The Creators: From Night City

Page 286

The other person had a full head of long purple hair, which was very similar to her sister, Kragg. The golden metallic skin made Clara very curious about how the other person felt doing daily activities while wearing this skin.

"Ladies, please have some tea." The receptionist returned and placed three cups of Zhen Guo Guo tea on the table.

Her eagerness stemmed from the fact that what followed concerned her performance and income; only after guiding the way did her work move into the most crucial and explicit part of the second half.

"Would you three like to learn about the services inside Crystal Palace? I can give you a brief explanation. If you're interested, you can make an appointment here in advance so you can enjoy the service as soon as you get off the plane." The female receptionist pulled a data board from under her tray and placed it in front of Clara, who was clearly the boss.

High-end sales are that simple and unpretentious.

However, this move was exactly what the witch wanted. She had just left the dark, oppressive, and despairing world of Dark Souls and arrived in this 'normal' world. She was curious about everything and interested in everything. In addition, Jiang Bing had instructed her before she left that the entire trip would be paid for by some unknown blue-eyed kind person, so she was naturally going to spend as much as she wanted.

So she took the data panel with great interest and started looking it up.

"If you haven't chosen a hotel yet, please allow me to recommend 'Sky Mirror'. This hotel is located at the bottom of the fifth ring of the Crystal Palace. You can look down directly at the entire surface of the earth through transparent windows made of special materials. The view is spectacular."

The female receptionist was chosen to serve VIP clients, so her business skills must be up to par. Coupled with the company's real-time feedback on low-sensitivity customer data, her sales pitches were incredibly effective at hitting the nail on the head.

Anyway, Klara readily selected the service.

"For a relaxing place to play, I recommend the Somali White Sands artificial beach. There are also five-star restaurants in the area with Vietnamese and Kenyan styles. It is located in the middle of the fourth ring and is very close to the 9-hole golf course and clay tennis courts of the third ring. You can take a break here after a good workout."

So, Klara chose three of the five-figure White Sands artificial beach packages, and even booked a golf course in advance, despite not understanding the sport.

"The Lagrange Theatre on the second ring is showing 'Death Waltz' tonight. The stage backdrop is made of an extra-large crystal glass, which allows you to have a direct view of the entire starry sky. It is said that when the dancers dance on stage, it is as if they are in the Milky Way, which is very amazing. If you are interested, Ms. Krona, you can reserve a seat in advance. The performances in this theatre are very popular and are often sold out."

The Chaos Witch readily complied and continued to nod and nod.

"Of course, when you come to Crystal Palace, how can you not visit the most famous 'Crystal Palace' casino? It is located in the A3 area of ​​the central core station surrounded by five rings. If you are interested, I can arrange airport pick-up service for you. After you arrive at Crystal Palace, you can go there to relax and also see the bustling scene of 1000 gaming tables operating at the same time."

The client was so generous that the receptionist was practically grinning from ear to ear. Of course, even so, she didn't rashly recommend any 'heart-pounding' male model club, sensory deprivation private dream rooms, unlimited boxing matches, or other large-scale entertainment activities. She prioritized stability.

However, even with all these projects combined, the price is close to 30 euros, and her 4.3% commission is still a considerable income.

Just as Clara took out her bank card to swipe it, Clara encountered an unexpected situation.

"I noticed you've been staring at me. What, are you a fan?" Lizzie Weiss, holding a glass of wine, walked over from her seat and leaned against Clara, making a direct attempt to strike up a conversation.

"Huh? I'm just curious." Clara carefully scanned Lizzie Weiz's face with eyes that had also been lost and found, as if examining the other's soul.

In reality, she was examining the other person's soul.

As one of the 'Daughters of Chaos,' you could say Clara looks weak, but it's best not to actually think she is. Her innate keen senses easily pierce through Lizzy Weezs's metallic skin and meager flesh, reaching the depths of her soul.

"Curious about what?" Lizzie Weisz smiled her classic smile, her somewhat gaunt face showing a few uncanny valley effects.

