Extra: The Daily Life of Old Six (3)

"What? Cyberpsychosis? And you want me to go?" Old Six stared incredulously at the Loli in front of him, confirming it once again.

The Loli tilted her head, lightly furrowing her brows, and pointed at Old Six's prosthetic limb with her e-cigarette. "That thing on your hand—isn't it Wol Technology's black titanium combat prosthesis?"

"Fuck~! That's just for show, so people don't think they can push me around. It's not for risking my life against Cyber Lunatics!" Old Six panicked immediately.

Hearing this, the Loli put down her crossed legs, her expression tinged with regret. "Alright then, if that's the case, our collaboration ends here. You can just wait to be skewered like a BBQ kabob."

She stood up after speaking, inserted the e-cigarette into a hovering drone, and turned around, ready to head to her livestream station.

"Wait, wait, wait!! Bro~ Don't rush off!" Old Six quickly grabbed her. "Tell me first—what exactly is going on? I... I'll plan something out." At this point, it was agree or die—he really had no other choice.

"She's a friend of mine. We used to be in the same streaming guild. Later, when her traffic dried up, she switched to the cyber-mutant niche and augmented her body with all kinds of prosthetic enhancements."

"At first, her fan count was decent. But after a while, people found her streams dull and her chat skills nonexistent, so her followers started dropping off."

"To keep her fans, she kept adding more and more prosthetics, going further and further down the freak-show rabbit hole." As the Loli spoke, a tinge of sadness flickered in her eyes, and her voice lost its earlier sharpness.

"In truth, she was such a kind and gentle person—a really good girl. But people like her are destined to have the toughest time surviving in Metropolis."

After a moment of silence, she continued, "And then she lost it. She fully brainwashed herself into believing her virtual persona, genuinely thinking she's some man-eating monster. Now she's hiding out in the Queens District sewers, popping up now and then to eat people."

As she spoke, the Loli transmitted some data to Old Six. "I've already pinpointed her. She's hibernating in that section beneath D11 District. Take care of her—whether that means killing or containing her, I don't care. I just don't want her living this inhuman existence anymore. She was once such a wonderfully tender person."

Old Six scratched his head as her words sank in. The task was daunting. He'd always run from Cyber Lunatics in the past, never once imagining he'd have to face one head-on someday.

After pondering for a while, Old Six pulled his dreadlocked fingers off his scalp, raised his head, and looked at the chubby Loli in front of him. "You're coming along, aren't you? At least lend a hand?" Desperation called for backup.

"Do you think that's even possible? If you're scared, just admit it. If you're out, just say so." The Loli stood up again, turning to leave.

"Fine, fine! I agree, alright?! Bro—I've still got plenty of connections in Metropolis, don't worry about it." Old Six puffed up his flat chest with forced confidence, then turned to march out of the influencer incubator building.

But as soon as he stepped outside, he was immediately soaked by the acidic rain pouring from the sky. His previously upright posture folded like wet paper. "Ugh, who can I even drag into this gig now? Hey? Si Ai? Got a job for you—you in? I need a medic."

"What kind of job?"

"It's Cyberpsychos——"

Before Old Six could finish, Si Ai flipped him the middle finger through the screen and cut the call.

"Hey? Priest? It's me, lah~ Pus. Got a gig—interested?"

"How much do I get paid?"

"Payment? Of course! Totally. Just not upfront—installments work, right?—" For the second time, Old Six didn't even get to finish his pitch before being hung up on again.

After making the rounds, Old Six realized that aside from King Kong offering some online network support, no one else was willing to step in. "FUCK!! Ungrateful bastards! The next cushy job I get? Don't even think about me calling you!"

Rather than rushing to confront the Cyber Lunatic, Old Six used the remaining time to brainstorm alternative solutions. But as the clock ticked down, he came to the grim conclusion that he had no choice but to proceed.

Staring at the sewer entrance ahead, Old Six—fully geared up—took a deep drag from his e-cigarette, then flung it to the ground with force. "Fuck it! If I die, I die!"

With that, he ripped open the cover and jumped in without hesitation. The underground tunnel was pitch-black, save for the rushing sound of rainwater.

Luckily, Old Six had pawned some of his organs to prep for this mission, acquiring a few much-needed pieces of equipment.

With a sharp clap, a drone the size of a fist shot out of Old Six's hand, lighting up the sewer space with a blinding white beam.

Metropolis's massive sewers, built to accommodate its eternal acid rain, were absurdly wide—about 2.5 meters in diameter. The walls were coated with sticky, disgusting muck,

while Old Six trudged through knee-deep rainwater, occasionally kicking against god-knows-what. He didn't bother identifying it; he figured plenty of people treated the sewers as incinerators anyway.

Initially, Old Six moved with extreme caution. But after aimlessly wandering about for a while, he still hadn't encountered anything.

"King Kong, you son of a bitch! Does the detection software you sold me even work?!" Old Six yelled at his voice-chat partner. "I've been down here for twenty whole minutes, and there's been zero activity! Are you just here for the show, you useless fuc—"

Static crackled through the line before King Kong's voice returned. "Amitabha, chill, Pus. Don't go spraying venom everywhere, or I might just bail on this gig."

Before Old Six could respond, something brushed against his calf. He spun around, slamming his black titanium prosthetic into the concrete wall, sparks flying on impact.

Just as he was about to fire, ripples spread across the filthy water—and then he saw it: a decayed rat with a human finger clenched in its jaws, darting into the shadows.

"Fuck!" Old Six muttered, swallowing thickly. Then his eyes caught something different on the tunnel walls—graffiti beginning to appear in patches. Some were symbols, others resembled virtual gifting interfaces from livestreams.

Resting a hand against the damp wall, Old Six struggled to suppress his shivers. As the graffiti grew denser, he knew he'd found the right place.

"King Kong, get to work! Help me out on this one, and I'll send every idiot I find your way in the future!"

"Fine, I'll try some network hacks. But the rest? You're on your own."

After walking for about five more minutes, a raspy female voice echoed through the tunnel. "Today, let's rank... OR games..."

Hearing this, Old Six couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "Streaming game rankings? No wonder your followers ditched you. Your content fucking sucks."