Chapter 2

The hover car quickly arrived at its destination, coming to a smooth stop. The destination was a shiny metal skyscraper. On the side was an inconspicuous small door, with a large sign reading "Disability Employment Guidance Center." People entering and exiting the door were all kinds of disabled individuals.

Most of these people were adventurers who had returned from outer space with missing limbs and empty wallets. A few were genetic defectives like Sun Ran.

By the way, the Solar System Federation government had comprehensive laws to prevent interference with the modification of congenital genetic material.

The reason was simple: genetic mutations are the driving force of evolution. Nature's imagination is boundless, and who knows, a new human might evolve one day.

The new human had nothing to do with Sun Wen. Anyway, Sun Ran was a real tragedy at the moment.

Sun Ran shook his head and walked inside with a sigh.

Entering the guidance center, he sat in front of a black consultant with a sausage-like mouth. Sun Wen dryly said, "Uncle, I want to find a job."

The black uncle was also disabled, reportedly due to an accident while mining in the asteroid belt, which left him completely paralyzed from the waist down and half of his body attached to the chair.

He checked Sun Ran's information in a routine manner and said expressionlessly, "There's one suitable for you, washing dishes at the Golden Chrysanthemum All-Handmade Restaurant. The daily wage is twenty credit points."

Twenty credit points? That was quite high. Sun Ran had worked at the Golden Chrysanthemum several times before, and each time he saved enough credit points to enter "Earth" and live for several thousand years.

The previous times went smoothly, but he got too cocky the last time and ended up failing.

"Brother, can I change to another job?" Sun Ran asked cautiously.

The job was good, but the restaurant owner was a tall, muscular man. That wasn't the issue; the key was that he had confessed to Sun Ran with ninety-nine仿真 roses.

Sun Ran's heart rate increased by 30% on the spot. If he hadn't reacted quickly and suppressed his emotions, he might have had a heart rupture and died.

Sigh, who could blame him for being too handsome? Sun Ran lamented to himself.

"There are many jobs, but your physical condition won't allow you to do any of them," the uncle shrugged, indicating he couldn't help.

No one was willing to hire him except for the Golden Chrysanthemum owner with ulterior motives.

"I heard the job of a Maintainer is good. Can I do that?" Sun Ran asked cautiously.

A Maintainer, like the previous 'Maiden' and the two black and white ghosts, is a new-age mercenary hired by game companies to maintain game balance.

They are recognized as legitimate professions by the Central AI and are one of the hottest jobs in the Federation.

Previously, like Sun Ran's role as Pengzu, there was another name: 'Disruptor.' They operated in the dark, unseen, and were the archenemies of Maintainers.

Now, with the Central AI monitoring him, being a Disruptor was too risky, so he had to turn to the legal profession of Maintainer.

The uncle still shook his head, "Don't even think about it, you can't do it."

The reason was still his heart defect.

The uncle was right; his current heart couldn't support any battles or provide him with enough energy to play hide-and-seek with the Central AI.

Sun Ran sighed, "Alright. Let me think about it some more."

He got up and left, slowly walking out of the guidance center. He didn't get in the car but sat on the steps of the parking platform, chin in hand, staring blankly at the traffic on the street.

His physical disability made him a complete waste. The virtual world used to comfort his soul, but now that right had been taken away. Added to the astronomical compensation he couldn't pay off in a lifetime, Sun Ran felt the sky turn gray, with no light at all.

Was he destined to endure the existence of that effeminate man? If he got bent by his enthusiasm, how could he face his parents, who were somewhere enjoying life?

Was he already at a dead end?

Calculating the time he had spent wreaking havoc in various virtual worlds, it added up to tens of thousands of years. The good, the bad, the bright, and the dark, he had seen it all. It seemed that continuing to live wouldn't bring any new changes.

Sun Ran sat by the rooftop, lost in thought for half a day, his mood growing increasingly bleak.

A thought suddenly popped into his mind: why should he keep living?

Sun Ran looked at the nearby parking platform and the security robot maintaining order. He thought about how to avoid the robot's interception and jump from the thousand-meter-high platform to end his life.

After observing for a long time, when the robot moved in another direction, the despondent Sun Ran sighed, stood up, and slowly walked towards the parking platform.

Jumping down would solve everything.

Just then, a hover car approached quickly. Near the employment center, it switched from the fast lane, drew a smooth curve in the sky, and stopped in front of Sun Ran with a 'whoosh.'

The car door slid open silently, revealing a woman in a red tight leather outfit with wine-red wavy hair, sexy red lips, and a curvaceous figure, exuding the charm of a mature woman.

She was a mixed-race beauty, with an Eastern face and a Western figure. So beautiful!

Seeing the woman, Sun Ran's heart rate quickened slightly, and he suddenly felt a renewed attachment to life.

Due to his heart condition, he had never experienced real passion with a woman in the real world. Even in the virtual world, he had to be extremely cautious, like walking on thin ice.

