A WALK DOWN
MEMORY LANE
SRC: FLUIX CITY RELAY 14
Squeak.
The now black cloth diligently wiped away the last remnants of Xu.
Xu pushed himself up into a sitting position and slowly glanced across the room, toward Lee.
Lee was sitting in the apartment’s only intact chair. He was staring directly at Xu. He wasn't blinking. His arms were crossed over his chest, and a single vein throbbed rhythmically near his temple.
Xu cleared his throat. "Now that I’m thinking about it, I never heard the door."
Thump. Thump.
Lee said nothing. He just continued to stare. The sheer density of his suppressed rage was almost palpable enough to bend light. In the silence, the only sound was the low, rhythmic vein.
A ghostly breeze gently circled the room.
He had already been here for hours, but Xu hadn’t even looked at him until now.
I thought he would give up and go away. Instead, I’m stuck cleaning my room again.
Xu glanced at what used to be the window. “Um, did you even come through the door?”
Xu’s eyes drifted downward. Lee’s imported, designer minotaur leather high tops with the “Best arch support the world had ever seen” were absent. In their place, he wore a pair of cheap, outer-sect issued slip-ons. They were bright, flimsy, made of reclaimed tire, and undeniably, aggressively red. They were the complimentary shoes issued for their communal showers.
"Nice shoes," Xu croaked.
Lee’s jaw flexed. "Unless you want your ass to become half of my next pair, we are never talking about my footwear again, Xu."
"Okay," Xu rasped.
…
"You know—those were five thousand spirit stones, Xu," Lee whispered, his voice dangerously low. "Five thousand. They had a self-cleaning enchantment. They had kinetic dampeners that made walking on gravel feel like treading on clouds. I wore them to the Tallos Qi compression reveal. A researcher stopped what he was doing to nod when he saw them—And now!?”
Lee lifted a foot, wiggling his toes in their wrapped crimson. The rubber sole squeaked pitifully.
"Now—I’m wearing the color of a low-tier fire spell, Xu. A SAD SCRIPT KITTY FIRE SPELL. I’m basically a walking discount bin…"
Lee sighed in pure defeat.
"I mean, I think they actually suit—"
"We are never talking about my footwear again," Lee repeated, his eyes burning with the intensity of a thousand shoes.
"Still understood." He swallowed.
"You're awake," Taylor interrupted.
“And you’re in my window.” Xu replied.
Xu closed his eyes.
“Does no one use the door anymore!?”
“I looked into Meridian Alignment Meditation, it takes about a year," Taylor stated in a matter-of-fact manner.
"An Ignition-tier Meridian Weaving elixir could do it instantly, but that costs five hundred top-grade spirit stones."
Xu pondered.
“I’m sure there is a faster way. There’s always a shortcut.”
Lee slowly let out a short, cynical laugh, leaning back in his chair. "You know, if you want a shortcut, you could just go down to the CyberSEC market and buy one of those Divine Fission cartridges. Buuuuut, shortcuts are kinda what got you here in the first place."
Taylor frowned. "What’s that?"
"Suicide, baby," Lee replied dryly, admiring his red canvas shoes with profound disappointment. "It’s an abandoned piece of black-market Spirit Tech. It treats human meridians like Spec Circuitry. Runs a violently aggressive optimization algorithm to physically force qi into mathematically perfect pathways."
Xu’s eyes widened a fraction of an inch. "Sounds effective," Xu noted.
"Oh, it's incredibly effective," Lee said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Right up until it completely melts your nervous system to carve you new ones. Human veins aren't wires, qi isn’t electricity, and, at least me personally, I don’t crawl in the oven when it’s cold outside. It has a one-hundred percent mortality rate from what I’ve heard. The AIO buried the tech years ago."
"Not helping, Lee," Taylor warned.
"Just getting creative," Lee muttered, pulling a red apple from his jacket. It matched his shoes.
Taylor turned back to Xu. "Ignore him. We'll find an acupuncturist in the outer ring who takes delayed payments. You just need to stay in the apartment and stay completely still,"
Xu nodded slowly, keeping his face entirely blank.
Divine Fission...
If the tech generates new pathways artificially, it doesn’t matter how shredded my natural ones are.
Looks like I’ll need to take a trip back to the CyberSEC district.
He hopped out of his window and slid open one of the drawers of his desk.
Some of these are… Eh… I mean, there are probably enough… If I ask Lee for money.
His eyes slowly drifted over to Lee.
He was eating an apple.
He stopped.
…
“Yes…?”
“Can I borrow 50 spirit stones? I think I know of someone who might be able to help”.
"Sure. Just let me know what you find," Lee said. "And try not to spend it all on magic beans."
He paused, taking another bite of the apple.
“Or, if you do, make sure they are at least actually magic.”
