhang Meiqi some kind of celebrity?"
"No, she's just an ordinary man's wife."
"An ordinary man's wife selling for 700,000 points?"
"There aren't many sellers for this type of memory. Buyers often inspect the 'goods' first to ensure genuine emotional authenticity. These clients enjoy the immersive realism and, well, they have deep pockets."
"Of course, the woman's attractiveness also contributes to the higher price."
Just then—
"I'll give it a try."
Biaozi looked at the man, puzzled. "Where's the device? I want to see which of my memories are worth selling."
"Certainly. Just a moment. Please extend your arm and roll up your sleeve."
The man immediately retrieved a device resembling a blood pressure monitor from under the table. After attaching a cuff to Biaozi's arm, he explained, "This device will rapidly scan your entire memory, identifying those with commercial value. To protect your privacy, the displayed memory titles will appear as gibberish along with their corresponding prices. Only when you tap the screen will the actual memory name be revealed."
"Shall we begin?"
"Yes, let's start."
A minute later, ten memory fragments with gibberish titles appeared on the screen. These were the only ones deemed commercially valuable.
"Huh?" Biaozi exclaimed. "I never realized my life was so eventful!"
His eyes landed on the memory fragment with the highest price tag, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. Intrigued, he tapped the gibberish title, eager to discover which part of his life could fetch 380,000 points—equivalent to six Virtual Map Chips.
As his finger touched the screen, the memory fragment's true name materialized:
[Memory of Sharing a Bed with a Goblin].
"..."
The smile on Biaozi's face slowly froze, his expression darkening rapidly until it seemed to drip with gloom. He then asked in a hoarse, pained voice, "What happens if someone with mental power below 16.0 undergoes Memory Stripping Surgery?"
"They'll die."
The next moment—
The device on the table suddenly began to automatically disassemble. The man deftly swept the fragments into a nearby waste bin. "All memory valuation devices are single-use. They self-destruct after testing to absolutely guarantee the customer's memories remain confidential."
"You can rest assured, gentlemen. Since our establishment opened, there hasn't been a single case of memory leakage."
"Is the test free?"
"The test is free. The shop covers the device's wear and tear."
"I'll try it."
Li Shiji took a deep breath, extended his arm, and said with a serious expression, "My mental power is sufficient. Let's see what valuable memories I have to sell."
His mental power measured 26.9.
It had originally been 26.8, but the prolonged mental exertion from creating the Virtual Map Chip had slightly increased it.
It seemed he was about to make a significant contribution.
Soon—
Just a minute later, the test results appeared.
(End of the Chapter)
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