Chapter 3

"If they take my blood, it's not like I'll lose anything, right? But what if I get hunted because it's rare or something? Then again, fifteen million sounds like a lot," Michael pondered his current situation. The doctor, sensing an opportunity, wasn't going to let this chance slip.

"How about twenty million with the latest military-grade immunoserum?" the left head of the doctor proposed.

"I don't know what that is, but screw it," Michael thought. "Deal," he said aloud.

The doctor hurriedly prepared everything, handed Michael another card with the money, and extracted a small amount of his blood. "By the way, I'm looking for a place to buy a navigation device and some other stuff," Michael said, preparing to leave.

"If it's alright with the esteemed one, Super..." the doctor began, but Michael cut him short.

"Sam. Just call it Sam," Michael said.

"... Sam can guide you. There's a place I'd like to recommend for your purchases," the doctor continued, but Michael had already stopped listening. This guy talked a lot—was he doing it on purpose? Whatever, Michael thought, following Sam as they left the doctor's building.

To his surprise, the place seemed less packed and fancier than where he first arrived. They walked on a passenger road, which was a network of roads going all over the place.

"This is odd," Michael remarked.

"Is something the matter?" Sam asked.

"When I first got here, the streets were packed," Michael said.

"Oh, you must be referring to the lower floor of this terminal. Every Belogia year, they hold a festival in the lower floors," Sam explained.

"Is that so," Michael muttered as they walked.

"I'm surprised you saw the festival. It seems you're quite skilled," Sam said.

"Skilled? Bro, not only did I discover I have superpowers, but I came here by accident," Michael thought, keeping a silent, still expression. "I appreciate your compliment," he replied.

"I'm not keen on such things, just expressing my thoughts. You arrived here in a rush, teleporting hastily and bringing with you a rare antique in fine quality. At first, you looked like a rookie in the smuggling industry, but nonetheless, you managed to teleport directly to Doctor Kutarimama. This means you were referred by one of our esteemed customers. No one goes to Doctor Kutarimama without a trusted client's referral or a special invitation. Hence, he treated you as a regular," Sam rambled on.

Michael tuned out again as they walked. He felt lucky for stumbling upon the doctor's place by pure chance, but he would take that to the grave. "I wonder if I can get internet here. It'd be great to learn more about this world, find a way back home, and maybe splurge a little," Michael thought.

"We've arrived," Sam said as they entered a building with flashy holographic signs. Michael wondered if those signs served any purpose. The place offered no physical products, just holographic displays with prices. A small hovering spherical drone approached them.

"Good evening, Su..." the drone began.

"It's Sam now," Sam interjected.

"Oh, finally got a proper name," the drone replied, mocking Sam's old name. Sam stood expressionless.

"By orders of Doctor Kutarimama, I'm here to refer the esteemed one and leave them to your services. Please take care," Sam said, turning to leave.

"And he's gone," Michael remarked, watching Sam walk away with no goodbye.

"Good evening, oh great esteemed one. What purchases may I help you with today?" the drone asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah... Let's see... For starters, I'm looking for a device for surfing the in..." Michael began, then paused. The drone wouldn't understand "surfing the web."

"While you think it over, would you like to sit in one of our guest rooms?" the drone offered.

"Nah, it's cool," Michael said. "I'm looking for a device with a map of this place. I'm terrible with directions, even though I travel a lot," he explained, brushing his head with a smile.

"Oh, I see," the drone replied. "Please follow me," it said as they passed holographic displays.

"There are so many ship parts on display," Michael thought, then something caught his eye. "Hey!" he suddenly said in a serious tone. "This 5th Gen learning module for ten thousand Rams," he pointed out.

"Oh, it seems the esteemed one has a good eye," the drone said, stopping. "This is the latest learning module we offer. One can not only learn comprehensive topics like with the old module, but this version also teaches physical tasks," the drone explained.

Michael was hooked. "I'll take this as well. What other items do you offer?" he asked.

From there, the drone presented Michael with more products. On this day, Michael learned not only the value of the world's currency but also how different his life could be with the advanced technology here. He spent nearly every penny he earned, and as he saw more, he wanted more, never regretting a thing.

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