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Fang Sheng left, brimming with ambition, leaving behind a never-ending stream of chatter on the black street. Fang Zhao didn't dwell on the matter with Fang Sheng.
Betrayal and loyalty were common occurrences in everyone's life. In the end of days, such occurrences were commonplace. Kinship could turn into bone-deep hatred.
Revenge was a must for the original owner, but his top priority was to produce a new song and submit it to Silver Wing Media. Otherwise, if he didn't submit it on time, not only would he lose the good job he had been so close to, he wouldn't be able to make it to the new talent contest, and his life would be even more difficult.
It was now the end of May. According to the rules, there was a new music season every three months. Two-thirds of the time had passed since the New Pioneers Chart, which was exclusive to newcomers, had passed. Every year at this time, the competition between newcomers was the most intense, and it was also the time when major entertainment companies paid the most attention.
Those who made it to the top would reap both fame and fortune. Their future would be smoother. Even if they didn't mention it, the company would naturally provide more resources to push them to the top. But if they didn't do well in the new talent contest, they would be judged by industry insiders as having no bright future ahead of them. It would be hard to say what would happen to them in the future.
The original owner of the body valued this opportunity very much. It would be June in two days. Fang Zhao didn't have much time left. If he wasted any more time fighting Fang Sheng for the rights to the three songs, he would lose more than he gained. He had no evidence, and the other party was clearly prepared. Even if he spent two seasons, he might not be able to get the rights. Instead, he would lose this opportunity.
After returning the items from the store, Fang Zhao walked a few hundred meters with the dog to a pharmacy. The drugs the original owner of the body had used to commit suicide were hard to find at regular pharmacies. The more dangerous drugs required a medical certificate. But the black street had its own rules. If you wanted to buy it, you could.
The pharmacy wasn't big. It was deserted at this time of day. A man in a white lab coat was slumped over the counter, sleeping. When Fang Zhao entered, the scanner at the door beeped.
The man raised his head with difficulty, yawning as if he hadn't woken up yet. He froze when he saw Fang Zhao.
The pharmacy owner was very surprised. He still remembered that yesterday, this young man came in to buy medicine with an expression of "I don't want to live anymore". He tried to persuade him, but the young man didn't listen. He had thought that another person would disappear silently from the black street. There were too many cases like this on the black street. If they couldn't survive, they would commit suicide. Just like the bugs on the corner of the black street, their deaths wouldn't even cause a ripple.
But now, seeing Fang Zhao again, the pharmacy owner was rather surprised. Even though he had seen his fair share of cases, he had never expected to see someone whose mental state was completely different from the day before.
Could it be that this person didn't come to buy medicine yesterday to commit suicide? The shop owner began to ponder.
That's not right either. I believe in my judgment as a licensed doctor. 99% of the reason why this person bought the medicine yesterday was to commit suicide, but I don't know why he changed his mind.
However, he was only surprised for a moment and quickly returned to his original state.
On the Black Street, there were those who had fallen to death, and there were also those who had risen overnight.
"Medicine?" the shopkeeper asked.
"No, please take a look and see what's wrong with it." Fang Zhao handed the dog over to the owner.
The owner leaned back in disgust. "I'm not a vet."
Fang Zhao didn't say anything else. He just asked, "Can I take a look?" There were no veterinarians nearby. There were few clinics, and the fees were expensive. But in the original owner's memory, he had seen this shop owner treat a bird.
"I'll try," the shop owner said. Since he had nothing better to do, it would be a waste not to take a business that was delivered to his doorstep. It didn't matter if the money was low, as long as there was profit to be had.
There were all kinds of equipment. The shop owner couldn't perform more complicated tests, but he could still perform some basic examinations.
Fang Zhao took note of the equipment the shop owner was fiddling with. Combining it with some of the images from his memory, technology had indeed advanced a lot. Bulky equipment had become lighter, and single functions had become more diversified. Even an ordinary person with no medical foundation could use these equipment to perform a simple examination, much less a professional doctor.
About two minutes later, the shop owner concluded, "It's not a big problem. Malnourished and hungry. It'll be fine once it's full."
People from the New Era preferred large dogs. During the end of days, some dogs went berserk and became enemies of humans. Others were trained as guard dogs to coordinate with humans in battle. When all electronic tools were useless, they were a great help. Some cities had monuments to the World War of Annihilation with statues of dogs, commemorating their contributions to the War of the Worlds. Fang Zhao's team had kept dogs as well.
There was also a portion that hadn't gone berserk and hadn't been selected as training dogs. They had hidden themselves during the end of days, and very few had survived.
The shop owner didn't know if the dog in front of him was a descendant of those meritorious service dogs or a descendant of those rare few that had survived. But looking at its appearance and fur color, even if it was a descendant of meritorious service dogs, it was a failed line. There wasn't much value in keeping it. The shop owner labeled the dog "hopeless" in his mind.
