Chapter 2: The Precious Blank Slate

I've been deceived!

A surge of fury flashed through Adam's heart before he hurriedly rushed away in the opposite direction.

However, he didn't make it very far before a rush of wind blew toward him from behind, and he was ensnared in a metal net, following which a bout of triumphant laughter rang out.

"Haha! No one's gotten away from the mighty Spider yet!"

The other end of the metal net was connected to a launcher, and the launcher was installed on the mechanical arm of one of the men.

"Now then, let me see what you're worth!"

The mechanical arm's powerful pulling force swept Adam off his feet, and he was dragged directly over to the man before falling onto the ground with a dull thump.

"Oh, what a healthy-looking body! Look at how fine his skin is! He'll definitely fetch a good price."

Spider's eyes immediately lit up at the sight of Adam's face, and he pulled out an electronic card with a pin attached to it, then pierced it straight into Adam's arm, following which a series of bodily statistics quickly appeared on the card.

"Internal organs health score: 100, brain health score: 100, blood health score: 100, zero plaque buildup on vessel walls, bone health score..."

Upon seeing the first two parameters, an elated look immediately appeared on Spider's face, but the more statistics were displayed, the more his expression transitioned toward shock, and by the end, there was even a hint of fear in his eyes.

"So? He'll definitely be able to fetch a good price, right?" Old Dog was standing nearby, and he couldn't see the statistics, but he could also sense that he had struck gold with this one. "I should be able to receive a cut of at least 20,000, no, 50,000, right? Alternatively, you can give me Heaven V. I heard that the newest model is able to directly read one's desires and can even spur the brain to secrete more dopamine! This time, I want an entire harem of 1,000 beauties to service me all at once!"Old Dog’s voice trailed off as he began to cackle with glee.

Spider stared at the statistics in front of him in silence for a moment, then looked around at the other people in the passage. They had caused quite a commotion, and many people had been alerted, so quite a few of the hobos were looking their way.

Spider contemplated this situation momentarily, then put on a generous expression as he said, "This is indeed a brilliant find that'll fetch me a handsome price. Everyone here will get a share!"

He gave his subordinate a meaningful look as he continued, "Give everyone a Dream series device, and give Old Dog a Heaven series device."

"Boss, are you sure..."

Spider had always been very stingy, and in the face of this uncharacteristically generous display, the subordinate was unsure of how to proceed.

"Cut the chit-chat! Hurry up!"

Under Spider's urging, a burly man pulled out some metal balls that were around the size of table tennis balls from a backpack before handing them out to the hobos who were still awake.

After receiving these psychological drugs, many of the addicts eagerly entered the dream state as quickly as they could, but there were two very cautious and alert hobos who were looking at the metal balls with suspicious expressions.

"What's up? Why aren't you using them?" Spider asked with a smile as he made his way over to the two of them.

"Someone needs to be on guard duty at night, so not everyone can fall asleep..."

The two hobos were very cautious, but both of them were wearing fawning smiles.

"I see. I'm a kind man, so I wanted you to die more comfortable deaths, but I suppose it can't be helped."

Spider grabbed onto each man's head with one of his large mechanical hands as he spoke, then tightened his grip before the two of them had a chance to cry out.

Under his thick and robust fingers, their heads instantly exploded with a loud thump like watermelons under a hydraulic press, sending plasma and intracranial fluid flying everywhere.

"Burn this place down, don't let anyone live!"

With that order from Spider, a fire was immediately lit in the filthy, abandoned passage.

All of the people and other living creatures in here were going to be reduced to ashes by this inferno.

On the way back, several pickup trucks were driving along a narrow deserted path in order to avoid Mechguard.

"Why did you do that, Boss? No one's going to avenge those hobos, but after killing so many of them at once, the robot police force will definitely launch an investigation. Is it really worth it just for some stock?"

"Is it worth it? You bet it is!" Spider took an excited glance toward the backseat to confirm that Adam was safe and sound, then continued in an excited voice, "Do you know what he is? He's a blank slate, one of the highest quality! He’s an advanced adapter that even those nobles can't afford! If we can get this job done without a hitch, both of us could be able to become immortals!"

"A blank slate? What's that?"

"Hehe, you wouldn't have come into contact with something this advanced. I'll tell you about it later..."

Thump!

Right as Spider was about to continue speaking, the three pickup trucks rose up into the air in unison as if they had crashed into a giant rock, and the severe impact sent their bodies tumbling within the cabin of the pickup truck along with the pickup truck itself.

Due to the fact that Adam's entire body had been tied up in the backseat, he had sustained a blood injury to his head during the fall. Thankfully, before the truck had a chance to land on the ground, an agile figure suddenly sliced the cabin of the truck in half before carrying him out of it, thereby preventing him from crashing to his death.

A loud crash rang out as the truck landed on the ground. Adam was already safe at this point, while Spider crawled out from under the truck in a flustered state.

"Who are you?" As a cyborg, Spider's injuries naturally weren't very severe. Upon emerging from under the truck, he immediately cast his gaze toward the two people who had rescued Adam. "You're Tank and Red Spider from the pawn shop! Doesn't the pawn shop only engage in legitimate business? Why are you stealing people from me?"

"That's right, we only do legitimate business, which means that we're saving someone from you rather than stealing!"

The one who had saved Adam was a woman, and she set Adam down onto the ground as she spoke, then casually stuck her hands into her pockets as she spread open the eight sharp spider legs protruding out of her spine.

She strolled over to Spider as she continued, "I've already filmed the scene where you killed those hobos and sent the footage to the robot police force. Having killed so many people, you're definitely going to get the death sentence! Truth be told, I've wanted you dead for a long time. How can there be two spiders in one city at the same time, especially when one is so trash? Wouldn't you agree?"

"You bitch!"

At this point, there was no point in exchanging more words, and Spider lashed out first, launching a mechanical net out of his arm while the mechanical module on his shoulder quickly changed shape, producing a small machine gun that began to fire a barrage of bullets.

"Wow, what an ancient power module! What a primitive method of attack! Can't you spend a bit more money to modify those crappy prosthetic limbs of yours?"

A seductive voice rang out from Red Spider's mouth, and Adam looked on as the eight spider legs on Red Spider's back instantly tore the oncoming metal net to shreds, along with the bullets that were hurtling toward her.

Throughout this entire process, Red Spider's hands had remained in the pockets of her tight-fitting shorts.

Just to rub it in even further, she yawned in a display of boredom.

"It's no fun at all fighting with you! I'll leave them to you, Tank. Crush their arms and legs, but make sure you don't kill anyone!"

"Alright!"

A giant, burly man strode over from the side, shattering half of Spider's body with a single punch before tearing open the pickup trucks with his bare hands and promptly turning the passengers inside into quadriplegics.