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The apartment wasn't big. The apartment Lucy lived in was exactly the same as the one Jax lived in Santo Domingo.
Except for the different window orientation for light, everything else was almost copy-pasted. This was the standardized layout for Night Corp's skyscrapers.
However, what was different was that Lucy's room had many things plastered on the walls, various posters with moon-related elements, and even astronaut portraits.
And in the middle of the room was a soft, round bed. It was unclear if this was standard for the skyscrapers in Heywood, or if Lucy had bought it herself.
"I'm going to take a shower first."
Jax had just taken the drink Lucy retrieved from the refrigerator, and as he was about to open it, he heard Lucy suddenly speak.
He looked up at Lucy, only to see her already turning away. She took her change of clothes and walked into the small bathroom. The next moment, accompanied by a rustling sound, the sound of running water followed.
There was no door; the bathroom used a glass partition. Therefore, sitting there, Jax could see Lucy's movements as she showered.
The silhouette on the glass was raising her slender neck, letting the hot water hit her face, her hands moving over her graceful body, applying something, perhaps?
A sense of awkwardness inexplicably began to creep in. Jax picked up his drink, took a sip, and then got up to look at the posters.
He couldn't watch any longer; it would make him seem too perverted.
Looking at the posters on the wall, Jax's attention was successfully diverted—[Moon Permanent Residency Program, every March, May, and November, Malur Airlines welcomes you! Warm reminder—we have our own rockets!]
Jax then looked at the second one—[Are you still troubled by tedious people and matters every day? Are you still worried that your living environment will be affected by corporate wars? Then, Sicily Space Travel Company will be your most trustworthy choice! A thirty-year-old brand, we have the best tour guides, and we can take you on a tour of the galaxy!]
All these posters had moon elements, but upon closer inspection, it would be found that most of them were advertisements.
Airlines, travel agencies, real estate companies, information technology companies, etc.
"Going to the moon must be expensive, right?"
A clear and pleasant voice sounded, with a hint of an older sister's tone, carrying a touch of laziness.
Jax looked over and saw Lucy wiping her hair with a towel. Steam was rising from her body, creating a wisp of white smoke.
A pleasant scent mixed with the misty water vapor. Barefoot on the floor, Lucy was wearing a loose T-shirt. The T-shirt was long, its hem reaching her upper thighs, revealing her fair and smooth legs.
Lucy's legs had not undergone extensive cybernetic implants, as the faint pink flush from the hot water in the bathroom could be seen on the front of her damp thighs, which was the natural color of human blood.
Synthetic skin doesn't have this effect. What's meant here is that synthetic skin is either pure pink or translucent white, not with this... realistic, translucent pink color under the skin texture.
No, perhaps some do?
But that was clearly not something Jax could access.
And is synthetic skin the focus right now? The focus is, the focus is, Lucy, her, her lower body... isn't, isn't wearing anything?
"I've been to many places. The price for going to the moon is basically around 200,000. As for that money... I've actually saved enough."
Lucy first approached the refrigerator, reached for a bottle of carbonated drink, and after twisting it open, she naturally walked over to Jax's side, then looked up at the poster.
"Then, why haven't you thought about going? You already have the money."
"200,000 is just for going to the moon. If you want to live on the moon, that's another expensive outlay," Lucy replied, continuing calmly, "First, I have to get rid of my tourist status and obtain legal identity up there. The processing fee for that is probably around seventy to eighty thousand. Then there's rent and living costs. On the moon... it's not easy to find a job."
"So I have to save money, lots and lots of money," Lucy said softly. As she spoke, she tilted her head to look at Jax, narrowing her eyes and saying, "So you know how outrageous your behavior of asking me to treat you today was, right?"
"It's only thirty euros, there's no need for that..."
"Thirty euros is already enough for me to buy a dozen bottles of cola."
"...Then I'll transfer it to you now," Jax said speechlessly.
Lucy heard this, laughed, and shook her head, "I'm just kidding."
Lucy introduced Jax to the moon posters on the wall. She was truly a qualified moon enthusiast, even able to name the buildings, regions, and local inhabitants.
Jax listened quietly, acting as a good listener, a skill he had learned in the Moxes.
Until Lucy suddenly stopped speaking, Jax then asked, "Lucy, why do you want to go to the moon so much?"
"..." Silence, then Lucy blinked. "I won't tell you."
After speaking, she walked to the round bed and rummaged under the cabinet with the alarm clock. Soon, a high-end Braindance device was taken out.
Shaking the device in her hand, Lucy held a small pouch in her mouth. It was for storing Braindance chips, designed to block static electricity and prevent the chip from being damaged by the environment. This packaging style, though...
To be honest, Jax found it too abstract.
Coupled with Lucy's gesture of lightly patting the bed to invite him over, Jax always felt like she was saying—"Want to start a game?"
Let's start!
Jax walked over. Lucy fluffed the pillows, then inserted the Braindance chip into the device. She first put the device on Jax, then pulled a wire from the device and connected it to the back of her own neck.
"Here we go."
At Lucy's word, she activated the device. After a dizzying flash of white light, Jax found himself in... another world.
What met his eyes was a vast, uneven white surface. In the distance, unknown equipment glittered with lights. Looking up at the sky, he could see a dazzling sphere, but looking the other way, he could see a Azure planet.
