Asho's expression froze for a moment, and he changed the topic: "Never mind the tea cafes, I also enjoy looking at beautiful women. But the problem is, why are there so many men dressed provocatively in some places called 'Mud Café'? It really hurts my eyes. If I weren't an escaped convict, I would report them to the hunting hall for affecting the city's appearance. This should be legislated and explicitly prohibited–"

 

"I advise you not to meddle in other people's business," Furia warned. "You men can look at beautiful women, why can't we women look at handsome men?"

 

"Well, that's not the main issue. After all, it's a traditional profession. Although the scale is a bit large, it's still understandable," Asho's face darkened. "I walked a little further and saw some workers at a construction site."

 

"What's wrong with the workers?"

 

"They… most of their bodies have turned into machines. Their feet have become wheels, their hands have become multi-functional toolboxes, and even their eyes have been replaced with mechanical eyes… If I hadn't seen them drinking and heard them chatting, I would have thought they were robots."

 

"How is that possible? Fully automated robots are very expensive and require regular maintenance. Compared to that, hiring these mechanical workers is much cheaper. I remember you haven't been in prison for long, but mechanical workers have been popular in Camon City for over a decade. How come you seem to have never seen them before?"

 

"…Are there many of these mechanical workers in Camon City?"

 

"It's not necessarily at construction sites. Their hands can be changed with different parts, and after some simple training, they can be employed as technicians in assembly, maintenance, and other technical jobs."

 

Furia took a big bite of her Lalafell and smeared some egg yolk sauce on her mouth. "Generally speaking, most ordinary people who have no hope of becoming sorcerers will switch careers to become mechanical workers. Even clerks are no exception. The only difference is the degree of mechanization."

 

Asho was stunned. "Even non-technical labor jobs are mechanized?"

 

"Of course. It's advantageous to have mechanical prosthetics for not only limbs and spines but also internal organs." Furia poked her bun. "The heart can be replaced with a more powerful 'Fire Seed,' the lungs can be replaced with a 'Internal Combustion Engine' with stronger circulation ability, and the stomach can be replaced with a 'Energy Pool' with stronger digestion and absorption abilities…"

 

"Nowadays, mechanical modifications are very cheap. With a standard set of mechanical prosthetics, if you work seriously, you can pay off the loan in three or four years. The effect is excellent: it allows you to have longer and more energy-efficient endurance."

 

"In times of hardship, you can barely survive by just drinking water and still maintain high energy levels. And in times of prosperity, you can have more physical strength to enjoy and experience more exciting sensory experiences."

 

"If it weren't for the fact that mechanical prosthetics would reduce the efficiency of sorcerers' absorption of artificing in the virtual realm, many sorcerers would probably choose mechanical prosthetics instead of the more expensive biological prosthetics."

 

Furia shrugged. "But now, for ordinary people, the 'versatile' mechanical hand and the 'Energy Pool' mechanical stomach are almost essential. Otherwise, no company would be willing to hire them. Most practical tools are designed with the mechanical hand as the interface. Without a mechanical hand, you can hardly use any tools. For example, the chef in my university cafeteria has a mechanical hand that can be connected to a spatula, and it can automatically heat, cool, and season the food. The steak he fries is especially delicious."

 

"And the mechanical stomach can consume a whole day's worth of food in the morning and digest it slowly. Not only does it increase working hours, but it also saves on food expenses. For example, this meal of ours could be exchanged for 30 portions of 'feed.'"

 

"A mechanical worker only needs to eat one portion of feed to support a day's work. In other words, we just consumed a month's worth of rations for a mechanical worker."

 

Asho couldn't understand. "What about the Human Rights Association? What about the Racial Equality Association? Don't they care?"

 

Furia frowned. "What does the Human Rights Association have to do with this? It's not like anyone is forcing them to undergo mechanical modifications. They do it voluntarily. The Human Rights Association can't restrict their freedom to undergo mechanical modifications, let alone stop them from pursuing a better life."

 

Pursuing a better life.

