"Davis, map out the shortest route to Larton Town".

DING!

[Community G 62km → Wurzburg 12km → Rothenburg 21km → Larton]

"…"

Leon's eyes twitched as he looked at the HUD screen that his A.I projected before him, his face darkened. "Davis, are you messing with me?"

DING!

This time, Davis directly manifested in front of its creator.

Leon didn't restrict the form that his A.I could appear in. Most times, it appeared as a synthetic cat or dog but this time it appeared as a Synth with grayish black skin and 4 cybernetic eyes.

Leon's eyes twitched again. "Is that… Brick's face?"

The A.I nodded seriously. "I've been studying humanoid emotions. I have deep respect for your feelings and since your crewmates are your closest companions, I feel like appearing in their form will suit your sensibilities".

Leon's lips twitched. 'The heck!'

He quickly shook his head. "No, no, at least not Brick, that guy looks creepy. He's not like Ghostwire, but he's just as creepy".

"So this?"

The A.I morphed, appearing in the form of a Geneform with normal humanoid features- black hair with blue streaks, gray-green eyes, with bioluminescent veins around her neck and arms.

Leon's lips twitched. "That's enough Davis, I don't want to see you".

The A.I immediately made a pitiful face.

Leon was taken aback. 'Davis is already beginning to feel emotions?' He was stunned. 'Study emotions my foot! Are A.I Constructs supposed to learn emotions?' The moment he had the thought, he recalled sentient A.I Constructs in this world and he became speechless.

Though Leon didn't have the full recollection of his memories, he still felt that it was not normal for A.Is to show too much. Afterall, in the end, they were just created from a bunch of code.

But Neo-Tokara was clearly different.

The existence of A.I Constructs already told him that this world worked on rules that he was not familiar with, and now to see Davis an A.I that he coded himself from the ground up changing left him a bit unnerved.

'Don't tell me he's going to become an A.I Construct too'. He shuddered at the thought. 'I just wanted an assistant!'

'Are these changes because of ADE?'

Leon resolved to check the code of the A.I system again when he arrived at Leviathan Quay, for now there was a more pressing matter.

"The first Town to the South from here is over 60 kilometers away?" He asked in disbelief.

The A.I who still took a holographic form that looked like Brick nodded. "The Wastes are mostly isolated from the big cities, even the Towns".

"This is because of the ADE radiation coming from the city".

"The technological advancement comes at a price, smog-filled skies and unbreathable air. Mundane people can't survive it".

"The cities have technology to protect citizens in the city against the radiation, but most Towns do not, the Wastes too".

"This is why the Wastes are always far from the cities".

Leon was enlightened; he nodded. "So, approximately how long will it take me to get to Larton Town?"

"Approximately 4 hours".

Leon's face immediately soured as he looked at the Karaki CT-3X super bike. The bike was fast, but in exchange for its rapid speed it burnt through fuel and battery energy like water.

The super bike was dual-powered, it could use either direct fuel or battery cells. The fuel in the tank was already low since there was no place to refuel it here in the Wastes.

As for the 5 battery cells attached to the super bike, 2 of them were already dead, leaving only 3 and the remaining fuel to power him through the journey.

Leon quickly did the calculations in his head. "I'll have to recharge after arriving at Wurzburg".

Besides, it was already evening.

He just didn't want to stay in Community G anymore or he would have decided to spend the night in an inn here.

With that, he didn't waste any more time. He wore his helmet, zoned in on the path outlined by the A.I and started the journey.

VROOM!

The super bike rode into the distance, leaving a trail of dust.

He drove south.

…

More than 2 hours later, Leon arrived in the first Town.

By then, night already came since he left Community G when it was already evening. Amid the darkness of the night, a bioluminescent fog engulfed the Town but the bright neon lights illuminating the town at night overshadowed the fog.

A large holo-signboard welcomed him.

[Welcome to Wurzburg]

The Town was not fenced. All the building structures had a dome style that made them shorter and closer to the ground, making them tougher and sturdier to better survive a potential Neon Beast attack.

Having learned through his A.I on the way already, Leon knew that just like the cities of the Geneforge Clans, most Towns in their territory mostly follow the same architecture style, building most of their structures underground.

The small dome-shaped buildings were just the surface area of Wurzburg, the true Town was subterranean and underground.

A large ditch was dug around the perimeter of the whole Town, acting as both drainage and protection against attacking Neon Beasts.

There were two bridges, one at the front of the Town at the entrance, and the other behind as the exit.

Both were the only easy ways to enter and exit Wurzburg on land.

There was a large 15-meter tall Tower at the entrance of the Town. The Tower's surface area covered the entire bridge, it was the entrance to Wurzburg.

