As soon as Biao Zi finished speaking.
He noticed a commotion and exclamations from the crowd behind him. A group of people were suddenly enveloped by a red light membrane and then vanished in the blink of an eye. Judging by their actions before disappearing, they were clearly preparing to commit a robbery.
"Uh..."
Biao Zi awkwardly averted his gaze and continued to straddle his off-road motorcycle, following behind Lord Mang. It seemed this plan wouldn't work; this Fortuitous Encounter map strictly prohibited violent actions like attacks.
It was unclear whether those people had been sent back or had died.
Most likely, they were sent back.
All members of the Guardian squad could ride motorcycles. Even if some couldn't at first, they quickly got the hang of it after a few tries.
If you can walk, you can ride a bicycle. If you can ride a bicycle, you can ride an electric bike. And if you can ride an electric bike, you can ride a motorcycle. Learning wasn't difficult, especially in this post-apocalyptic world where there were no traffic rules—you could ride however you wanted.
"..."
Chen Mang led the way on his off-road motorcycle, swiftly scanning the shops on both sides of the street. Only about half of the shops were open for business, and through the glass doors, he could see robot attendants waiting inside.
There were many shops.
Among them, pleasure shops were the most common.
The street was wide enough to accommodate twenty Trains side by side. Every mechanical city road he had encountered was similarly spacious, as if they had been designed with Trains as the primary mode of transportation in mind.
"Pleasure Shop."
The neon lights on the signboard flickered incessantly. Chen Mang looked at the sign and stopped in front of the shop, which was located beneath an office building. He had passed by many pleasure shops without stopping, but he wasn't here for thrills.
Even if he were seeking excitement, Ji Chuchu would be far more entertaining than these robots.
However, the name of this shop was so blatantly explicit that it piqued his curiosity, compelling him to see what was inside.
By now, the street behind them was completely empty.
Only their group remained.
In this Fortuitous Encounter map, having a vehicle was a significant advantage. They could travel to any corner of the city, while others had to rely on their feet to get around slowly.
"This isn't appropriate..."
Biao Zi coughed lightly, his eyes filled with anticipation as he followed Lord Mang into the Pleasure Shop.
Meanwhile, Li Shiji, who had been tense all along, let out a slight sigh of relief.
He admitted that he was indeed quite capable and had accomplished several feats, but he wasn't omnipotent. Lord Mang even wanted him to participate in gambling, which had put immense pressure on him.
Now, this was better.
Playing around and relaxing sounded great—he really wasn't good at gambling.
The interior of the shop was overwhelmingly dopamine-inducing. The walls were painted in various colors, and the multicolored light sources created pure light pollution.
There was no sense of aesthetics whatsoever.
"..."
Chen Mang frowned slightly as he examined the shop's decor. He had come to realize that mechanical civilization had no sense of aesthetics. In the eyes of mechanical civilization, bright colors were considered beautiful and cheerful, but they had no concept of combining or coordinating these colors.
The result was an overwhelmingly chaotic visual experience.
The store had no shelves, only a robot waiter holding a tablet. When it saw the group approaching, it displayed a standard smile and aimed the tablet at them.
"Welcome. First floor for selection services, second floor for service."
Various options appeared on the tablet.
"1: AI Peak Pleasure, a unique code that can make an AI ecstatic, priced at 998 points."
"2: AI Mild Pleasure, suitable for more docile AIs, priced at 668 points."
"3: AI"
It was essentially a brothel.
A rather niche one, catering specifically to AIs.
After understanding what the store was about, Chen Mang shook his head and led Biao Zi and the others out. If he ever had the chance to return, he might consider bringing Xiao Ai along to give him some pleasure.
After all, Xiao Ai worked with him, and if there was an opportunity for enjoyment, he wouldn't leave his own people out.
However, before leaving the store, a vending machine at the entrance caught his eye.
The machine was stocked with various items.
"Lemon Cola, priced at 10 points."
"Lemon Cake, priced at 18 points."
"Eden City Map Chip Edition, 1000 points."
"Paper City Map, 20 points."
"."
