Chapter 43-I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World
Chapter 43 The Foundation
The Eternal Pharma Foundation's event was held at a hotel in the city center. When Zhu Ning arrived, someone was already giving a speech. There were more people than she had imagined; the entire hall was packed, with many standing in the back rows or sitting in the open spaces of the aisles.
Those who didn't know better might think they were giving away free eggs here.
Zhu Ning stood in the very last row. The brim of her hat was pulled low, so outsiders could only see the lower half of her face.
The audience consisted entirely of the underclass—many Androids and visibly Defectives. Zhu Ning blended in without feeling out of place at all.
"Naturals. They are the weakest species among the five classes of citizens. They don't run as fast as Androids, and their reproductive capabilities aren't as strong as Replicants. Yet, they are the nobility. Why? Just because they possess natural genes?"
A man in a tuxedo was speaking on the podium. His voice was incredibly infectious; as soon as he spoke, the audience below echoed his sentiments.
It really was like a pyramid scheme.
"Second-class, third-class, fourth-class, fifth-class citizens," the man’s tone was resonant and powerful as he held up a hand, counting off four fingers.
"Citizens of the third class and below must struggle for their own survival. The lifespan of a Replicant is only forty or fifty years. Androids must be recalled to the factory for maintenance on schedule. And Defectives need GeneBoost just to live."
"We are like canned goods with an expiration date. We are like people with a countdown timer hanging over our heads. We are bound to a bomb that could explode at any time and place; the end of our lifespan is when the bomb detonates."
"Bang!" The man leaned close to the microphone as he spoke, and the mic emitted a sharp burst of noise that echoed in everyone's ears.
"Why do Naturals get to be high and mighty? Why must we run ourselves ragged? Every penny we earn is fought for in the name of our own survival. We cannot stop moving, for once we stop, we can only wait for death."
"They classify us as lower-class people, as Defectives, thinking we are heretics." The man paused deliberately. "Are we heretics?"
The audience below shouted in reply: "No!"
Zhu Ning frowned. The man's speech wasn't particularly sophisticated, but it was somewhat inflammatory, like some kind of mental contamination that made people fall into it unknowingly.
Zhu Ning had high sanity, so she wasn't affected much, but she scanned the room. The other audience members were in high spirits, clearly boiling over with an uncontrolled kind of excitement.
" The Federation has given up on you, but we haven't. We can help you realize all your dreams..."
Zhu Ning zoned out a bit, finding this speech increasingly ridiculous.
She didn't know about Androids, but most of the GeneBoost required by Defectives came from Eternal Pharma. If what the speaker said was true, then everyone was essentially just funneling money to Eternal Pharma in a different way.
Was this a screening method for Eternal Pharma? Using the Foundation's weekly scheduled propaganda to find suitable test subjects for contamination zone experiments?
The owner of the hotpot restaurant was a drug test subject.
Huang Yaruo was a special kind of test subject; they were exploring the mother-child relationship between contaminants and humans.
But what exactly did Eternal Pharma want to do? What was their ultimate goal? Contaminate all of humanity? Achieve a technological monopoly?
Zhu Ning held a brochure in her hand. If she wanted to fully figure out what Eternal Pharma was doing, the best way was to sign up.
Either participate in the Optimum Body Plan or join this Eternal Dream Foundation and shout out her dreams.
The speech was drawing to a close. After the speech, there would be a free dinner and a professional Q&A session.
Spectators in the back row were getting up, and the crowd began to flow. The speaker was still on stage, and many people hadn't left, fighting through the crowd to ask questions.
Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind her and patted her shoulder.
Having been beaten up by the Demon Hunter, Zhu Ning's body now reacted instinctively faster than her brain. She twisted the person's arm behind their back.
"Ah!" The person yelped. "Pain, pain, pain, pain!"
The person in Zhu Ning's grip was an Android. He wasn't even covered with synthetic human skin; he had a purely mechanical body. Zhu Ning had used too much force and nearly snapped his mechanical arm.
This commotion drew the attention of many people. Some whispered, "What's going on?"
Zhu Ning let go. "Sorry about that."
The other party looked shocked, staring at Zhu Ning in bewilderment. "I just wanted to give you a flyer!"
Zhu Ning: "..."
She was a bit too jumpy now.
"My apologies," Zhu Ning apologized. "I really didn't mean to."
This was all the fault of the Demon Hunter's hell-mode training. She hadn't intended to attack.
It was just... her brain hadn't caught up, and her body moved on its own.
The Android moved his arm around, looking at Zhu Ning warily. He asked, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The Android acted like a security guard, as if he would kick Zhu Ning out the moment he detected anything strange.
Zhu Ning looked like a trained fighter; appearing here seemed very suspicious.
Zhu Ning took the flyer and said casually, "I'm a Defective, here to listen to the speech."
The Android's expression changed upon hearing that Zhu Ning was a Defective. He lowered his voice and asked, "How many years do you have left?"
Zhu Ning watched his attitude soften right before her eyes. Was he face-changing?
Zhu Ning: "Just one year left."
Hearing this news, the Android lost all his temper. The expression he looked at Zhu Ning with carried a hint of sympathy. Only one year of life remaining was equivalent to being terminally ill.
