"Sir, have you ever heard of Cabin D World?"

'Cabin D what?' Leon stared at the young woman before him, puzzled.

Seeing the look on his face, the young Geneform quickly guessed what was going through his mind and smiled.

She said in a passionate voice. "Cabin D World is a big international company that has roots across all the cities of the world".

'Really?' Leon looked at this lady without voicing out his thoughts.

Her smile widened. "The best scientists, doctors, surgeons, and researchers in the world work for our company".

"Together, they've created some of the most potent drugs that the world has ever seen. They do this not for the money but as charity, we've made it a mandate to spread our miraculous drugs to as much people as possible who need it".

Leon was wary. "What kind of drugs?"

The young lady maintained her smile. "We have drugs to cure any sickness and condition that you can think of in the world".

She gesticulated in a passionate manner. "Are you suffering from heart failure? Worry not, we have the right drugs for you".

"Are you suffering from kidney disease? You're saved, we have the best detox products in the world. Are you suffering from rheumatism and arthritis? We have the right drugs just for you".

"We even have drugs that can cure the blind and make the deaf hear".

"…"

The lady's smile widened as her voice turned even more passionate.

She pivoted her body slightly and with both her hands, she gestured at the world. "As you can see, the city is thick with dust, smoke, and radiation".

"Even the ADE that enables us to survive poisons us. In this world, we're all dying, it's just that people are in different stages of death".

She looked at Leon with a serious look on her face. "Sir, you may look ok now, but actually you're not. Every single person in the world is suffering from a sickness, you just don't know until the day it breaks you down and if you're unlucky, you die". She said solemnly.

"This is why we at Cabin D World made it a life mission to help people, to create drugs that will help the sick, the weak, and reduce the mortality rate around the cities of the world".

Leon was stunned as he listened to this woman. 'She's so eloquent'. He finally noticed the brown leather bag that this woman strung on her right shoulder.

Despite his thoughts though, instinctively, he already noticed loopholes and recognized the psychological tactic that this woman was using on him.

He smiled in a teasing manner. "Actually, my problem is that some of my memories are missing, do you have a drug to recover memories?"

Hearing that, the lady was clearly taken aback but she quickly said with determination. "Our company has drugs to cure everything!"

"Wait, let me contact my leader," she pleaded with him and quickly turned her back to him, dialing a number with her smartphone.

Click!

As soon as the call was answered, in a hushed tone, she had a conversation with the person at the other side.

Less than a minute later, she turned to face Leon with a confident smile on her face and then she opened the leather bag that she strung around her shoulder.

"Sir, you're in luck," she grinned, pulling a fist-sized white plastic bottle out of the bag. "We have the right drug to cure your memory sickness".

She showed the plastic bottle to him. "Sir, this is Baratin 99, a very potent drug created from a mixture of natural herbs and mixtures".

"Our researchers got the blueprint for it right from the archives left by our ancestors before Genesis". She said solemnly.

"All you need to recover your memories is to take 6 tablets every day, 2 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 2 in the evening for a month and you'll be fully healed!"

"Really?" Leon blurted out.

"Of course sir!" She smiled in a sincere manner. "Unfortunately, there are only 30 tablets in 1 bottle meaning if you want to complete the treatment, you'll have to buy 6 bottles of the Baratin 99 to be fully healed".

Leon's black eyes gleamed with curiosity. "How much is 1 bottle?"

Her face turned even more serious. "To get the natural herbs to create a single Baratin 99 takes a lot of resources and manpower, but since we're doing this for charity, we've slashed 90% of the price already".

"To get a bottle of Baratin 99, all you have to pay is 12 pounds".

Leon almost spat on the poor lady's face. '12 pounds? 12 pounds??? Really?! That's f*cking daylight robbery!'

His lips twitched as he struggled to maintain a calm look on his face. 'Who's even stupid enough to fall for such an obvious scam?'

'Do people actually fall for this?' He thought as he extended his hand to take the bottle, reading through its content list.

About a minute later, Leon's face darkened as he looked at the lady. "The write-up here says this is a drug to cure erectile dysfunction, not memory loss".

The lady didn't panic at all, she smiled calmly. "Sir, that's just one of the functions of the drug, the functions are too many to write them all in this small bottle".

Now, Leon was truly flabbergasted. 'This young woman has attained SSS levels of bullshitery!'

'Is this also a culture of the Geneforge Clans?'

In the end, tired of playing this little game already, he directly rejected her, telling her that he didn't have any money.

Still, this young lady didn't leave yet.

She fidgeted slightly and then she flashed that confident smile again as she looked at him. "Sir, do you want to hear of an opportunity of a lifetime that can make you become a billionaire in 2 to 3 years?"

'Billionaire?' Leon's right eye twitched.

He finally took a moment to observe this young lady properly.

Her brown hair was disheveled and dirty, tied roughly in a bun. Her clothes were run of the mill, cheap and also dirty.

As for her leg, she wore a pair of slippers that looked so worn-out in different places that its sole seemed level with the ground.

Leon's lips twitched, then he forced a smile. "Nah, I'll pass".

"Sir, this is an opportunity of a lifetime…"

"I said no!"

Disappointed, she finally turned and trudged off.

And just like that, that young lady ate a few minutes of his time. Leon sighed. 'What exactly was that? Is it a new trend or something?'

He quickly forgot her as he checked his smartphone to know the time.

