"Fuck~~~ This is incredible! I feel like I'm flying!"
Pepe made a series of strange noises, swinging his metallic prosthetic arm wildly, practically vibrating with excitement.
"How's it feel?" Kirk asked suddenly.
"Amazing! How much?"
Pepe was so exhilarated by the Dimension Chip that he practically bounced on the spot.
"Fifty thousand Eddies!"
"Oh~~~, brother, that's insane!"
Kirk's offer immediately wiped the smile off Pepe's face. He snatched the chip back and tossed it to Kirk.
"You do realize what this thing can do, right? I can only sell it at this price—anything lower, and there'll be consequences!"
Kirk leaned closer and whispered, "Exactly. If any company got wind of this, every mercenary in the city would come after you."
Pepe laughed, conceding Kirk's point.
Now Kirk understood: as long as the Dimension Chip's price stayed at the top tier and it didn't circulate among ordinary people, its impact on the inhibitor market was minimal. He'd be taking only a small slice of the high-end market, nothing extreme, leaving the senior executives satisfied with the chip's output.
After all, even the top-tier inhibitors that cost tens of thousands of euros on the black market were essentially customized for the same group. But even these weren't perfect—they still required injections and medicine, which were unpleasant.
The Dimension Chip, on the other hand, removed all that hassle. Once installed, it completely neutralized the prosthetic rejection reaction, making the mechanical limb feel like one's real body.
For the high-end market, if a company wanted the chip, it had two options: absorb the seller—or kill him.
But Kirk was just the salesman. He had no knowledge of the chip's formula. Xiao was the real target, and as long as he could get past the initial accumulation stage, he could recruit soldiers and expand his influence. With enough capital, becoming a major player wouldn't be difficult.
'He really hasn't forgotten our brotherhood!'
Kirk couldn't help but sigh. Although selling the Dimension Chip seemed like a death-defying business, his personal risk was minimal. Xiao had taken the danger upon himself, letting Kirk profit safely.
"Damn, I guess I need to find some rich clients!"
Taking the chip, Kirk left the Wild Wolf Bar. Despite its iconic status in Heywood, most patrons were poor, making it a difficult place to sell such an expensive device. He needed wealthy buyers who would truly appreciate its value.
The challenge, of course, was whether these rich clients might cheat him. Perhaps he could rely on Xiao's reputation to lend credibility—a fox pretending to be a tiger.
'Famous worldwide, or a nobody!'
Standing at the bar's entrance, Kirk clenched his fists, made a decision, and headed to the nearby subway.
Upstairs, Jack Wells a famous fixer and informant, and Xiao watched him leave. Jack couldn't help but ask, "Xiao, you gave him that, right? He doesn't normally have access to this kind of high-end stuff!"
Xiao's lips curved into a playful smile. "Ah~ he wants to be a big shot and begged me for a chance. I can't say no, for old times' sake."
Jack smiled, a little shy. Though they'd grown up in Heywood, he and Xiao had belonged to different gangs, so their interactions had been limited.
"Honestly, I think he can handle this. No one's more suited to selling these things than the Wild Wolf bartender!" Jack said.
Xiao chuckled softly. Then, tossing another Dimension Chip to Jack, he strode to the railing and snapped his fingers, drawing everyone's attention.
"Pepe, play something more exciting! Let's get everyone hyped! I'll cover tonight's tab!"
"WOW~~~~~~~"
The crowd erupted.
"Let's all thank Xiao for his generosity!" Pepe led the cheer, and one by one, the patrons raised their voices in gratitude.
"Aoaoao~~~~~~"
The Wild Wolf Bar became a carnival. Even nearby residents flocked in upon hearing someone was picking up the tab.
By noon the next day, in a luxurious city-center apartment, Xiao had seen off the two reluctant star girls. He poured himself a glass of wine, downing it in one gulp to soothe his constantly buzzing mind.
Sinking into the sofa, he let out a sigh. The prosthetic technology in this world was professional, refined, and pushed every sensation to its limit. In a society wholly controlled by capital, money could indeed buy almost anything.
Yet even amidst this indulgence, Xiao didn't forget his true purpose: uncover the secrets of the Alaya Cluster. After last night's observations, he had a strong hunch about Alaya's true nature: cyberspace.
What is "cyberspace"? Simply put, it's virtual reality built on computers and networks—most prominently represented in online games and AAA masterpieces. A game's essence is constructing a massive virtual space from data, populating it with models, rules, and systems. In essence, the game is a world entirely of data, yet still maps onto the physical space of the real world.
Even with GM privileges and the ability to roam freely, one could visualize the real-world three-dimensional space via these models. This was, fundamentally, cyberspace.
Thanks to brain-computer interfaces in Cyberpunk 2077, humans could digitize their consciousness and traverse these data spaces. It was a new virtual and real world sharing increasingly scarce physical resources.
Humanity had begun storing all technological knowledge in personal cyberspaces. Xiao's golden finger, now in the Cyberpunk world, connected directly to these vast repositories. The tech he acquired in Alaya was, in fact, humanity's historical technology preserved across all cyberspaces.
This explained why Xiao's golden finger functioned here but not in the One Piece world. The One Piece universe lacked these interconnected cyberspaces.
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