The Daily Life Of A Cyberpunk Magician

Chapter 18 - 17 Feigned Death
Chapter 18: Chapter 17 Feigned Death”You!” Gary was suddenly furious, having clearly heard the mockery in Jiang Shu’s words, and apparently, he was not one to hold his temper. He lunged forward to grab Jiang Shu by the collar.

”Gary!” Tang Hexun stopped Gary, feeling somewhat indignant about Gary’s rude behavior. After all, the officers from Thirteen District were their colleagues. ”Are you done with today’s work already? Then you might as well take them to see the scene.”

”...Yes.” Gary didn’t say much else, simply responding before falling back behind Tang Hexun, but his dissatisfaction wasn’t hard to discern from his face.

”Alright, Police Chief Tang, could you give us the file on the Fox case? We’re heading to the scene now.” Wolf shook his wristwatch.

”Of course, you can.” Tang Hexun nodded his head, then pulled up the electronic file from the database and sent it to Wolf.

Lonely City had largely completed digitization of documents, and paper files were generally not in use, with only a very few confidential files or special documents still preserved in paper form. The former were to prevent hackers from infiltrating, while the latter were kept for their special significance and were difficult to copy.

”By the way, if it’s not too much trouble, stay away from Zone F.” Tang Hexun spoke seriously, his eyes deep and without luster. ”Recently, the gang ’Mechanic Disciples’ in Zone F seems to be up to something big, and nearly all of our police forces are deployed there.”

”Thanks, we won’t add to the chaos,” Wolf nodded in acknowledgment, then added, ”But if you need help, don’t hesitate to ask.”

”Mhm.” Tang Hexun didn’t refuse, then turned and entered his office. He had indeed been overwhelmed by gang issues recently.

He called to the officer named Gary, saying, ”Officer Gary, I’ll trouble you to lead the way.”

”Mhm.” Gary replied coolly and detachedly.

The three of them left the police station, and it was already nightfall. Looking around, it was clear that the officers at the station were indeed diligent, with many still at their posts approaching nine o’clock.

Gary wanted to drive the police car, but Wolf stopped him, ”No need, a police car is too conspicuous. My private vehicle will do.”

”Conspicuous? What are you planning to do?” Jiang Shu stepped away from Wolf.

”Nothing.” Wolf just chuckled and then asked Gary familiarly, ”Bro, tell me, what’s up with the Mechanic Disciples?”

Gary felt oddly flattered by Wolf’s familiarity, as even though Wolf was humble, he was still a T2 level Police Chief, only one rank lower than Police Chief Tang Hexun.

The three of them got into the car with Gary sitting in the front passenger seat while Jiang Shu sat in the back with the four Tablet Spirits.

As soon as he got into the car, Jiang Shu secured the four little ones onto the seat, adjusting the seat belt to the right height, stretching it from one side to the other to contain the four and prevent them from running around.

And the four Tablet Spirits sat in the back comfortably, their eight short legs wobbling, seemingly in good spirits.

After making sure they were all settled, Jiang Shu then turned on his wristwatch to review the Fox death case file that Wolf had forwarded to him.

”It’s just...” Gary paused, thinking for a moment before speaking, ”We’ve traced a batch of military weapons and prosthetics that the Mechanic Disciples brought in. Although they are decommissioned military gear, their lethality cannot be underestimated. But in several raids on their hideouts, we failed to find the weapons, and we lost quite a few officers instead.”

”Military weapons?” Wolf was shocked, then clenched his teeth in anger, ”Which of the Three Major Groups’ logistics officers did this? Can these swine only see their own troughs?”

”In the end, it’s only us lowly officers who die.” It was clear that Gary was also dissatisfied but felt helpless as he continued, ”Anyway, the previous raids on their hideouts caused large-scale gunfights in Zone F, and there were civilian casualties. So, the higher-ups have strictly forbidden us from making big moves, and the surveillance system in Zone F is not fully functional yet. We can only deploy officers to monitor them.”

”But this can’t be the solution either.” Wolf frowned, the whole situation looming like the sword of Damocles, a constant threat overhead.

How strange the social system of Lonely City was.

Jiang Shu couldn’t help but lament inwardly as he listened. The city, controlled by the Three Major Groups, was all the more prone to breeding various kinds of bacteria as time went on.

”We’re here,” Gary reminded.

Ahead was the block where the armored convoy had been ambushed. In the middle of the road, there was a clearly visible large hole surrounded by a circle of police barriers. The occasional vehicle and pedestrian passed by, all detouring around the hole.

”Why haven’t they sealed off this area?” Wolf wondered.

Gary shook his head. ”This road is quite remote, but it’s at the junction between a residential and a commercial district. There’s a lot of foot traffic during work hours, so they can’t block off the street. As for that hole, it’ll probably be filled in by tomorrow.”

Wolf nodded his understanding, then parked the car by the curb.

The area was indeed isolated, and one could get a sense of that from the brightness of the streets, lit only by the streetlights and the few lights from residents’ homes.

Jiang Shu followed Wolf out of the car, absentmindedly closing the file on his watch. He had been too preoccupied listening to the conversation between Wolf and Gary to read a single word from it.

As he closed the car door, he heard a constant ”pop, pop, pop” coming from inside the vehicle. Peering through the window, he saw the four silent ”small ones” tapping on the seats to protest.

A: Wolf! Open up, hurry and open the door!

B: You have the guts to snatch a man, have the guts to open the door!

C: Hole one, hole one, this is hole turn, initiating text bombing!

D: Hole turn, hole turn, hole one received.

Soon after receiving a flurry of anonymous texts all saying ”open the car door,” Wolf hurried over to let out the four ”Tablet Spirits.” He curiously observed the four electronic pets, ”Your e-pets look average in appearance, but they sure are smart, possessing a certain degree of autonomy. Did you teach them?”

Like ordinary pets, electronic pets also undergo a learning process that mostly involves text and language. To possess autonomous consciousness, even partially, is quite remarkable.

”Heh, something like that,” Jiang Shu didn’t elaborate much.

A: Average-looking? Say that again!

B: I’m your dad!

C: Your mom’s grocery shopping will definitely get more expensive!

D: I hope if your car gets hit, it’s fully insured, with your dad, uncle, and all your great-uncles as the beneficiaries!

”...” Wolf scowled, then turned to Jiang Shu, ”Did you teach them this, too?”

”Don’t look at me, I know nothing about this,” Jiang Shu denied with a grim face and then quickly walked towards the large hole in the distance.

The hole was shaped like a spherical concave with a radius of about four meters, and the walls were smooth and tidy, with a ring resembling a post-weld bulge near where the ground met the walls.

”Hot-Melt Bomb, huh?” Jiang Shu murmured the name. It seemed quite terrifying, but even after seeing the explosion site, he couldn’t make out anything.

After all, he was just a Magician, not some technician. He really didn’t know why Wolf had brought him along instead of Kirie.

”Can you make anything out?” Wolf asked, coming up beside him.

”If I have to say something,” he spoke slowly, ”I think the fox faked its death.”