By evening, Lilleâs personal driver, John, drove over to pick him up, and the two chatted sporadically in the car.
If he put aside those familiar figures, Lille might even think this was just an ordinary world.
Even considering the presence of the Osborne Group, the world didnât seem to have that many unimaginable things constantly thrown in his face.
John drove steadily like a proper driver, reporting to Lille the recent changes in the community.
Overall, with the junior version of ctOS going online in the community and nearby blocks, the cost of crime progressively rose, and the crime rate was rapidly decreasing.
Some ambitious and enterprising cops in the NYPD even volunteered to take charge of the areaâs securityâ
because they almost never faced cases where the perpetrator couldnât be found, and cracking down on robberies, thefts, and other public order cases were very favorable for their records.
The decrease in crime rate calmed the unemployed, and property owners were more than satisfiedâ
In the United States, security is a very expensive service, but now they experienced high-quality security services at a price that wasnât too steep.
But Lille knew that this peace was largely due to Kingpin restraining gang activity, and once he sorted out his cash flow issues, he would inevitably make a comeback.
The ctOS system and crime syndicates were natural enemiesâunless the technology itself was in the hands of the crime gangs.
But regardless, there wouldnât be robberies and shootouts every night anymore.
People still preferred to head home early, so the streets were almost emptyâwhich was just as well.
The car stopped, and they went their separate ways.
After dinner, Lille burrowed into his room and began setting up the "surgery room."
[Technology Points -500]
[Current Technology Points: 120]
A simplified version of prosthesis doctorâs gloves appeared in Lilleâs hands, the circular part meant to stabilize was only up to the wrist, half the size of the gloves in Cyberpunk World.
After connecting all sorts of surgical equipment, Lille tested the gloves to make sure they were functioning correctly, the next step was to begin the surgery.
Only, this surgery... it would be better with an assistant.
But in this world... who could he trust with this?
People like Skye, John, and Anthony wouldnât harm him, but that was just their intention; they almost had no medical experience and could likely cause trouble objectively.
Those with medical experience, he couldnât let them see his prosthetics, like Professor Conners.
His body had more than just an artificial auxiliary heart, and once on the surgery table, these things couldnât be hiddenâ
And right now, Lille couldnât yet create these prosthetics; it was not something he could explain.
As Lille pondered, he suddenly noticed the footsteps in the living roomâthat was his mom cleaning.
Maya worked as a nursing aide at the hospital... that counted as medical experience, and she wouldnât possibly harm him.
Itâs just that the surgery would be a rather gruesome sightâwould that be a problem?
Lille hesitated for a moment but decided to ask his mom to be the assistantâ
The surgery wasnât something to be taken lightly; he had to use whatever could increase the success rate.
Lille opened his roomâs door and gestured to his mom, "Mom! Come here, I need your help with something."
Maya put down the broom in her hand.
"Whatâs up?"
Lille organized his thoughts, and asked, "Mom, have you ever been a surgical nurse at the hospital?"
Maya nodded, "Of course, like extracting bullets from some poor sod who got hit by a stray, which is pretty common in Hellâs Kitchen."
"...You see, Mom, I have a surgery that I need help with."
Maya froze for a moment, not understanding Lilleâs words.
Lille pointed to his chest, "...I need to operate here, thereâs an... artificial auxiliary heart, and I need to use it to administer drugs to myself continuously.
The drugs can enhance cell vitality and extend my lifespan."
"If I havenât misunderstood, youâre saying you have a kind of miracle drug, but its use requires you to perform surgery on yourself."
Maya repeated Lilleâs words, trying to remain calm.
But she didnât quite grasp what Lille was talking about.
"Yes," Lille said calmly, "My medical equipment is quite unique, like automatic mechanical hands, but I need a surgical nurse to help me sterilize the equipment and assist the surgeryâs smooth progress."
Maya was as shocked as if she had witnessed the 9/11 event, perhaps even more so!
Lille was very calm, but what he was saying was not simple at all!
"Mom, I know this is hard to accept, but I really need your help."
Lille cleared the bed and then covered it with sterilized plastic sheetingâ
A sterile environment was necessary for conventional surgery, but for him, it wasnât that crucial; it only needed proper setup.
Mom seemed calm enough, and that was sufficient.
It was normal to be shocked inside; the key was to control it, not to act startled or flustered.
By that standard, his mom seemed to have always been quite calm.
Lille connected the gloves to the Prosthetic System and lay down on the bed.
"Thereâs medical equipment from the lab in the box, Momâonce weâre ready, weâll start."
Maya felt a bit dizzy, but she listened to Lille.
It was just that she kept looking back as she walked.
...
In Midtown High School, there was a danceâ
This was Peterâs last semester in high school, as well as his classmatesâ.
Despite attending the dance, he was still dressed like a nerd, with glasses, making him seem a bit out of placeâ
He stood at the entrance, somewhat at a loss, when a burly blonde vigorously slapped him on the back, surrounded by friends: