Legend of the Cyber Heroes

On the day the Grand Master came to collect the Gene Tax, the entire Recycling Station Town made its grandest preparations. The Town Mayor hung up banners made of plastic cloth that, with their bright colors, could last hundreds of years without deteriorating or fading, one of the few "entertainment goods" in this world. And all the town's residents temporarily set aside their work, gathering in the square on the west side of the town.

All the large construction machinery were lined up in a row. In front of the machinery stood the higher-class workers who had undergone extensive modifications. Further forward were the ordinary residents. Some of the high-ranking workers had already knelt down. Their steel bodies ensured they did not feel uncomfortable kneeling. Not knowing when "the Grand Master" would arrive, they simply knelt continuously.

And the man stood in the middle of the crowd with Yuki.

He saw that including the Town Mayor, the front row of people were all holding infants. These infants had very low levels of modification. The one with the highest level of modification had a nutrition delivery tube attached to his throat. This freed up the parents' labor, allowing for a higher family income.

The man always felt uncomfortable. He had known two months ago that these infants were the "tax." To enrich the diversity of the "Human Gene Bank", the Lords would take infants as tax payment. If a settlement could not provide quality newborns, then the Lord could deem the settlement worthless. He would no longer need to offer protection to the settlement.

This was also stipulated in the so-called "Dyson Principle." Lords could not inflict further punishment for "non-payment of taxes," no punishment was allowed.

However, if a Lord did not protect the residents, then uneducated and uncivilized thugs "Heroes" could ravage the settlement at will.

The man still found it hard to accept the reality of using humans as tax. But now, he could not change anything. His prosthetic body was pieced together from junk, far too weak; forget large machinery, even the heavily modified laborers could crush him.

He could not bring trouble to the town.

"How much longer do we have to wait..." Yuki closed his eyes. The gray-white ground reflected the sun, a challenge for his unenhanced natural eyes. His natural skin also could not handle such prolonged exposure to the sun.

At that moment, a wave of commotion spread through the crowd.

"He's coming!"

A thunderous noise grew from a distance. Three Ground Effect Vehicles rapidly approached.

A Ground Effect Vehicle is a transport that flies by utilizing ground effect for support. Equipped with fixed wings, it can fly close to the ground (or water surface). The wings are positioned very close to the ground, creating blocked airflow beneath them, providing lift that fixes the vehicle near the ground.

The three vehicles were in a triangular formation, the leading vehicle based in white with golden patterns, extremely luxurious with a touch of classical beauty. The two trailing vehicles were painted entirely in black.

The three vehicles stopped at the edge of the square. Their jets started, blasting air downward, raising clouds of dust several meters high.

All the giant machines sounded their horns simultaneously. The enormous sound made the man's skull vibrate subtly.

The infants began to wail loudly. Their fragile eardrums couldn't handle such stimulation. Likely after this day, their ears would be ruined. But no one cared. Artificial auditory organs weren't expensive in this era. Besides, in terms of sensory organs, natural ones couldn't compare to enhanced prosthetic bodies. Even for work purposes, one should replace natural sensory organs whenever possible.

No one cared about this small matter.

The dust settled, and only then did the machines slowly stop honking.

Next, the hatches of the three Ground Effect Vehicles opened. From the two black vehicles, fifteen Remodeler Soldiers each descended. Their modifications seemed quite thorough, their heads completely replaced by box-shaped cameras, with limbs long and displaying an industrial streamlined aesthetic.

Yet from the leading vehicle descended a...

person that looked very much like a Natural Person.

It's somewhat impolite to say so. Nobody liked the appearance of pure Natural Persons. Natural evolution had preserved too many illogical designs, utterly lacking in aesthetic sense. But he indeed looked like a Natural Person. He wore a yellow-green military uniform with a high collar, high military boots on his feet, and he even held a dog on a leash.

If underneath that uniform was a steel body, then this facial appearance could be described as a "personal aesthetic."

The Town Mayor had initially approached as soon as the Grand Master descended. But on seeing the other's appearance, his bright smile gradually solidified.

Half a second later, he switched to an even more flattering smile.

"This Grand Master, it's our first meeting; may I ask if you are…"

"My name is Appennine," the officer smiled as he stepped forward, then frowned.

Behind him, a Secretary Officer dressed Cyberman scolded, "How impolite can you be? How dare you stand to greet Lord Appennine's arrival?"

The Town Mayor hurriedly knelt down. And behind him, the residents of Recycling Station Town quickly followed suit.

The man did not initially react, but fortunately, Yuki pulled on him, so he did not stand out too much.

—In this era, have social and cultural elements really regressed to a pre-modern level?

