Chapter 113: Chapter 84: Tie Clip
[Eden City - East District Underground Shopping Street]
"John, John!"
Ryan Randall mumbled irritably, pulling John’s consciousness back to the clinic room.
"Third time zoning out tonight."
He knocked on the small metal table, crossed his arms, and sighed.
John snapped back to reality.
He saw two metal cups filled with alcohol in front of him, suggesting that this conversation had been going on for a while.
"Doctor? Oh shit, I, uh... felt like I was just sitting in the driver’s seat a second ago."
John furrowed his brow.
He gradually recollected his experiences after leaving Harbor Company.
Recent events felt particularly distant in memory, fragmented images mixed with various thoughts and inner monologues.
"From zoning out to amnesia? F*cking brilliant, if you’re joking, it’s not funny at all. If not, let me kindly remind you... you’ve been rambling for half a bottle of booze."
Ryan’s expression turned stern.
Seeing John’s bewildered expression, he momentarily paused, then impatiently recapped their conversation tonight.
"Eden Weitz kicked you out, you’ve got some deadly thing called Black Light in your head, messed with by Internet Surveillance, cyberpsychosis symptoms getting worse, yeah, about sums it up."
"F*ck, did I... did I tell you everything?"
"What else did you think? You think I wanted to listen? Couldn’t stop you! You were babbling like you were giving a dying confession. I even started considering whether to find a chance to rip out your implants."
Ryan crossed his arms and sighed.
"Do you even have a clue what’s going on with you right now?"
"More or less."
John picked up the cup for a drink.
Once he regained his composure, his thoughts became clear.
First, regarding Harbor Company.
Eden cared too much for him as an off-the-books employee, based on intel revealed by Tinfoil, they had certain expectations for him, but cyberpsychosis disqualified John.
John was grateful.
If he survived, he was willing to repay Harbor the favor.
The second matter was Black Light.
According to reasonable speculation:
This thing can suppress cyberpsychosis but running it each time burdens the body, requiring periodic use of Special Inhibitors.
The "Black Ice Program" from Internet Surveillance restricts some of Black Light’s functionalities.
John’s cyberpsychosis is no longer suppressed.
The critical value has reached the brink of collapse.
His life is counting down, and he cannot undergo any modifications or upgrades, or he will die instantly!
If he wants to survive...
John must find a way to remove the Black Ice Program to restore Black Light’s full function and suppress his cyberpsychosis again.
Currently, there’s no clue.
This stuff was deployed by state police.
Internet Surveillance won’t help John.
Not to mention this customized Black Ice Program, sourced from a deceased legendary hacker, the only ones who might help are the most badass in cyberspace.
The third matter is Tiebang Logistics.
John nearly died by gunshot but also gained substantial intel — he got caught up in Serum and rogue AI-related mess.
State police gave a heads-up before leaving.
There’s a key lead at the tie clip.
This missing middleman seemed to have indeed found something, possibly selling the information.
John pondered.
The tie clip takes the highest priority.
He needs to understand what happened to find a breakthrough.
"Phew~ Chat’s over, doctor, I’ve got to risk my life."
John stood up to leave, checked his firearm.
"Wait a minute."
Ryan Randall slumped in the swivel chair, grabbed a bottle of liquor, and with a free hand, placed a pack of meds in front of John.
"Used this during your first surgery, it didn’t work before, maybe because of Black Light, now that you say it’s suppressed, let’s try traditional methods again."
[Omega Inhibitor (Injectable)]
John held the medicine, paused, then burst out laughing.
"You believe what I said? Uh, Tinfoil and Eden, they all think Black Light is just my hallucination, after all, there’s no evidence."
The doctor frowned at him.
"Seriously? You have the nerve to ask, you f*cked up my gig, blew up a Nocturne customer’s junk, forcing me to open shop at East District Commercial Street. I never got how you hacked into the armory, f*ck, turns out it’s a Black Wall virus!"
"Hey, that was a long time ago."
"You have no fear, don’t you? Do you know how terrifying a rogue AI is? It hacks into Nocturne Bar, it’s like half of Eden City’s social elites have explosives installed in their junk."
"..."
John couldn’t follow Ryan’s train of thought.
He didn’t retort further, quietly injected the medicine into his neck, the pump valve making a hissing sound.
The effect was too potent.
Pupillary focus instantly dilated, contracted, color perception went haywire, it felt like his brain grew a bloated bloody tumor, exploding when it reached the limit!
The unbearable tearing sensation gradually subsided.
John felt much better, the Omega Inhibitor’s effect was like a poisonous version of the Special Inhibitor.
[Critical Value: 45%↑]
"It’s really working!"
"Look at that damn Shark Coin grin of yours, gloating, don’t get too excited too soon, John."
Ryan rubbed his bald head.
He sarcastically teased, pouring cold water on him.
"This inhibitor is the best below military-grade, price is not its most famous feature... but its effect, comparable to suicide."
"What do you mean?"
"Using Omega implies there are barely any drugs on the market to relieve your cyberpsychosis symptoms. You have to find a way to crack the Internet Surveillance’s Black Ice Program before the inhibitor wears off, restore Black Light’s full function to suppress the symptoms."