"Deep, I think I see a faint depth in you, but it's not quite." Although the content was somewhat inexplicable, Clara's soft words and endearing image aroused the other party's interest.

However, although she is sexually tolerant, she was definitely not there to satisfy her lust this time.

“Licky Weiss, although you should recognize me, out of courtesy I think it would be best if we formally introduced ourselves.”

“I don’t know you, but my name is Clara, nice to meet you.” The White Spider, learning the social etiquette from Prince Sabur, extended her right hand and shook hands with Lizzie Weiss’s metal prosthetic hand.

Clara made her first casual acquaintance in this world while Kragg was observing her with indifference.

Chapter 564 Space in the Cyber ​​Age

"Strange, why is it so hot inside? Is the air conditioning broken?" A staff member passing by the three sisters' seats complained in a low voice.

It took a lot of effort for Klara to quietly suppress the chaotic fireball that had been quietly ignited in Cragg's hand, thus preventing the superstar Lizzy Weiss from being cremated on the spot.

To flirt with someone's younger sister in front of their older sister, does he really think all those undead people who were wiped out by 'Red Spider' over the years were useless?

“She should start talking to other people, Kragg. After all, it’s been so long, and only Engi and you have been with her. It’s time to let her experience some of the ‘outside’ world.”

However, Klara's words had little effect. She had no choice but to use her other hand to suppress Kragg's attempt to summon his Chaos Blade, which was shaped from his soul, and personally guarantee that the 'Iron Man' had "no ill intentions" before she could barely save the rest area and even most of the people in the aerospace port.

“I’m planning to release a new album called ‘Desire Soil’. I think you’d be perfect as the female lead for my album. I wonder if you’d be interested?” Lizzie Weiss revealed the real reason she came. She was drawn to the other woman’s pure, innocent aura, which she thought would create a striking contrast between desire and purity.

And the other party's physical appearance is also outstanding.

As a superstar, Lizzy Weisz is naturally quite talented in the arts, at least more so than the "Flaming Band." In terms of professional skills, she is even more outstanding than the "Godfather of American Rock," Kerry Orodien.

"Soil of Desire" is the new album she has been conceiving in her mind. Although the album is still in its final stages, Lizzy Weisz has already clearly defined its theme.

This album primarily aims to express the interdependent relationship between the growth of extravagant desires and the soil of silence, and attempts to use a generalized entertainment format to evoke reflection among the audience on the increasingly decadent cyber-hypocritical lifestyle and nihilistic hedonism.

She did this not only because it would make the album sell better, but also because of her artistic aspirations.

However, this idea was quickly rejected by Klara.

After all, the three sisters had a legitimate mission to perform.

Lizzie Weisz had no choice but to leave her contact information, and even as she boarded the ship, she kept peeking in this direction.

The technology for lunar orbital flight has been developed to a high level, and the safety of traveling between the Earth and the Moon is now as reliable and comfortable as that of airships.

Mr. Blue Eyes arranged the three sisters with the most luxurious and comfortable flight.

Compared to the HMLPV-21B launch vehicle that ordinary passengers take on their lunar journeys, the third sister traveled on the Hermes space shuttle, the most classic and prestigious aircraft of the "African giant" Orbital Aerospace. This space shuttle, which has been Orbital Aerospace's prized possession since the First Inland War, has undergone decades of updates and iterations. The latest model can achieve a journey to space without noticeable vibrations. In addition, the built-in organic food service and various "entertainment facilities" are enough to make all passengers feel as comfortable as at home.

Of course, these high-quality and upscale services all cost money.

If your wallet isn't fat enough, then you can only join the masses in squeezing into the HMLPV-21B, a cheap solid-fuel rocket that was originally a cargo carrier rocket.

The rocket is entirely controlled by AI. Apart from the large acceleration, extremely poor physical sensation, cramped space in the launch vehicle cabin, and a very small probability that the AI ​​control might malfunction and cause the rocket to deviate from its trajectory and head towards uninhabited deep space, it has no other drawbacks.

