Solus took another can of fish from the refrigerator and ate it without much enjoyment. He had not expected to die so soon, but it opened up a lot of opportunities for him. The drone that had taken his previous body would deliver it to the authorities for post-mortem. If they gain access to his memories via the microchip, everything will be exposed. But Solus had already considered this and made the transfer direct rather than copying, ensuring that no evidence was left.
When he got to the basement door, he looked at the living room door, where the sound of television was still coming from.
"Filthy pile of garbage; who wastes their time being brainwashed by the government?"
He turned his head and entered the basement before heading down to his lab. The body's quality was poor because even climbing down the ladder made him feel tired. Whatever, he needed to get moving because he had lost all of his progress.
He quickly gathered the equipment he would need to install motors and gears in his bone joints. The body's pain tolerance was lower than before because it hurt more as he cut his skin, and muscles one by one.
However, it is all a signal generated by the brain for the benefit of the body. It also assisted him in performing the operation precisely and flawlessly.
When he finished stitching his skin, he stood up and moved his arms and legs. They felt easier and faster because of the gears and motors.
"It is all thanks to the old man who donated his parts before dying peacefully. Rest easy, kind old man."
Solus had used all of his parts and achieved Type 0.4 in a matter of minutes. If archiving higher Type had been this simple, the world would have been swarming with reality warpers.
Now, it was time to blend into society. Solus glided toward the computer table after settling into a chair. After taking his own picture, he looked for someone who was the same height and face card. Within minutes, he had located a handful, but they were not the same height or skin tone.
An hour later, among billions of stones, he discovered the gem. A face that resembled his in shape, height, eye color, and other characteristics. They looked almost identical if the person's face was not ugly.
Solus scanned the individual's fingerprint before sending the model to the nano cutter. His chair rolled on its wheels across the floor as he approached the table with the nano cutter. It was the shape of a microwave, with numerous pins as thin as a needle inside.
Solus entered his hand and pointed his finger to the pins above. After scanning his hands, the pins started to reform the skin using the loaded fingerprint sample.
The tiny pins slid across his fingers one by one until one hand was complete. After finishing the other hand, he wiped his fingers with a tissue and looked at them.
To ensure that the new fingerprints were identical, he tested them on a fingerprint scanner, and it recognized them as the person's.
His chair returned to the computer table, where he watched the person's surveillance footage captured by public cameras. He created a three-dimensional model of the walking pattern and transferred it to the microchip in his brain.
With the new information overwriting the data stored in his brain, he no longer needed to closely observe and copy it because he could simply tell if his walking style was the same or not.
After another hour of practicing and refining his walk, he was pleased with the outcome. He only needed one more thing to change, and that was his face.
Although he could simply have his face surgically changed to be identical, he would be instantly exposed if two identical faces were to walk in two different locations. If he was labeled suspicious, he could simply reveal his normal face and prove himself to be someone else.
He changed his hairstyle and wore glasses and a cap on top of his head, using items he had on hand. When he looked in the mirror, he looked exactly like the person in the picture, except for the shape of his eyes.
"The preparations to go outside are complete. I will be fine as long as I do not run into that person."
After returning to the surface and approaching the front door, he looked to his right inside the living room. He could see the back of Julius' head. The television was mounted on the wall and showed the news.
"Enjoy everything you can; after all, you are my shield against the outside world."
Solus opened the door and stepped outside. The saturation of the fake sky and the brightness of the star indicated that it was afternoon. His eyes gleamed dimly behind his glasses and beneath the shade of his cap.
The hidden cameras in the area were focused on him. His walking style, face, and height matched the person on the ID, so they stopped scanning. The cameras were still following his every move.
After a while of walking, Solus noticed people ahead of him. The number grew as he moved forward until he arrived at the road crossing, where thousands of people walked across. The majority of them were dressed formally, and they were returning to work after their afternoon break.
Solus was there to purchase cybernetic limbs. Type 1 parts were widely available at all stores. As he walked, he noticed the cybernetic arms, legs, and other components stored behind the glasses for display. They had style, power, and elegance, but they were also extremely expensive.
There was no difference between the medium-grade and the branded versions. Others only purchased the most expensive ones to demonstrate their wealth and elevate themselves above others.
"Heh, I wonder how these pigs managed to live so long with such a pathetic mindset. They believe a product is better simply because they see it everywhere. No wonder they are so easily brainwashed."
Solus did not even need the medium-grade cybernetic components. They remained too expensive for him. He knew more about cybernetics than anyone else in that segment.
As the population grew, more companies began to manufacture cybernetic parts. Some of them were worse than gears and motors, while only a few newcomers produced quality products rather than focusing on profit. However, people do not buy them because of the lower prices.
"It is not their fault. The market is full of scammers, so well-known brands are always the safest option."
Solus was unlikely to be drawn to a low-life scamming company. He could have scammed them back thousands of times, but he was not in the mood.
As he passed through numerous showrooms along the street, he entered a dense area where cheap cybernetic parts were sold. Hundreds of stores were built alongside one another. People with low incomes spend weeks or even months comparing prices and statistics before making a purchase.
That also happened to be where the majority of the surveillance drones were located. Everything, even the smallest details, was being monitored, and the perpetrator would be apprehended before he could terrorize the area.
It was also a problem for Solus because if the true person behind his disguise was present, he would be immediately exposed and labeled a terrorist. Whatever the situation, staying calm was always the answer. There was no point in worrying about the consequences.
He walked around and browsed various stores. Despite their best efforts to make the parts appear expensive, he could tell which were low-grade with a single glance.
A surveillance drone looking around from the top suddenly focused on Solus.
[Target Is Suspected To Be Under Disguise. Matching ID Found. Searching For A Second Face]
After inspecting several stores, Solus came to a stop in front of one. The parts he saw in that store were of good quality, but only slightly less expensive than the others.
He did not look for cheaper products because a good thing would cost, even if it was slightly more expensive than the others. The price was reasonable, especially given the quality of the cybernetic parts.
"Great things do not come easy. They are either difficult to obtain or expensive to purchase. It is foolish to give up quality for quantity."
The price tag on a cybernetic hand hanging on the wall read 100 Lins. Lins were the world's digital currency. No one needed to carry large amounts of cash because they could pay with their fingerprints.
100 Lins was dirt chip, he would say if he were still in his old position. Thousands of Lins used to flow out of his account every second, but the total would only increase. He searched the store for cybernetic components for his entire arm.
The drone that was watching him completed its search and discovered another identical person in the crowd.
[Two Suspects Found. Initiating Deep Search]