A hand patted Jax's shoulder. It was Lucy.
Upon entering the Braindance world, Lucy seemed completely relaxed, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her. She was now smiling faintly at Jax, excitedly waving him over, "Come this way."
Jax tried to take a step, and then he had to admit that Lucy's device was indeed much more advanced than his own.
Not only could it connect to the second machine, but the sensory experience was also much stronger.
He lightly leaped up. Jax hadn't used much force, but his body had already jumped three or four meters.
Lucy clapped her hands, and a moon rover suddenly descended from the sky, then crashed onto the ground, wobbling twice upon landing.
Lucy lifted her leg, stepped onto the edge of the moon rover, and smoothly got in. She sat in the driver's seat and raised an eyebrow at Jax.
Jax understood Lucy's meaning, smiled, and reached out to grasp the edge of the moon rover.
"Hold on tight."
"Vroom!"
Flooring the accelerator, Lucy drove the moon rover, taking Jax on a wild ride across the moon.
On this planet, devoid of any other people, a man and a woman were now speeding across the moon in a rover.
Everything in sight was a vast expanse of white. A black curtain enveloped half of the moon, but unknown equipment in the distance emitted an orange-yellow glow, serving as the light source.
The moon rover accelerated, rushing over two ravines ahead, and began to float in zero gravity. With extreme hang time, the vehicle's balance started to go out of control. Jax's body tilted forward, and Lucy, sitting in the driver's seat, also lifted off her seat, her entire body floating.
Her pink-ice short hair flew upwards, and a joyful laugh spread across her face.
Grabbing the top edge of the moon rover with one hand, Lucy climbed out of the car. Bending her legs, she stepped onto the front of the moon rover and reached out to grab Jax's arm, then, holding Jax's wrist, she jumped heavily forward.
Below was a huge lunar crater, thousands of meters deep, and Lucy, with Jax, floated at the edge of deep space. But the next moment, her boots sprayed jets of air, carrying Jax as they glided through the air.
"Holy shit, you can do that?" Jax's eyes lit up.
"What did you think? The official Braindance is expensive, and it's expensive for this exact reason~" Lucy said, reaching out and lightly touching the air in front of her a few times.
Then, Jax found himself wearing a helmet.
It was an astronaut's helmet!
"Come on, I told you, I'll make you like this place, Jax, we still have so much to play!"
Taking Jax, Lucy began to fully enjoy this small world she had visited countless times.
Time passed, but Jax didn't know how long it had been. In the Braindance world, he lay with his eyes closed on an energy panel. With the advanced Braindance, Jax even felt a sense of temperature.
Lucy lay beside him, also with her eyes closed. After a wild and crazy time, Lucy was now as quiet as a cat.
She was... so much like the white cat in Jax's dream memories.
Noble, mysterious, elegant, beautiful...
You could truly apply all sorts of good adjectives to her.
He had been lying there for several minutes now. Jax opened his eyes and looked at the sky.
Beside him, Lucy spoke, "You asked earlier if I was a noble young lady."
"Actually, yes, I guess, but that was before. Now, I'm just someone who's always running away," Lucy's voice carried a hint of frankness. She continued, "These past years, I've been to many places. My life is like a rootless plant, drifting everywhere. Night City is the longest I've stayed in a city, but..."
Jax interrupted Lucy, "You can stay here. Night City is different from the places you know."
Lucy paused, shifted her body from lying flat to lying on her side, turning towards Jax. With her hand under her head, she looked at Jax's profile and said, "What's different, besides being more chaotic? And chaos isn't a virtue."
"It will be different in the future," Jax said, closing his eyes again.
Lucy pursed her lips, about to turn away, but Jax suddenly spoke again, "Did you have fun today?"
Her movement stopped. She looked at Jax, silent for a moment before saying, "Besides almost dying, I haven't been this happy in a long time."
From what age had she always lived alone?
Eating with friends, drinking, talking about things they liked, playing things they liked... This kind of life seemed to have never been experienced again after she escaped from that base.
Therefore, she was truly very happy now.
A friend for a day... that's pretty good too.
"Then, there will be more happy things in the future, provided you join our team," Jax said leisurely, placing his hands on his abdomen.
Lucy's breathing was Jax's answer.
But after a while, a definite voice sounded.
"Okay, anyway, I have nowhere else to go."
"Welcome to our team, Lucy," Jax turned to look at Lucy, smiling as he spoke.
This day... was very interesting for Jax too.
If he hadn't met Lucy, he would probably be lying at home watching a Braindance movie alone right now?
He wouldn't have encountered so many things... Although there was danger, how could the life of an edgerunner be without danger?
What's more, Jax was someone who hated loneliness. He was already out of place in this world. Many times, he hated being alone; it made Jax feel as if he had been abandoned by the whole world.
Identity, perception, beliefs... The biggest difference between him and this world lay in those past memories.
If I don't know my birth, my dreams, my future goals, lacking a sense of belonging...
Then, loneliness will become a cage.
Some say the highest state of life is to enjoy loneliness. Before loneliness is confusion, after loneliness is growth.
It seems everyone should accept this growth...
Then, can it be accepted in a different way?
At least... not so quickly.
Looking at Lucy, Jax smiled.
Then, reaching out towards the sky, Jax whispered in his heart, "Then, let's share the loneliness."
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