Faulty Utopia

Beneath the towering skyscrapers lay various military units and combat units, sniper artillery crews with self-propelled armored autocannons, drones, not to mention the various anti-air missiles that rose from the ground.

Amidst all that, bearing the logo of Gaofeng Technology, Sun Jack's figure appeared, drenched by the black rain.

As soon as Sun Jack appeared, various automated turrets and autocannons, upon calculation, immediately aimed at this unit not recognized as friendly.

A second before the bullets and shells were fired, all automated weapons were suddenly controlled by the Ta Faction, ready to assist Sun Jack at any moment, quickly turning to point their barrels at the surrounding combat units. The instant the gunfire and cannonade erupted, the surrounding Sun Jacks, endowed with personalities, also acted simultaneously.

The entire military camp instantly devolved into chaos, and Sun Jack withdrew from this chaotic scene at the first opportunity, heading toward the building.

As soon as he entered the building, Sun Jack was spotted by surveillance and was about to trigger the alarm.

But the next second, the surveillance went silent. The voice of the Ta Faction once again rang beside Sun Jack's ear, "Gaofeng Technology has a large number of network troops interfering! I can only hold for one minute, hurry up with whatever you need to do!"

Sun Jack quickly rushed into the elevator, pressing for the third sub-level directly; the nuclear reactor of Gaofeng Technology was on the eighth sub-level, but it was not marked on the elevator.

According to the information from X, it was necessary to find the executives on the third level, only those with H6 level clearance had the access rights to the fourth level.

With a "ding", the elevator door for the third sub-level suddenly opened up, revealing a honeycomb-like array of white cubicles in front of Sun Jack.

Facing the sight of Sun Jack, the company's internal staff had no reaction at all; they sat drearily in their cubicles, toiling away, almost everyone's face decorated with dark circles under their eyes.

Occasionally, you could see them pull open a drawer and stuff a handful of pills into their mouths.

Even when people walked past Sun Jack, they seemed not to see him at all, heads down, engrossed in their work.

At that moment, a hoarse voice boomed from the microphone overhead.

"Let's amp up the energy! Right now, the company's security department is engaged in combat outside! Their performance is skyrocketing! But how can Market Department 3 lose to them? Rui Shan Company is completely gone; the tasks of seizing the market and engaging customers rest in our hands! We absolutely must surpass the other departments in KPI! Go go go!"

All employees, as if on cue, their expressions suddenly filled with fervor, shouted in unison: "Go go go!"

"Believe in the value of hard work, only through diligence can success be achieved! Believe in yourselves! The qualification for the Holy Grail will only be reserved for the most persevering in the company! So, overtime continues!"

Hearing everything around him, Sun Jack widened his eyes in disbelief at what he saw. "Are they all fucking crazy? With all that fighting outside, they are still working overtime? Shouldn't they be taking cover first?"

The only reason Gaofeng Technology could behave this way was that the risk of employees being attacked was considered less important than their work.

Sun Jack shook his head in resignation, immediately rushed into the clean and tidy restroom, and quickly took off his coat to wash off the black marks outside.

No matter what comes next, while on enemy turf, restoring the function of his Mimetic Camouflage was paramount; the Ta Faction's interference with the surveillance was about to end.

Just as Sun Jack frantically scrubbed his trench coat, an angry voice came from behind. "What are you doing! You are not allowed to wash clothes during work hours! Do you know that you're taking advantage of the company?!"

"Damn!" Sun Jack acted as if he hadn't heard, anxiously checking the time while focused on what he was doing.

"I'm talking to you, do you hear me! It's because of parasites like you that our department was sent to the basement! Otherwise, we could stand higher!"

The person's anger came charging over, but before his hand could hit Sun Jack's shoulder, Sun Jack's gun was already aimed at his head, staring intently at his pupils implanted with various chips. "You're in charge of this department? Give me the card to the underground levels, now!!"

The man immediately paled with fear, his body uncontrollably trembling as he stammered, "No... not me, I'm just the lowest-level customer service in Q2."

"Damn it! If you're not, then why the hell were you shouting just now!"

Confronted with Sun Jack's anger, the man dared to retort. "I... as an employee of the company, facing such acts that damage the company's interests, I... I must stop it, it's the instinct of being a part of the Gaofeng Technology family!"

Sun Jack was speechless, amazed that such people still existed in the Metropolis.

"You... you're really talented," Sun Jack said as he lowered his gun.

Just then, the elevator to the third underground level suddenly opened, and an armed combat team rushed in. "Alert! A high-risk individual has infiltrated!"

"Damn, they're so fast. No time to get the card from the upper levels, have to do it the hard way."

As the red lights flashed along with the alarm, Sun Jack threw on the nearly clean trench coat, and without hesitation, raised his gun and crazily fired several shots at the ground.

With stones flying, the entrance to the fourth underground level appeared before him.

"Our company needs talents like you, no matter how much you make at Gaofeng Technology, we at Utopia Security will triple it, remember to contact our HR department." After saying this to the man in front of him, Sun Jack didn't hesitate to jump into the hole.

Arriving at the fourth underground level, Sun Jack was about to head to the fifth level when he was shocked by the scene before him.

A child who appeared to be only 4 or 5 years old was locked in a transparent lab, screaming loudly as flexible robotic arms reached in and grabbed his limbs, and amid his shrill scream, violently pulled them off.

As the cameras monitored the child's healing, frantic banging noises came from the adjacent lab.

Sun Jack looked and saw a woman with brain-computer interfaces attached to her head watching the scene in collapse; she banged desperately on the glass, her hands bloody and raw, but she didn't stop.

Just then, a thick rope behind her pulled, slowly dragging her backward while the numbers on a screen outside increased rapidly.

As the values peaked, a cold voice announced, "Subject #2 data collection complete. Entering potential test tp1."

The lab AI controlled another set of machinery that slowly extended again, methodically peeling the child's skin while observing the changes in the woman's strength.