Xu picked up the pouch. It was heavy.
Even after I destroyed his favorite shoes and nearly got them all thrown back into the slums, Lee wouldn’t hesitate to hand over his entire net worth.
But… five thousand spirit stones?
Dude, fiscal responsibility.
"I'm going to walk," Xu told the truth dishonestly. "I like fresh air. Maybe I’ll look into some of those safe, non-lethal meditation techniques you mentioned." He glanced at Taylor.
Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t.
Before either of them could question him further, he slipped out the window and into the yard.
The CyberSEC district awaited.
It took three times as long as usual.
The CyberSEC District… It’s already been 2 years…
The district was officially labeled the "Special Spiritual Technologies Sector" by the city, but the locals just called it the SEC. It was a cramped, claustrophobic sprawl of narrow alleys packed painfully tight.
As Xu crossed into its outskirts, the quiet dusk air was immediately replaced by the aggressive hum of cooling systems and the sharp scent of cheap, burnt lotus.
Above him, a neon board flickered, spilling harsh magentas and poisonous greens across his body. They had advertisements for everything from “Meal Pills” to “Memory Extractions.” Cultivators, those who came here at least, never wore clean silk robes. They could usually be found in a variety of heavy, oil-stained cyber fashion. Many even sported crude, metallic cybernetics grafted directly to their bodies.
Why would a cultivator mod? Wouldn’t that just make you weaker?
Xu kept his head down and tugged his hood farther forward, letting the crowd flow around him.
Just have to make it a little further without anything going wrong.
“Scuse me,” a bright voice chimed to his right.
His brow pinched the skin above his nose.
Please don’t let this be my problem.
“Yes?” He tried to turn just enough to be polite, but not enough to be inviting.
A woman stood beneath the flickering sign of The Great Magic Shop. She was dressed in a way that suggested she had read the legal definition of “dressed” very carefully. She couldn’t have been older than nineteen.
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“Sir, you look exhausted,” she said, tilting her head. “We have a few things inside that can help you… unwind.”
Xu hesitated. A half step of stillness.
I really shouldn’t.
“I’m in a hurry—”
FLASH
“I’m explicitly trying to get something important to me.”
Fantastic. I sound like a weirdo.
Her smile didn’t so much as flinch. If anything, it deepened.
“I could offer you our premium suite,” she murmured. “My friends and I can make sure you’re cared for… In any way you like.” A pause and a light breath. “Even though you didn’t know you could like.”
“And what, exactly, could that be?” Xu asked, letting a hint of amusement slip in.
“Our shop’s partner has been experimenting,” she said, leaning closer, her voice dropping to a quiet, practiced whisper. “New sensations. Entirely new senses.”
She pulled back with a soft, inviting smile. “It feels like nothing you’ve ever imagined.”
Xu watched her for a moment. A slight smile tugged at his lips.
It wouldn’t hurt to play just this once. I’ve been so good since then.
“Oh? Is that right?”
Xu didn't hesitate. He closed the distance casually, slowly slipping an arm against the soft skin of her waist, and pulled her in just close enough to squeeze into the pink shadows under the awning.
He felt a sudden hitch in her breath. The buzz of Neon dominated the ambiance.
He leaned down, tilting his head until his lips were close to her ear, his voice slid to a conspiratorial murmur. “Does that mean what I think it means?”
A flush rose through her cheeks, breaking through her professional facade. She bit her bottom lip, looking up at him with surprise. This wasn’t what she was used to.
“It can mean… whatever you’d like it to mean,” she breathed.
Xu let his gaze dip briefly to her lips, holding the moment for a single, intentional moment before looking back into her eyes. His hand rested comfortably on her hip.
“In that case,” Xu whispered, offering a light, crooked grin.
He stepped back, creating space before she could lean in further.
“I have some things to finish first. But who knows?” He held her gaze, then drank in her figure. “Keep your hair down for me. Maybe afterward I’ll come back and see exactly how well you take care of your guests.”
She stood there, smoothing her dress, looking flustered. “T-till then. Sir.”
Xu dipped his head and continued down the street as he left the glow of the alley behind him.
Think I was born yesterday?
He walked until the sound faded to a dull, flickering hum, then opened his pouch with a subtle flick of his fingers.
I grew up here. Let this be a lesson, girlie.
Clatter.
He dropped a new handful of exactly “what he wanted it to mean” inside.
That makes seventy.
It’s been so long I feel kinda… Eh… Why am I so in my head? Her hand literally made it into my pouch.
Maybe… she’ll understand how much it sucks now.
Maybe… I’m saving people.
He walked two blocks deeper. He could feel a slight, unnatural tremor in the metal grating beneath his feet.
And I’m being followed. Great.
Karma?
Or…?
More free money?
He turned a corner into a narrow pass between two cooling units and stopped.
