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

Definitely not authentic. And while it might have nutritional value, it wouldn’t help much in fortifying Qi. Food was more than just vitamins and minerals, after all. Still, with his stomach rumbling, Ryu scarfed the rest down.

“Are you quite done yet?” Bodhi asked.

Still chewing, Ryu nodded.

Bodhi gestured for them to follow.

When they turned into a hall that led to restrooms—which Ryu really wanted to check out, for more than just curiosity’s sake—they were alone.

“The Peacekeepers won’t be able to find you for the time being.”

“For the time being?” Kentaro squirmed.

Bodhi turned to the boy. “You are the limiting factor. For now, I’ve deleted you from the footage, but it’s only a matter of time before eyewitnesses like Keiko remember you. When the Filers recompile the original data, they’ll identify you and track your chip.”

“Can you disable the chip?” Kentaro asked.

“If you could find exactly where it is…”

“That’s impossible,” Kentaro wailed.

“Exactly. Other than that, if you walked through a high-voltage electrical field, it would short out without releasing the neurotoxin.” Bodhi turned to Ryu. “I suggest that once you reach Kujo, you leave the boy behind.”

Kentaro’s eyes widened with panic. He shook his head. “Please, no. You’ve already started me down the path.”

Well, Ryu had taught him how to stand, and admonished him to breathe deeply to calm down.  If Kentaro had started down a path, it was only with one toe. Still, the boy had helped him, and he did have potential.

And it wasn’t fair that he was a nobody in this strange society. “The boy stays.”

Shoulders relaxing, Kentaro blew out a breath.

“You’d risk being found?” Bodhi raised an eyebrow.

“Tell us how to find a high-voltage electrical field.”

“If that doesn’t kill him…”

Electrical fields. There might be another way, and Ryu had already started Kentaro down the path. It would be irresponsible to give up on a downtrodden caste now.

As for Bodhi, well, he clearly wanted something, but wasn’t forthcoming. And Ryu didn’t want to owe a debt he couldn’t repay.  “Just what is in this for you?”

Bodhi looked down at his feet before raising his head. “I want to know how you cured your cystic fibrosis.”

Ryu almost gasped. It was a term he hadn’t heard in centuries, ever since he left this plane and crossed over into the World of Rivers and Lakes. “I needed to cleanse my meridians and fortify my Earth.”

“What does that mean? Can you teach me?”

Did Bodhi have cystic fibrosis? Hadn’t humans edited their genes to supposed perfection?  If he did have it, it was a hell no one should ever have to suffer. Curse the Code, for insisting on helping the weak. And himself, for having a soft spot for the unsound and downtrodden.

“Meet us in Kujo.”

Bodhi’s expression lit up. “I will find a projector there!”

Ryu shook his head. “No. In person.”

Chapter 9:

The Hacker

A ya had stayed in the EtherCloud for longer than usual as Ryusuke ate. Her real lungs had filled well beyond normal, and now she had to jack out and hack up phlegm again. A sense of dread crept over her.

The only way Ryusuke would teach her how to cure her flawed body would be to meet in person.

Which meant he’d see said flawed body.

She could interact with people for about seven minutes of real time before the phlegm build-up became noticeable. Then they’d invariably react to her with disgust, just like everyone else. Her parents included.

She couldn’t bear to see that disdain toward her on Ryusuke’s handsome face.

Her gut twisted.

But no, if this could treat her lungs, it would be worth all the shame she’d have to bear. Then, she’d never have to worry about dealing with people ever again. With a feeding tube, she’d be able to spend a lifetime in the EtherCloud without ever having to jack out.

Of course, there was no guarantee he’d teach her.

But if she proved herself…

It was time for a heist, and she could hack just about anything Level Four or below.

Lungs clear, she jacked back into the EtherCloud. Donning the Sentinel Shell, she hopped into the Peacekeeper EtherSpace and headed to the surveillance partition. The cameras in the level three technology lab showed the three Elestrae mingling with the Peacekeeper scientists in a room filled with bright white light. They were convened around a white table with a myriad of unfamiliar instruments. At least two of the Peacekeepers were holographically projected into the room.

Her attention was drawn to a mannequin which wore a tactical suit. It looked similar to the ones worn by Keiko’s team, but the stitch design looked different.  Could it be the prototype which engaged with the wearer’s motor nerves without internal wiring? The one whose combat AI program she’d copied?

“… bioenergetic for sure,” the golden-haired female Elestrae was saying as she fiddled with her jewelry. “In that, it’s similar but different to istrium.”

Istrium? The miracle mineral? Aya yanked her attention away from the prototype tactical suit and to the gathered Elestrae and scientists.

The female wore a particularly pensive expression. Not only that, she was holding a scanning device…which had an encrypted signal piggybacking Peacekeeper transmissions. Oh, to find out where it went.

“What do you mean, bioenenergetic?” a Peacekeeper scientist asked.

“It’s like…” The silver-haired male waved his hands. “Back in your twentieth century, your people used carbon-based fuels. Methane, petroleum, coal. They had slightly different chemical structures, so a machine that used one as a fuel source couldn’t easily switch to another.”

The second male nodded. “It’s theoretically possible we could channel its radiation, but we’re far more attuned to istrium. Likewise, your starships couldn’t fold space with it, at