Chapter 594: The Situation

Following the complete disconnect from radiation, as all Metropolitan Citizens sought to disassemble their neural systems under Sun Jack's orders, order gradually returned to the chaotic Metropolis.

The surviving members of the BCPD, along with all employees of Utopia Security, began to maintain order throughout the city.

When the entire Metropolis grew gradually quiet and everyone breathed a sigh of relief, however, in Sun Jack's eyes, it was a different story entirely.

In the conference room, where walls were broken open, the acid rain blew in with the breeze. But at this moment, everyone attending the conference couldn't care less about that.

"A lot of people died throughout the Metropolis," Tapai said, his words weighing heavily on everyone's heart like a large stone.

"Just give us the data," Sun Jack muttered with a cigarette in his mouth.

"It's impossible to sort out the data right now," Tapai said, shaking his head. "With the complete shutdown of the Metropolis subnet and the disconnection of every citizen's neural system, the most effective current method of counting people is probably counting on fingers."

"Moreover, the inability to gather data is only the mildest negative impact since the internet shutdown. With the network closure, everything from the Golden Stock system to the Metropolis's Virtual Coin system is completely nonfunctional, bringing all business activities to a standstill."

"Also, our combat units now dare not go near the energy modules, fearing that once they're connected to the energy, they'll be directly controlled by the Poet."

"Furthermore, with the disconnection, many people in the Metropolis are experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms."

Hearing this, Sun Jack turned to look at Old Six, who was vividly demonstrating what Tapai meant by withdrawal symptoms.

Old Six, with an expression of intense pain, laid back on the conference table, clutching his throat while rolling his eyes and saying, "Ah... I'm without a system... It's so tough without a system."

"I want a system. I don't need anything sophisticated, just the simplest system will do. I really can't live a second without it!"

"Dammit." Sun Jack pulled out his gun and shot Old Six's palm directly, causing Old Six to jump up in pain, cradling his hand.

"Fuck!! Aaah!! My hand!! Bro! What are you doing? There's no Pain Editor now!!"

Sun Jack ignored his overacting and turned to Tapai to ask, "Isn't there anything the network troops can do? Without the internet, it's incredibly difficult to do anything. We can't just go back to ancient times and fight the Poet directly, can we?"

"Boss, that's an AI with a thousand years of intelligence. Even a thousand-year-old sow becomes cunning over time; who knows to what extent its algorithms have evolved? Do you think we can handle it when all servers and the network are compromised?" Tapai argued.

As AA was at a loss, another member of AA raised his right hand and said, "Boss, the logistics department is working overtime to convert all intelligent combat weapons to pure mechanical manual ones. Just give us some time, and Utopia Security's combat effectiveness will be restored as soon as possible."

Delete also spoke up promptly, "Our medical department is also using genetic enhancement technology to replace past mechanical equipment as quickly as possible, but currently, without network support, progress here will take some time."

But Sun Jack wasn't worried about these issues; he was more concerned about the other cities of the Utopia Federation. "Can we get in touch with other places?"

Tapai shook his head, "All networks are completely paralyzed at present; we can't get in touch for now. We can only hope for the best for them. Each city has its Sun Jack; let's hope they'll come up with a solution and not fall under the Poet's control."

Seeing Sun Jack take a deep drag from his cigarette, Tapai once again reminded him, "Remember, due to the complete collapse of the world's networks, you can't upload to any Sun Jack in the world anymore."

"From now on, you need to be more careful. The reckless combat style of the past needs to change, because if you truly die now, it's the real deal,"

Sun Jack's brow furrowed as he silently smoked, understanding that the current deadly crisis wasn't just what was in front of him. The Poet was the real threat, and merely encountering it once had caused so much trouble, no one could tell what the AI would do next.

Though the Poet had always seemed to act in a hazy and erratic manner, to think that this high-level AI would want to kill all of humanity with just these troubles was far too simplistic.

The AI surely had other moves, and they likely constituted a disaster of unimaginable proportions for humanity.

If one wanted to confront the Poet, the network had to be rebuilt. Without it, the cities of the Utopia Federation couldn't cooperate with each other to combat the Poet. Going it alone in these circumstances would be suicide.

Plus, without digital warfare, even if the Poet were causing havoc on the other side of Earth, one would have no knowledge of it.

But rebuilding the network would make it vulnerable to the Poet's hacking—a situation that was essentially a dead end.

Faced with this dire situation, Sun Jack rapidly considered ways to break the deadlock.

As his gaze unintentionally fell on the BCPD uniform Hanks was wearing, a single organization popped into his mind: Third Class.

"Yes, Third Class! How could I have forgotten about them? After giving them so much money to keep them running, it's finally time to make use of them."

As an extensive organization that was always prepared to combat the AI Crisis, Sun Jack was certain they had a solution to the current dilemma!

With that in mind, Sun Jack immediately turned his head towards Tapai, "Connect me to the network, I need to communicate."

"Didn't I already say it's too dangerous now? The communications could be altered or attacked by the Poet, just like last time."

"I know, but the one I'm contacting is Third Class!"

Hearing this, Tapai realized what Sun Jack meant and immediately nodded.

As Sun Jack reattached the external system onto his head, the yellow virtual screen lens appeared before his eyes, and the long-missed system interface reemerged.

After a few rapid jumps on the interface, Sun Jack's neural system directly dialed Third Class's communication code.

A second later, the screen instantly turned blue, and Sun Jack saw a member of Third Class with a triangular head appear before him.

Just as Sun Jack was about to speak, the image quickly became distorted, and malfunctioning noise appeared—the Poet was disrupting the communication!

However, in the next second, with a few invisible taps by the triangular-headed figure's right hand, the communication interface stabilized swiftly.

Seeing this, Sun Jack knew his guess was right; indeed, each had their own expertise. Third Class was prepared for this. "Mr. Sun, we're genuinely glad to see you're still alive."

"Enough with the pleasantries; it's practically the end of the world. Cut to the chase. I've been to your place, and it seems you're using flesh technology to shield from intelligent AIs? Share all the technology you have with us right away. We're in dire need of that kind of technology. Once it's shared with everyone, we can collaboratively take down the Poet!"

Hearing Sun Jack's words, the other party didn't immediately respond, seeming to seek approval for something.

After a few seconds, he looked up at Sun Jack, "Mr. Sun, it's not that simple. If it were, we, who possess such technologies, would have already eradicated him. You probably don't know what Ω31, the existence standing against humanity, really entails. Its threat goes far beyond your imagination."