After exiting the room, I smashed my back against the side wall and sighed with relief.

How did I get through this in one piece?

I had a strong feeling that I should leave this place before mustache guy changed his mind. My acting was decent, but I couldn’t be absolutely sure.

I started moving towards the exit, but it felt more like running. After I got back to the hall, I quickly looked around while trying to ignore all the crazy stuff. I was looking for the exit. There was no need to get sidetracked here. Since we came from the left, I thought heading towards the right was probably the right choice. As I started walking, I kept my head low and stared at my feet like they were the most interesting things since the dinosaurs. I frequently took glances at my surroundings lest I bump into some freak of hell. I didn’t even want to see them…

If I couldn’t see them, they couldn't see me either. I was a master of stealth. I would cross the hall without anyone even noticing me.

While my mind wandered off towards the unknown, I noticed my objective. A sign which was pointing towards the exit! Thank you, Lady Luck! I shall kiss your toes next time we meet. 30 seconds of walking later I reached the exit and squeezed myself through the people walking in and out.

The outside seemed less strange than I expected at first glance. The sky was blue, the air felt humid and warm, there were buildings, a few decorative trees, and people were walking around. The most eye-catching parts were the heights of the enormous buildings and the fact that on the ground there was no road for cars. It was just one huge sidewalk.

I stared with a wide open mouth at the countless flying vehicles moving above us in the sky. It was an incredible sight.

After standing around the entrance for longer than it should be necessary, I remembered what mustache guy said about a place I could stay at.

He said the place was towards the right if I remembered correctly.

I looked around one more time with awe before I started heading towards my #1 objective. A place I could calm down, preferably alone.

There was no change. The people outside were all superstar quality too. Maybe I was the monster among them. If you looked at it from a different point, if everyone was beautiful then nobody was beautiful, right? I thought that made sense. If I was the only ugly human here, then I was the unique one. Perhaps there were girls here who thought I was the “exotic” one and found me attractive. Who knew, I might have a chance to become a major heartbreaker here.

There were more of those bizarre furry creatures with the colorful dust clouds. How was that cloud sticking to them? Why didn’t it just disperse into the wind?

They seem to be the most numerous among the non-humans. I decided to call them Rainbow Dust Puppies. It fit them nicely.

A few disco goblins and the airheads in the robes were walking around too, but I couldn’t see any of those fancy dressed distorted spaces nor the aquamen.

*cough*

Also, I saw a few humanlike people too. They could have been completely fine humans who got carried away with body modification for all I knew. They towered over others by at least two heads. Couldn't see any ears and instead of a nose, there were only two holes in the middle of their faces. They were super creepy because you didn’t know where they were looking with those completely yellow eyes. No black pupils, no white, just yellow… all of it. Their most normal feature was probably the lack of hair.

The downside of looking around was I caught people’s attention. They didn’t stare at me, but I could easily notice the quick glances because I was used to them. I could feel them on my skin.

*cough*

I stopped looking around and hastened my steps towards my destination. A few minutes later I realized it would be pointless to reach the place the mustache guy mentioned before my thingy activated. I didn’t have any money on me.

Mustache guy told me it would take around two hours for the thingy to activate, right? It’s been like 10 minutes since I left the place, so what the hell am I supposed to do here for more than an hour?!

Speaking of the devil. Just as I thought that an excruciating, sharp pain assaulted my head. I couldn’t help letting out a groan, and I stumbled to the wall next to the sidewalk to balance myself before I collapsed on the floor. The pain quickly faded away just as fast as it came, but there was a loud ringing in my ears in its place. My whole body was tingling like when your hands fall asleep, and then the blood starts returning to the limb.

So uncomfortable… ARGGH!

“Are you alright Mister?” came a concerned voice from behind.

I took a quick sideways glance at the speaker, but I could see several people have stopped and they were staring at me. I had to leave. This was bad; I was drawing too much unnecessary attention.

