Chapter 99: Chapter 78: More Than One Can Handle
"Hey, alright, alright, buddy, don’t just pull out a gun, okay? A little hand shake and I’m screwed, we can talk this through slowly, just move the gun away a bit first, this thing makes me stutter."
Amade curled up, raising his hand.
He wanted to stay as far from the barrel of the revolver as possible, but was afraid of angering the other party, causing a misfire.
Street guns aren’t guaranteed.
This kind of assembled goods is the most prone to problems. How many criminals failed at hostage-taking, all because the things in their hands weren’t reliable enough.
John activated the recording function in his prosthetic eye.
Messiah Company’s second generation and above products all come with recording functions. The latest civilian models can even record Super Sensing Chip raw footage.
There were rumors that the company’s servers would steal privacy through the eyes of customers, but a wave of crisis PR, and there was no follow-up news.
To the general public, it made no difference.
They didn’t have any trade secrets worth stealing, and as for secrets like private life... in an era where skin and facial features can be replaced, it really isn’t a big deal.
John’s prosthetic body was fully dipped in Black Light, so he didn’t have to worry about data leakage.
He got a bit into character and started yelling.
"What the f*ck did you do to the meat?"
Amade was almost on the verge of tears.
"I didn’t do a damn thing, man, okay? It’s totally unfair!"
"Trying to be a tough guy, huh? Okay, let me see which is tougher, your bones or your mouth..."
John shifted the aim of the gun, pointing at his crotch.
Amade displayed a shit-eating grin.
"There have been some bad reviews lately, but the meat really isn’t the issue, I swear! If you don’t believe it, just find someone knowledgeable to test it. These goods all come from the Radiant Dust Farm in the West District, way better than the food company’s quality!"
"Are you playing me?"
"Think it through, buddy, I... hey, hey, hey, don’t shoot, my bad, calm down, okay? Think about it, the wealthy are even more afraid of death than you are, if the meat had quality problems, they definitely would’ve investigated first thing, I have some clients living downtown, their methods are way more advanced than ours."
"What’s the result of the investigation? You must know."
"That’s right, but would you believe me if I told you, don’t just get pissed off and shoot me after listening."
Amade was cautious and spouted a bunch of crap.
John actually understood:
He’d scrambled his way to where he was now, barely accumulating some wealth, hadn’t even visited high-end places or touched a top-tier luxury car, not even gotten through his collection of Super Sensing Chips...
He didn’t want to die from a single bullet.
People like this can’t be rushed, fear can overtake reason, and might make them desperate enough to fight for their lives.
John lowered the gun.
Amade took a few deep breaths, nearly throwing up.
John squinted his eyes: "With guts like this, you still dare to get tangled up with company dogs? If any middleman covets your business, they’ll just take over your business and you’re still screwed."
"Damn, you’re right."
"Spit it out cleanly, I’ll judge the content myself."
John used a mix of mercy and might.
"There was gunfire on the street just now, even if the cops drag their feet, they have to show up, if you want to save your skin, better hurry."
"I’ll say it again, the meat isn’t the issue."
Amade turned over, using his weight to brace his arm, making himself a bit more comfortable.
"The customers had problems because of digestive system malfunctions... damn it, to put it bluntly, it’s just that..."
His expression was a bit complex.
"Those sick people, probably spent their whole lives living on protein paste and insect products, messing up their bodies, understand? Like a junkie overdosing, even water tastes bitter."
"Can’t digest it?"
"That’s about it, their digestive systems probably have never seen natural meat before, what’s that phrase again, some kind of... evolution, saying it might sound a bit distorted, but it’s about right."
Amade shook his head with a bitter smile.
"When their stomach and intestines suddenly encounter fresh meat, they’re baffled, causing all sorts of issues with absorption!"
"Bullshit, insect meat might be nasty, but it’s still natural, isn’t it? Primitive humans ate raw meat before mass extinction and had no problems."
"I’ve been in the food supply business for some time."
Amade became increasingly calm as he spoke. "You haven’t seen those meat bags grown in plastic, the tech content in those synthetics is higher than the cheap prosthetic bodies stuffed in me."
"F*ck, heh, you’re f*cking kidding me."
John didn’t expect this answer.
Amade broke into a cold sweat.
The gunshot wound was causing him pain, but he still tried his best to answer.
"The information is accurate, some company did a test, it’s part of the recent municipal news about the homeless relief project, which includes dietary habit analysis, I still have the original document, you can take it if you want."
He pressed down on his wound, unable to move easily.
John reached into his pocket and took out a data chip.
He got the evidence.
He stopped the recording.
Amade then revealed another piece of news,
that the creatures raised at the Eden City farm, too, are genetically modified breeds, a result of Gaia Cells research, using well-preserved data for cloning and reconstruction.
John thought of the oceanic white-tipped shark he’d once seen.
[Mission Objective Updated]
[Reply to the farm owner. (Not Accomplished)]
John looked around, ready to leave.
"Hey, you."
Amade suddenly called out to him.
"Uh, I don’t know where your brother got the meat, but a malfunctioning digestive system isn’t fatal, a bit of medication can fix it."
He shook his head self-deprecatingly.
"The company dog didn’t disclose the experimental information externally, actually, as long as you transition from mixed meat to pure meat, you can gradually adapt to fresh foods."
"Why tell me?"
"Eating well isn’t a crime, who’s born to just live on protein paste? I’m working my ass off on the streets just to make life a bit more comfortable."