The Dream City is neither too big nor too small. Some people can walk through the entire city in a day with their cybernetic legs, but no one would call this city small when faced with its towering buildings, rising like a steel forest.
Perhaps it's due to the city's vertical design concept that even though "District 13" seems far from the "District 3" where Renji was before, a place of business and wealth, it actually takes less than half an hour to reach by car.
Now in front of him was a super-large bar that could be described as "glittering with gold and jade." Many people consider it one of the landmark buildings of District 13 and even the entire Dream City.
The Night Charm Bar.
In this fast-paced, consumerist city, the Night Charm Bar is undoubtedly the most popular place. Here, everyone from street-sleeping vagrants, gang members with cheap cybernetic bodies, disappointed fired employees, bankrupt investors, to heartbroken lovers can drink to their heart's content, forgetting all their worries and sorrows.
The initial intent behind establishing the Night Charm Bar was to welcome all those struggling at the bottom of society, offering them emotional comfort.
Therefore, there's a specific group of people not welcomed at the Night Charm Bar.
This is evident from the sign at the bar's entrance.
[Corporate Executives and Dogs Not Allowed]
"Ha ha ha, Doctor, this bar is interesting, I like it!" Eileen, coming from a scavenger background, clapped her hands in approval, full of admiration.
After Renji and Eileen entered the bar, his original plan was just to gather some information. However, as soon as they entered, Eileen, as if she had discovered something, immediately pulled Renji several times.
"Doctor, Doctor! Look at the dance floor over there! Isn't that the rich second-generation who used backdoor connections before?"
Following Eileen's direction, Renji looked over and saw a young man with an indulgent expression on his face, standing out in the dance floor. He was hugging a street girl on each side, both styled in a flamboyant manner, moving their bodies to the loud music of the bar, reveling wildly.
"No wonder," Renji muttered under his breath, observing the scene.
"No wonder what?"
Eileen was still puzzled, but Renji, after his moment of reflection, had already moved forward, quickly weaving through the crowd to approach Keyji, who was dancing with the beauties.
"Brother Keyji!"
Renji called out and then reached out to pull the young man. Only then did Keyji, lost in indulgence in the dance floor, come back to his senses. When he saw Renji in front of him, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Bro? What are you doing here? Aren't you..."
"Let's find a quieter place to talk." Renji gestured towards the noisy dance floor and the two street girls in Keyji's arms.
"Oh, right, right, right. Okay, my good brother's here, and we've got some business. You girls can go now."
After handing a large sum of Ashen Coins to the two street girls from his pocket, Keyji sent away the reluctant girls and quickly followed Renji to a relatively quiet spot in the bar that Eileen had already secured.
"Brother, didn't you say you were going to pursue Tia and win one for our Sin City? Why are you here now?"
"Uh, this...!"
Renji's mention of Tia immediately stiffened Keyji's expression. He momentarily considered whether to tell Renji about the incident at Kael Technology but eventually decided to gloss over it with a laugh.
After all, he had promised William not to divulge it. Besides, if it really involved any secrets, his status and background would protect him, but Renji might not be so lucky. He couldn't risk implicating someone else.
Brushing it off with an excuse, Keyji quickly changed the subject: "Let's not just talk about me. What about you bro? Didn't you say you were going to meet an old friend? Why did you end up here? Don't tell me the old friend you came all this way to meet is someone from the bar!"
"It's not that. It's just that it got too late today, and after a long day, I decided to let it go. I'm going to be in the Dream City for a while anyway, so there's no rush. I came out tonight... well, to relax a bit."
After hearing Renji's words, Keyji immediately nodded, showing an understanding look that all men share, and then patted his chest.
"What did I tell you bro? I knew from the moment I saw you on the aircraft that we would get along well. Say no more, I'll take you out tonight and make sure you have a great time!"
Seeing Keyji's excitement, Renji shook his head: "No Brother, look, we're already in the Mechanical Alliance, and I want to try a new way of relaxing."
"A new... way?"
"Yes, the 'Dream' of the Mechanical Alliance is quite famous, right? Unfortunately, it's not available abroad. Now that I'm finally here, how can I not experience the Dream?"
"Experiencing the Dream is fine, but why go into the Dream when we can experience things in reality?"
Indeed, for someone like Keyji, a rich second-generation, the allure of the Dream wasn't that strong. If he could live out action movies in real life, why watch someone else's? Unless...
"So, I want to ask Brother to help me find something... more thrilling," Renji whispered covertly to Keyji, twirling his fingers.
"Something more thrilling?"
"Yes, the more thrilling, the better. The kind of thing that's hard to do in reality but possible in the Dream, something very special, you know what I mean."
Following Renji's words, Keyji's eyes lit up as if he had thought of something exciting, but his expression quickly fell.