I wished I could just turn invisible. Why couldn’t someone gift me a Cloak of Invisibility? Damn it! I was an idiot! I was wearing one of my hoodies. That was as far as I could get to invisibility.

I quickly pulled on my hood.

I grit my teeth and started moving despite the painfully uncomfortable tingling in my legs and the slight dizziness.

“I’m fine.” I managed to squeeze out an unfriendly bark before leaving behind a stunned crowd.

*cough*

Fortunately, the tingling and the dizziness faded away after a while, but the fucking ringing was driving me crazy. I tried shaking my ears, hitting the side of my head, but nothing worked. All I wanted was a place where I could be alone for a while.

Suddenly the ringing stopped. In fact, it was so sudden, I had to stop on my track. Before I could become happy about my long lost silence and continue on my way, something unexpected happened again for the umpteenth time.

[Initial fuse with host’s nervous system has been completed. Damage to host’s body: Negligible. Greetings! My name is Genna#1142ZR, but you can just call me Genna. I’ll be your personal A.I. from now on. Nice to meet you Aium Roowe.]

A girl was talking to me. I seriously heard it. I swept my eyes around me, nervously looking for the speaker, but other than the people walking by, there was nobody that could have been the speaker. It sounded way too close. In my confusion, I couldn’t help asking.

“What?!”

I should really stop “What-ing”...

[Don’t worry! Confusion is a perfectly normal first reaction in this situation. I’m the basic personal A.I. that came with your IDChip. Others can’t hear me normally since I’m speaking in your head, so to say.]

“So, I’m not crazy?” I whispered towards the wall, so others around me wouldn’t hear or see me speaking to myself.

[I already checked your brain’s condition, and I can safely say, there are no apparent signs of dangerous mental illnesses after my initial analysis.]

“Was that supposed to be a joke?” I asked her quietly.

[No! I was serious. To me, your health is never a joke, but if you wish, you can take it as a joke.]

*cough*

[I can see a minor irritation in your lungs. Did you inhale anything in the recent hours that could cause this symptom?]

“Erm… I can’t think of anything. I started coughing when I left the building,” I told her in a hushed tone.

[There could be something in the air on this planet that irritates your lungs. Sadly, without proper equipment, I can’t determine the exact cause with my current capabilities. I would advise you getting a mask until you get used to the air here. If it gets worse, you’ll have to go to a hospital for a health evaluation,] she chattered. [By the way, if you concentrate you will be able to talk to me directly. You should try it. I can see you are uncomfortable with speaking out to me in public,] she continued.

Concentrate on talking to her directly? How was I supposed to do that? What kind of explanation was this?

[HELLO?!] I tried shouting in my mind.

[Woah, you don’t have to scream at me. Did you manage it on the first try? Pretty impressive I have to say. I was ready to give you a more thorough explanation, but it was unnecessary in the end.]

[So, are you stuck in my head now?] I asked her.

[Technically speaking I’m not precisely located in your head. I’m all over your body or more accurately, I’m one with your body. We are in a symbiotic relationship.]

[That sounds way too creepy. Can I turn you off or remove you?]

[What?! Why would you want to remove me?! Did I do something wrong?] she asked me with a fearful tone.

[Not really, but this is too sudden, and I’m not used to someone being in my head you know. You can’t read or hear my normal thoughts right?]

Oh god, I hoped not. That would have been disastrous. My mind shouldn’t become public… ever…

[Of course, they are private. I can only hear you when you directly try to communicate with me. Also, you can ask me anytime to leave you alone, and I won’t bother you under normal circumstances,] she said [Removing me would be nearly impossible under normal circumstances since I’m one with your entire nervous system now,] she added.

Huh… that was scary for a moment. Luckily, she couldn't read my mind. On the other hand, if what she said was true, I was stuck with her. This was permanent. I knew that mustache guy was up to no good. They fucked me up just like I predicted!

*cough*

[Are you unhappy with me Aium Roowe?] she asked me dejectedly.

She sounded anxious. Maybe because of the long silence. I guess this should have been a pretty happy occasion typically, but I’m not exactly showing the expected excitement.

