"Such a large abandoned factory, yet not a single piece of 'junk' worth picking up," Alex thought, grumbling to himself. Nevertheless, he picked up a few appropriately sized concrete rocks from the ground and placed them in his backpack.
A fist-sized stone, thrown with full force, could inflict significant damage. It would allow Alex, the hunter, to practice and gain proficiency in his Throwing skill and serve as a last-resort weapon to blind, stun, or injure an enemy. It might even trigger an instant-kill effect.
"These concrete stones are practically perfect ranged weapons! There's no useless trash, only people who don't know how to use it!"
With this realization, Alex picked up a few more stones and prepared to leave the abandoned factory. But before leaving, he needed to determine his next direction.
In an unfamiliar place, blindly advancing wasn't wise. He needed a clear goal. Given the presence of such a large abandoned factory, there had to be other buildings or towns nearby. He needed to find a higher vantage point to assess his surroundings.
Alex's gaze locked onto the tallest structure in the abandoned factory—a six-story tower made entirely of silver-gray alloy, resembling a high-voltage power tower.
"You're the one," he decided.
Approaching the base of the tower, Alex circled it once. He found a metal ladder welded to the structure, allowing him to climb to the top. However, the ladder hadn't been maintained for years; many parts were rusted, and several footholds were missing.
"Better test its sturdiness first."
Grasping the cylindrical sides of the ladder, Alex shook it vigorously more than ten times. Amidst clanging sounds, rusted iron filings rained down, but the ladder remained sturdy, firmly attached to the tower. It seemed unlikely to detach during his ascent.
Despite the ladder's dangerous appearance, Alex began climbing. His physical attributes, amplified by the system, far exceeded those of an ordinary person. Even if he missed a step, his grip strength of over a hundred kilograms could easily support him.
After breaking two rungs, he reached the top of the tower without incident.
The wind was strong at the top. Alex gripped the sturdy iron frame with his left hand for balance, shading his eyes with his right to survey the distant scenery.
In the distance, to the left, was the black ocean horizon. The right side of his vision was obscured by a massive black silhouette by the sea.
"Holy crap! No way!" he exclaimed.
Quickly, he pulled out the portable binoculars from Monster Hunter World and peered through them.
Alex's vision, refracted through the lenses, spanned miles of wasteland, revealing the black silhouette's true form.
It was a city!
A cluster of tall buildings stood by the sea, enveloped in a hazy mist. These majestic structures formed an ultra-modern metropolis. With just one glance, Alex was captivated, his neck frozen in awe.
As the sun rose, its rays dispelled the fog, and the distant buildings emerged clearly. Through the binoculars, the city was filled with towering skyscrapers, each uniquely designed, exuding a futuristic aura.
The packed skyscrapers, like towering mountains, dominated the skyline, with flying vehicles appearing as tiny as birds, soaring and descending within the steel forest.
Neon advertisements adorned the high-rise exteriors, visible even during the day. A projection screen from the city center pierced the clouds, disappearing into the sky, displaying ads for firearms, erotica, and technology, all steeped in Cyberpunk essence.
The binoculars lingered on the advertisements for a moment, capturing Alex's attention.
"So lifelike!" he exclaimed, lowering the binoculars.
The metropolis was vast, and what he saw was merely the outermost layer. More inner scenery, streets, and neon lights lay hidden behind the towering structures.
Though never having visited and seeing this massive city for the first time, Alex knew its name. While many scenes differed from the game, dozens of iconic buildings resembled game models.
It was Night City!
"Good morning, Night City!"
"Welcome to Cyberpunk."
Standing atop the tower, Alex greeted Night City, and the Alex in the cave greeted his morning-lit self. Now aware of his location, Alex set his sights on his next destination—straight ahead to the city of sin, known as "America's worst city" in 2077.
He raised his binoculars again, assessing the terrain and roads between the abandoned factory and Night City to plan his route.
**Protein Farm.**
**Biotechnica's genetically modified wheat greenhouse.**
**Molten salt tower solar thermal power plant.**
**Solar photovoltaic power plant.**
**Dogtown.**
Various iconic buildings and areas appeared familiar yet subtly different.
Alex spent half an hour planning two routes to Night City.
The first route went left, traversing about 10 kilometers of Badlands to Biotechnica's farm, then following roads around the greenhouse to enter Pacifica or detour to Santo Domingo's River Valley District. This route offered a flat, smooth, short journey but posed risks due to heavy traffic and potential violent incidents like robberies or kidnappings. His flesh-and-blood body couldn't withstand firearms; even a small pistol posed a threat.
