He panted heavily, releasing his inner dissatisfaction.

The artificial leather at the front of his fist was torn, causing a slight sting. A series of codes and prosthetic body damage information flashed before his eyes.

If the process of dying becomes prolonged, it will gradually drive people insane.

John forced himself to calm down with deep breaths.

Once composed, he recalled something:

When the web police were hunting him down, someone had cleaned up the traces of Black Light at the Dan Street Apartment, leaving the state police without any solid evidence and unable to take him away before Eden.

John returned to the scene afterward and found a vacuum tube in the ruins, inside which was a self-destructing chip after reading.

The message read:

[Pacifica, is that you?]

Pacific Connor is the real name of the super hacker [Serum].

If [Diode] was the person who left John a message at the Dan Street Apartment, it meant they knew the secret of Black Light.

Serum undoubtedly possessed some intelligence.

[Mission Objective Update]

[Establish contact with Serum. (Not Achieved)]

The progress of the main mission had shifted.

Vito noticed that John's expression had turned grave.

This young man always became particularly calm once things reached a certain degree of badness, as if his emotions hit a threshold and were forcibly cleared, switching to a more rational state.

John began to calculate the current situation.

He had already asked Gino to help contact Serum and planned to check back after the chaos at Bolago Club subsided.

For now, the priority was to leave the scene.

The dead body in the room was a member of the Jingke Heavy Industry board.

His biological remains needed to be properly disposed of, and the bound insurance package and authorization codes required a complex procedure.

The fall of a big shot would trigger a chain reaction.

The company could select a replacement member within ten minutes of the incident. The transfer of power and inheritance of resources was the real battlefield.

But none of this concerned John.

Mr. Vito sighed.

"Trust me, John, stay away from them."

"If I don't find the vacuum tube, I could die at any moment."

John looked Vito straight in the eye, with sincerity.

"The video of your transaction has spread among the elite circles."

His implication was that the vacuum tube wasn't as terrifying as imagined.

In Eden City, there are no walls that are completely sealed off, nor people who can truly hide themselves entirely. It's just a matter of time.

Vito chuckled lightly, shaking his head.

"That was intentional by Vacuum Tube [VT]. My secret investigation was discovered, and the public video was a warning, exposing me to the enemy's view, forcing me to change my weapon usage plan... What a pity, originally no one knew I had bought a big toy, manufacturing surprise would surely have been more fun."

John wasn't interested in delving into corporate and gang conspiracies.

"What else do you know about Colonel Chris?"

"He has a Basic Physique."

"What?"

Vito furrowed his brow.

"It's a scientific term. Unfortunately, I'm just a gang member and can't explain it to you from an academic perspective. Before contacting the vacuum tube, I even thought it was just a big corporation boasting..."

He attempted to translate it into layman's terms.

The Basic Trait is very rare.

In the countless prosthetic surgeries of the Cyber Era, it's often heard that someone installed an excessive number of implants, the pressure became too much, and they eventually developed cyberpsychosis.

But there's another, even rarer case.

Some people exhibit extraordinary endurance and adaptability. Even after implanting advanced prosthetics, they show no signs of rejection.

Some major corporations are collecting similar samples.

They are attempting to create the [Basic Physique] through artificial intervention.

Successful enhancers can accept prosthetic implants beyond the Alpha Level and still retain complete biological character and mental capabilities even when their physical retention is below eight percent.

One standard of a perfect Basic Physique is:

Cyberpsychosis is below the standard unit.

Vito noticed John's reaction was somewhat odd.

"Kid, your hand is shaking?"

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