However, its advantages shine brightly compared to others—it is cheap enough that ordinary working-class people who dream of going to the moon, the Crystal Palace, or other places in outer space can afford it.

Whether you've committed a crime on Earth and want to hide, or you want to work illegally at the 'O'Neal Space Station' or the 'Crystal Palace' to earn money, it's a better option for you.

After the Hermes-type space shuttle carrying the three sisters completed its boarding process, it took off successfully without much turbulence, heading to the Crystal Palace, one of the five Lagrange points on the Earth and the Moon.

The interior of the Hermes-type space shuttle is absolutely worth the expensive ticket price. Not only is the entire floor covered with thick, luxurious carpets, but the cabin, equipped with a spin gravity generator, is so stable that even the drinks in the glasses on the bar won't spill. The entertainment area has gambling tables, scantily clad dealers, private dream experience boxes, and flight attendants, mostly handsome and beautiful, serving various organic drinks and snacks. As long as the VIPs and their clients snap their fingers and pay a mere 'euro' to them, they can be led to the lounge for a pleasant 'in-depth exchange'.

The three witch sisters weren't particularly interested in these things.

All three of them were completely captivated by the view of the Earth's surface through the specially designed viewing window. Compared to the oppressive and despairing environment of the Dark Souls world, even though most of the vegetation on Earth was destroyed and desertification was severe, its magnificent scenery still mesmerized the three sisters.

When the Hermes-type space shuttle left the atmosphere and truly reached space, the complex space station, various small space instruments, and unmanned operating facilities in the bustling low Earth orbit deeply attracted the attention of the three.

In 2076, low Earth orbit will be filled with various space facilities from different countries and companies, making the space feel somewhat crowded.

Larger ones include the O'Neill 1 and O'Neill 2 space stations controlled by the High Knights, and the Crystal Palace controlled by the European Space Agency. Their size is so striking that they are the first things that any traveler to space will see.

Other large space stations, such as Arasaka's Kamiya, the Ushio Space Station, the Regenerative Technology Company's large-scale space farm for small hydroponic crops, NASA's Russian space station, the Japanese national space station, India's Brahma Space Station, China's Lunar Palace Space Station, and the Jinwu large space workstation, are also noteworthy.

Of course, there are even more miniature zero-gravity space workstations from Mitsubishi-Kanmai, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi-Sugo Industries. They are densely packed like ant colonies in every corner of the Earth's orbit, serving all kinds of companies.

After all, compared to the Earth's surface, all major companies with strength have invested a lot of human and material resources in space colonization and space exploration. As long as the decision-makers are not stupid, they know that under the current international situation, exploring outer space is the best way out for mankind, and also the only way out.

Chapter 565 All things grow by relying on ether

Of course, the three sisters were neither aware of nor interested in the complex political struggles between these major corporations. They were simply curious about the feelings of the space workers in their individual spacesuits, who operated aerodynamic or propulsion devices, as they worked in the weightless environment of space.

But soon, their first stop on this trip, the Crystal Palace, the most dazzling jewel in space for the European Space Agency, came into view as the Hermes-type space shuttle moved forward, stealing all their attention.

After all, it's quite a beautiful creature in terms of appearance.

This ostensibly controlled by 'Orbital Aviation' but actually a 'paradise' under the exclusive control of the European Space Agency, from a distance it looks like a colorful, long-legged spinning top.

Crystal Palace is the space station that has operated in low Earth orbit for the longest time to date, and it is also the largest space station in terms of volume.

Its first module was launched into space in 2000, and with the help of the mass projector on Mount Kilimanjaro, it took another 11 years to complete. At that time, the construction cost alone was nearly 400 billion euros.

The Crystal Palace consists of five enormous rings, each about 2 kilometers in diameter, surrounding a massive central hub. They rotate rapidly around the central axis at a speed of 7.5 revolutions per hour, thus generating their own gravitational field.