A man stepped out from the shadows ahead. He was massive, wearing a sleeveless coat that revealed a crude, piston-integrated cybernetic arm. The metal was rusted, weeping black fluid at the joints.
Old.
Behind Xu, another figure stepped into the alley entrance, cutting off his escape.
"You've got fast hands, pretty boy," the cyborg grunted. "But you dipped into the wrong honeypot. Hand over the pouch. The whole thing."
Xu weighed his options.
I was a 4th Stage Zero when I fought Cai. I should be a lot stronger.
I mean, I FEEL strong as hell.
"I don’t see a single piece of Nano or Spirit tech on you. As someone who’s been there, I’ll give you some advice. Leav,e and I won’t break you.”
"Bullshit," the cyborg sneered, stepping forward. His pneumatic arm whined as it raised.
Xu didn't wait.
SNAP.
The cyborg’s arm exposed wires when Xu bent at a 90-degree angle. A blinding flash of blue electrical arcing exploded outward, showering the cyborg in sparks.
The man screamed, his optical sensors failed from the flash.
Xu dropped low, ignoring his scream, and swept his leg through the cyborg's organic knee. The joint gave way with a sickening clank. As the massive man fell, Xu drove an elbow directly into the man's throat.
The second thug at the alley entrance hesitated, staring at his dispatched partner.
Xu stood up slowly. He stared him down with dead, empty eyes.
"You thought you could rob me with just steel?" Xu whispered.
The thug backed away, turned, and bolted out of the alleyway into a crowd.
Two years ago, those guys were like the grim reaper of the slums.
But now… I just don’t have time.
He pushed himself off the wall and navigated the maze of cables running along the muddy cobblestone until he found a staircase shoved into the negative space between a noodle shop and a decommissioned essence gathering array.
The place was practically more of a scrapyard or a workshop than a shop. It was littered with gutted talismans and confusingly fried circuitry, one of them was even literally fried. Behind the counter stood a man hunched over a magnification optic. Half of the man's face was a matte-black alloy dotted with flashing red lights. The other half… wasn’t something you wanted to spend much time looking at.
"We're closed," the man grunted without looking up. His voice sounded like it had been run through a meat grinder.
Xu stopped at the counter. "I couldn't care less. I’m looking for a Divine Fission cartridge, old man."
The vendor’s hand froze, hovering over a circuit board.
His red eyes clicked, whirring as they dilated, scanning Xu from head to toe. The man slowly set down his tools and leaned over the counter, the hydraulic joints in his neck whined softly.
"You're clearly not looking for anything, kid," the vendor said. He narrowed his real eye."My scanners seem to think you're broke. Let alone have any business with a cartridge."
"Tom. You serious right now? You might need to get those scanners checked.”
The vendor seemed startled. He leaned in, examining him closely, then laughed voraciously. It was a harsh, synthetic barking sound. "I’ll be damned, Xu!? Maybe my scanners COULD use a little work." He pointed to his head with his free hand.
Tom leaned closer, smelling of machine oil and thick alcohol.
"You know that thing’ll melt you to broth? It’s like an automatic calendar, but it only sets funerals. You know, I’ve always sold to you, kid, but suicide ain’t something I enjoy selling to toddies. If you want to die, there’s a dumpster down the street."
“Tom, I’m already standing in a dumpster—And I’ll pay you 50 spirit stones."
Xu pulled Lee’s heavy leather pouch from his robes and dropped it onto the metal counter.
CLANG.
The heavy, undeniable sound of miracles echoed in the cramped alley.
Tom looked at the pouch. He looked back at Xu. His red optics clicked again, calculating.
"Fifty Spirit stones? Not credits?" He muttered. He reached out with a biological hand, pulling the pouch open just enough to see the soft, luminous glow of the stones inside.
“Spirit stones. I don’t remember you being so hypocritical. You’re the one warning me that it could kill me? I could pluck a can off the street if you just need a reflection handy. Xu smirked.
"Market price for banned tech is steep. But for a dead cartridge nobody’s been stupid enough to ask for in five years... fifty is an overpay. Across the street, Loyd has one he scooped out of some half-melted freak a few years back."
“Thanks, Tom.”
“Don’t say I never did anything nice for you. It’d be bad for business. Oh, and it might be worth mentioning that he scooped it off the last 3 guys he sold it to.”
“I’d expect nothing less from such a savvy businessman.”
“And Xu?”
“Yes?”
“You still running around with that twerp and little girl.”
“I am.”
“Here,” Tom threw him a steel, maroon box. “Give this to the punk, a friend picked it up a while back, it’s engraved with his last name. Haven’t been able to open it, so I figured I may as well give it to the little fellow.”
Tom chuckled, “But tell him we’re even now.”
“You got it.” Xu left.
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