Chapter 13: Strange Encounters (Part II)

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Cases involving the invasion of interstellar citizens’ image rights and privacy, the theft of personal information, and bodily harm would ordinarily fall under the jurisdiction of the Interstellar Inspection Bureau. In theory, there would be no need to involve the military.

In recent years, however, such cases had almost always been committed by groups. Following the trail almost invariably led to established illegal organizations, underground networks, and unregistered black markets. These unlawful groups were involved in far more than illicit entertainment; they had their fingers in other areas as well. The military now suspected that someone was organizing this entire industrial chain with grander schemes in mind, which was why crackdowns and investigations were being carried out everywhere.

There was another reason, too: taxation.

Currency circulation in this interstellar age had become extraordinarily transparent. Since the old-fashioned stored-value cards and credit cards had largely been abandoned in favor of a universal citizen-identity account, everyone, strictly speaking, possessed only one primary account.

Every income, expenditure, and loan associated with a citizen’s primary account was recorded in the central system. In the eyes of the state apparatus, everyone was completely transparent. Every relevant sum was automatically assessed for taxation and transferred to the national treasury as it entered or left an account. This was an ironclad rule observed by every interstellar citizen.

Of course, there were still registered cards intended for one-time use or specialized functions. Under certain conditions, such cards could be used for opaque transactions, but the ultimate beneficiary still had to register the proceeds, report them, and pay the required taxes.

In short, this interstellar world was one in which taxation was enforced with extraordinary rigor.

The operators behind these black-network enterprises, however, bypassed the central system entirely. They used entertainment as a cover to launder money, raise funds, and disrupt the monetary environment, all while evading taxes on a massive scale. This constituted a serious violation of the Interstellar Basic Law. It was a crime punishable by imprisonment—and not merely a short sentence, either. Under the charge of endangering society, one could be locked away for life.

The people from the Inspection Bureau could only investigate the pawns on the surface of the chain, such as those hosts who were themselves partly victims. It was exceedingly difficult for them to dig all the way down to the true masterminds.

Whenever an investigation team encountered a case beyond its ability to handle, it would be transferred to the military.

In this case, the military had taken away the device used to commit the crime. They had probably brought it back to crack and trace.

As for the citizen who had been duped like a fool, he had not yet committed any serious offense, so there was naturally no need to charge him. He would, however, have to pay the outstanding taxes corresponding to his profits, along with late-payment penalties. The latter were far from a trivial sum—an adequate lesson in themselves.

At this point, the person speaking seemed somewhat wistful.

“The late fees for tax evasion aren’t small. I had an uncle who tried it once. The original amount wasn’t particularly large, but after the algorithm compounded everything, the penalties nearly equaled the money he had evaded. He even spent more than ten days living at the Inspection Bureau. So really, you can’t try to get clever.”

Hearing this, Jiang Hui could not help drawing a deep breath. Even the next bite of her thin pancake tasted like nothing.

It was not as though the matter had much to do with her. After all, she had only just arrived and had yet to figure out even the basic requirements for survival. She had not encountered anything like a system claiming that it could help her complete missions, either.

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Yet through this example, Jiang Hui gained a profound sense of the interstellar people’s efficiency and the seriousness with which they approached every rule.

It was not that she wanted to do anything illegal, nor that she felt uneasy because of such examples.

Rather, she had never before been so clearly aware that she had truly arrived in an entirely new world. Everything here was unknown to her: the new customs, the new surroundings, the new background, and even the laws governing this new world. If she wanted to survive here, it would be far more difficult than she had imagined.

The conversation between the two people at the neighboring table continued, but this time, no matter how interesting the subject might have been, she could no longer bring herself to listen.

Seeing that more than half her food remained, and unwilling to waste it, she finished it in a few quick mouthfuls despite its tastelessness, then returned to her hospital room the way she had come.

It was now twelve-thirty in the afternoon by interstellar time, still within the lunch break. There was nothing she could do at this hour, so Jiang Hui simply stayed in her room to rest.

Something resembling a television screen had been embedded in the wall of the room, but after studying it for a long while, Jiang Hui still could not figure out how to turn it on. In the end, she gave up and collapsed back onto the bed.

Oh dear. How was she supposed to live like this? She knew nothing at all. Forget living—survival itself was already becoming a problem.

The hospital was crowded and full of watchful eyes. What she had overheard in the cafeteria had also shown her just how stringent this country’s supervision was. She dared not ask too many questions, lest she accidentally reveal that something was wrong.

So she might as well sleep. Sleeping did not require her to ask anything, did it? Besides, creatures throughout the universe probably slept in much the same way. It was simply a matter of “rest.”

Jiang Hui fell asleep with her stomach full of worries.

She was awakened by the doorbell. The identity display beside the head of the bed showed that it was already two in the afternoon. She had fallen asleep without realizing it. Fortunately, she had still woken when someone came to knock.

The person outside showed no impatience. When Jiang Hui failed to respond to the first round of knocking, the visitor did not immediately pound on the door with a frantic barrage. The knocking stopped at once.

Jiang Hui was puzzled. Had the person knocked for a long time, then given up and left?

The next moment, however, she dismissed the thought. Another series of restrained, rhythmic knocks sounded from outside.

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So the visitor had not left.

Jiang Hui immediately remembered what she had learned from the therapist Kallet that morning. She pressed a small, inconspicuous button beside the identity panel at the head of the bed, and the door opened.

This time, the person who entered was a young woman of Asian descent. She had delicate features and graceful manners, the sort that naturally inspired a sense of closeness. She pushed a strangely designed metal cart into the room.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Jiang.”

Her voice was gentle as well.

“I’m Xu Jia, a first-grade pharmacist from the Surgical Pharmacy. I’ve brought your mental stabilizer.”

“Oh, hello. It’s very nice to meet you. I’m sorry to trouble you by making you come all the way here to deliver it.”

Mr. Kallet had mentioned that someone would bring her some kind of stabilizer in the afternoon. They were quite punctual; it had arrived immediately after the lunch break. Did that mean she would be able to pack up and return to her “home” shortly? Though… she did not even know whether that place could truly be called her home.

The other woman looked surprised at this, as though she were trying not to laugh. Her expression softened.

“Miss Jiang, you must also be descended from the Huachao lineage. Very few people still use such old-fashioned expressions nowadays. It’s no trouble at all. This is part of my job.”

Seriously? What had she said just now? Had an expression like “I’m sorry to trouble you” already become archaic?

And what did she mean by “also”? Was Pharmacist Xu descended from Huachao lineage as well?

Jiang Hui could not help taking a discreet look at the other woman. She did indeed possess classically elegant features, with a gentle, refined air reminiscent of the water towns south of the river. At a glance, she was unmistakably a typical beauty of Huachao descent.

Seeing that Jiang Hui seemed distracted, the woman did not take offense. She merely smiled faintly and pushed the cart to the bedside.

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