With his enhanced perception, Leon already noticed from a distance that the Tower was heavily fortified by local vigilantes. He also noticed a few turrets and automatic-fire machine guns hidden beneath the surface.

The moment they noticed him approaching, powerful headlights focused on him from 3 different directions of the Tower.

Once he got close enough, a loud voice shouted at him.

"Stop!"

Leon stopped immediately.

The door at the bottom level of the Tower opened and 2 armed vigilantes walked out, both were Geneforms.

One was middle-aged, he looked battle-hardened while his partner clearly looked young and inexperienced as he walked forward alongside him. Both held machine guns that were strapped to their bodies and a torchlight.

Both Geneforms had Rabbit ears that were bigger than normal.

Looking at them, a funny thought entered Leon's mind. 'They look like Elves'.

The middle-aged Geneform looked at him sternly. "Who are you? Where are you coming from, and what business do you have in Wurzburg?"

Having prepared an alibi already, Leon answered. "I'm an adventurer, I'm coming from the Wastes in the West. I'm on my way to Leviathan Quay but since it's already late, I intend to spend the night here".

The middle-aged Geneform nodded, clearly buying his story.

He walked around Leon's bike as he pointed the torchlight at him and the bike, admiring the bike's sleek design while searching to see that he wasn't carrying anything dangerous into the Town.

"Your bag". He demanded.

Leon winced slightly on hearing that but having expected this he obliged. Afterall, he was not a criminal.

The moment the vigilante took the bag and opened it though, he immediately became alert. "What are these?" He asked with a dark look on his face.

Leon remained calm. "I'm an Ascended, they're my weapons".

Hearing that, the middle-aged Geneform's eyes widened slightly then he nodded as his tone changed immediately. "Sorry for the harassment sir, but I need to make sure that you're not secretly a member of the Extremist Movement".

"I'm just doing my job".

He changed the way he addressed Leon immediately once he learned that he was an Ascended.

"Extremist Movement?" Leon was confused.

"Yes," the middle-aged Geneform nodded seriously. "The religious fanatics have become even more rampant recently. Just last week, they raided a Town that's not too far away, killing a few civilians while kidnapping others".

Leon understood as he nodded seriously. "How do I prove that I don't belong to the Extremist Movement?"

"First let me see your identification details".

"…"

Leon's lips twitched. "Umm, I lost them a week ago?"

"You lost them?" The middle-aged Geneform frowned, but then he relaxed again. "That's not rare, adventurers do lose their identification details a lot".

'Really?' Leon was surprised but he didn't voice it out.

The middle-aged Geneform asked him a few religious-related questions in a solemn voice but since Leon didn't even know 90% of what he was saying, he passed the test easily.

Finally, the vigilante smiled. "Welcome to Wurzburg," but then with a serious expression on his face again, he added. "People tend to cause trouble if they know that you don't have identification details around here".

"But if they know that you're with the vigilantes," he smiled in a shrewd manner. "They won't dare mess with you".

Despite his fragmented memories, Leon understood that smile the moment this vigilante flashed it.

He chuckled. "No problem". He dipped his right hand into his pocket and pulled out a paper note- 1 pound was written on it.

Leon gave the 1 pound note to the vigilante who took it with a smile. "Tell them you're with Gabriel".

"Understood". Leon said as he started the bike again.

The vigilante turned around to face the Tower. "Open the gate!"

As soon as he shouted, the sound of mechanical gears rolling reverberated as the entire bottom-half of the tower was pulled up, opening a gate that was large enough for a double-decked bus to pass through.

Before driving inside, since he was new to the Town, Leon looked at the middle-aged Vigilante and asked for a good inn where he could spend the night.

"Go to Noble Hotel".

"Thank you".

…

[Noble Hotel]

After parking the Karaki CT-3X in the parking lot, Leon entered the first floor of the hotel where the restaurant and bar was.

There, he had a sumptuous meal but it was expensive. Whereas in Community G he would have spent just 2 to 3 cents for such a meal, he had to fork out 8 cents here.

After that, he retreated to the second floor of the hotel that was underground which was also where the rooms where.

Underground was not stale or gloomy at all, the hotel's design was intricate, allowing ventilation inside to keep customers comfortable.

His room had two windows that were connected to a vent that led outside, letting air in.

There was also an air conditioner in the room.

Just like Gabriel the vigilante said, Noble Hotel was the best choice for adventurers who wanted comfort and affordability.

By 9:00pm, Leon had a hot bath before finally lying down on the bed.

"Ahhh!" He moaned with a smile. "I've missed this for the past week".

"I must craft or at least buy a bed when returning to my shelter next time, I can't continue sleeping on the ground".

Within a few minutes, he slept.

…

Hours later…

[11:00pm]

The sound of machine gun fire woke Leon up!

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