Chapter 2: Robbery

Star City operated around the clock, and Lin Yi finished work in the early morning when the streets were still dark and deserted. This place was a hub for indulging various desires, attracting many unstable elements, including idle individuals lurking in surveillance blind spots, seeking potential robbery targets.

Despite the city's extensive electronic surveillance, comprehensive network coverage, and robust security measures, it was impossible to eliminate crime entirely. There would always be people willing to take risks.

However, Lin Yi had Ah Yuan accompanying her, so even during these late hours, she had nothing to worry about. There had been two occasions when it seemed like she might encounter robbers on her way home, but upon seeing Ah Yuan by her side, they promptly backed off.

Ah Yuan, an F-grade intelligent robot left to Lin Yi by her parents, was primarily designed for household tasks. Nevertheless, with its metallic composition and the ability to connect to the city's security system, coupled with Lin Yi's seemingly modest appearance, robbing her involved high risk and uncertain rewards. As long as the potential thieves weren't completely oblivious, they wouldn't target her.

It was autumn, and the night breeze carried a chill. Lin Yi wrapped herself in a trench coat and looked around. The street she was on was the central avenue of the Three Rivers South District, adorned with massive screens on the outer walls of each building. These screens displayed both static images and holographic videos, regardless of day or night. Various advertisements cycled through, creating a captivating visual spectacle.

During the day, popular celebrities in bikinis would emerge from the screens, swaying their hips with waves of cool seawater in the background. On scorching summer days, these ads could captivate pedestrians, prompting them to stop and gaze. When businesses heavily promoted their products, the holographic effects on the screens intensified. Flocks of pigeons would burst out from the screens, flying several hundred meters before disappearing. Thus, the vast cosmic sky and enchanting mythical worlds were constantly visible by just looking up, blurring the line between virtual and reality.

Even the roadside vending machines occasionally featured enthusiastic holographic images promoting products.

However, the grander and more realistic these effects were, the more energy they consumed.

The world seemed to be divided into two extremes. News media constantly urged people to conserve energy, reporting increasing numbers of individuals struggling on the brink of life and death, awaiting life-saving energy-efficient drugs. Yet, in the dazzling city center, businesses disregarded everything, squandering the dwindling energy resources for greater profits.

Under the starry sky, all was a paradise.

Lin Yi lived not far from Star City, in the last old district awaiting demolition in the South area. The area was filled with various illegal structures, intricate alleys, and her unit was deep within the alleys, making it challenging for vehicles to enter and prone to scrapes from illegal constructions. Even the taxi system avoided her unit, especially when there were no trains. Therefore, Lin Yi often chose to walk, reaching home in about half an hour. Today, however, after walking for twenty minutes and approaching a turn about fifteen meters away, she suddenly stopped.

At this point, only the neon-lit billboard nearby and the dim streetlights illuminated the empty street.

From her perspective, the alley entrance was out of sight, and the surroundings were eerily silent. Not even the sound of a cat could be heard, but she knew there were people there.

Lin Yi paused for half a second, blinked, and her pitch-black pupils emitted a ghostly glimmer.

Inside the alley, two life source patterns were visible through the buildings, clearly reflected in her eyes. Both were males, around thirty years old, and one of them was also a genetic patient. It seemed he had taken illicit drugs, suppressing the symptoms, but continuing this would result in a faster death than Old Du.

She recognized these two; they were local thugs from this area, the same ones who had targeted her and then backed off on two previous occasions.

However, this time, there was an additional life source pattern she hadn't seen before.

Lin Yi squinted, realizing it wasn't a life source pattern but some kind of energy device. Could it be a weapon? She took another careful look and then dismissed her speculation. She had seen energy weapons at the security department in Star City; this looked more like... Lin Yi turned to glance at Ah Yuan, pondered for a moment, and spoke, "Activate Sirius."

Ah Yuan's eyes seemed to suddenly focus, and a voice with no fluctuations emanated, "Detected two individuals ahead with no legitimate occupations, predicted danger level 2. Continue walking or change route?"

Lin Yi said, "Continue walking."

After a moment, she reached the alley entrance. Before she could turn, the two men rushed out, blocking her way.

Lin Yi leaned against the wall, looking at them without saying a word.

The one suffering from a genetic disease and taking illicit drugs had a dull life source pattern in Lin Yi's eyes. Afflicted at such a young age, he was even more unfortunate than Old Du. At this moment, a knife in his hand was pressed against Lin Yi's neck. The other one, part of the group, held a metal sphere about the size of an egg. He didn't look at Lin Yi but stared at Ah Yuan. The gray energy pattern on the metal sphere revealed its nature.

Lin Yi's gaze fell on the metal sphere, recalling her memory. The head of the security team in Star City also had a similar metal sphere, albeit smaller and more refined, not attached to the belt. Initially, she didn't know what it was until one day, when two customers had a conflict at the bar counter, and their robots, which were about to fight, suddenly froze as if they had malfunctioned when the security team leader approached.

Later, she learned it was called an Intelligent System Suppressor. Once activated, within its coverage, all targeted robots would cease to function. Unless the robot's system level exceeded that of the suppressor, it wouldn't be affected. However, this item, like firearms, was tightly regulated by the government. Private ownership was strictly prohibited, and the penalties for being caught with one were severe. Even in the underworld, people with such items wouldn't easily reveal them. Yet, these two individuals, whom she had encountered twice before and knew were street thugs without even a firearm, somehow had this device today. Why would they invest so heavily and use it against her? What were they aiming for?