The Creators: From Night City

A Kangtao intelligent robot suddenly walked out from the automatic standby device on the wall, making a unique mechanical transmission sound as it walked.

"Welcome." 42's voice came from the robot, but the stiff and cold electronic sound, without any emotion, echoed in the basement, making people feel a little creepy.

Jiang Bing had no such thoughts at all. His occupational disease had kicked in, and he was circling around the robot, commenting on it.

"Sure, 42. I think you should have modified the underlying logic of this intelligent robot."

His venomous gaze swept over the robot's hands, and Jiang Bing immediately added, "The modifications are quite significant. Just based on these two [Type III Multifunctional Engineering Arms] from Danar Technology, they can't be operated by ordinary robotic operating systems."

Chapter 96 Cyber ​​Mine

"In that case, you'll also have to upgrade the computing core, otherwise it won't run even if you compile the driver."

42 caught Jiang Bing's misjudgment and suddenly said, "Actually, not really. I removed all combat-related content from the system, and the freed-up storage space is enough to install other drivers."

"That's right." Jiang Bing has already taken action.

"This robot should be one you use specifically for mechanical operations. I see that the observation equipment and prosthetic hand are quite stable."

"But why don't you just build an engineering robot? That's more professional. Much better than what you put together yourself."

The robot's speaker continued to emit a cold electronic voice: "Can't get it."

The reason is so powerful that it kills the topic instantly.

Not everyone has the financial resources of Boss Jiang. Even the cheapest industrial robot from Zeta Technology that can meet 42's needs costs over 10 Euros. Moreover, this thing is much harder to buy than arms. There are no legitimate channels and it is difficult to get it. If you go on the black market, the price will be doubled.

Stroking his chin, Boss Jiang examined the equipment layout in the basement as if he had discovered a new world.

"But this is a really good idea. Placing an engineering robot in the base that can be remotely controlled via the Internet at any time is like having an external incarnation that can be switched at any time when needed."

42: "An incarnation, an interesting term, the entry has been included."

"Also, this plan is of no reference value to you, a primitive human without prosthetics."

Jiang Bing laughed out loud: "Alright, 42, it seems that intense surfing the Internet all day hasn't completely erased your humanity. You can still make jokes."

42: “Haha.”

Jiang Bing put the box in his hand on the table and gestured to the robot.

The robot's hands were very flexible under 42's control. Her previous collaboration with Jiang Bing was to crack the bank account data in the brain-computer interface. The two were no different, and she was already very proficient in this kind of work.

The two prosthetic arms kept switching between various disassembly tools. Under 42's operation, Vic Vega's brain-computer was quickly disassembled and the data storage components were taken out.

The data storage component is usually integrated with the identity authentication module, and the two cannot be separated. Once the brain-computer is locked, it means that both parties are locked at the same time.

42: "I would like to state in advance that once the owner dies, the built-in system lock of the brain-computer will lock it. I do not have the corresponding unlocking technology provided by the brain-computer manufacturer. I use brute force to crack it. I am not responsible for any data damage."

Jiang Bing had known about these situations for a long time, and he urged 42 to work quickly impatiently. He was waiting to see what the other party would do.

42's warning was just a routine one. She controlled the robot to come to the shelf, found an idle square device from a row of running devices, opened it, inserted the data storage component of Vic Vega's brain-computer interface into it, closed the device, and started it remotely.

The strange square device made a beeping sound that Jiang Bing was familiar with.

Looking at the densely packed devices on more than a dozen shelves, most of which were still in operation, Jiang Bing was a little amazed.

This entire basement is a cyber mine, but what is mined is not Bitcoin, but more hardcore brain-computer accounts.

"Are these all brain-computer data storage components?"

42 has now controlled the robot back to the standby position by the wall.

"Yes, and I don't mean to pry into your privacy, but why has your supply of goods been suspended recently?"

After hearing what the other party said, Jiang Bing also realized that he had not been a scavenger in the Coronado Farm for a long time, and these rats in the sewers were probably starting to run rampant.

The connection with "Slippery" has always been very close.

The other side hasn't had any difficulties lately that require the use of the 'Masked Demon'. With the previous wave of supplies, the 'Orphan Gang' is doing OK under the leadership of Sly.

However, facing Jiang Bing, this golden thigh, how could the meticulous "Slippery" give up on his own initiative? Ever since the last scavenger encirclement and suppression mission, "Slippery" would discuss the current development status of the gang with Jiang Bing from time to time, firmly grasping his training psychology, and completely treating him as a spiritual shareholder of the "Orphan Gang", and shamelessly taking a lot of financial sponsorship from him.