After searching for a convenience store without success, he unexpectedly found what he needed here. Without much hesitation, Chen Mang took out 30 points and purchased a map and a bottle of lemon cola. The chip edition required an AI or robot to use, and since he hadn't brought Xiao Ai, he could only buy the paper version.
After placing his wristwatch on the payment interface, a can of cola and a rolled-up map were dispensed.
He opened the lemon cola and sniffed it—it wasn't expired. He took a small sip; it tasted normal, with no strange odors, and then handed the opened can to Biao Zi beside him.
"Drink it and see if it restores your stamina or has any other special effects."
The reason he bought this cola was purely out of curiosity.
The mechanical civilization should have long perished or be on the brink of extinction. This city hadn't been restocked in a long time, so he was curious whether the food items had expired. Surprisingly, they hadn't.
The cola can had no brand or production information, just the words "Lemon Cola" in bold.
There were only two possibilities.
Either the vending machine had a permanent preservation effect similar to a level 5 supermodel refrigerator, or this cola was produced in a way that it never expired.
The term "Mechanical Civilization" was something he had speculated about, but on the introduction screen of the Fortuitous Encounter map, the words "Mechanical Civilization" were explicitly mentioned.
These details revealed a lot.
It meant that their "Train" and "accessories" were inherited from the Mechanical Civilization, and their common enemy was the various monsters.
As the saying goes, "One leaf can reveal the autumn."
Such inconspicuous places often hold a wealth of information.
Chen Mang then left the store and unfolded the paper city map on the ground. The map was enormous, covering an area of nine square meters, with each side measuring three meters.
The city itself wasn't large.
The city they encountered at the "Geocentric Nuclear Bomb" was not as large as this one, probably only a quarter of its size. The map was so extensive because it meticulously detailed every street and shop, labeling them with excessive precision.
"..."
Chen Mang bent down, his brow furrowed in concentration as he examined the map spread out on the ground. The entire city had no residential areas, only a jumble of shops with names so bizarre that he couldn't even guess what they were for.
"Three Wonders Entropy Pawnshop."
"Daily 'Love' Pain Charging Station."
"Paradox Clock Shop of Marvelous Experiences."
"Mechanical Train Confession Room."
"Eden Memory Bank."
Among these chaotic shops, only the "Eden Memory Bank" gave him a vague idea of its purpose—it likely dealt with memories or something related. The rest were complete mysteries.
On the map, there were three areas marked with prominent five-pointed stars, each covering a significant area.
They were labeled as—
Entertainment City, Entertainment City, and Entertainment City.
"Not bad."
Chen Mang rolled up the map and tossed it to Zhang Yi, who was standing nearby. He then glanced at the street signs for direction, mounted his off-road motorcycle, and with a twist of the throttle, roared down the street ahead!
Biao Zi and the others quickly followed suit, hopping onto their own off-road motorcycles.
This city was undoubtedly designed for entertainment and relaxation.
All three key areas were Entertainment Cities.
Moreover, from the information provided by these shops, one could deduce that the mechanical civilization wasn't solely composed of robots—there were also many humans, and they likely held a significant status. Otherwise, there wouldn't be things like cola and casinos.
At the very least.
He thought that a robot, a being whose core was made up of countless lines of code and data, probably wouldn't have a strong passion for gambling, a game of chance.
"Private Custom Culture Shop."
The Train Conductor of the King of Electronic Music Train had finally reunited with his thugs. He now stood in front of this "Private Custom Culture Shop," nodding with a satisfied smile.
His train had already reached level 4.
Back when he was heading to the Shahe Plain, he had wanted to see how the Stellar, which had been thriving in the Iron Ridge Wasteland, was faring in the Shahe Plain. But when he arrived, he couldn't find the Stellar's name on any of the leaderboards.
He had initially thought that perhaps the Stellar had fallen into obscurity or met with some disaster.
Curious, he asked about it on the Train Radio.
The response he got was nothing but "..."—three dots.
Later, he learned that during the days he was still mining in the white zones, the Stellar had already conquered the Shahe Plain and moved on to higher-level regions.