[1:45pm]

The maglev train was supposed to arrive at the city between 12:40pm to 12:50pm but due to the attack of the terrorists and the delay due to reduced speed, they arrived extremely late.

Since Lieutenant Johnmark already took care of his identity problem and said his new identity would only be ready by evening, he had nothing to do.

He looked around, wondering what to do to kill time.

In the end, Leon located a bar in this upper street. Inside, he quickly approached the bar counter and asked for a bottle of soft beverage.

"1 pound, 5 cents". The male bartender said.

'More than 1 pound for a single bottle of soft beverage?' Leon's lips twitched.

'What in tarnation are these prices?' He suddenly missed Community G.

In the end, since he didn't want to be chased out of the bar for not purchasing anything, he forked out the money, took the bottle of soft beverage before locating a chair at the corner of the bar to sit down and kill time.

He took a sip of the soft beverage and scowled. 'It's not even sweet and yet it's 1 pound, 5 cents?' His lips twitched furiously. 'Thieves, bunch of thieves, all of them!' He ranted.

As Leon slowly sipped the beverage, his System suddenly lit up with a new notification as a familiar HUD screen appeared in front of him.

DING!

~----~

[Data Points Market Reset!]

[New Goods now available:]

…

'Oh really?' Leon was curious as he quickly looked at the list.

Since 2 weeks ago after he awakened and got the System, it'd helped him in so many ways but since unlocking the Data Points Market, he was yet to see anything enticing enough for him to spend his Data Points on.

Just like every other time that the market updated, he looked at it with hope, yearning to see something that interested him.

…

[Available Goods:]

>Blueprint: Standard Plasma Knife<

[Blueprint Rank: F]

[Price: 75 DP]

…

'A plasma knife? That's new'. Leon clicked his tongue.

Having seen Talia in action with her plasma knife, he knew just how dangerous and effective than a regular dagger it was.

'It's good, but to spend 75 Data Points on it'. He was skeptical. 'If there's nothing better, maybe I'll just risk it'.

He focused on the 2 others.

…

>Blueprint: Smoke Grenade<

[Blueprint Rank: F]

[Price: 69 DP]

…

'A smoke grenade?' Leon's eyes lit up.

After watching the terrorist fight back in the maglev train and how he ingeniously used a low-explosion bomb to destroy the double doors, Leon got inspiration on how to further develop his combat style.

The jury-rigged bomb was just not viable for small-scale skirmishes. After entering Leviathan Quay, he was even more certain of it.

He was pretty sure that if he was embroiled in a battle and had to use his jury-rigged bomb here, the collateral damage caused would definitely make the police and army come after him.

This made him see the utility in owning low-explosion bombs, this was also why his eyes lit up on seeing a different type of utility weapon.

Leon could easily think of multiple combat scenarios where a smoke grenade could help him turn the tides of a battle to gain an advantage.

'As an E Rank Mechanist, the unpredictability and utility of my constructs determine how strong I am'.

'If I can mask my weapons and intent through a smoke and craft a special visor to see through smoke, I can easily dominate most battles'.

Leon fell in love immediately but he didn't make his decision yet.

Instead, he focused on the last of the 3 items available in the Data Points Market after the reset.

…

>Mechanist Knowledge Scroll: Advanced Energy Science<

[Type: Ascended Knowledge]

[Price: 204 DP]

…

[Current DP: 285]

~----~

Leon blinked. 'An Ascended Knowledge Scroll?'

He was stunned.

Ascended Knowledge Scrolls… this was not his first time hearing about this term.

According to Talia and Kain, apparently, unlike him who became an Ascended miraculously through his System, normal people become Ascended by learning the contents of Ascended Knowledge Scrolls.

This was another concept of this world that he didn't yet understand.

It was a similar concept to the golden scroll that Talia once gave him through which he acquired the blueprint for his Terra Nova 71 Rifle.

Leon also vividly remembered that of the rewards he got for completing the System mission related to Parasite and the Zmer gang, he also got an Electromagnetic Energy Manipulation Scroll that gave him the knowledge to finally harness electromagnetic energy and craft the Terra Nova 71 Rifle.

The moment Leon understood what kind of treasure appeared this time in the Data Points Market, he became excited as his brain whirred.

'Advanced Energy Science…' He already had a hunch about what he stood to gain by acquiring the Knowledge Scroll.

Back at the train after fighting off the terrorists, while he conversed with the Engineman, Mr. Dave and Lieutenant Johnmark, they also discussed and theorized about how the terrorist managed to disable the Lieutenant's shield generator.

Then, Leon finally confirmed his speculations about the technology behind shield generators.

Shield generators are born through a combination of Advanced Energy Science and Projection Technology!

Leon made his decision instantly.

DING!

~----~

[204 DP has been deducted!]

[Congratulations! You have purchased the Mechanist Knowledge Scroll: Advanced Energy Science!]

[The Knowledge Scroll have automatically been stored into System Inventory.]

…

[Current Data Points: 81]

~----~

Leon didn't bring the scroll out here in the bar because he was wary of attracting unwanted attention.

Still, he was excited. 'The market was really generous this time, is it because I came to the city for the first time?' He was stunned. 'Is this a no-longer-a-country-bumpkin one-time bonanza?'

Despite his thoughts, he quickly rubbed his palms together as he looked at the last two options and contemplated.

'Which is more important?'

'Which should I buy next?'

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