Starting as a Mechanical Hunter

Under the sky shrouded in gray fog, a cargo ship bound for Nightless City was moving unhurriedly.

Beneath the deck, a group of people sat excitedly and nervously in the dirty cabin.

The crew member transporting the cargo glanced down, revealing a sinister smile.

Almost every day, a large number of stowaways attempt to enter Nightless City, a place referred to as Heaven by outsiders.

But most stowaways end up dying outside Heaven, not even having a chance to catch a glimpse of Nightless City before they die.

”Garbage, hope you have good luck.”

Gao Gong, dressed in ragged clothes, sat calmly in a corner. Opposite him was a guy rumored to have a ’corporate executive’ brother, talking enthusiastically about a future high-end lifestyle involving ’wine and steak’.

Beside that guy was a Clone who claimed he was going to inherit the estate of his ’unseen’ parents.

Next to Gao Gong was a super fan who intended to meet the currently popular virtual idol Aidolu in Nightless City.

His first step was to visit the fan club in the lower city, where each fan club reportedly had an idol experience machine that allowed you to enjoy a stormy virtual reality session with your idol for free.

Then he planned to enter the Cyber Network to have a face-to-face interaction with the idol.

Of course, there were more people here with ambitions to ’make a fortune’ in Nightless City, and you could sense their restlessness through their eyes.

A filthy stowaway ship had been forcibly transformed into what felt like an entrepreneur summit by this group of people.

Compared to them, the few people around Gao Gong seemed relatively ’normal’.

”Buddy, what are you going to do in Nightless City?” the executive’s little brother curiously asked.

”Family recognition.”

”You have relatives in Nightless City? What kind of relatives?”

”You’ll find out when I get there.”

The executive’s little brother thought for a moment, then patted Gao Gong on the shoulder, full of bravado, ”Living with relatives as a poor man is the easiest way to receive disdain. If I get a chance, I’ll introduce you to a job so you can also make a living in the big city.”

Gao Gong glanced at him, gave a wry smile and said, ”Thanks for the trouble, big brother.”

”No problem, no problem.”

”Hey, which company does your brother work as an executive for?”

The executive’s little brother wore a mysterious expression and said, ”Seeing as you’re one of us, have you heard of Virtual Real Estate?”

Virtual Real Estate? Sounds like it’s involved in property development.

Gao Gong hadn’t heard of it, but the Clone beside him had and immediately edged closer, ingratiatingly.

”It’s actually a subsidiary of the Virtual Realm. That’s pretty famous in Nightless City. I’ll have to rely on you a lot in the future, big brother.”

”No problem, no problem,” the executive’s little brother said casually, ”By the way, what do you say your unseen parents do?”

The executive’s little brother wasn’t dumb. When introducing himself, Gao Gong was labeled as an underground Mechanic, a type of person who could easily get by in Nightless City, fixing weapons for gangs, taking on jobs in the Black Market. If lucky, they might even receive outsourcing tasks from the Mechanical Main Brain.

This kind of person had pull value.

But this ugly-looking Clone? Could he really have wealthy parents? The executive’s little brother expressed disbelief.

”Quiet, mechanical eyeliner is coming!”

The cabin immediately fell silent.

Gao Gong closed his eyes, soft mist appearing around the eyes, and under the dark sky, a Drone flew over. This kind of Drone looked peculiar, like a basketball-sized Mechanical Octopus. The middle spherical part was a metal spotlight, its beam slicing through the dark with dazzling Radiance.

Several times, the beam came just a few meters away from the stowaway boat.

About half an hour later, the ’mechanical eyeliner’ vanished into the darkness.

All the stowaways let out a collective breath of relief, glancing at one another, still feeling shaken.

No one had the interest to speak any further.

Another three days passed.

The temperature in the bottom of the cabin was dropping lower and lower. Sometimes waking up early in the morning, they could feel frost accumulating. The crew came down more than once to carry the frozen stowaways above deck and tossed them into the river.

The environment at the bottom of the cabin was becoming increasingly harsh.

After all, in such a small Space, over a hundred people were eating, drinking, and defecating.

Gradually, bizarre and foul odors permeated the cabin.

The fan boy named Xiaoye instinctively moved closer to Gao Gong.

Because he noticed that as long as he stayed near him, those odors and cold seemed to inexplicably disappear.

Gao Gong glanced at him, smiled, and closed his eyes once more.

Finally, as the upper deck was opened, a loud, rough voice rang out.

”Garbage, congratulations, you’re in Heaven!”

A group of people scrambled out of the cabin, racing each other to disembark.

The shore wasn’t Nightless City. This stowaway ship only brought them close to it. Whether they could enter depended on their own skills.

On the shore stood another group of people, all wrapped in thick clothing. The gloomy sky, scorched land, and ghostly, misty weather...

This was nothing like the famed Heaven.

”Hurry, hurry, this batch is waiting for you.”

”No time left, get in the car.”

”Damn it, do you need me to invite you?”

The people tasked with picking them up all had fierce and malicious appearances. They might not be gangs, but were as fierce as gangs. Their transportation ranged from motorcycles to delivery trucks, and even modified locomotives.

Generally speaking, the higher the vehicle level, the higher the chance of a successful crossing.

The stowaways seated in a taxi smugly looked around before gracefully getting in.

Among them, a couple seem to play a leader role, surrounded by a crowd.

Gao Gong looked at Xiaoye, noticing the boy had a worried expression.

”What’s wrong?”

”Brother Gao, the car supposed to pick me up seems to haven’t come,” Xiaoye was full of fear.

”Then come with me.”

Gao Gong walked up to a smoking man, leaning against a Volkswagen Beetle. As Gao Gong approached, the man extended his hand voluntarily.

”Hungry Wolf?”

”That’s me.”

”Get in the car.”

Gao Gong took Xiaoye into the car. A few seconds later, a slick-haired young man approached; it was the executive’s little brother.

”Hey, Brother Gao! Surely my brother was careless and forgot to pick me up. Could you give me a ride? Really, once we reach Nightless City, I’ll repay you double!”

”Is it okay?” Gao Gong asked.

”With what you paid, ten people would fit.”

”Then get in.”

The executive’s little brother got in, wearing a flattering smile, constantly greeting the three, completely devoid of the previous cocky demeanor.

”Whoa, the gene guy!”

The executive’s little brother glanced casually out the window and saw a super luxurious stretch limousine parked in front of the Clone. Two bionic beauties rolled out a red carpet under the Clone’s feet.

A middle-aged man butler in formal attire slightly bowed.

”Welcome back, young sir.”

The gene guy was overwhelmingly excited, flushed, indecisive, under the complex gazes of all around as he cheekily got in.

”He was really the son of rich people!?”

For a moment, the executive’s little brother’s eyes were filled with jealousy and disbelief.

Xiaoye’s mouth was also wide open.

The smoking man sneered disdainfully, put his foot on the gas pedal, and the Volkswagen Beetle quickly left the dock.

”Want to watch TV?” the smoking man said on the road.

”Sure!”

The smoking man turned on the car display. A flamboyant host was loudly exclaiming.

”Welcome to the newest season of Aristocratic In-fighting: Genes and Offspring. Which Clone will laugh last and truly become a scion of the elite?”

The audience below cheered.

And on the television screen, three people saw a familiar face.