Techno Fever [ONC II Round 1 WINNER | Asian Scifi | Complete]

Chapter 2

"This malfunction in South Wulan Park, which placed university student and star aeroball player Wu Lai King in critical condition, marks the latest accident attributed to Fubao Inc., the pioneer of 'Bod Mods'," the reporter said, her electronic grey eye showing her the teleprompt. Her remaining, human brown eye gazed gravely at the camera.

Behind her, a bird's eye view panned over the headquarters of Fubao Inc., where Tselong worked. The fifty-storey giant glass and steel building stood sleek and polished under the midday sun, the windows betraying nothing of the genius research going on within its walls. Security drones orbited around the building, ensuring no unwelcome visitors -- including the news outlet camera -- drifted too close. Meiha had travelled with Tselong several times in the past to accompany him to work, but she'd never been allowed beyond the security parameters either.

"Chai Wah Inc., its rival company, blames these series of malfunctions on the haste of Fubao Inc. to patent and release the neural modification technology pioneered by Szeto Tselong." Tselong's flushed, triumphant face came onto the screen behind the reporter. His audio device, two small bulbs implanted above his ears, continued to feed a trickle of light via a tiny tube going directly into his skull.

The picture was taken two years ago, when Tselong's permanent neural modification technology was first announced to the world and the prototype released. In his hand was the modified Wenchang model that could permanently mould over the eyes of Bod Mod users. Beside him were three of his trusted technicians, his teammates for the past ten years. "Chai Wah Inc. CEO Wong Kwok Lan accused Fubao Inc.'s Szeto Tselong specifically for releasing untested, unsafe technology to the general population, claiming Szeto put pride and profit before safety. Szeto has yet to make a comment in response to the allegations."

Meiha bit her lip, flicking her finger over her wrist watch. The voice of the reporter muted in her ear speaker. Meiha tucked her feet beneath her, uneasy.

"Gosh, my mother always said these small companies always strive to match the quality of bigger companies, but they never reach that far," said one of the snobbish girls sitting in the opposite sofa, turning her nose up at the report and studying her nails.

"Yeah, I'd invested quite a bit in Chai Wah when they were racing with Fubao to release the neural tech," said her friend, a spindly guy with slicked back hair and an earring. He crossed a well-tailored trousers-clad leg over the other and sighed. "Shame Fubao patented it. I'd lost a fair few grand that year."

"The stocks for Fubao will fall after this, you just wait," the girl said scathingly. "I wish Chai Wah got to release theirs instead... these commonfolk creations are just one mistake away from a disaster, and look at it now. They don't even know what they're doing."

Meiha swallowed the retort she so badly wanted to hand to the rich girl, who sat with her technicoloured hair that changed colour on programming, the slick heels modified into her feet that could change into different types of shoes with varying attributes depending on her liking, and the sleek steel blue monocle covering her left eye that connected directly to her optic nerve, allowing a permanent recording of everything she watched and endless replay and magnification in high definition. All Mod Bods. All creations by Fubao Inc.

The next report caught her eye. She unmuted the audio.

"Breaking news," came the same grave-voiced reporter. "We bring you live from central Zhongwan, where a group of people have taken hostages inside the city bank. Central Zhongwan is in shutdown. Currently we are told the group comprises five men and five women and there are twenty hostages. No casualties reported thus far."

Meiha's blood ran cold. The news drone floated past the line of skyscrapers and their neon signs, zooming in on the city bank, a high-rising building with white and electric blue lights leaping up the sides. A large holographic clock face sat at the top, facing the city. Monetary conversion rates hung on the sides, updating by the second, the numbers leaping up and down.