1.30 This is a cyber-beast girl.

At the mere sight of the Umbrella Spirit card, Wu Chen felt a stir within his heart. It was a sign that this card shared an inextricable bond with his past.

Yet, times had changed, and with the destruction of his shelter, the narrative threads were difficult to untangle. The Umbrella Spirit card had withered, no longer the entity it once was. Much like Wu Chen's AE86, which required constant gear shifts to be restored to its former glory, the card before him, while technically "recovered," was a shadow of its former self. Even the spirit within the card possessed no memory of him. Still, the bond remained, and their story was destined to intersect. The proprietress of the Tang Building had claimed the item was "useless to her" simply because the card already had an owner. Aside from Wu Chen, no one else could use it. It was a twist of fate that it had returned to its rightful owner today. How his exclusive card had ended up in the hands of the Tang Building proprietress remained a mystery.

Including the Beast Girl obtained from the Navigator and the Umbrella Spirit gifted by the proprietress, Wu Chen now possessed five exclusive cards.

Accumulating cards, restructuring the Omega Brainwave screen, and igniting his "Small Universe"—this was the only path the AI confirmed for restoring his strength. In that sense, he would welcome any exclusive shelter card; the more, the better.

Carrying the entrusted exchange item, Wu Chen returned to the pipeline.

The Navigator had been waiting for some time: "It is still early; perhaps you won't need to stay the night."

"That would be for the best." If a round trip took three days, it would be a terrible waste for Wu Chen. At this moment, he did not know if five cards would be enough to help him survive the first "Cleansing Day."

"0819, how many cards are needed to survive the first Cleansing Day?" With his survival at stake, Wu Chen decided to ask the Navigator.

"Well, that varies from person to person. The Broken Traveler Camp where you are located is the most volatile place within the Sci-Fi Spiral, second only to the Dynamic Edge. I have heard that the Broken Traveler Camp has suffered heavy losses in every Cleansing Day. So, naturally, the more shelter cards, the better." The Navigator did not provide a definitive answer. Judging by his tone, he likely did not know for sure.

"The more, the better." Wu Chen committed this to memory.

The Navigator navigated the dark, sunless pipe network with familiarity. Before sunset, he led Wu Chen safely across the Dynamic Edge and arrived at the Sci-Fi Spiral belt.

"Okay, mission accomplished." The Navigator waved his hand, signaling Wu Chen to depart on his own.

As the AE86 pulled up alongside the DMC-12, Wu Chen smiled and bid farewell: "Until we meet again, 0819."

"Until we meet again, 0326." The Navigator’s parking spot was on the edge of the Dynamic Edge, near the Sci-Fi Spiral. It seemed the Navigator’s area of activity was contained within the Dynamic Edge. As he had said, the pipelines were his territory, and he would not easily provoke conflicts with players.

After parting ways with the Navigator, Wu Chen arrived at the Cheung Sha Wan Road Sky Street Airport. He first contacted the middleman to hand over the target item and confirm the completion of the mission, then sent an email to the female client.

He had expected to enter a den of tigers, but the trip had gone surprisingly smoothly. Before he even returned to the camp, the 99 coins had arrived in his account.

Maintaining the flat-panel base cost 1 coin per day. Thus, 11 - 1 + 99 = 109 coins. His balance climbed back into three digits, and with it, his sense of security increased as well.

***

A cargo drone delivered a Motorcycle Terminator to the Mocha Coffee House. The owner of the coffee house immediately sent over the Beast Girl Peri, whose exclusive binding had been cleared, along with dinner.

Wu Chen stepped into a red telephone booth and inserted the 2.5-star Beast Girl Peri into the card reader.

In an instant, a long-haired beauty appeared on the background wall. On the surface, Peri was no different from a human, but the telephone’s LCD touchscreen displayed anomalous attributes. Peri’s body contained various cybernetic prosthetics, artificially modified into a cybernetic Beast Girl. She also retained most of the abilities of both the Shapeshifting Spider-Woman and the Beast race.