Inside the Crystal Palace, besides tourists who come to sightsee, gamble, gamble, indulge in debauchery, and relax, there are also Earth laborers who have been tricked and lured into space. In addition, there are a large number of "new humans of space" who were born and raised there. Most of them have never set foot on the ground in their lives, and under the education and brainwashing of the "High Knights," many of them have developed a psychological barrier against the "old humans" on Earth.

Of course, this situation is mainly concentrated in the three colonies on the moon operated and managed by the High Knights: Tycho Colony, Copernicus Colony, and O'Neill Space Station. As the European Space Agency's space outpost for controlling the High Knights, Crystal Palace has very few such personnel.

Under the control and coordination of the pilot and the docking AI of the space station, the Hermes-class space shuttle completed the docking operation very smoothly, as easily as parking a car in your own garage.

As the cabin door opened, a magnificent passenger hall came into view.

Space is an extremely important resource on the space station, no less important than oxygen and food. Nevertheless, the entire passenger hall is still as spacious as Tycho's Terminal in the City of Night.

The high ceiling, reaching over ten meters, makes the entire hall feel spacious and airy, while the constant flow of service staff and travelers makes it feel no different from a shopping mall on the ground floor.

But soon, a virtual welcome banner projected from Crystal Palace brought everyone back to reality.

'Troublesome on Earth? Forget all your worries here! Crystal Palace promises never to sign an extradition treaty with any country or company.'

'It's been 143 days since the last murder at Crystal Palace! It's the safest place in the world! Crystal Palace is free from smog, gangs, corrupt police, acid rain, earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, and floods! So what are you waiting for? Join our grand celebration!'

The three sisters stared in astonishment at the various promotional slogans. Guided by the staff, they boarded a special space station rail shuttle train to check into the 'Sky Mirror' hotel, located on the fifth ring at the bottom.

There's a reason why it's expensive. The three sisters didn't have to say much during the check-in process. The hotel's thoughtful service took care of everything, and a dedicated staff member escorted them to their respective luxury suite before stopping.

The three women, who had undergone space adaptation modifications and appeared somewhat slender, respectfully closed the door, and only then did they suddenly become lively.

"Sister, shall we go find that bird now?" Clara looked around, but she didn't forget the mission that Prince Sabur had sent them here for.

Klara took off the scarf from her shoulder and then lifted the sofa in front of her to the side with one hand.

"No rush, let Prince Sabur come over first."

For sorcerers, the flame is like their own bloodline; sharing the flame is tantamount to sharing the bloodline. This is why the master-disciple relationship in Onuma is often as close as that of family.

Jiang Bing, who had shared the Krana Flame, had thus established a solid connection with her without her even realizing it.

A flame suddenly ignited in Klara's hand and rapidly expanded to the size of a basketball, emitting a warm glow.

However, the flame quickly turned from red to golden yellow, shining like a miniature sun in the room. The light suddenly receded and disappeared, but a spatial rift suddenly opened, and Jiang Bing, wearing a three-color suit, stepped out from it.

Since becoming a [Forger], Jiang Bing has been immersed in the world of Red Dead Redemption, familiarizing himself with his newly acquired abilities and the use of the [Ether Forge].

Creating things from nothing is not difficult for Jiang Bing at this moment; the real difficulty lies in where the ether, as the core equivalent, comes from.

After all, although he can create things out of thin air, instantly replicate things, construct all things, and forge 'new things', the [Ether Furnace] is not a high-dimensional perpetual motion machine that reverses cause and effect. To some extent, it still needs to follow the 'conservation of energy'. Any forging behavior must use 'ether,' the universal equivalent of all things, as energy and as consumable material.

This sounds a bit like alchemy, which emphasizes the fair exchange between all things.

In fact, the form that the [Ether Furnace] takes in the material world is very similar to this kind of skill that only exists in fantasy, only more versatile and more convenient.

Ether, as one of the building blocks of the world, is present in almost everything in the world, but its content varies in different substances, much like uranium ore.

