The System

Chapter 17: The System

Kestrel held the chip in his hand and made his request to Vajra.

After spending the entire night contemplating his decision, he had concluded that implanting the device directly into his brain carried far too many risks.

Paul's words just now had only deepened his apprehension—if even the backup heart installed in his body could malfunction, then what guarantee was there that a chip embedded in his brain wouldn't fail as well? It was a gamble he wasn't willing to take.

"Besides," Kestrel mused, "I barely know this place. If these two decide to double-cross me, what then? If the system is external, at least I can take it off if something feels off."

His response caught Vajra off guard. "Why, my friend? Could it be that your current system chip is malfunctioning?"

Hearing this, Kestrel suddenly realized he had just been handed a perfect excuse. He nodded immediately, going along with the ruse. "That's right, it's broken. It's been stuck in a boot loop, and I can't remove it. My buddy here had the same issue—ended up replacing his entire body with metal because of it."

To sell the story, Kestrel reached over and patted TPAL's shoulder. Playing along, TPAL let out a deep, mechanical sigh. "╯△╰"

"Is that so? Well then, let me take a look."

Kestrel instinctively leaned back, dodging the mechanical tools that unfolded from Vajra's cybernetic palm. Hell no—if he inspects me, I'm screwed.

Thinking fast, Kestrel feigned alarm and barked, "Don't touch it! This thing is dangerous—it can transfer consciousness! I went through hell just to break it, stopping it from slowly overwriting my mind. If you accidentally reboot it, I might not be me anymore."

"Hmm? That doesn't quite match what you told me yesterday," Paul muttered, tilting his head and stroking his chin.

Kestrel remained expressionless. "Take a guess."

Vajra hesitated, but after hearing Kestrel's elaborate bluff, he finally abandoned the idea of checking. "Alright, alright. If that's the case, I'll find you an external device instead. I think I had one in stock somewhere..."

Rummaging through the clutter, Vajra eventually unearthed a sleek, ring-shaped metal frame resembling a pair of glasses.

As he installed the chip into the device, Kestrel reached out to take it.

Examining the strange contraption in his hands, he inhaled deeply before carefully placing it over his head.

With a soft hiss, a bright yellow light flickered to life, forming a visor across his field of vision. To his surprise, it truly was a pair of glasses—but instead of glass or resin lenses, the "lens" was a projected holographic display.

The curved, elongated projection subtly distorted his peripheral vision, extending his sight beyond its natural limits.

The yellow display flickered momentarily, and when Paul spoke again, subtitles appeared beneath his words. "So? How does it feel?"

"How do I control it?" Kestrel adjusted the device, running his fingers along its frame, only to find no physical buttons.

"Just think. It scans your scalp for neural signals to detect intent. Since it's external, it can't alter your brain functions, so dopamine regulation and pain suppression won't work—but surveillance jamming and temporary ICE shielding are still operational."

"Disable subtitles."

The text vanished instantly.

"Show information."

At once, names appeared over Paul and Vajra's heads. Beneath Paul's name, a helpful link even popped up—directing to his live-streaming channel.

Lifting his cybernetic arm, Kestrel glanced at the lower-left corner of his vision. Numbers flickered into view:

Ammunition: 124 bullets, 0 shells.

"So this is what it feels like to be networked with the flesh," Kestrel muttered, his eyes widening in fascination as he took in his surroundings through the augmented interface.

With a mere thought, the shelves in Vajra's shop lit up, every cybernetic limb on display instantly tagged with its price and specifications.

With this device, it was as if he had installed a supercomputer into his brain—and this was just an external system. If it were fully integrated, the possibilities would be limitless.

"No wonder everyone wants a neural system," he murmured. "This thing is incredible."

"But," Vajra cautioned, "because your system is external, you must safeguard it. If someone steals your headset, they'll have access to your entire system—your money, your data, everything."

Kestrel smirked, tapping the frame. "And what, embedding it in my skull would make it theft-proof? If someone wants it badly enough, they'll just crack my head open and rip it out. Around here, I doubt anyone would lose sleep over that."

"Hah! Bro, now you're thinking like a local. Without the black market, where do you think all this gear comes from?" Paul chuckled, scratching his back with a broken cybernetic limb.

Vajra gasped in exaggerated horror. "Hey now! All my merchandise comes from legitimate sources—don't slander me!"

"Oh yeah? Then why the secrecy? Why hide from the cops?"

"I'm merely… avoiding taxes," Vajra muttered.

Kestrel's gaze darkened as his eyes drifted toward the stack of chips on the table. "So… these chips. Were they all dug out of someone else's head?"

Strangely, the realization didn't shock him. Perhaps he had already grown numb to the horrors of this place. Instead of disgust, he simply found it… unsurprising.

After Vajra finished tuning up Kestrel's combat chassis, the four of them returned to the front of the eccentric funeral-and-adult-goods shop.

Kestrel tilted his head up, scanning the flashing advertisements through his new interface. For the first time, the world seemed alive in a way it never had before.

Glancing around at the floating UI overlays, he suddenly felt as if he were inside a video game.

With a silent command, he activated the automatic translation feature. Instantly, every foreign-language sign morphed into clear, readable Chinese, and even the ambient chatter around him seamlessly converted to his native tongue.

"DogeCoin account registration."

A cascade of zeroes and ones streamed across his vision, coalescing into a single number in the corner: 0.0000 DogeCoin.

As he continued experimenting with the interface, a notification window abruptly popped up in front of him.

"Here, bro, add me as a friend! That way we can help each other out in the future!"

"Sure. Thanks for the assist—guess that makes us bros now." Kestrel accepted without hesitation.

"A promise is a promise!" Paul grinned, pulling Kestrel into a hearty embrace. "I knew you weren't an ordinary guy. I've got a good feeling about you. Not just anyone can go up against Chloe."

Laughing, Paul strode toward the waiting car.

As soon as Paul and Pus left, Kestrel resumed testing his system. For someone from the past, this was beyond surreal.

But he had barely begun fine-tuning the settings when another notification popped up—this time, in ominous black.

His heart skipped a beat.

"Besides Paul… who else here knows me?"

A flood of thoughts crashed through his mind. Had someone in this city recognized him? Had he been under surveillance this entire time?