Jiang Bing was fully aware of the other party's intention to find a backer, and he was not averse to the emotional bondage tactics used by the "slippery" man.

After all, the other party has been very measured in their actions. Although the 'Masked Demon' has no plans for action recently, the 'Orphan Gang' is still trying their best to collect intelligence on the Coronado Farm, not only the scavengers. The 'Slippery' has recently expanded the scope of intelligence to the streets and alleys. Although no important intelligence has been found for the time being, the attitude and the meaning expressed are very important.

Secondly, regarding the actions of the "Slippery" and the "Orphan Gang", Boss Jiang still said the same old thing: as long as they are doing good things, we must lend a hand to the best of our ability.

There's no way. Although he committed murder, dismemberment, reselling of prosthetic bodies, smuggling, arson, poisoning, and robbery, and almost every crime in the criminal law, he still thinks he is a good person.

Thinking of finding time to chat with Sly in person, Jiang Bing answered 42's question, "I've been busy starting my own business lately, so I haven't been doing much part-time work."

The robot's sound was reflected off the wall and was faint when it reached Jiang Bing's ears. "That's a shame! Your supply is high quality and your replenishment speed is fast. It's a pleasure to work with you."

"Be careful when you surf. If you keep surfing at this high intensity, I'm afraid that one day the little bit of humanity you have left will be washed away."

Jiang Bing had suspected that the other party was a wandering AI. After all, the actions and ideas displayed by the other party were very different from those of ordinary people, but the intuition of the "craftsman" gave him the feeling that it was not the case.

This matter has always made him curious.

42: “Haha.”

Expressing complete contempt for Jiang Bing, a non-human with no self-awareness at all, 42 did not intend to argue with him about the fact that someone had once confronted Sian Westin with his physical body.

"You need it urgently. I will mobilize my computing power to crack the brain-computer blockade you brought. Don't bother me unless there are any problems."

As a craftsman, Jiang Bing naturally understood the feeling of needing to concentrate to complete something. He made an OK gesture, shut up, and began to look around the basement.

………………

Any black market must meet the following characteristics.

First of all, it has to be black.

If the place is dark, the people must be dark too.

Secondly, it must be well-connected so that the people inside can escape at any time.

The black market for pigeon cages fits these two criteria perfectly.

It is located in the sewers of the River Valley area.

The complex sewer system provides it with convenient cover, with various pipes extending in all directions and exits spread throughout the city, making entry and exit very convenient.

Finally, there is the issue of safety, which means whether it will be suddenly banned by the authorities.

Chapter 97 Pigeon Cage and Medicine God

No one really thinks that the black market can stay hidden under the NCPD's nose just because its name contains "black"!

Everyone has it in their pocket.

Jianghu is not about fighting and killing; Jianghu is about human relations.

David and Lucy walked along Capitola Street to a riverbank, climbed over the wall, and came to the sewer pipe below.

Night City's sewer system was basically newly built later. After the Arasaka Tower nuclear explosion in 23 years, a large amount of infrastructure in the entire Night City was severely damaged, and half of the city underwent renovation.

However, part of such a good sewer system is not used at all. After all, the sewage from many factories is discharged directly into the ground and does not go through the urban sewage system at all.

But the two were unlucky, as the pipe was filled with pungent-smelling sewage.

Fortunately, the diameter of this pipe is two meters, so there is ample space and the two do not have to wade through water.

At the beginning it was extremely narrow, and then he became enlightened. After taking dozens of steps, he suddenly became enlightened.

Turning into the main road, the space becomes more spacious. Next to the flowing city sewage, there is a special maintenance passage for two people to walk.

Lucy led the way, and after several turns, she led David into a seemingly abandoned pipe. After turning two more corners, they found a door at the end with a matching camera above their heads.

"arrive"

Lucy walked up skillfully, knocked on the door, paid the 100 euro "ticket", and the camera turned to the two of them.

The gatekeeper just took a quick look at the two people through the camera, and seeing that they were not carrying any unusual heavy weapons, he opened the iron gate directly.

As for David's bulging waist, the other party didn't care. Nowadays, everyone goes to the black market with a few weapons, as long as it's not too excessive.

The pigeon cage black market is just as the name suggests.

In this abandoned underground space, there are a lot of people of all kinds, making it very lively.

Sellers either sit on the ground, setting up stalls, or set up tables and put up signs. The more powerful ones will set up a formal shop and hang colorful neon signs in front of the door.