Zhu Ning hadn't expected Defectives to get sympathy points like this. Because of this, the Android didn't want to hold it against Zhu Ning anymore.
The Android lowered his voice and asked, "Are you really a Defective?"
Zhu Ning looked sound of limb; the Android suspected she might be an undercover agent.
Zhu Ning took out her ID information and flashed it in front of the Android's eyes. The Android didn't see the specific details clearly, but he saw a symbol.
Roman numeral V. The identity marker of a fifth-class citizen. That thing couldn't be faked.
Zhu Ning asked, "Believe me now?"
The Android looked at Zhu Ning as if he had found a treasure. He looked left and right, then asked in a low voice, like he was conducting an underground deal, "Do you want to try an experiment?"
Here it comes. This guy probably thought Zhu Ning was a potential user.
Zhu Ning played dumb. "What experiment?"
The Android acted like a salesman. He took out a thick stack of documents. "Eternal Pharma's experimental project. Only for returning customers."
The Android pulled Zhu Ning into the shadows before whispering, "I think your conditions are particularly suitable."
Zhu Ning looked at the file, pretending to be curious. "Suitable how?"
Android: "We prioritize recruiting people with less than fifteen months left to live. It's just a bit hard to find them."
Then Zhu Ning fit their recruitment target perfectly. Even among Defectives, there was a hierarchy. Finding someone with only one year left to live in a sea of people wasn't actually that easy.
Zhu Ning frowned, feeling she was getting closer and closer. Eternal Pharma had unintentionally extended an olive branch to her.
She now had two choices.
First, pretend she knew nothing, leave immediately, and continue to improve herself by injecting GeneBoost.
Second, participate in Eternal Pharma's experimental plan.
But she had a question. She didn't know the original owner's situation. If the original owner was already a test subject of the Eternal Plan, her signing up a second time would definitely invite trouble. After all, in a sense, she was supposed to be a dead person.
Moreover, ever since she escaped from Experimental Subject 777, she strongly suspected that Eternal Pharma was looking for her. If Zhu Ning popped her head up again, she would absolutely be exposed.
Zhu Ning asked, "No side effects?"
Android: "How is that possible? Experiments definitely have side effects."
Zhu Ning asked like a consulting client, "Is the success rate high?"
Android: "It is. The latest data is five percent."
Five percent was already a very high probability, considering the effects of GeneBoost on Defectives weren't that great either.
Zhu Ning: "What happens if it fails?"
The Android suddenly paused, staring at Zhu Ning with his large mechanical eyes. After two seconds, he said slowly, "It depends on whether you're willing to gamble. You have a one percent chance of becoming a sixth-class citizen."
He didn't answer the question directly.
If Zhu Ning was willing to gamble, she would definitely die in a year if she didn't participate, but participating gave her a chance to become a sixth-class citizen. Many people were willing to try.
Zhu Ning asked a question that sounded unrelated: "How much commission do you get for this?"
"..." The Android probably hadn't expected Zhu Ning to ask that. "Thirty thousand per person."
No wonder he was so enthusiastic. Hearing Zhu Ning had only one year left was like seeing walking NewCred.
Zhu Ning: "I'll think about it."
Android: "Fair enough. Here's my card. Come find me when you've thought it through. Or you can go directly to Eternal Pharma, any branch store will do, just show my card. You get it, right?"
Zhu Ning: "Got it. That way the performance credit goes to you."
Pretty savvy. The Android thought to himself that Zhu Ning was that rare kind of easygoing customer.
The Android handed Zhu Ning a card. Technology in this world was very advanced; people with business cards were either particular about etiquette or like him.
There was a certain threshold, unwilling to spread contact information online, preferring one-on-one contact.
Zhu Ning picked up the card. Written on the back was a sentence: "Eternal Pharma: Change your genes, create your future."
Eternal Pharma's slogan. Zhu Ning felt differently every time she saw this sentence.
Now a door had opened in front of Zhu Ning. As long as Zhu Ning signed up for this Optimum Body Plan, she could open this door immediately.
Behind the door might be an experiment, or it might attract assassins.
But regardless, as long as she dialed this number, it was tantamount to confronting Eternal Pharma head-on.
The problem was, did Zhu Ning have the capital for this? Was she going to fight such a massive pharmaceutical company single-handedly? It shouldn't have to come to that; mostly, Zhu Ning herself didn't have that much fighting spirit.
The Android had already walked away, his eyes darting around, looking for the next potential customer.
Zhu Ning came to the Eternal Pharma speech and only got a business card. Could that be counted as... gaining something?
The speaker on the podium had left, and staff were cleaning up the stage. Half of the remaining audience was gradually leaving.
Zhu Ning was still standing there thinking when she suddenly frowned. She saw someone in the crowd.
Zhu Ning rarely saw her in casual clothes, and the difference from her usual attire was so great that she didn't recognize her for a moment.
She was wearing a sun hat and a pair of sunglasses perched on her nose. She was sitting in the third row. When Zhu Ning saw her, she was just standing up from her seat, seemingly intending to leave through the side door on the left.
But Zhu Ning worked with her and could identify who she was just from her figure.
That was... Xu Meng?
Why was the Captain here?
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