Chapter 118: Aden’s Suppression Chip (Part 2)
The advertisements kept rolling.
At first, Aden watched with mild amusement. He chuckled at the over-the-top infomercials and even made mental notes of a few deals. There were ads for synthetic meat brands, retro braindance packages, discount prosthetic clinics, and everything in between. The Umbrella chip didn't just show you ads—it made sure you felt them. The audio was immersive, the visuals crisp, and the offers temptingly personal.
Still, after the novelty wore off, Aden started to notice the flaw.
The ads covered only about 60% of his visual field. He could still see the world around him through the uncovered sliver—but the countdown timer for the hour-long "activation sequence" had stopped. That was strange.
He narrowed his eyes and turned his head slightly.
The countdown didn't move.
Only when he focused directly on the ad again did the countdown resume—ticking down one second at a time. The moment he averted his attention, the timer froze again.
Realization hit him like a slap in the face.
You had to actively watch the ads for the chip to work.
If you so much as blinked wrong or let your mind wander, the timer paused. It wasn't enough just to keep the chip running in the background—you had to engage. To absorb.
Aden shouted a string of curses that would've made a scavenger blush. "You dirty Umbrella bastards! This is how you get us?"