Not experiencing true, carefree passion was his greatest regret in life!

Sun Ran's heart came back to life, and he began to comfort himself. He was just facing a hurdle, albeit a big one, almost like an abyss, but there was always a way to overcome it. If he died now, he would never see such beautiful scenery again.

Sun Ran was an optimistic person; otherwise, with such a severe heart condition, he wouldn't have lived to be twenty-four.

The woman turned to look at Sun Ran, her face cold, her beautiful phoenix eyes filled with a peculiar emotion. She said softly, "Get in the car."

Sun Ran was puzzled. The woman's face was familiar, but he couldn't recall who she was. He scratched his head and pointed to his nose, "Are you talking to me?"

The woman's expression grew even colder, "Yes, you. Get in the car now!"

Her presence was overwhelming, and Sun Ran instinctively knew he recognized her. To avoid a possible violent conflict that could cause his heart rate to spike, he obediently got in the car.

As soon as he was in, the car door slid shut, and the hover car immediately started, drawing a half-circle in the sky and merging into the traffic.

In the car, Sun Ran slowly rubbed his chest, carefully suppressing the discomfort caused by the acceleration.

"How much did you get fined this time?" the woman asked after a brief silence.

"How did you know...?" Sun Ran's words were cut off by her cold aura, and he whispered, "Not much, just over nine hundred million."

Sigh, patients have no rights. Even if he wanted to be tough, his body wouldn't support it.

"What!" The fiery woman was shocked, her face showing disbelief. After a moment, she took a deep breath, "You really are something."

Even in the slums, let alone the third-layer ceiling area, nine hundred million credit points was a huge sum, and few wealthy people could come up with that much cash at once.

"So, how do you plan to pay it back?" the woman asked.

Sun Ran was even more confused. Was this woman overstepping? He didn't even know her identity yet.

"Who are you first?" he asked.

The woman gritted her teeth in frustration, "You ungrateful wretch. What did you say back then? You said you would grow old with me! Now you've forgotten me!"

If it weren't for this lawsuit, she wouldn't have found Sun Ran in the real world.

"Who are you?" Sun Ran carefully examined her face and suddenly exclaimed, embarrassed and sweating.

He finally remembered who she was!

No wonder she looked so familiar. She was... his first wife, his original spouse.

"This... this... that... that was in the virtual world, right? A game, a life, all from a past life. How could you take it seriously?" Sun Ran stammered.

He was a Disruptor and had special methods to avoid the memory shielding of the sensory devices when entering the virtual world.

So, from the beginning, he knew it was just a virtual world, and everything he experienced there was just a dream.

But she must have entered the virtual world through the normal procedure. To ensure the game's enjoyment, the original memories of ordinary players were shielded, allowing them to experience a new life as if they were reborn, with unparalleled immersion!

She must have taken it seriously, and now he was in trouble.

The woman said coldly, "Hmph, you wish. Only a fool would take it seriously. I just don't want to see your talent wasted. You managed to hide for eight hundred years in 'Earth,' which is quite an achievement."

The scenery outside the car window flew by, and Sun Ran asked curiously, "Where are you taking me now?"

"The hospital," the woman replied briefly.

"Why the hospital?"

"To get you a new heart."

"A mechanical heart? Let's get one thing straight, I don't want a mechanical one."

Mechanical hearts were cheap, costing only a few thousand credit points, but they interfered with entering the virtual world, which he didn't want.

"Don't worry, it's a bio-cultivated heart," the woman answered.

"That will cost a lot," Sun Ran was surprised.

A non-rejection heart cost at least three hundred thousand credit points, a significant sum.

"I'm lending it to you, and you'll have to pay me back," she said.

Sun Ran was silent for a moment, then a smile returned to his face. He said with a grin, "You're the best. Unlike others, they all sued me. I was legally married, and we even had a bunch of kids. How could that be rape?"

"You deserve it!" the woman spat, then realized she had lost her composure and softened her tone, "My name is Lan Xin. I belong to the Maintainer Alliance and am a Black Iron-level bounty hunter."

The Maintainer Alliance?

Sun Ran, of course, knew about it. His understanding of the alliance was much deeper than Lan Xin's, a low-level Maintainer who had just joined.

"What? You don't want my talent to be wasted, so you want me to become a glorious Maintainer? Don't blame me for not warning you, I'm a dangerous person under the Central AI's surveillance. Aren't you afraid of getting burned?" Actually, this suited his wishes.

Lan Xin smiled slightly, "Maintainers are legal, and the Central AI won't interfere with your legal actions. I also need a helper."

Sun Ran laughed heartily, "Then you've come to the right person. I'm absolutely worth it!"

Getting a healthy heart made him feel cheerful, and he felt the sky brighten, giving him a new purpose in life.

As for the despair earlier? Was there any? Would he ever feel desperate?