 

Asho was dumbfounded.

 

He remained silent for a long time, waiting for Furia to finish eating and wipe her mouth before suddenly asking a question.

 

"If mechanical workers save so much money, where do they spend their wages?"

 

Furia counted on her fingers. "Mud Café, Tea Café, Casino, Sugar Shop, Catch-Up Poll, Costume Jewelry, Bio-Modification, Updated Chip Versions, Updated Curtain of Knowledge, Rise of the Warlocks, Void Realm Fantasy 14, World of Wonders…"

 

After a day of browsing, Asho learned that the last three games were the most popular multiplayer games in the curtain. The curtain was the information world collectively constructed by the entire nation, equivalent to the internet. It was called the curtain because of its high level of concealment. Except for the hunting hall, which managed the chips, ordinary people couldn't find each other in the curtain. Everyone in the information world was an invisible person 'behind the curtain.'

 

Also because of anonymity, everyone in the curtain spoke without restraint. In just one day, Asho learned a lot of dirty words related to racial discrimination, gender discrimination, educational discrimination, and occupational discrimination.

 

Even though there were no mothers in the Blood Moon Kingdom, their proficiency in dirty words still amazed Asho. He felt like he wanted to see these dirty words with a pair of eyes that had never seen them before.

 

There was even a moment when he thought that the regulations on 'speech restrictions' in Broken Lake Prison were actually reasonable, and these people who sprayed filth should be caught and reformed.

 

As for the drama voting, it was a special payment model for television dramas in the Blood Moon Kingdom. Simply put, when viewers watched the first half of a drama, the production team would provide multiple ending options. Viewers could vote (pay money) for their favorite direction of the ending, and then the production team would shoot it as you wished.For instance, Asho once read a comic titled "It's My Fault for Admitting I Like Married Women". If it were adapted into a film, there might be over a dozen possible endings such as "the male lead and the female lead live happily ever after", "the male lead lives a shameless life with the first and second female leads", "the first female lead and the second female lead", "the male lead and the second male lead", and so on. After the audience watches the first half of the series, they get to choose the ending!

 

As for clothing and jewelry, Asho noticed today that although Furia's house isn't large, she has three full wardrobes stuffed with all sorts of beautiful clothes and accessories. He thought it was a female hobby, but when he walked on the street, everyone was dressed very elegantly and high-class, even the male clerks in the grocery store looked like wealthy young masters.

 

Moreover, apart from the middle-aged and elderly, most young people were very good-looking, regardless of gender. Even the goblins were handsome and pretty. Some people even had stars in their eyes – real stars, their pupils would twinkle and flash.

 

Obviously, everyone's appearance had been artistically modified by medical artificers. However, Asho couldn't say anything about this – his face had also been molded by a medical artificer.

 

As for why he bought the Knowledge Screen, it was because upgrading the chip version also cost money. Most people are born with the Miracle 1 chip implanted, which is slow, has small storage space, and can only be considered 'usable'. Most adults upgrade their version to 10 or above. The newer the chip version, the stronger the functions, the better the experience, not to mention many applications have version requirements, and low-version chips can't use high-version applications.

 

The Knowledge Screen is the glass display they are currently looking at. Compared to the narrow light screen displayed by the chip, the Knowledge Screen has higher resolution, larger size, better color, larger storage space, stronger performance, and other features.

 

Although both are information entertainment terminals, the chip is equivalent to an implanted mobile phone, while the Knowledge Screen is equivalent to a personal computer.

 

"So, you're saying that most people, after earning money, invest it in prostitution, gambling, drugs, body modification, clothing and jewelry, and virtual entertainment?"

 

"That's right."

 

Asho opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again.

 

It wasn't until he ate the last piece of milk egg cake that he couldn't help but ask, "Are you the same?"

 

"Yes, but I'm not interested in gambling or drugs, and I can't undergo biological modification for now because I want to become an artificer in the future."

 

"Are you happy then?"

 

Furia looked at him strangely.

 

"Very happy."