Without careful distinction, the amount of firewood required to power the initial flames in the [Ether Furnace] would likely be far greater than the amount of ether produced after refining.

People will do business that could cost them their lives, but nobody will do business that loses money.

After Jiang Bing's continuous exploration over the past few days, he finally discovered the pattern of ether content in all things.

First is the power of the soul. As a high-dimensional power, it contains far more ether than gold. Second is the mithril in his hand. As a 'λ' (11) level extraordinary metal, if we take one kilogram of gold as the benchmark, gold is 1, and it is at least 19.

However, aside from consuming a few grams of Mithril for experiments, Jiang Bing didn't touch the rest. After all, Ether could be obtained through other means, and Mithril was becoming increasingly scarce with each use.

You shouldn't do something like buying the box and returning the pearl.

Chapter 566 The Birds Out of the Cage

Of course, this is also related to the fact that Jiang Bing himself has a small stockpile of artisan badges (which are essentially condensed ether currency), and the Quetzalcoatl lantern also stores a considerable amount of soul power. After all, with the existence of Heimul, the Ghost Train has basically become a prop for Jiang Bing to cosplay as the Soul Warden. Apart from storing some 'death' and souls, it can rarely be used for teleportation and storage.

Of course, besides these substances, the power of faith can also be refined into ether by burning the First Flame. Not only faith, but also hydrogen, helium, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon... As Jiang Bing burned down the periodic table, he found that the ether content was higher the further down the periodic table was, and of course, the rarer the element was and the more expensive it was.

However, the 'value' of the ranking is not absolute, but Jiang Bing suspects that it may be that humans made a mistake in ranking, rather than that the [Ether Furnace] made a mistake in forging.

Jiang Bing even suspected that the periodic table might have been a list of creations that the Creator had drawn up by chance, otherwise it would be difficult to explain the logic behind the phenomenon he discovered.

Fortunately, this matter is not of great importance.

Suddenly entering a space station at a speed of 1600 kilometers per hour in near-Earth orbit caused Jiang Bing to frown slightly due to the inertia, but he quickly shifted his attention elsewhere.

As an expensive luxury suite, the 'Sky Mirror' boasts an extremely luxurious interior. The walls and ceiling are entirely covered with imitation wood-look bricks, devoid of any cold metal decorations.

Behind the wall tiles at the entrance lies the room's miniature data hub, responsible for coordinating all the furniture in the highly intelligent house.

As Jiang Bing's pale golden eyes gazed at the data hub hidden within the wall, without even a physical link, the data box suddenly burst forth with a ball of golden, illusory flame, instantly hacking into the entire room's network data firewall.

Although he lacks the network access pods that hackers use to provide computing power, he possesses a formidable mind, a superior stature, and an elevated source of information. His computing power is undoubtedly overwhelming compared to the world's top data security facilities in the room.

In just a few nanoseconds, Jiang Bing used the room's data hub as a data barrier stepping stone to easily hack into the 'Sky Mirror's' internal network server.

The rank of [Apprentice Craftsman] was enough to make him feel at ease with all kinds of machinery and surrounded by knowledge. The upgraded rank of [Founder] made Jiang Bing virtually invincible in terms of 'understanding the essence of the existence and operation of all things'.

Before advancing, one still needs to actively learn. Now, as a [Founder], Jiang Bing can handle 'knowledge' with 'quantum speed reading'.

It has to be said that the concept of "rank" is simply outrageous. As one's rank rises, it's as if one's existence is gradually increasing in terms of management authority over the world, which is utterly unreasonable.

He quickly followed the network cable into the hotel's server room and secretly took over all the cameras. The orbital programmer (space hacker) who was still busy with his eyes closed in the hacker engineer's chair in the server room did not notice the signs of intrusion. The entire server was secretly taken over by Jiang Bing.

Jiang Bing pulled the cane out of thin air, placed it on the ground, and with just a glance to the side, the holographic television in the room automatically turned on as if it had been hacked, playing the Crystal Palace's internal television programs.