[Just call me Aium. Your name is Genna, right?]

[Yes Aium!]

[Does everybody have an A.I. like you in their heads?]

[As I said earlier, the location should be your whole body, not just the head, but answering your question, yes, everyone has an IDChip and an A.I. that comes with it. It’s nearly impossible for someone your age to not have an IDChip.]

A.I…. In movies, they usually get loose, take over everything and enslave or destroy humanity. Now I had one of those stuck in my head. I wanted to cry. Was she going to take over my body once I fell asleep? Would she indoctrinate me into the zombie machine slowly?

[Are you going to take over my body?] I had to ask her directly.

[What?! Am I going to do what with your body?!] she asked me dumbfoundedly.

[Take it over in my sleep.]

[Why would I do something like that? Why do you even think something so crazy could happen? Should I check your brain again for problems?] She became stupefied from my question.

[So, that’s a no?]

[Of course, that’s a no! I would never do something that would cause harm to you. It’s my #1 Principle!] she answered with a frightened voice.

Phew…. That was fortunate. I hope she wasn't lying…

[My primary purpose is helping you in any way my capabilities allow me to. I have a basic knowledge library, and I can use your brain’s idle parts to process information you wouldn’t be able to normally. Also, I can provide you with memory enhancements. Although I’m just at the basic level, you’ll definitely find me helpful in many ways!]

Use my brain’s idle parts? She was already taking over my body. I had to find a dark alley and ask some shady half-eyed doctor to surgically remove the rogue A.I. from my brain. Hopefully, I wouldn't become a vegetable. Maybe he would mess up something in there, and I would have my sense of pain removed. That would have been cool, though.

[What do you mean you are using my brain’s idle parts?] I asked her irritatedly.

*cough*

[Oh, it’s nothing harmful, don’t worry. I’m not taking you over or anything like that. Under normal circumstances, I just borrow the idle parts to do calculations like probabilities and to get the most efficient route to a destination for example. Just harmless tasks and calculations.]

She must have heard the tension in my mental voice. She also said something about basic knowledge. That was pretty self-explanatory. I guessed I could ask her simple questions. I would have to explore this option later on. On the other hand, she mentioned memory enhancement.

[What’s the memory enhancement you mentioned?]

[It’s pretty simple. I store away everything you sense, and I can help you recall them later on if you wish.]

Jackpot. Heaven-defying ability. I was done. This was the end of the story. I’ve reached the pinnacle of power.

Since I started chatting with Genna I was walking with the speed of a dry snail. She did mention she can help me find my destinations.

[Can you lead me to a place?] I decided to ask her.

[With pleasure! Where would you like to go?] she asked happily.

Sounds like she was happy to serve. Thankfully she was just a voice in my head. Otherwise, this could have turned super perverted lightning fast.

[The mustache guy told me I could find a cheap place to stay if I go right. The place was called WeedHut or something. I wasn’t paying too much attention to him at the time.]

[You mean the GrassHut Hotel? It’s straight ahead. You’ll reach it in 142 seconds with your current speed. Should I reserve a room for you ahead of time? I already called out the credits from your allowance so you can pay for it.]

She already had my money. No wonder she had the voice of a woman. She was definitely taking over my life! On the other hand, it was pretty amusing she could do all of these stuff for me. I didn’t have to work, I didn’t have to handle small things, this was a lazy person’s dream life.

[Can you do it from here?]

[Yes. In the cities I can connect to the Network freely.]

[Are you connected to WiFi?] I asked with raised eyebrows.

*cough*

[To what?] she asked me back.

[Nevermind. Go ahead with the reservation, but don’t spend too much. By the way, how much money do I have now?]

[Your monthly allowance is 3000 credits. In comparison, one night at the GrassHut will cost you 50 credits, but it includes dinner and breakfast.]

Easy life. No wonder people looked so carefree here; they had nothing to be stressed about. Even if they didn’t have a job, they could live happily. I wondered how much would a job earn you if you got this much for doing nothing.