The Creatures that We Are

Darkhorse Street, Seven District, Moon City.

Upon entering District Seven, Vermilion Bird switched her motorcycle to land-traveling mode. At their destination, she parked in a designated area—a descended cubicle the size of a coffin.

Acid rain drizzled from the gray sky, its drops catching the neon lights. Vermilion Bird and Gao Yang hurried across the street to a gated community.

The square block consisted of sixteen apartment buildings, their facades covered in mirror-like screens displaying an ever-changing array of commercials. Instead of traditional entrances, rows of glass pipes resembling a pipe organ lined the ground floor.

“Use your I Chip,” Vermilion Bird said.

Gao Yang extended his left hand toward the control terminal for scanning.

“Beep—identity confirmed. Owner of Room 94.”

A holographic window popped up. Gao Yang picked “With Visitor(s)” and gave Vermilion Bird long-term access to the place.

Whoosh. One of the glass pipelines opened, revealing a capsule elevator. They stepped in, and it began its ascent, turning and twisting like a gentle rollercoaster. Within ten seconds, they arrived at Room 94's entryway.

Click. The elevator door opened, and they stepped into Gao Yang's home. Sensor lights activated in sequence, illuminating the space. The place was below eighty square meters big, divided into three rooms and two living spaces. Still, it didn’t seem cramped.

Outside of the load-bearing walls, all other walls were thin smart glass panels that were soundproof and could be switched between transparent mode and private mode. The default was transparent mode, so the layout of the whole flat and the furniture were all on clear display.

In the living room was an ergonomic sofa and a multifunctional automatic tea table. Vermilion Bird kicked off her shoes and walked in barefooted.

Only then did Gao Yang notice that her right leg was a cybernetic prosthetic, left silver and metallic without the concealment of artificial skin. Despite its mechanical nature, the smooth lines and synthetic muscles moved with natural grace.

Catching his gaze, Vermilion Bird struck a pose, hand on hip as she lifted her right leg. “During one gig, I got hit in the right leg with a plasma weapon. It got melted then and there. But the next second, the enemy’s S Chip and artificial spine were burned down. I was the last one laughing.”

Gao Yang nodded. He could picture that.

Vermilion Bird methodically secured the space, placing button-sized metal jammers throughout and confirming two escape routes. Only then did she head to the kitchen, retrieving a beer after checking its expiration date.

Sprawling on the sofa, she exercised her new visitor access. A wave of her hand activated the smart screen's TV broadcast. With a pulling motion toward her chest, the images sprung to life as holograms.

“To this day, the number of Jupiter Virus patients amount to 40212529—” Wave.

“Local news: regarding the terrorist attack against the energy company in District Nine, the authority has captured the mastermind of the criminal gang—” Wave.

“Our super AI Bodhi calculated pi to 4,936 trillion digits in just 12 hours, setting a new—” Wave.

“New AI pet, available in plant or animal form. Let its quiet company heal your loneliness—” Wave.

“Ah…hm…baby, I love you…”

Vermilion Bird's face remained impassive as she reached the midnight adult channel, dismissing the broadcast with a sharp push of her hand.

"I'm taking a shower," Vermilion Bird announced, rising to her feet and walking to the bathroom.

Gao Yang remained in the entryway, feeling like a guest in his own home. He made his way across the living room to his bedroom: a spare space containing only a bed, a desk, an embedded closet, and a deflated basketball.

A smart photo album on the desk played a loop of heartwarming family photos. As Gao Yang reached for it, the I Chip in his hand activated an implanted system. A hologram erupted from the album, expanding to life-size and transforming the room into a captured memory.

Bright sun, blue ocean, endless sky. His family played volleyball on the beach—his father and Gao Xinxin versus him and his mother. His grandmother sat on a lounger with a cup of strawberry ice cream, cheerfully supporting Team Gao Yang despite their losing streak.

“Turn off,” Gao Yang commanded.

Beep. The hologram vanished, leaving the room bare once more.

The sound of water droplets drew his attention. Turning around, Gao Yang realized with a start that the glass wall between bathroom and bedroom remained in its default transparent mode. Vermilion Bird stood exposed under the showerhead, aware but unconcerned.

Gao Yang quickly averted his gaze, but the red tattoo climbing from her ankle to the back of her ear had already burned itself into his memory.

“It’s nicknamed Red Scorpion.” Vermilion Bird rinsed her hair. White foam dripped down the line of her neck. The vapor gradually fogged up the glass wall.

“Cloudland orchestrated a collaboration with Closure and Spiritlife to develop the artificial neural system with the most cutting-edge technology. There are no more than thirty in the entire world. It’s still being tested in the military.”

“Yet you have one implanted.”

“Haha, this is Moon City. Nothing is improbable.” Her form blurred behind the steamed glass. “It’s essentially my second spine and brain, with a digitized consciousness conversion rate of 97.2%, a neural network delay of less than 3 milliseconds, and a reflex of 400M/S.”

“Sounds impressive,” Gao Yang said.

“It is impressive,” Vermilion Bird corrected. “Do you know the Heavenly Ocean?”

“No.” Gao Yang fixed his eyes on the wall.

“It’s a dangerous region in the Neunet where broken consciousness of all Neunet roamers converged. It’s said that the Heavenly Ocean is where you may gain anything—if you don’t lose everything.”

“Regular people can at most walk around the beach. They may die even if they just dip their feet in the water. I, however, can dive down to the middle section of the ocean. Once you get your S Chip, I can show you around the surface area.”

“There must be a price if it’s that good,” Gao Yang said.

“Haha, you’re quick. Most people will want an implant immediately when I get to this part.” The shower stopped. Vermilion Bird tilted her head up and brushed her hair back, her left hand tracing the Red Scorpion on her neck.

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