Pushing aside the telephone background wall, the Beast Girl Peri stepped into the booth: "Master."

"Hello, Peri," Wu Chen replied with a smile.

"I can't wait to see what the master's home is like." The Beast Girl’s every expression was charming. Her innate sense of intimacy allowed her to bridge the distance between them in just a few words. It was clear that her talent lay in making men lower their guard in the shortest possible time.

"The base is newly built and still quite simple." As he spoke, Wu Chen opened the telephone booth, and the two stepped into the flat-panel base, one after the other.

"Huh?" As soon as she entered, the Beast Girl was shocked to find that her cybernetic firewall had been instantly breached. Lines of code scrolled across her vision, and she felt refreshed from head to toe.

"I have updated your prosthetic core code, reinforced your firewall, and released user permissions to interface with the base system. Welcome, Peri." The voice of the AI, A.I., rang directly in Peri's mind.

"My goodness..." Peri’s astonishment was plain to see.

"This is the base AI, A.I.," Wu Chen smiled. "Transfer the data link and match it with the Motorcycle Terminator."

"Yes, Master." The AI directly transmitted the Motorcycle Terminator data link into Peri’s cybernetic brain. Data flashed across her prosthetic eyes. In a very short time, Peri acquired all the core data of the Motorcycle Terminator, transforming into a shapeshifting armored female warrior, demonstrating the immense power of her cybernetic implants.

Through the data link transmission, the AI also successfully read the version information of her implants: *Initiate Project 2571, Hanka Robotics Co., Ltd.*

"The prosthetics were manufactured by 'Hanka Robotics'," the AI retrieved relevant information from its database. "The holder is the most famous prosthetic doctor in the city: 0717, Li Xiaoxian."

"Hanka Robotics must be a prosthetic company from a specific story world. And the prosthetic doctor, 0717 Li Xiaoxian, is a player from that world. That is why he possesses Hanka Robotics prosthetics and brought them into the Broken City," Wu Chen deduced.

"The Master is correct," the AI agreed. "All medical records for cybernetic beasts are also archived with that prosthetic doctor."

"Contact him via email," Wu Chen said, his intent clear.

"Understood."

***

As they spoke, the cybernetic Beast Girl Peri completed the final database decoding: "Master, I would like to select the Type-B support configuration."

"Very well." Wu Chen readily agreed. He took a mask and gloves from the AE86’s second-gear medical kit and generated a nano-combat suit for Peri. Moments later, the AI executed the modification program: "Motorcycle Terminator I—Type B shapeshifting armor, modification program initiated. Rider, please enter the pod."

Full of anticipation, the cybernetic Beast Girl Peri stepped into the Type-B pod. She stood firmly on the platform, feet shoulder-width apart, and the modification began.

Taking advantage of this interval, Wu Chen stepped into the telephone booth alone and inserted the 3-star Umbrella Spirit card into the reader.

Although the card was read successfully, it could not be activated. In other words, Wu Chen still lacked the necessary conditions to activate fantasy-style cards. The LCD screen popped up a prompt: "Store this item?"

After a moment of thought, Wu Chen clicked "Yes."

The 3-star Umbrella Spirit was immediately converted into a "Stored Card," which could be browsed and managed in the storage menu.

After everyone finished dinner, Peri emerged from the pod with her exclusive Motorcycle Terminator I—Type B shapeshifting armor.

Wu Chen read the card again. The "2.5-star Cybernetic Beast Girl" successfully promoted to a "3-star Cybernetic Armored Warrior."

"Master." The AI could not hide its excitement.

"I'm here," Wu Chen replied, feeling the enthusiasm as well.

"There are still six Motorcycle Terminator I shapeshifting armors without riders," the AI reminded him at the right moment.

"Understood." Having completed the female player's commission and traded away one Motorcycle Terminator, Wu Chen planned to acquire six 2-star cards before the Cleansing Day arrived. He aimed to build a "Motorcycle Terminator Shapeshifting Armored Squadron."

Based on the market price for 2-star cards, he needed to earn at least 700 coins.