Quantum Cultivation by Jace Kang (simple e reader TXT) 📕

dry? These clothes have an emitter which generate an ion field that repels water. Then again, you’re dry, too.”

Ryu shrugged. “Path of Water. It’s effortless to stay dry.”

“Well, we still need to get you dressed.” Kentaro turned to the hologram. “My master needs clothes.”

The hologram ignored Ryu, and its outfit switched to a zigzagging grey as it flexed its muscles. “How about this style?”

“Oh no.” Kentaro bowed to Ryu. “You don’t have a chip, so the AI doesn’t even know you’re here.”

“What if you were buying clothes as a gift?”

Ken shrugged. “I’d have to know the recipient’s ID, which you wouldn’t have.”

“Does that mean I’m stuck in this?” Ryu tugged at the jacket sleeves.

Sidling up, Kentaro held his arm out against Ryu’s, and used a hand to compare their heights. “We’re not that far off in size. At least, closer than the XHumans.”

Bodhi materialized beside the Kentaro hologram, this time looking like someone had wrapped him up like an ancient Egyptian mummy, in purple, orange, and green strips of cloth. His eyes widened. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“Just shopping,” Ryu said. He turned to Kentaro. “Ok. Can we find something less…flashy?”

Kentaro gestured to his hologram. “We want you to blend in, so flashy is better.”

“And you don’t have that much time to decide,” Bodhi said.

Ryu buried a growl. “Fine. Just choose whatever.”

Bouncing, Kentaro turned to the hologram. “I’ll take what you’re wearing, in black.”

“Black?” the hologram shook its head with tangible scorn. “That’s very…27th Century.”

“I’ll set a new trend,” Kentaro said.

“A Purebred, setting trends?” Bodhi harrumphed.

Ken glared back.

“Would you like to add options to your purchase for an extra cost? Water repelling? Anti-gravity? Naked feel? Color—”

“No,” Kentaro said. “Place the order.”

“Order confirmed,” the hologram said. “Tailoring to your size and color preference.”

A whirr and buzz emanated from behind a wall. After several seconds, a panel swiveled, revealing neatly folded cloth. Kentaro hurried over to retrieve it, then proffered it to Ryu.

“Is there a fitting room?” Ryu received the clothes. There didn’t look to be any space for one.

“A what?” both Kentaro and Bodhi said in unison.

“Where I can see what I look like in these.” Ryu whipped out the ridiculous outfit.

Ken and Bodhi exchanged glances before the boy’s eyes widened. “Oh! The hologram shows you what you look like. Or rather, what I looked like. I already bought it. But the hologram will screen you off if you want a little privacy when you change.”

“Sure.” Not that Ryu minded.

“Changing screen,” Kentaro said.

A wall appeared between Kentaro and Ryu, while also cutting Bodhi in half. Ryu, however, was still visible to passersby.

“Oh,” Kentaro said. “Of course it would screen me off.  How about if I just wait outside the store while you change?”

“Whatever.” Ryu wriggled out of the tight jacket before Kentaro could even leave, and then pulled the jumper on. It was still a little too short on the wrists and ankles, but not as outrageous. “All right, let’s go.”

“Thank you for shopping with us,” Hologram Kentaro said. “Visit our sister store two units down for the latest headwear!”

Ryu harrumphed. Thank every Immortal and Deity that he didn’t have to live on this plane.

Outside the store, Kentaro looked him over. “Food?”

Ryu’s stomach rumbled again.

With a grin, Kentaro pointed down the arcade. “There are food kiosks that way.”

“You don’t have that much time,” Bodhi said. “I’ve set every camera between here and Kujo Ward on a loop, and sent a hologram of you north. However, it won’t be long before the Peacekeeper Repairer AI realize what has happened and repair my hacks.”

“I’ll eat fast,” Ryu said. “I need to replenish my energy, and food will make this faster.”

If only they had spirit food from the World of Rivers and Lakes.  He followed Kentaro as he skipped down the hall.

The aroma of grilled beef filled the air, and Ryu’s stomach rumbled again. He lengthened his stride, ignoring the multiple Kentaro holograms that popped up, trying to sell shoes, hats, every piece of attire under the sun…

Bodhi kept pace. “So effortless. If only…”

“Huh?” Ryu looked over his shoulder at the hologram.

“Never mind,” Bodhi said.

The open halls between the clothing stores gave way to tables and chairs. Dozens of people lounged around, popping bite-sized cubes of varying colors into their mouth.

Nothing resembled real food.

Lining the hall were food kiosks, all identical with a bar and four stools. The only thing different about them were the holograms where a sign would’ve been in the twenty-first century, displaying grilled meats, fresh-cut vegetables, and more.

His eyes locked on the image of raw, marbled steak, along with a bowl of rice and steamed vegetables. So nostalgic! He pointed. “That.”

Ken hurried up to the unoccupied kiosk, where the hologram of an Asian chef in twentieth-century clothes appeared and bowed.

“Steak set,” Kentaro said.

The hologram bowed in a style Ryu found familiar. A tray slid out of a slot in the wall, and glided to a stop on the counter. The colored cubes looked nothing like the image.

Talk about false advertising. Ryu just stared at it.

“Try it.” Kentaro gestured to what passed as food.

Ryu tentatively picked a cube up and flicked it into his mouth. He sunk his teeth in.

His eyes rolled back into his head. It was so delicious! It might not have looked like beef, but it sure felt and tasted like it. The rice and vegetable cubes tasted authentic as well. Still, he did not feel his Spleen and Stomach energies processing the nutrients like they would the real thing.

“This isn’t real meat.”

“No.” Kentaro shook his head. “It’s vegetable matter, with authentic flavors and all the nutrition you need. Well, all the nutrition I need, based on my nanochip’s