Chapter 602: Factory

"Phew, finally done, everyone can continue!" sweat-drenched AA emerged from the mechanical assembly line with stains all over her body.

With the power reconnected, the production line that had stopped due to a malfunction restarted.

Various materials quickly assembled on the 70 mph conveyor belt, ultimately forming nuclear bombs, which were swiftly packaged and stored away.

However, these were semi-finished products, with the explosive triggers installed separately to ensure absolute physical isolation, as naive as AA might have been, she wasn't naive enough to situate Metropolis atop a powder keg ready to explode at any moment.

Though the collapse of the network meant even N2 level AIs were forbidden, it didn't mean they couldn't manufacture; it merely meant reverting the tasks previously handled by automatic robotic arms back to humans.

She looked around, people of all appearances were present, no matter what they did before—but now, they were all just screws in the production line.

Although the economy had stalled, the employment rate in Metropolis was now 100%. With new arsenals sprouting like mushrooms after rain, everyone had a job.

The workshop's loudspeakers continuously played Sun Jack's voice in everyone's ears, "This is a war of human extinction, no one can exclude themselves, we cannot rely on others, we can only rely on ourselves."

Some people understood what Sun Jack meant, some didn't, but it didn't hinder the fact that everyone had to work—it was a duty, not a choice.

As the bell rang, it was time to leave work, but while the people stopped, the conveyor belts did not. Replacement workers hurriedly took over from the others.

At this moment, AA too, rubbing her sore shoulders, walked towards the factory exit, "I've started to miss my auxiliary AIs, fixing machinery by physically checking each one feels like returning to primitive society."

As she stepped outside, her view was filled with neatly organized factories, military supplies continuously being produced in an orderly fashion.

The entire industrial park had been completely overtaken by munitions factories, operating efficiently and swiftly. All the nuclear bombs being produced were stockpiling, regardless of what Poet planned next, they were ready to launch massive nuclear strikes.

"Wow? What is that?" AA tiptoed to look at a huge hanging crane in the distance, the enormous cylinder looking intimidating.

"Let's go." An AA came by her side, opening his arms to embrace her from behind.

"Look, that seems like the Boss's Sky-base Weapon," AA stretched her hand pointing towards it.

"What do you mean 'seems'? That absolutely is it, and I even heard that FFP's production line was all sent here. But the new Sky-base Weapons will all be converted to mechanical operation, pilot training has begun. I had applied earlier, but they rejected me."

"It's great that we have all these wonderful things, we definitely won't fear that Poet!" AA looked longingly at the Sky-base Weapon in the sky.

The two AAs chatted about Tapai's new body gossip as they walked towards the Metro Tower.

They had walked this route countless times before, and it was supposed to be uneventful. However, just as they reached the subway, it suddenly began shaking violently, with the metal carriage scraping against the wall, creating sparks everywhere.

In the midst of chaos, AA saw a black man outside the window, his face covered in graffiti and a deep scar that made him look menacing.

"Damn it! What's there to fear! There's no network or AI anymore, facial recognition and BCPD drones are all gone! Sun Jack isn't going to catch us so easily!" He fired several shots at the window while speaking, breaking the glass and the surveillance cameras.

Behind him, a group followed, all riding hover motorcycles, including someone she recognized—it was Guan Sanke! A clone had joined the Gang.

This Guan Sanke had a very noticeable feature—a hole in his forehead.

"Sun Jack! Fuck you!! You just wait!" Guan Sanke attacked the carriage furiously while cursing vehemently.

Hearing the ruckus outside, AA clung tightly under her seat, not daring to come out. She knew these people, some dissatisfied with Boss's factory arrangements, and some resentful towards Boss, took the opportunity when urban systems were down to create havoc.

"This cannot continue, it's becoming dangerous, I must find a way," AA glanced around at the chaotic scene, immediately pulling a small metal ball from her pocket and placing it on the ground, a makeshift device she had crafted from scraps.

As soon as the metal ball touched the ground, six metallic legs sprang out and climbed out the window.

Just as the metal ball reached the top of the tunnel, the moment she detonated it, a series of explosions sounded resoundingly, causing the entire tunnel to collapse.

This was the result AA wanted; since subway tunnels weren't easily detectable, staying out of the tunnels was preferable. The loud noise was sure to attract BCPD's attention.

Her plan was successful. BCPD arrived quickly and drove the Gang away, but she faced a reprimand from a BCPD Agent.

"AA, can you stop using bombs for everything? You've caused more damage than they did."

"I'm... I'm so sorry…"

The case quickly appeared in document form on Sun Jack's desk. Sun Jack stood by the gigantic floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at Metropolis under acidic rain.

He could see that the overt ads of the past had disappeared, replaced by various propaganda slogans and cold aerial induction lights.

As he quickly adjusted his ciliary muscles, he could see in some dark corners, words and graffiti insulting him.

He understood why some would hate him; a wartime economy was sure to damage some interests, including those who had hated him from the start.

They hadn't acted out before only because they hadn't found an opportunity yet.

Moreover, some ignorant folks still believed the AI Crisis was his fabrication, but he had nothing to explain about that.

Preparing for war in advance was now more important than anything; he didn't need to care about these people, they couldn't hinder him in any way, BCPD would take care of this, he had more important matters to attend to.

"Jack, they are here," Tapai's voice came from behind him.

Sun Jack turned around, taking the flesh chip from Tapai's hand and inserting it into his external system, the next second, Third Class's triangular head appeared on the system interface.

"Sun Jack, we have a special operation here, so we need your troop's assistance."

Hearing this, Sun Jack's eyes narrowed slightly, "Has it finally started?"