The shop owner sized up Fang Zhao again. Looking at Fang Zhao yesterday, he felt like he couldn't even keep a dog. Why would he want to keep a worthless dog?
"This dog … do you want to keep it?" the shop owner asked.
Fang Zhao looked at the dog. It wasn't clear if the dog understood, but when it saw Fang Zhao looking at it, it wagged its tail.
"I'll keep it," Fang Zhao said. It was fate to be the first living creature he saw after waking up. Even though he was tight on cash, Fang Zhao was confident he would get better soon. He couldn't live on the little money the original owner had left him.
The shop owner didn't say anything else. It was up to other people to make their own choices. He just needed to get paid. Pointing at the dog, he said, "Its fur is all knotted up. I don't know how long it's been out there. It can't be washed clean. It's a waste of time and money. Why don't we just shave it?"
"Then shave it. How much?"
"I'll charge you 50 for the checkup and 100 for the shave. But since you don't have much money in your current state, I'll just charge you 50 for the shave. That's a total of 100," the shop owner said. He wasn't charging randomly. This was the market. As for why he was willing to give a discount … No one could say what the future held for anyone who could climb out of despair. There weren't many examples like this on the black streets, but he had encountered a few. He was just casually doing a favor. For him, it was a worthwhile business deal. Even if the other party sought death in the future, he wouldn't lose out.
He had spent 10 bucks on a meal and 100 on a dog. Was he asking for trouble? Fang Zhao shook his head. But today, he had been reborn. He was happy and willful. As for whether the dog stayed or ran off, that was up to it.
After Fang Zhao transferred the money, the shop owner said it would take an hour to complete the transaction, so he left the dog there. He planned to go out and learn more about this world. Only after understanding it could he proceed with the next step.
After leaving the pharmacy, Fang Zhao took the elevator to the 50th floor and walked along the passageway until he reached the end of the passageway. There was a protruding platform. It was a bus stop. There were already people waiting there.
In front of him was a network of roads stretching from low to high. It was like a spider's web. Fang Zhao was shocked. The image in his memory was far less vivid than seeing it with his own eyes.
It had been 500 years.
It had been 500 years since the end of the apocalypse.
The sound of a train entering the station rang out. The 100-meter-long train, which was used as an ordinary public transport, slowed down as it approached. Fang Zhao followed his memory and scanned the nearest carriage with his bracelet. He then entered the train and found a seat by the window.
It was 2 p.m., so there weren't many people on the train at this time. People going to work or school were nowhere to be seen. There were many empty seats.
The tall buildings receded rapidly as the train moved along.
The neighborhood was filled with block after block. There weren't many gaps. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many dark streets. But as the train drove out of the area, the view widened. Sunlight streamed in through the windows. On the tall buildings in the distance, a huge screen flashed.
Celebrities, commercials, publicity...
Technology advanced rapidly, and so did the entertainment industry. After the apocalypse, everything was updated at an accelerated pace. Fang Zhao couldn't find any traces of the apocalypse or before it.
"Look, it's Mi Yu!"
"Beautiful!"
"My idol! The bracelet she's endorsing is sold out. I can't order it online anymore... "
"I heard Mi Yu is holding a concert. Have you bought tickets? Ticket prices are going crazy online! "
Fang Zhao listened to the discussion of a few young girls in the front row. He looked at the huge screen on the tall buildings in the distance. On the screen, a near-perfect young woman was shining brightly. Her every frown and smile were irresistible. Her pretty face was flawless, and her voluptuous figure was infinitely seductive. Her heart skipped a beat when she met that pair of smiling eyes that seemed to be able to release electricity.
She was indeed a beauty. Fang Zhao agreed. In the apocalypse, everyone was busy trying to survive. Men and women didn't have the time to pay attention to their appearance. It was impossible to see such a gorgeous scene.
But Fang Zhao had a strange feeling when he saw the woman's charming smile on the tall screen. Fang Zhao's memory told him the reason.
That wasn't a real person.
Fang Zhao stared at the distant screen and only withdrew his gaze when it was completely out of sight.
"Virtual idol."
The product of the perfect combination of technology and art.
Virtual idols weren't real people that existed and could be touched. They were products of technology and artificially created.
Virtual idols were born in the virtual world. They looked no different from real people. They had once been the rage. They had once pushed superstars off their pedestals, pressured real idols, and almost forced them out of the historical stage. Although real idols were once again glorious, the influence of virtual idols couldn't be underestimated. They were products recognized by the world.
A media mogul who invested in real stars once said, "Virtual idols are monsters born in the virtual world. If we don't wipe them out, they will make a comeback as soon as they have a chance to breathe. That will be the end of real idols!"
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