This instructor was another incredibly "dazzling" person Elliot had ever seen.
However, the "dazzling" humans perceive is usually related to cognition, unless the person is literally glowing.
He still remembered being approached by Network Supervision back when he worked at the European Tunnel Companyâ
If you observe carefully, you can notice that in Europe, almost all company employees, law enforcement, civil servants, and prominent figures appearing online maintain similar physiques.
Their bodies are always well-proportioned, tall, and handsome... Altering appearance is no big deal in 2077.
But the same slimming, the effects and costs of direct liposuction versus using biological products are two different matters, and although the technology is there, what to turn into is a personal choice...
Obviously, the more demanding alterations are more expensive, and if a cosmetic technology has become widespread, how to convince the wealthy to spend more money?
"Fashion" and "trends" are key components of European society, and trends here are vastly different from those in Night City, so much so that the slacker trends of Night City are despised here.
Night Cityâs society is truly divided, but there exists both upper-class and lower-class aesthetics, fugitives love the mighty military prosthetics, wealthy people prefer costly custom styles, everyone has a bright future...
But in Europe, certain aesthetic preferences are absolute, and if someone claims itâs ugly, it can only be because theyâre poor.
A picture of the person flashed in Elliotâs mind, and it even labeled why he found them "dazzling":
First, it was the skin.
[Lille: Obviously itâs technological skin, human skin canât be this white and bright, it seems infused with nano-level white porcelain, nanoceramic fit with biological materials, custom molecular polishing.]
Combining ceramics synthesized using nanotechnology with elastic materials organically sewn together, then hand-polished by top artisans, it automatically adjusts humidity and temperature, emitting a faint cool light under any lighting conditions.
Compared to such skin, the Network Surveillance Agents Elliot had seen appeared shabby: their skin was entirely pale with blue veins, looking cheap by contrast.
[Lille: This isnât cheap, production costs might exceed ten thousand, with custom installation, polishing, and maintenance, could cost six figures a year...]
Then there was the left prosthetic limb, perhaps intentionally or unintentionally, the instructorâs arm slightly extended past the sleeve.
[Lille: Made from natural ebony and goldwood, reinforced and fixed with carbon nanotubes, itâs light and sturdy, nearly comparable to military-grade arms in strength, with pure gold threads on the surface... The internal wiring seems to be gold as well.]
And the pupils: Elliot had never seen such a unique and beautiful color.
[Lille: Using pearl powder as a surface shaping material, with a golden pupil ring around the pupil, this appears not just aesthetic, Qilusiâs promotion claims itâs a design to enhance focal points and prosthetic eye functionality...]
[Lille: His gait is also very... unnatural; humans walk with a relatively unified gait but not almost identical, likely swapped out muscle groups designed for motion, possibly with built-in gait and posture drivers in the actuator.]
Spending these amounts annually, spending tens of thousands of euros a year on just this is quite normalâ
With Lille pulling up all the advertisements and promotional materials of these items, he realized he mightâve seen them online, just, who would bother with things they could never afford?
More exaggerated was that tens of thousands of euros could keep a medium-sized plant running for a year, Elliot was now dealing with too many small and medium enterprises, he wasnât a newbie insensitive to numbers anymore...
This person spends so much on appearance alone that it could sustain an entire factory?!
No wonder theyâre dazzling; turns out they have money...
No.
Elliot snapped back to reality:
[Elliot: Brother, youâre back?!]
[Lille: Kid, you did well, I even worried if youâd blow your cover at Interpol.]
[Elliot: They hardly asked about the roaming AI and such... and I genuinely donât understand, I genuinely donât know what they asked.]
Elliot scratched his head and added:
[Elliot: And isnât it unrelated to us?]
In Cyberspace, Munemasa rubbed his forehead: letting this kid not learn the real skills turned out to be a good thing.
However, due to Network Surveillanceâs prior agreements, being a registered and heavily backed organization by both numerous companies and the European Union high-ranks, Interpol wasnât likely to use more direct methods to inquire.
It seemed the European Union really intended to treat this matter seriously...
Itâs evident that tens of thousands of euros are mere pocket change for this "instructor," this isnât normal.
[Elliot: I mean, I only knew the European Community Civil Servants had good benefits, but not this good... and Sevens hid it?]
[Lille: Hide my ass.]
European Community Civil Servants indeed enjoy great benefits, medical, physical refinement, prosthetic replacement, maintenance, housing, and a variety of resource services at discounted rates, can even directly bill the European Communityâs official card, enjoying different levels of funding allocation according to different levels.
But counterintuitively, theyâre almost impossible to bypass European Communityâs supervision, to promise businesses anything in exchange for money, or to engage in "corruption."
Even the mayor of Bremen City canât enjoy such expensive things...
Itâs apparent that this instructorâs "family background" is not ordinary.
[Elliot: Doesnât add up, spending tens of thousands annually just on such a tiny aspect, how much wealth must he have? Wouldnât he be on the rich list?!]
[Lille: Berlin folks are indeed full of hidden talents; wait until Sevens returns to see what happens.]
[Lille: Donât forget where weâre heading next, Iâll be away temporarily.]
"Brother, why are you daydreaming?"
A pair of metallic arms waved in front of Elliot, compared to that high-grade arm, the one in front felt like scrap.
This was Carlâs arm, and the best arm a worker could enjoyâ
Elliot snapped back, "I was just thinking about that gentleman earlier, the stuff on him isnât cheap..."
"Fanciful tricks, are nothing compared to me; I used this to save several brothers!"
Carl proudly showed his entire mechanical arm, the motorâs sound strong and powerful, the machinery glinted with a metallic cold light under the lightâ
In contrast, you couldnât hear the operation sounds of the instructorâs arm.
Elliot shrugged, "Online, they criticize that people have to install prosthetics just to work, saying itâs a terrifying form of dehumanization, you seem quite happy with itâ
Be careful now, the doctor said you couldnât switch anymore!"
"Hehe, I think itâs great, I always dreamt of having a badass mechanical arm as a kid, it would be better if it were free...
Now both have come true! By the way, how come youâve changed so much, I didnât even recognize you when you walked in just now!"
"We now have establishment backing, you didnât really think thereâs a free lunch out there, did you? This money is being reimbursed for us..."
At this point, Elliot couldnât help but smile brightly.
The two sat by the window, overlooking Bremen Industrial District, freely discussing their experiences and feelings from recent days.
Watching them in this state, Alina also smiled at the door.
"The establishment is just so-so, seeing you so happy..." Carl suddenly stopped, leaned a bit towards Elliot, "So, did you get through?"
"Uh... still working on it, I feel itâs getting close." Elliot paused, "I feel... once in Berlin, it will be the final stop.
Once Berlinâs matters are over, Iâll... you know."
"Good lad, when the time comes if you need any atmosphere or help, just say the word, Iâll help out."
The two exchanged a gleeful grin, looking out the windowâ
Indeed, whatever plans they had, they could wait until the Berlin trip ended to speak of them.
It was truly a dreamlike journey.