Malfunctioning Utopia

Chapter 41: Graffiti

Inside the freezing cold garage, Sun Jack continued searching for his target.

“Jack, go a little further. The location hasn’t moved! King Kong’s holding him off; he won’t get away!” Four Ai’s voice came through the comms.

Sun Jack steadied his nerves, placing his cannon back onto Tapai’s frame before cautiously pressing forward.

Suddenly, a figure appeared through the thick white fog, and Sun Jack instinctively raised his cannon.

Thankfully, he held back. The figure was clearly not the hacker; after all, hackers don’t get locked up in transparent cages.

It was a young boy, half of his body replaced with mechanical prosthetics. He was curled up, frantically gnawing on his metal arm. Even as his mouth became a mangled mess of blood and shattered teeth, he showed no sign of stopping.

The boy looked up sharply as Sun Jack approached, his eyes filled with pure madness, devoid of any trace of rationality.

“This... is cyber psychosis?” Sun Jack muttered to himself before moving on. Not long after, another figure came into view.

It was an infant. Its limbs had all been replaced with prosthetics, and half its skull was covered in metal. The baby stumbled awkwardly within its cage, seemingly learning to walk. When it noticed Sun Jack and Tapai, it broke into gleeful laughter, waving excitedly at them while babbling incoherently.

Looking at the infant and recalling the deranged words of the pregnant woman earlier, Sun Jack felt a wave of revulsion. These so-called cyber psychotics were clearly manufactured—human beings twisted into this state deliberately.

Someone was modifying them, treating them as lab rats, just like those human "mines."

“Don’t look so grim,” an unfamiliar, raspy voice suddenly spoke in Sun Jack’s ear. “Sure, the work environment’s a little harsh, but at least they have a job now. Better than being useless trash.”

A figure stepped out from the fog on the left. It was a man dressed in a hip-hop style, his face adorned with exaggerated graffiti. Instead of eyes, he had two protruding square lenses, clearly cybernetic modifications. The man spread his arms as though presenting his masterpiece to Sun Jack.

“I feed them, they work for me. Essentially, they’re my employees. How’s that any different from what happens out there?”

“And the people in the cages? What about the pregnant woman? Was she your employee too?” Sun Jack retorted.

“No, they’re company assets,” the man corrected with a slight shake of his head. “And for the record, she agreed to it. We paid her. She signed a contract.”

“Contracts, huh? Sure, everything’s gotta follow the rules, right?” the man said with mock sincerity. “Anyway, thanks for cleaning up the mess. She was drawing too much attention outside.”

Disgusted by the man’s words, Sun Jack raised his cannon, ready to fire, only for Tapai to grab his arm. “Don’t shoot!”

“Why the hell not?!” Sun Jack snapped, furious.

“Turn slowly. Don’t move your weapon. Just... don’t.”

Confused but cautious, Sun Jack turned as instructed. That’s when he noticed two triangular red dots trained on his forehead and chest.

Tracing the lasers’ origins, he saw 20 or 30 armed individuals entering the garage. Each one wielded various weapons and wore expressions of smug disdain. Their prosthetics were flashy and over-the-top, matching the graffiti-covered man. They were clearly his crew.

“Well, aren’t you two bold, waltzing into our turf like this?” a voice jeered from behind Sun Jack. It was the ponytailed hacker.

“This whole operation... no single hacker could pull it off. It’s a group effort,” Sun Jack realized. The massive mining operation, the sprawling profits—it was clearly gang territory.

From the start, Sun Jack had underestimated the complexity of the situation. He’d thought the job was as simple as completing the mission and eliminating the target. But the city’s tangled web of connections and corruption ran far deeper than he’d imagined.

Meanwhile, everything Sun Jack saw was being transmitted to the team. King Kong’s voice chimed in, “They’re from the Graffiti Gang. These guys hate standard prosthetics—the flashier, the better. I’ve heard rumors they secretly dismantle prosthetics for black market sales. Never thought they’d stoop to this.”

“Man, that thing’s got a ton of mods on it. Bet we could make a fortune selling it,” said a woman with blade-like prosthetic legs and a nose ring, eyeing Tapai greedily. RÂ₦ȎβÊš

Despite the overwhelming odds, Sun Jack stayed calm. He wasn’t alone. His confidence solidified when he noticed the laser sights on the woman’s head, originating from outside the garage.

“Freeze! Don’t move!” Four Ai’s authoritative voice rang out from the entrance.

The gang members reacted instantly—half aimed their weapons at Sun Jack, while the other half turned to face the newcomers.

Outside the garage, an SUV rolled up. Father, Song 6PUS, and Four Ai used the car doors as cover, aiming a variety of weapons into the garage.

The situation was tense, the standoff like a coiled spring ready to snap. Sun Jack’s HUD lit up as he communicated with the team through the comms. If they didn’t act fast, they wouldn’t get out alive. But with the enemy’s numbers, they needed a plan.

The tension was suffocating, and just as it reached its breaking point, Song 6PUS raised his hand. “Wait! I know your boss! My sister’s his aunt!”

The Graffiti Gang froze, momentarily stunned by the absurd claim. Sun Jack seized the opportunity, tossing several grenades into their midst.

At the same time, Tapai raised his right arm and fired precise shots, detonating the grenades mid-air.

The sudden explosions didn’t harm the gang members but created a deafening roar and a dense cloud of smoke.

As the fiery light erupted, Sun Jack and Tapai sprang into action. Tapai’s reverse-jointed legs compressed, exposing rapidly spinning wheels that propelled them forward like a tank barreling through the smoke.

Gunfire erupted as the gang members fired wildly, bullets pinging off Tapai’s armor as the pair charged toward the garage exit.