Chapter 29: Weaponry Hivemind
"So, humanity has reached the Golden Era, eh?" Lucas, who was currently present in a futuristic bus, nodded his head. Simo laughed inwardly.
From what he had seen, humanity was at its lowest point. It wasn't the Golden Era; instead, it was the Era of Depravity.
The bus was quite fast, but from inside, it felt like the bus wasn't moving at all. The only thing that dissatisfied Lucas was the fact that it cost a complete 1 credit.
...1 Credit? For what? A ride till the nearby spot?
Originally, they were asking for 1.2 credits, but Lucas, with his negotiation and bargaining, brought it down to 1 credit!
1.2 credits? They might as well rob me!
[We have reached the Plankton Street]
Hearing this, Lucas left the bus. Walking around for a few more minutes, he finally found another bus.
From this point onwards, taking two more buses, Lucas reached his destination.
[Parkons Train Station]
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{Select Location}
»2nd District -
《Time Square》
《Reboot Plaza》
《Dream Tech Arena Station》
Scroll Down To See More
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Ignoring the second district, Lucas went straight for the first district.
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{Select Location}
»1st District
《Luminate Street》
《Crimson》
《Dream Park》
《Moonlight Nation》
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After scrolling through most of them, Lucas's finger finally paused on the Moonlight Nation. He immediately clicked on it. Choosing a 3rd-class train, he paid 10 credits for it.
'Sigh, things are just so expensive nowadays.'
"It happens," Simo consoled from the side. Lucas then looked at his mentor and said in a low voice, "Master, now you'll see the limit of humanity, the peak techs made by it. Dunno if it will satisfy you."
"Let's see," Simo said, as he knew his reactions would most probably break his disciple's fantasies and expectations.
'Nothing can compare to what I've seen in the sanctuaries.'
Shaking his head to get rid of such thoughts, he focused back on Lucas, who, after booking tickets, sat on the bench.
Exhausted, he wished for a refreshing drink. But then the fact that drinks would cost double at train stations stopped him from doing so. With nothing to do he simply once again examined his rifle.
"Sigh, it's quite inconvenient carrying Mosin Nagant everywhere."
"Well, everything can't be convenient now, can it? Life is not fiction, where you will have plot armor, and things will be convenient for no reason."
"Well..." Scratching his head, Lucas flashed a cheeky smile. "I had a fortuitous encounter; this is how I gained Mosin Nagant and you as my master. It is surely like one"
Lucas secretly added 'Wise Old Grandpa' inwardly. Any diehard fan of novels, especially Eastern fantasy, would immediately know what this meant.
Simo was slightly confused, but it didn't take him much time to interpret what Lucas meant by Old Grandpa.
A few minutes passed as Lucas and Simo continued their conversation.
Honk-! Honk-!
The sound of the hover train marked its arrival. It didn't look that great, which Lucas expected while booking the tickets.
This was a hover train, floating a meter away from the track, just like the hover cars. As soon as the train doors opened, Lucas trailed inside, with Simo following behind.
'Better than I imagined,' Lucas thought. The last time he booked a third-class seat, his experience was horrible, and the staff definitely didn't think of hygiene.
After spending a few minutes, Lucas finally found the seat he had booked. At least the headrest was a little more tolerable, softer than last time.
The true joy was in saving money—nothing compared to that.
A few minutes passed before the train released another loud sound and then started moving again.
Lucas rested his head on the headrest. The rhythmical sound generated by the AC, along with a few mechanical chimes, had created a serene atmosphere. Lucas was quite enjoying it.
The fatigue and tiredness he gained from his trip to the outside world were slowly disappearing as a refreshing sensation that ran through his body.
From the corner of his eyes, he looked at the faint reflection formed on the window. His silver hair, blue eyes, perfect face, flawless skin...
"I once again say, and I quote 'If I could, then I would have married myself.' Sigh, what a pity I can't."
Simo's eyelids twitched slightly as he heard these words. "Out of all the qualities you could have kept, at the end you chose to retain your narcissism?"
"Well, master, you said to do so, right? Do not be a doppelganger of me."
"And I'm already starting to regret it."
"As I had said earlier, no refunds allowed."
The master and pupil continued their bickering. Lucas just found new ways amid conversations to develop his narcissism skills.
"Is there any good training field in this Dome?" Simo suddenly, out of the blue, asked.
"Training field? To train me?"
"Yeah."
"I thought I learned everything in your memories, Master." Simo raised one of his eyebrows. "You honestly thought that was all I could teach you? My dear disciple, if that's the case, then you're in for a surprise." Lucas couldn't help but feel expectant when he saw Simo's smile.
‘But there are very few, specialized for sharpshooters. Mostly belong to the Fool's Faction.’
“Fool’s Faction?”
'They're actually called the Weaponry Hivemind, and they completely oppose the Blacksmith Association. Unlike the Blacksmith Association, they focus more on advanced weapons like the Guns and Mechs. But many think this is a foolish act, giving them the name Fool Hivemind or the Fool's Faction.'
"Interesting." Simo rubbed his chin. "So even at the face of apocalypse, at the face of extinction, humanity cannot unite?"
"..."
Lucas was truly speechless, not knowing how to answer this question.
"Let's not trail off the topic. So such places exist, right?"
'Yes, but they cost too much money.'
"..."
"You stingy disciple of mine, everything has a cost, you know? This is the cost of growing stronger."
'There aren't any other methods?'
"There are, but you won't like it."
'Master, I don't care. This is the price of growing stronger!' Lucas said with resoluteness in his eyes.
"Very well, this is the path you've chosen. I hope you don't regret it, my dear disciple."
'I will definitely not. If it's something that can give me strength, and is budget friendly then I will go on! Things that can't kill you will make you stronger!'
???
Since when did this disciple of mine become so strong-willed and wise? He sounded like those strong willed hardworking prodigies, if the budget part was removed.
'If there's the will, then not even the heavens will dare to stop me!'
Pfffttt!
Ok, maybe this was too much.
Simo was feeling something that in modern terms would be defined as too much cringe for the body to handle. It was lethal!
"Ahh, man. I wanted to say that so badly; it's a line from my favorite protagonist." Lucas said loudly. This time Simo facepalmed. It turned out his guesses were right.
'He's too deep into this shit.'
