Where the dream start

"Today is the last day of my internship! Please, I must be able to become a regular employee, God, Allah, Buddha bless me, I will definitely go to the church to pray formally for you if I can make it." 

The speaker stands at the entrance of the company - a man in a neatly tailored dark gray suit, his hair cut short and tidy, appearing somewhat out of place in this futuristic office environment. Only the cybernetic facial markings on his face reveal that he is a person living in the cyber era, awkwardly mimicking various religious gestures as he makes this absurd amalgamation of prayers.

Ding~

 A notification from the AI assistant breaks the silence, "You have a message from the company, please check." This seems to be the crucial update the man has been anxiously awaiting. 

"Dear Mr. AaA, since January 4th, 2300, you have entered into an employment contract with our company, establishing a formal employment relationship. Unfortunately, during the term of the contract, it has been found that your performance did not meet our company's standards, and your work attitude was also found lacking. More seriously, certain misconduct on your part has directly caused losses to the company. Therefore, we regret to inform you that the company has decided to terminate your employment contract. According to company regulations, you must leave the company premises immediately upon receipt of this notice, otherwise, you will be considered an intruder. Furthermore, after your departure, you are not to engage in any business activities under the name of the company; any consequences thereof will be borne by you personally."

"What joke is this? I've been working almost 1900 hours in these three months, how can they say my work attitude is poor? This is just the company treating us interns like parts to be replaced every three months. I've been relying on stimulants every day, and still didn't get hired permanently!" 

AaA is furious, his eyes red, on the verge of frenzy. As he vents his anger,The guard behind him leaned toward him, expressionless and coldly warning.

 "Please leave immediately, or we will have to use force." He glances at the mechanical limbs of the guards and the ready guns, then to the automatic machine guns on the roof already aiming at him, calming down at least on the surface.

Without a chance to argue, AaA is forcibly escorted out of the company doors by two guards equipped with Series 4 cybernetic limbs. His eyes moist, he takes one last look back at the company building, still harboring a sliver of hope

 "At least, the hard work during the internship should pay off with a little salary. There should be some balance left in my account, I can cover this month's bills."

However, just as he steps out, a notification for a deduction hits his ear. Opening it, he finds it's a deduction notice from the Birth Factory

"Due to your loss of employment and in accordance with Article 16 of the loan agreement: 'If the debtor is unable to repay the debt, necessary deductions will be made prior to the deadline for this month's loan repayment. Your account balance is insufficient for the next month's installment. Please find new employment as soon as possible, or your organs will be used as collateral.' A priority deduction to cover this month's loan repayment has already been made from your account. Your current account balance is insufficient to pay next month's bill. We urge you to secure new employment as soon as possible. Remaining loan balance: $32."

Another round of furious cursing ensues as AaA leans against the wall of a dilapidated building, venting his frustration on the company and the Birth Factory. Eventually, his tirades subside, and he looks around at the surrounding decay: trash, syringes, used condoms... Then back at his own sharp suit and then to the penless account balance displayed beside his eyes.

As traditional family structures crumble and birth rates plummet, compounded by environmental degradation and rampant genetic diseases, natural birth becomes increasingly challenging. To address the population crisis and maintain a workforce to meet societal demands, "Birth Factories" emerged, employing high-tech means for artificial reproduction, embryo cultivation, and infant incubation.

Indeed, AaA was born in a Birth Factory, a child of artificial gestation, burdened with enormous debt from birth. "I've been competing with my peers in countless tests since birth, graduating from the factory with top marks, yet unable to find even a formal job."

The night sky of Starlight City remains as bright as ever, billboards still dazzling, streets bathed in seductive light with only the silhouette of a stray dog in sight, walking down the street for who knows how long…

He had been wandering along the street for who knows how long...

"Want one? It's just $0.03," came a voice from some shadowed nook. A gaunt old man emerged, his limbs replaced by cybernetics, his mouth full of yellowed, decaying teeth, wearing a bright yellow raincoat that was both dirty and old, covering his upper body down to mid-thigh.

That pest, that pervert, AaA had seen him almost every day, either getting high or watching porn. Unlike before when he was jobless and would simply walk past the old man, or when he had work and would curse him out, this time he just responded with a vacant, "I don't have any money."

Instantly, the old man's expression turned deadly; his previously dull and lifeless eyes now gleamed with malice. "No money? Then—"

He couldn't finish his sentence. Halfway through reaching into his coat pocket, his arm drooped lifelessly. Because AaA had acted faster, shooting the old man in the neck and jaw, sending them flying.

There was no nervousness or fear, nor was there excitement or a thrill from the act of killing. It just as common as drink a bottle of water.

AaA continued on with his staggered steps, leisurely searching through the old man's raincoat and selecting two "Number 4s," all the while muttering, "What an era we live in, electronic drugs have been around for so long, yet it's only the lowest of the low who still use this kind of substance." Meanwhile, from the old man's split-open skull came sounds that could only be produced during sexual activity, not just human sounds.

He merely sighed with emotion upon hearing that voice, indeed, as I said, if not indulging in drugs, then it was in pornography. Just as he took a few steps forward, a rustling sound came from behind. Glancing back, he saw someone crawling on the old man's corpse, moving up and down. Catching AaA's gaze, the figure snarled, 'He is mine; no one can take him from me,' eyeing AaA like a scavenger dog, yet his actions didn't stop despite his talk."

He didn't reply, just simply moved on, heading towards what he called home, which was more of a shack than a house, more of a doghouse than a shack.

AaA lay in the bathtub, observing his newly acquired 'Number 4.' He injected it into his arm, closed his eyes, and after waiting a while, felt nothing. He wanted to open his eyes, while murmuring "Physical drugs really are garba…"

Before his words could fully come out, the world around him began to spin, ushering in a sensation of unparalleled lightness—as if every burden he had ever borne was suddenly lifted, leaving him adrift in an infinite void. His consciousness blurred at the edges, reality and fantasy melding into one. 

The cacophony of the surroundings faded into oblivion, replaced by an eerie, profound silence so intense he could hear the lone sound of his own heartbeat echoing within him, a sensation he hadn't felt in what seemed like lifetimes.

This fleeting escape, however, was ephemeral. Soon, AaA's body started to tremble with an uncontrollable fervor, enveloped by a chill that seemed to seep into his very bones, threatening to erase the memory of warmth.

 As the drug's effects burrowed deeper, his thoughts shattered into fragments, memories, hallucinations, and the tangible world weaving together into a tapestry of distorted visions.

In this surreal dreamscape, the shadows morphed into ghostly figures, whispering secrets from forgotten lives. The ground beneath him pulsed like a living entity, its rhythms syncing with his heartbeat. 

Colors unseen by the waking eye blossomed in the air, painting the night with hues of impossible dreams. Faces from his past and figments of his imagination danced before him, blurring the lines between the deceased and the imagined, each visage morphing into the next with fluid, dreamlike transitions.

Amongst this chaos of the senses, a figure emerged from the maelstrom, its form both familiar and utterly alien. It spoke in a voice that was a symphony of every voice AaA had ever known, uttering words that seemed to resonate with the very fabric of his being, yet made no sense to his rational mind…..