Chapter 1027: Repentance and Transformation! Two... Well, One and a Half, Robbers
Full title: 1027: Repentance and Transformation! Two... Well, One and a Half, Robbers Accepting Help for Rehabilitation
As Bohemia's voice fell, more than twenty faces behind the counters immediately looked over. Each face became more bewildered than the next as they stared at the two floral pillowcases in confusion. Then again, how many times would a person have to deal with bank robbers in their lifetime? Especially ones who tried to rob a bank with just a finger instead of a weapon.
"Everyone, stand up, hands on your head, and then lie on the ground! Whoever is the manager, go open the vault and get the money for me!" Bohemia quickly got into character and spoke sternly, "Don't even think about moving, or I'll blast a hole through the ceiling and show you what I'm capable of!"
She may not have known what a "manager" was, but she knew this person could get her the money.
Even Lin Sanjiu didn't anticipate that Bohemia's raised finger could really instill fear in people. As soon as she finished her threat, one person gasped and someone else let out a soft whimper. Everyone's faces turned pale, and they followed the instructions in a panic, leaving their counters one by one, hands on their heads, and obediently lying on the ground.
The career path of criminals in this world seemed a bit too easy.
Even Bohemia was a little surprised—she had originally intended to create some chaos and scare these people, but she didn't expect to be able to skip that step altogether. She couldn't help but look suspiciously at her own index finger. The two robbers were both dumbfounded for several seconds before hesitantly stepping into the middle of the bodies and asking again, "Who is the manager or teller?"
A middle-aged woman raised her head in confusion.
"Wh... what?" She appeared more perplexed than frightened at that moment. "What is that?"
"The staff here! Who is it?"
"Th-there isn't any..." she hesitated, "...anyone like that here."
'Could this bank be fully automated?'
2
Lin Sanjiu glanced at the small counter. Just like the buildings, these silver-gray counters were roughly similar, but none of them had a regular shape. Each one was slightly different—either larger in one area, slanted to the side, or crooked in some way. In the center of each counter's surface was an embedded screen displaying rows of incomprehensible text. The staff's actions had been interrupted midway when they were given instructions.
"What is the name of this place?" Lin Sanjiu tapped the counter and asked.
"Access and Registration Center." The middle-aged woman obediently replied.
"What's it used for?"
"We come here to register what we need or if we have anything we can contribute..." The woman frowned. "How come you don't know about Access and Registration?"
The situation clearly dissatisfied Bohemia. Her dream of being a godfather was looking more and more bleak. She immediately pointed her finger at the middle-aged woman and threatened, "Who said you could ask the questions? Spit it out, is there any money in this Access and Registration Center?"
Lin Sanjiu started to suspect the middle-aged woman would ask, "What is money?" But she instead replied, "There's no money here. What do you need money for?"
1
This question clearly confused the others as well. Several people nearby raised their brows, looking at the two with doubtful expressions. Even though they knew what money was, they didn't seem to need it. Lin Sanjiu was starting to realize that the "money" here was different from their own concept of "money." She approached a step closer and asked, "What do you use your money for?"
Lin Sanjiu's tornado whip trailed on the ground, rustling behind her as she stepped closer. The middle-aged woman eyed it nervously, quickly blinking twice before answering, "Our money...? No, we don't have money. But... money is used to buy things, of course."
This conversation was getting more and more confusing— Lin Sanjiu and Bohemia shared another look, both feeling that the woman's words made no sense. She spoke so matter-of-factly, despite the lack of coherence, making it difficult to form a response.
"That's obvious. We need money to buy things too." After hearing that there was no money here, Bohemia deflated like a punctured balloon, as if unwilling to accept it. "Damn it, if I see that person who gave us directions earlier... if it's not here, where is the money?"
The middle-aged woman shook her head.
"Hold on, if you don't have money, how do you live?" Lin Sanjiu raised her doubts. "Planned economy? Government supplies?"
As soon as these words were spoken, someone nearby sighed softly, "Oh great, they must have a mental illness."
Well, fine.
"I don't understand what you mean." The middle-aged woman gestured towards another counter. "We come here to request what we need, and then we just get it... no need for money."
But you just said that money is used to buy things! Even Lin Sanjiu couldn't hold back anymore— trying to extract information from these confused individuals was like being a mouse trying to find the exit in a maze. The more the middle-aged woman spoke, the more baffled they became. And at some point, people started to drop their hands from their heads, gaining more courage. They began murmuring to each other.
