"Damn, this thing's actually pretty well put together," Lin Mo muttered, genuinely surprised. He'd never seen a braindance with this level of interactivity before.
As for why it was packaged as a full-on BD setup? He didn't really care. His time in this life was already running out.
He owed a ton of money to the corporation, and in a few days, debt collectors would come knocking. And with the methods those bastards used, even the stingiest, tight-fisted prick would be drained for every last drop of value.
Based on everything he'd seen during his years in the system, Lin Mo figured he'd most likely end up as a guinea pig in some corp-owned lab.
"Come to think of it... the world of Cyberpunk 2077 at least had some government presence left. That's more than I can say for this dump," he mused, sifting through fragments of memory from his past life.
Sure, the game world was a hellhole — dominated by megacorps with more money and power than entire nations — but at least there were still nations. At least someone tried to maintain some kind of order.
And what we saw in the game? Just Night City — a Free State on the American continent. One city, not the whole world. If anything, from scattered in-game data, some Asian cities even seemed... better off.
But the world Lin Mo was living in now? Governments had gone extinct. The entire planet was under corporate rule.
All things considered, his current reality was worse than Cyberpunk 2077's dystopia.
Between two flavors of hell, the game world was starting to sound like a better deal.
The floating prompt was still there, waiting.
What puzzled him most was this: in all his years in this world, he'd never heard the term Cyberpunk. Not once. Cyberpunk 2077? Didn't exist here. That whole franchise — the genre, the game — it was all from his past life.
So why the hell had he just received this mysterious gift?
"Begin simulation," Lin Mo said, giving in to curiosity and selecting YES.
The simulation began with a prompt to choose his method of birth.
Reincarnated traveler — I am the messiah of this world.
Born into the world — Play it safe and grow strong in the shadows.
Lin Mo thought it over. Better to stay hidden and survive. He picked the second option without hesitation.
Next came the selection of birthplace: Night City, Sino-HK, New American Federation – Sino-SD... and others.
He didn't even need to think about it. Of course he picked Night City.
Then came another question: did he wish to bring his memories into the simulation?
Obviously, yes.
With all options locked in, the first life simulation began.
In the year 2060, Lin Mo was born into an average family in Night City. His father worked for a small company. His mother cleaned rooms in a hotel.
Thanks to his past life's memories, he had a clear understanding of how chaotic and dangerous Night City truly was. Knowing what was coming, he chose to keep a low profile and grow cautiously.
From ages one to twelve, he lived steadily and uneventfully. His parents, against all odds, remained safe, and gave him a stable upbringing.
At age four, he received his first set of cyberware: a basic chip slot in the neck, a simple central processor, and a bio-adapter — all standard implants, as essential here as smartphones.
At six, he started school. Like most parents in Night City, his were too busy to raise him directly, so they and their neighbors pooled money to rent a Bear Peak childcare drone, which took care of him and three other children.
Between ages seven and twelve, he consistently ranked at the top of his class. One girl in their little group developed a crush on him, which in turn made the other two boys jealous and bitter.
At age eight, his father decided it was time to teach him how to handle firearms. For his birthday, he received a Constitution Arms Unity — a common, low-cost handgun, but reliable enough to get the job done.
At thirteen, he passed the entrance exams for Arasaka Academy with flying colors. His parents were proud, but the cost of tuition left them worried sick.
Being mature for his age, Lin Mo also hesitated, wondering whether they could really afford it.
That summer, his elementary school organized a final trip for the graduating class. He knew it was just a scheme to squeeze more money from parents, but they insisted, so he reluctantly joined.
The following day, the school bus he was on collided with the limo of Moore Technologies' CEO.
The aged vehicle shattered on impact. No one survived.
He died.
"...The fuck?"
Lin Mo stared blankly at the screen.
That's it? That's how I go out?
SIMULATION SUMMARY & REWARD PROCESSING
Evaluation:
Your life was a complete tragedy — but not your fault.
You have the right to say: "It wasn't me. It was the world."
Rewards:
Neural Starter Implant Bundle: Chip Slot, Basic CPU, Data Port Connector
Constitution Arms Unity (Handgun)
100 rounds of ammo
Basic firearm knowledge
Simulation complete.
Would you like to immerse in this lifetime, relive it, and try to change your fate?
"What kind of bullshit is this?" Lin Mo muttered.
Reading the summary, he'd actually thought things might've turned out a little better than his real life. And then just like that — bam. Dead before high school, all thanks to some corpo bastard's limo.
Didn't even make it to puberty.
"Who the hell would choose to re-experience that garbage fire?" he scoffed.
"Cancel that bullshit."
His attention shifted to the rewards.
"These… are the rewards? Are they supposed to appear in the real world?" he muttered, frowning.
According to the simulator's interface, it seemed like they could.
Even though this entire BD device had already defied everything he thought possible, Lin Mo still found it hard to believe something virtual could materialize in real life.
But... what if it was real?
Just as he hesitated, the interface updated with new prompts:
[Accepting the rewards will permanently end this simulation.]
[Declining the rewards allows you to rerun the simulation until you obtain a satisfactory outcome.]
"Wait... I can reroll? No fucking way…" Lin Mo blinked.
Honestly? This run was trash. The Neural Starter Kit was worthless — basically the equivalent of a phone in Cyberpunk. And in the real world, even more useless.
The Unity handgun was the only thing worth having.
In his reality, normal people couldn't get their hands on firearms. Only licensed security contractors had access.
As for cyberware, it existed — but mostly in the form of external prosthetics. Internal implants were rare, and stupid expensive.
Nothing like the game, where you could walk into a ripperdoc and walk out with metal bones.
"If the rewards really transfer into the real world... then I need the perfect run. I need to maximize my loot," Lin Mo decided.
"I choose to rerun the simulation!"
P.S. Due to external constraints, several country names in-game have been adjusted accordingly.
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