"Ah, brother, what you're talking about is called a Black Dream. I do have a channel for it, but the problem is... I'm afraid my sister will find out."
"Your sister?"
"Yeah, to contact the Black Dream channel, having money isn't enough, I also need the power of my family's corporation. But my sister, as the chairperson of the corporation, would immediately know if I did anything out of line. If she finds out I'm buying something like Black Dream... ouch."
Keyji sucked in a breath and instinctively shrank his neck, revealing a rare timid side that Renji had never seen in this fearless rich second-generation before.
"So it's a no-go, let's forget about it. Although I think Black Dream isn't a big deal, it's all fake anyway, my sister is very traditional and rigid, definitely won't approve."
Seeing Keyji's hesitant and cowardly demeanor, Renji, of course, couldn't give up. He immediately tried a different angle: "It's okay, you're not buying it for yourself, you're helping me buy it. Even if your sister finds out, you can just say you were helping a friend, right?"
Renji's words seemed to make sense to Keyji.
'Right!'
'I am helping a friend!'
'My sister might not let me buy it, but she didn't say I couldn't help a friend buy it!'
'But...'
"Although that's what you say brother, I'm still a bit..."
Seeing Keyji still hesitant, Renji was getting a bit impatient and directly said: "Look, if your sister really gets angry and blames you, just tell her to come to me. That should settle it, right?"
"Eh!?"
Keyji's eyes brightened completely at Renji's words.
"Really?"
"When my sister comes knocking, can I really tell her to find you and say it was all your doing?" the young man quickly asked, seeking confirmation.
"Yes, let her come to me," Renji nodded indifferently. "Just tell her your friend is me, I'll handle your sister."
"You said it brother, I'm warning you in advance, my sister has a huge temper, very fierce when angry. And she is... well, I'll just tell you, she's the chairperson of the Quis Group. You must have heard of Quis Group, right? The name always criticized, but actually, it's a legendary group that's always profiting!"
Of course, Renji hadn't heard of it, but that didn't stop him from nodding, assuring Keyji with a demeanor that suggested he would take full responsibility: "Yeah, yeah, I've heard of it. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything related to your sister. You don't need to be afraid."
"So, we're agreed then? You won't back out later!"
It was clear that Keyji had been suppressed by his sister for too long, and he was eager to take any opportunity to rebel.
"Deal?"
"Deal!"
The Dream City is neither too big nor too small. Some people can walk through the entire city in a day with their cybernetic legs, but no one would call this city small when faced with its towering buildings, rising like a steel forest.
Perhaps it's due to the city's vertical design concept that even though "District 13" seems far from the "District 3" where Renji was before, a place of business and wealth, it actually takes less than half an hour to reach by car.
Now in front of him was a super-large bar that could be described as "glittering with gold and jade." Many people consider it one of the landmark buildings of District 13 and even the entire Dream City.
The Night Charm Bar.
In this fast-paced, consumerist city, the Night Charm Bar is undoubtedly the most popular place. Here, everyone from street-sleeping vagrants, gang members with cheap cybernetic bodies, disappointed fired employees, bankrupt investors, to heartbroken lovers can drink to their heart's content, forgetting all their worries and sorrows.
The initial intent behind establishing the Night Charm Bar was to welcome all those struggling at the bottom of society, offering them emotional comfort.
Therefore, there's a specific group of people not welcomed at the Night Charm Bar.
This is evident from the sign at the bar's entrance.
[Corporate Executives and Dogs Not Allowed]
"Ha ha ha, Doctor, this bar is interesting, I like it!" Eileen, coming from a scavenger background, clapped her hands in approval, full of admiration.
After Renji and Eileen entered the bar, his original plan was just to gather some information. However, as soon as they entered, Eileen, as if she had discovered something, immediately pulled Renji several times.
"Doctor, Doctor! Look at the dance floor over there! Isn't that the rich second-generation who used backdoor connections before?"
Following Eileen's direction, Renji looked over and saw a young man with an indulgent expression on his face, standing out in the dance floor. He was hugging a street girl on each side, both styled in a flamboyant manner, moving their bodies to the loud music of the bar, reveling wildly.
"No wonder," Renji muttered under his breath, observing the scene.
"No wonder what?"
Eileen was still puzzled, but Renji, after his moment of reflection, had already moved forward, quickly weaving through the crowd to approach Keyji, who was dancing with the beauties.
"Brother Keyji!"
Renji called out and then reached out to pull the young man. Only then did Keyji, lost in indulgence in the dance floor, come back to his senses. When he saw Renji in front of him, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Bro? What are you doing here? Aren't you..."
"Let's find a quieter place to talk." Renji gestured towards the noisy dance floor and the two street girls in Keyji's arms.