"Today has been so unlucky. I still have a funeral to attend..."
"Ah, congratulations! That's wonderful!"
It was truly a puzzling exchange.
"My neighbor's kid encountered a mental patient once. Huh, I heard they have a terrible temper..."
"Is the Qingshan Mental Hospital under renovation lately?"
"What's it called... Amnesia, right? Poor things, I hope they won't become violent."
Whispers grew more and more abundant. Even though they were separated by a pillowcase, Lin Sanjiu could sense Bohemia's rising temper. Just as she was about to say, "Stay calm," the middle-aged woman stood up openly, shedding her previous confusion and replacing it with a face of pity.
"It's alright. If you don't understand something, Auntie can teach you. Oh dear, at such a young age too..." She signaled towards a counter, enthusiastically explaining, "You see, I was planning to visit my daughter today. She just joined the army, and it's rare for her to have a free day. I wanted to make her favorite dish and bring it to her. But we ran out of ingredients at home, so I came here to request... five pounds of green powder, five pounds of lean meat, I can go to collect it at any time."
Receiving this warm attitude, it felt a bit embarrassing to think that they had just planned to rob the place. Lin Sanjiu made a couple of "Oh" sounds and leaned in, asking about the incomprehensible text on the screen, "Is this provided by the government? Oh, I see, you can just get it at the supermarket... Is there a military here? How old is your daughter?"
Finally, Bohemia erupted. "Do bank robbers normally engage in casual conversations with hostages!?"
The index finger that was previously used for robbing banks was now pointed at Lin Sanjiu, causing her to jump, "Quick, ask where the money is!"
"In a society without money, why do you still insist on robbing it?" Lin Sanjiu scolded her in a low voice, before turning back to the middle-aged woman with a smile. "Don't mind her. She has a bad temper... I heard that you can also store your income here. How does that work?"
"Oh, for example, if I have excess green powder that I can't finish, I can come back and register it, then return it to the supermarket. Or if I can't use up my salary, I can deposit it into the Registration system. After that, people who need it more can take it once they make a request."
Bohemia suddenly grabbed a corner of the pillowcase.
"Storing money that you don't need for others to use?" For the residents of the Twelve Worlds Centrum, where resources were scarce, this action had only one explanation: "I think you're the ones with mental illness."
"We're not storing money..." the middle-aged woman defended herself in confusion. "We don't need money in our daily lives."
Caught in this never-ending cycle of money-related confusion, Lin Sanjiu quickly interrupted Bohemia and asked, "What about housing? What about cars? Can they also be allocated as needed?"
"Ah... it depends on the situation. Sometimes if there are vacant houses, you can move in directly; other times, you'll need to wait until there's an opening. Today is a good day, so if you register for a house today, I think there will be vacancies soon... The same goes for cars."
'Who would want to settle down in a junkyard then?'
Lin Sanjiu's confusion grew, unsure whether to believe the woman's words. One thing was clear: as bank robbers, they had failed miserably. All the hostages, about twenty of them, stood up at this point, and started engaging in conversation: "Don't act rashly..." "Your illness can be treated."
Bohemia's pillowcase inflated and deflated intensely, she was so fed up at this point that if she were willing to eat people, Lin Sanjiu would have long been dissolved in stomach acid. Just as Lin Sanjiu was going to pacify Bohemia, one of the hostages suddenly exclaimed, "Look, there are police cars outside!"
The two of them were startled—being startled was inevitable since they had embarked on the path of crime. However, they were also puzzled. As posthumans, they were constantly monitoring the movements in this small hall, even though there were many people and conversations. Lin Sanjiu was certain that no one had called the police. She didn't see even a sneaky touch of any screen or counter.
How did they receive the news?
The middle-aged woman breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good they're here. Your condition requires treatment... They will take you to the hospital."
'People in this world really label others as mental patients so quickly.'
As soon as they heard about the police outside, Bohemia, full of pent-up frustration, started moving towards the door. Lin Sanjiu quickly grabbed her arm and whispered, "Don't act rashly!"
"Why? Are you planning to have a friendly chat with the police?"
"No, it's just that causing a conflict now will only delay things! We need to find a safe place to stay so we can look for Magus— I have a solution," Lin Sanjiu said, feeling a bit embarrassed, "—but it's not very pleasant to look at."
However, Bohemia didn't seem to hear her.
"Hey—" Just as Lin Sanjiu called out, Bohemia suddenly turned around.
"The people who just entered are posthumans."