The man felt twisted again. But following that, a feeling known as "fear" emerged.

Who am I, exactly? How long have I been asleep? What happened during the time I was asleep?

Why...

When Officer Yaningping saw everyone kneeling on the ground, he finally showed a gentle smile, "Rest assured, I won't blame you. This was all the fault of my predecessor, Mr. Bernini. He was too lenient with you and did not fulfill his duties as a Tax Officer, which led to this situation."

"Two months ago, a group of heroes broke into Mr. Bernini's residence, killed him, and completely destroyed his biological brain. Subsequently, as the Lord's young son, I took over this job. From now on, I will be your Tax Officer. I hope you will comply well with my administration. I believe we will get along very well during my term."

The Town Mayor laid the baby aside, knelt down, and said, "We'll follow all of Grand Master's orders."

"Very good," Yaningping nodded. "According to the data, your town is doing quite well, with a rising birth rate for ten consecutive years. This is really good."

"It is all thanks to the Lord," the Town Mayor didn't dare take credit.

"No, in my view, this is mostly Mr. Bernini's mistake, right?" Yaningping frowned. "According to the data, this year you are supposed to hand over nineteen infants as tax, but... the death rate in your town is a bit high."

"This... this area was once an ancient battlefield during the Sublimation War, there are dangerous metals underground, which indeed make people prone to getting sick..." the Town Mayor said softly.

"No, no, no, no," Yaningping shook his head, walked up to the Town Mayor, and nudged the crying baby with his boot, "Is the population quality of your town really alright?"

"It's really good!" the Town Mayor cried out loud, "We transport recycled materials to the city every day, showing that our workers are all top-notch young men! Each one as great as the next!"

We absolutely cannot fail to pay the tax!

Everything about these officers could be seen by the Lord, or by even greater lords. They were not here to provide direct protection, but solely to collect taxes. As long as they took the taxes, they couldn't deny it.

However, a Tax Officer could decide how many infants to take based on the population quality.

Although the Human Gene Bank must ensure diversity, it still prioritizes taking in individuals with excellent genes.

"This matter, what you say doesn't count," Yaningping squatted down, patted the Town Mayor's face, then walked to a Soldier, took a gun loaded with bullets from him, and shot at the Town Mayor.

Countless bullets fell, stirring up clouds of dust. The Town Mayor screamed miserably. After a short while, the dust slowly settled.

The Town Mayor was unharmed, but there was a perfectly round circle created by the bullets on the ground, with a radius of three meters.

"That circle is the arena," Yaningping tugged at the belt in his hands, "pick a representative to compete with my dog, just survive for... let's say five minutes!"

He took out a thumb-sized projector and threw it on the ground. The projector automatically cast a three-dimensional image in the air.

It was a countdown reading "05:00:00."

"After one person is defeated, you can send another. No matter how many of you come forward, as long as you can last five minutes, I will acknowledge the population quality of your town and allow the taxes — can you do it?"

The Town Mayor looked blankly at the dog. It wagged its tail, appearing harmless, but the Town Mayor knew things that looked like they were from a bygone era were often artificial creations. This dog might be some sort of weapon. He really didn't want to do this.

But if they failed to pay the tax...

Yaningping shook his head, pulled out a short stick from his waist, "Tsk, an electric shock device. How about I lend you this weapon in addition?"

The old Town Mayor clenched his teeth and knelt down, "Please allow me to discuss this with my fellow villagers, Grand Master."

"Go ahead," Yaningping waved his hand with a smile.

While the Town Mayor and a few other elders were discussing, Yaningping's Secretary Officer came by, squatted down, and untied the dog's leash. During this process, he flicked the infrared signal emitter in his palm at the dog's pupillary camera: [Don't kill too many, the young master is just venting some frustration after being sent out by the lord. If everyone really dies, it wouldn't benefit the lord. Just drag it past five minutes and let these guys pay the tax.]

The dog's nose puffed twice.

Minutes later, a four-meter-tall worker came forward. Though his body was built for carrying and crude processing—a large humanoid form—his head was still of normal human size, his face filled with fear. Despite the significant difference in their forms, the Town Mayor had made the stakes clear. He didn't dare assume too much and hunched over, fists ready, aiming at the dog.

He didn't pick up the weapon. His hands simply couldn't grasp the electric shock stick.

"Begin!" the Secretary Officer commanded, and the countdown began.

The worker's fists, driven by hydraulic force, shot out violently. A single blow could turn steel debris into easily transportable shapes.

However, the dog leisurely jumped up, stretching its limbs. The steel fist slid under its belly. Effortlessly, the dog ran across the worker's half-meter wide arm.

Meanwhile, the man exclaimed, "Bionic Fist Technique?"