But the only thing that remains unchanged is that all the stalls are neatly divided into small compartments less than two meters, and expanded into two floors with metal shelves within the limited height.

It looks like a pile of pigeon cages stacked one on top of the other, densely packed and stacked on both sides, leaving only a narrow pedestrian passage in the middle.

The small pipes further away are of the same shape, but not as tall and wide, and are built on one side.

David was almost dazzled by the sheer number of colorful lights.

Although it is called a black market, there is actually nothing very exciting there. Instead, it is more like a gathering place where speculators, middlemen and counterfeiters gather to sell items that are illegal but not so illegal.

After all, in Night City, where arms and drugs can be easily purchased on the streets, there are no other contraband worth sneaking around in.

It is not convenient to bring other big ones here because of limited space.

Therefore, many stalls here only display a few goods symbolically, and you have to consult the store owner to find the real good products.

For large quantities of heavy weapons, military war equipment, and bulk contraband, the big players will go directly to Dog Town in Taiping Prefecture. That is where the big players gather.

This is at best a dog town meal replacement.

Fortunately, there will always be room for the sinking market in society.

Lucy held David's hand and walked through the crowd.

The two first passed by several stalls selling weapons, then passed by several Black Mewtwo stalls under David's gleaming gaze, and finally came to the medicine area.

The main products sold here are various combat stimulants and addictive drugs, such as immunosuppressants, which can be seen everywhere on the stalls.

In fact, many biological companies produce this type of drug that can suppress the immune system and the brain's rejection of foreign substances in the body.

However, among the various products, biotechnology immunosuppressants sell best in Night City, with the highest cost-effectiveness and the best quality.

The popularity of this thing is similar to the cold medicine in the 21st century. Almost everyone has used it. As long as prosthetic modifications are performed, it will be more or less needed. The market share is quite huge.

The profit margin is also very high, but then again, from ancient times to the present, the pharmaceutical industry has been full of excessive profits and shady dealings.

High profits will inevitably attract speculators.

The practice of selling fake medicines is almost as old as the history of human medicine.

For products with the same effect, the prices vary greatly between branded and non-branded products.

Whether it is corticosteroids, non-corticosteroids or biological inhibitors, the cost per dose in a small workshop may be only 10 euros, and the selling price can only be 50 euros, but once it is labeled with a big brand name, the price can soar to 300 euros.

Of course, whether there is any guarantee is another matter.

Anilla Paes is a counterfeit drug dealer who specializes in this field.

And it is quite famous in the pigeon cage area.

He started from a small workshop with no business, and worked his way up to owning four terraced stalls in the pigeon cage black market. At his peak, his daily turnover could reach hundreds of thousands of euros.

At the beginning, the immunosuppressants produced from his black workshop, because they contained less water, were not only 30% as effective as those on the market, but also had a lower mortality rate that was far ahead of the industry. In addition, the packaging machines he bought at a high price made these counterfeits almost indistinguishable from the real ones, and they quickly established a strong reputation in the industry.

Even counterfeit drug dealers from nearby Northern California sometimes come here to buy from him.

Anilla Paes, who was determined to make her business bigger and stronger, did not indulge in pleasure after making money. Instead, she made persistent efforts and continued to invest a lot of financial and material resources to delve into the field of generic immunosuppressants.

He was not satisfied with diluting it with water, but instead wanted to imitate a real immunosuppressant. To this end, he recruited people, bought equipment, conducted experiments, and purchased raw materials, successfully upgrading his black workshop into a "three-no" pharmaceutical workshop.

Since then, the immunosuppressants that have come out of him are not only identical in appearance to biotechnology products, but their effects can also reach 8% of the originals, but the price is only one-fifth of the originals.

However, before the goods were shipped for a few days, he was visited by an armed team from the biotechnology industry.

'Drug God' Anilla Paes never figured out why no one investigated when she sold fake drugs, but she was the first to be investigated when she sold genuine products.

He didn't even think about the fact that the formula of immunosuppressants on the market was not a secret at all, but why no force dared to imitate them in large quantities.

It's nothing, but there are people in the biotechnology industry who really have guns, and if they encounter this kind of thing, they will really kill them.

Those pharmaceutical licenses were not obtained through application, they grew out of the barrel of a gun.

Of course, Anilla Paes’s long time in the pharmaceutical industry was not in vain. He managed to get wind of the situation before the biotech company took action and escaped.

Lucy and David got the above information from a bald stall owner without much effort.

Under each other's enthusiastic guidance, the two also visited Anilla Pais's townhouse in the northwest corner.

The space on the left, right, top and bottom of this shop has been opened up, making it look very spacious.