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In a dystopian China blighted by climate change, a troubled genius sets out to save mankind and redeem his family's honor, but not if his enemies have anything to do with it...
By 2048 climate change is deadly and threatens the existe...
The person who filled me in on what Xen couldn't was more than just a colleague of mine. He was my smug and arrogant rival - my ultimate arch-nemesis - Charlie Lamoon. Over long and specific mind-messages, he gloated that not long after Xen, he had also reached the corner of Hanji Alley. He explained he made sure he was undisturbed and opened a GPS holoscreen. Xen had finally stopped moving. In order to follow Xen the way he had, Charlie would've paid a lot to have Xen's iDot hacked, and during one of our initial exchanges on it, I did enquire from various angles. "Charles, how'd you even get close enough to Xen to run a hack?" The scoundrel was mute until I asked my follow-up question. "Lamoon, you gonna to tell me how you did it or not? For once in your life, don't be a dick."
"Hmm...I'm thinkin', 'not'," he finally said, all while contorting his grin to be as sinister as possible. "Mr. 'World Affairs', as far as you're concerned, I plan on being a 'dick for life' and right now, life couldn't be much better. You're right where I want you..."
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I'd ground my teeth until they'd hurt.
'Lo and behold', the weasel never did share how he did it. Instead, he moved his story along and told me he breezed down the alleyway, eager to make a deal with the doorman of Boudoir and after producing an iCredit bribe, ventured in. He asked for Xen and the pimp owner acknowledged that my xiōngdi hadn't left. After being quizzed and given the benefit of doubt, Charlie said he asked about rooms in the establishment. He'd known some had old spyholes and wondered if Xen's did. Of course, it did. And both men exploited the fact. They parleyed and came to a deal, although Charlie insisted it didn't come cheap, but was worth every credit looking back. Charlie never confirmed it, but in back-alley deals, the desperate party was often forced to agree to terms by undergoing a retina scan for insurance purposes, as well as officially stating that anything they saw went down in a different brothel in another part of the city. This was the classic way of keeping the media away and convincing regular clientele that anonymity would never be compromised. Finally, Charlie laughed some more about having to tear down endless cobwebs in a narrow tunnel to reach the spy den above Xen's private room. And, that once he was nestled in, he slid back a flat piece of rotten wood and looked down to see my xiōngdi - who was oblivious, of course. Charlie concluded by reenacting the fact that he'd raised his wrist and documented what sordid acts had followed...
