CHAPTER 64: CHAPTER 63: SPIRITUAL ENERGY TAX

"Why are there Black people here?"

"Or did they update some people’s race along with the cyber version update?"

Looking at that familiar skin color, those familiar dreadlocks, and that signature looting behavior, Lu Yan almost thought he had arrived not in the cyber version, but in the Land of Freedom across the ocean.

Watching the Black person about to dash out of the alley, Lu Yan didn’t bother to question the issue at hand and lightly hooked his right index finger, turning Magical Power into an invisible rope to bind the Black person’s legs.

The sprinting Black man’s steps suddenly halted, and his whole body plummeted forward, his head crashing heavily into the sewage pit.

Heads clashed with the rocks in the sewage pit, blood and sewage splattered in all directions, and the Black person cried out in terror, attempting to break free from the invisible rope formed by Magical Power.

Lu Yan initially thought this would be a futile effort. How could an ordinary person possibly break free from the shackles of Magical Power?

But in the next second, a blue glow suddenly emerged from the tattoo beneath the Black man’s clothes, creating a momentary looseness in the Magical Power rope.

Subsequently, the Magical Power rope tightened once more, and the Black person ultimately failed to break free from the rope’s constraints.

Lu Yan, who walked over casually, showed a hint of surprise on his face.

He could feel that the Black person in front of him was clearly an ordinary individual with no cultivation realm, yet the tattoo, which illuminated on his body, demonstrated some characteristics of Magical Power, with a brief flare that even caused a slight relaxation in the Magical Power rope.

This made Lu Yan increasingly curious about the Extraordinary System of this cyber version.

Retrieving the battery and the USB drive from the Black person’s hand, Lu Yan glanced at the tattoo on the Black person’s body. It was covered with strange, chaotic letters, and he didn’t sense any extraordinary power.

The tattoo seemed to be just an external manifestation, and the true source of the blue light seemed to be something within the Black person.

Just as Lu Yan pondered whether to conduct further experiments, a series of rapid footsteps suddenly came from outside the alley, followed by two uniformed, blond, blue-eyed police officers appearing at the alley’s entrance.

The police officers raised their guns in their hands and shouted loudly into the alley:

"Put your hands up!"

"Place your hands atop your head!"

Lu Yan turned his head, examining the two blond, blue-eyed police officers before him with confusion.

If the Black person underfoot could be attributed to genetic mutation or old Cantonese ancestry, then the presence of these white police officers was sufficient to prove that this cyber version update was different from previous ones.

From the two police officers, Lu Yan sensed a faint semblance of Magical Power, more evident than what was seen in the Black person, yet the two officers still had no cultivation realm.

Moreover, the firearms they held surpassed Lu Yan’s understanding, with the magazine replaced by a cell flashing blue light, seemingly driven by this special battery replacing traditional gunpowder weaponry.

Even so, the two police officers posed no threat to Lu Yan.

As long as Lu Yan wanted, he could effortlessly kill them with a mere flick of his finger.

His peripheral vision swept over the camera on the police officer’s chest before Lu Yan finally abandoned the idea.

Having just arrived in the cyber version, it was evidently unwise to clash with official violent organizations.

Yet before Lu Yan could raise his hands, one veteran police officer impatiently stepped into the alley, his gun smashing heavily on the head of the Black person facedown on the ground.

"I fucking told you to raise your hands above your head, you damned trash!"

The Black person, who had already landed headfirst, developed a new wound on his already bloodied head, and blood flowed into the sewage, leaving the dazed Black person unable to respond.

"Bullshit dumbass!"

The veteran police officer pressed a knee onto the Black person’s neck, their nearly two-hundred-pound weight seemed to allow Lu Yan to hear the sound of bones breaking.

With such forceful suppression, the veteran police officer then took out handcuffs and forcibly restrained the Black person’s hands in reverse.

Having done all that, the veteran police officer finally stood up satisfactorily and sincerely said to Lu Yan:

"Sir, I hope these Lower City District scumbags didn’t disturb you."

Lu Yan’s expression was slightly stiff but soon naturally dropped his arms that were preparing to be raised, revealing a gentle smile and praised:

"Officer, you did well."

At the same time, another young police officer stepped into the alley, a virtual screen rising from the terminal on his wrist, beginning to scan the Black person pressed on the ground.

Soon, the information about the Black person popped up on the terminal screen,

"Bruce Wicks, originally from the Central City District, entered the Lower City District after his house was seized for bankruptcy half a month ago, identification number: 1145149527.

According to the city’s security management law, you should be subjected to three months of detention."

Bruce’s mouth was running with blood, his eyes bloodshot as he stared directly at the police in front of him, shouting loudly:

"You abuse power to bully an unarmed ordinary person, I will have my lawyer send a legal letter, just wait until you have to pay!"

The young police officer, expressionless, swiped on the virtual screen, his voice filled with disdain.

"Mr. Bruce, I’m afraid you no longer have the opportunity to hire a lawyer to sue us.

According to the records, you have outstanding elementary school student loans, thirty-year-old non-birth tax, Lower City District residency tax, third-class air tax, third-class sunshine tax, all unpaid on time.

Your savings account was cleared out three days ago, no lawyer would take your case."

Bruce’s dark-skinned face showed fear as he desperately struggled:

"Impossible! My house has already been auctioned off by the court, the auction money is completely enough to pay back..."

"Unfortunately, I found that your 120-square-meter apartment in the Central City District had a broken toilet. The court was concerned that selling it to the public would affect residents’ safety, so they conducted an internal auction within the court.

The esteemed judge bought your apartment for a thousand credit points, after deducting fees and taxes, you still owe the court five thousand credit points."

The young police officer paused for a moment, his gaze toward Bruce showed a hint of sympathy.

"There’s also one more thing, your spiritual energy tax has been overdue for ten minutes, and you will face a sky-high fine of one million credit points."

Upon hearing this, Bruce’s face was filled with overwhelming fear, shaking his head hastily and saying:

"No, no, no! I haven’t overdue it, there’s still half an hour left to the repayment time, I can pay off the spiritual energy tax right away!"

But his words did not bring about any change, the young police officer had already passed judgment.

"After statistics, your debts have already reached 1,375,352.5 credit points. According to city management law, you will be escorted to the Heaven Computation Center later, using your soul to provide computing power for the Universal Intelligent Brain.

According to calculations, as long as your soul works non-stop for twenty-four hours a day for forty years, you can pay off all taxes, debts, fines, and 12% interest at the age of seventy-three, then you may enjoy a peaceful retirement."