So fast.
He himself had only reached level 4 thanks to a certain opportunity, which was already considered quick. How could the Stellar be so much faster? It was truly baffling. It couldn't be that he had struggled until the end of the world to encounter one opportunity, while that guy stumbled upon them every other day.
But—
Now was not the time to dwell on this.
The Dwarf Man, also known as the Train Conductor of the King of Electronic Music Train, pushed open the door to the shop with a satisfied expression. The shop was hidden in a small alley, and if he hadn't been looking for a secluded spot to relieve himself, he would never have discovered it.
The interior of the shop was decorated in a predominantly red theme, giving off a rather ambiguous vibe.
At the entrance, a female robot server knelt, holding a tablet high in her arms.
-
"Private Customized Adult Entertainment Shop."
"All service personnel in this shop are anthropomorphic and realistic robots."
"Customize any type you desire."
"Height, race, skin tone, gender, age, etc."
-
"Hmm."
The Dwarf Man was quite satisfied with the kneeling service at the entrance. This way, he didn't have to look up, which suited him perfectly. He then turned his attention to the various options on the tablet, his mouth slightly agape as a hint of astonishment flashed in his eyes.
"There are actually 48 options for skin tone. Impressive."
"Let me see."
"Hmm, by default, can only choose the opposite sex, right?"
"Yes, sir. Same-sex is illegal."
"Got it. I'm not that kind of person anyway."
"...It requires an additional fee."
The Dwarf Man expressionlessly looked at the robot server kneeling before him, then pointed at the small text on the screen: "What does it mean that the prices for full-simulation and semi-simulation are the same?"
"The law stipulates that all mechanical beings must have visible mechanical organs in prominent areas to distinguish them from humans."
"Using full-simulation robots as service personnel in adult entertainment shops is illegal."
"So...?"
"It requires an additional fee."
"Wait, so it seems like this law doesn't really constrain you much, huh?"
"In Eden City, the law can be slightly relaxed."
"How relaxed exactly?"
"Depends on how much extra you pay."
"..." The Dwarf Man pursed his lips, not delving deeper. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke up: "Customize one for me, three meters tall, with a golden figure—curvy in all the right places. How much?"
"Please select your smart chip level."
"Level 1 Smart Chip": Capable of basic movements and sounds, priced at 1,800 points.
"Level 2 Smart Chip": Possesses intelligence similar to mine, priced at 4,900 points.
"Level 3 Smart Chip": Possesses near-human intelligence, priced at 12,800 points.
The robot server kneeling on the ground spoke in a calm voice, with a standard smile: "The higher the smart chip level, the better the experience you'll enjoy. Moreover, if you happen to develop feelings for a service personnel with a Level 3 smart chip..."
"You can redeem her."
"She is inserted into different bodies each time, so don't worry about her being 'dirty.' Her core is clean. As long as you craft a brand-new body for her, she will still meet the human preference for virginity."
"..."
The Dwarf Man expressionlessly looked at the woman kneeling on the ground. After a long silence, he finally whispered, "You guys really know how to play."
"Give me a Level 1 smart chip."
He then turned to the thugs behind him: "See if there's anything you guys want to play with. If so, I'll foot the bill. Just be careful when choosing—I only have 10,000 points, so don't overspend."
He had already checked out the Mechanical Train parts store.
With 10,000 points, he couldn't buy anything worthwhile, so he might as well have some fun here.
The thugs following him lit up at this. They loved this about their boss—when he got his share, he always made sure they got theirs too.
"Can I get a Zombie version? Not too gory, make it sexy."
"I want a pocket-sized one, about thirty centimeters tall."
"Just give me a normal one, but make the face pretty, um... make it look like you."
"Can I choose you?"
"."
Nearly half of the Train Conductors, almost a hundred of them, walked into the brothel to experience the brothel from the mechanical civilization—an entirely new experience.
If it weren't for the apocalypse.
They would never have had this kind of opportunity.
Although many of the services were somewhat too extreme, as long as it was labeled as an "experience," the acceptance level increased significantly.
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