The second route went right, requiring a trek through dozens of miles of Badlands, bypassing three molten salt tower solar thermal power plants, and taking a long detour via the winding mountain road from the dam direction to Coronado Farm in Santo Domingo. This path offered strong concealment for solo travel, ensuring personal safety but involved a long distance through desert and Gobi terrain.
Squatting on the tower, Alex scratched his head, pondering the difficult choice.
"Should I be reckless? Or cautious?"
While deliberating, Alex heard a rattling sound nearby, resembling gunshots—not far from his location!
With this thought, he turned his binoculars toward the sound.
Two plumes of yellow dust rose in the Badlands, revealing an off-road motorcycle and a pickup truck chasing each other across the desolate Gobi, heading his way.
"Trouble's coming!" he muttered, zooming in his vision.
The motorcyclist wore a tight black leather suit; her slender waist and constantly moving upper body as the vehicle bounced indicated she was a well-built woman. A black air-filtering mask and sand-proof goggles obscured her face, but her flowing pink-white short hair added color to the monotonous Badlands.
In the pursuing pickup truck, the driver was a short Asian man with black semi-circular crystal implants replacing his eyeballs, embedded in his sockets, resembling a large insect. Beside him sat a dark-skinned burly man with visible implant lines in his exposed skin. Both arms were bionic prosthetics, gleaming with a metallic sheen.
Inside the car, the dark-skinned man retracted his prosthetic arm, holding a submachine gun outside the window.
"Big bro, don't shoot; it won't be fun if it's broken," the driver cautioned.
"Damn it, then why aren't you flooring the gas to catch up?" the dark-skinned man snapped, frustrated by the driver's caution. He wanted to shoot the motorcycle's tires, but the bumpy ride made him miss. Annoyed by his subordinate's interference, he smacked the driver's head.
The driver flinched, instinctively responding, "Hai Yi!"
The motorcycle navigated around bushes, while the pickup crashed through, rapidly closing the gap. When still over 100 meters from the branch airport, the distance between them shrank to about 10 meters.
The driver's optical cybernetic eyes zoomed in, focusing on the female rider through the windshield.
"Why is there someone here? Unexpected gain, haha, let me see what he looks like!" he chuckled, but before he could zoom in, his vision lagged, and his brain-machine's sound module reported an error.
"Warning, intrusion detected, warning…"
Before he could react, his vision went black, losing sight completely.
"Ah! I can't see, damn it, this woman is a netrunner," he screamed in terror, struggling to control the steering wheel in darkness.
"Damn it," the dark-skinned man cursed, leaning out of the passenger seat, ready to fire his rifle. But before he could shoot, a spark flashed from his prosthetic arms, followed by a buzzing sound. The miniature motors overloaded, and his arms malfunctioned, causing him to drop the rifle outside.
"Damn it, don't let me catch you, or I'll cut you alive and eat you," he roared angrily as the motorcycle sped away.
"Eyeball reboot upload complete."
"Prosthetic fault upload complete."
The daemon had worked; hearing the receding engine, the female rider sighed with relief.
"This damned world, no matter where you go, these bugs will crawl out."
Riding past the abandoned factory, she slowed down, looking up to warn the young man on the signal tower.
"Find a place to hide. My daemon can only affect them for 5 minutes."
Her cybernetic eyes, with ten times optical zoom and dynamic capture, spotted the idiot on the tower from afar. She wondered how he'd survived; the Badlands wasn't for sightseeing.
Seeing the man with his mouth agape in shock, the female rider left a warning before revving her motorcycle and speeding towards the distant city, kicking up sand.
**Lucy**
- **Age:** 20
- **Identity:** Netrunner
- **Cyberware Coverage:** 43%
- **Introduction:** A punk girl chasing her dreams, a top-tier Cyberpunk netrunner.
- **P.S.:** This world is hell for her; the moon is the beginning of a new life. The false moon's lie is her spiritual support.
The text information faded. Watching the bright spot move away, Alex snapped out of his shock, closing his jaw. Seeing a character from the anime here was unexpected.
"Edgerunners plus Cyberpunk 2077? I like this world!"
"If I can see Lucy here, then the current time point shouldn't be 2077, right?"
"And she told me to hide, but why should I hide? I can't refuse this beginner's gift package delivered to my doorstep."