"Oh, right, right, right. Okay, my good brother's here, and we've got some business. You girls can go now."
After handing a large sum of Ashen Coins to the two street girls from his pocket, Keyji sent away the reluctant girls and quickly followed Renji to a relatively quiet spot in the bar that Eileen had already secured.
"Brother, didn't you say you were going to pursue Tia and win one for our Sin City? Why are you here now?"
"Uh, this...!"
Renji's mention of Tia immediately stiffened Keyji's expression. He momentarily considered whether to tell Renji about the incident at Kael Technology but eventually decided to gloss over it with a laugh.
After all, he had promised William not to divulge it. Besides, if it really involved any secrets, his status and background would protect him, but Renji might not be so lucky. He couldn't risk implicating someone else.
Brushing it off with an excuse, Keyji quickly changed the subject: "Let's not just talk about me. What about you bro? Didn't you say you were going to meet an old friend? Why did you end up here? Don't tell me the old friend you came all this way to meet is someone from the bar!"
"It's not that. It's just that it got too late today, and after a long day, I decided to let it go. I'm going to be in the Dream City for a while anyway, so there's no rush. I came out tonight... well, to relax a bit."
After hearing Renji's words, Keyji immediately nodded, showing an understanding look that all men share, and then patted his chest.
"What did I tell you bro? I knew from the moment I saw you on the aircraft that we would get along well. Say no more, I'll take you out tonight and make sure you have a great time!"
Seeing Keyji's excitement, Renji shook his head: "No Brother, look, we're already in the Mechanical Alliance, and I want to try a new way of relaxing."
"A new... way?"
"Yes, the 'Dream' of the Mechanical Alliance is quite famous, right? Unfortunately, it's not available abroad. Now that I'm finally here, how can I not experience the Dream?"
"Experiencing the Dream is fine, but why go into the Dream when we can experience things in reality?"
Indeed, for someone like Keyji, a rich second-generation, the allure of the Dream wasn't that strong. If he could live out action movies in real life, why watch someone else's? Unless...
"So, I want to ask Brother to help me find something... more thrilling," Renji whispered covertly to Keyji, twirling his fingers.
"Something more thrilling?"
"Yes, the more thrilling, the better. The kind of thing that's hard to do in reality but possible in the Dream, something very special, you know what I mean."
Following Renji's words, Keyji's eyes lit up as if he had thought of something exciting, but his expression quickly fell.
"Ah, brother, what you're talking about is called a Black Dream. I do have a channel for it, but the problem is... I'm afraid my sister will find out."
"Your sister?"
"Yeah, to contact the Black Dream channel, having money isn't enough, I also need the power of my family's corporation. But my sister, as the chairperson of the corporation, would immediately know if I did anything out of line. If she finds out I'm buying something like Black Dream... ouch."
Keyji sucked in a breath and instinctively shrank his neck, revealing a rare timid side that Renji had never seen in this fearless rich second-generation before.
"So it's a no-go, let's forget about it. Although I think Black Dream isn't a big deal, it's all fake anyway, my sister is very traditional and rigid, definitely won't approve."
Seeing Keyji's hesitant and cowardly demeanor, Renji, of course, couldn't give up. He immediately tried a different angle: "It's okay, you're not buying it for yourself, you're helping me buy it. Even if your sister finds out, you can just say you were helping a friend, right?"
Renji's words seemed to make sense to Keyji.
'Right!'
'I am helping a friend!'
'My sister might not let me buy it, but she didn't say I couldn't help a friend buy it!'
'But...'
"Although that's what you say brother, I'm still a bit..."
Seeing Keyji still hesitant, Renji was getting a bit impatient and directly said: "Look, if your sister really gets angry and blames you, just tell her to come to me. That should settle it, right?"
"Eh!?"
Keyji's eyes brightened completely at Renji's words.
"Really?"
"When my sister comes knocking, can I really tell her to find you and say it was all your doing?" the young man quickly asked, seeking confirmation.
"Yes, let her come to me," Renji nodded indifferently. "Just tell her your friend is me, I'll handle your sister."
"You said it brother, I'm warning you in advance, my sister has a huge temper, very fierce when angry. And she is... well, I'll just tell you, she's the chairperson of the Quis Group. You must have heard of Quis Group, right? The name always criticized, but actually, it's a legendary group that's always profiting!"
Of course, Renji hadn't heard of it, but that didn't stop him from nodding, assuring Keyji with a demeanor that suggested he would take full responsibility: "Yeah, yeah, I've heard of it. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything related to your sister. You don't need to be afraid."
"So, we're agreed then? You won't back out later!"
It was clear that Keyji had been suppressed by his sister for too long, and he was eager to take any opportunity to rebel.
"Deal?"
"Deal!"
