Chapter 52: Infiltrating the Factory

On the television, the anchor stood before a field of ruins, his expression grave and solemn. “I am currently standing at Quarantine Zone 69. After nine hours of hard fighting, the Mechanical Police Force has completely brought the situation under control. A large number of infected individuals were neutralized on the spot. The Special Task Group has announced that all corpses will be incinerated collectively. For safety’s sake, the bodies collected by the sanitation department this morning will also be burned immediately to prevent any further spread of the virus. Experimental Zone 69 will now be permanently converted into a quarantine area, and for the next three years, no one is allowed to approach.

The Special Task Group is investigating the cause of this viral outbreak. Preliminary police suspicions point toward the possibility that, upon learning of the experiment’s success, extremists committed this horrifying act of sabotage. Here, we must strongly condemn the immoral actions of these anti-social elements. Earth belongs to all humanity—you have no right to drag everyone down to hell with you!

Now, let’s hear from Miss Michelle, special envoy of the Task Group, who will share her stance on this incident.”

The camera shifted to a familiar woman—her face stern, her eyes shadowed with sorrow and rage, her small fists clenching tightly.

“In the name of the Reform Committee, we will conduct a thorough investigation into this incident. There will be no leniency. According to expert analysis, the threat posed by this virus is not severe. As long as everyone abides by the regulations and avoids the quarantine zone, the virus will naturally dissipate after thirty-six months. Of course, during this period, we will take corresponding actions, including incinerating the secret laboratory to purify Experimental Zone 69…”

Lisa stared blankly at the screen. “Gao Ning, the virus broke out in the shantytown. Everyone there was killed!”

“Oh.” Gao Ning replied absentmindedly, turning another page of his book.

“Are you even listening? The shantytown’s been wiped out!”

“Does it matter to you?”

“A little bit…”

“Do you know anyone there?”

“No…”

“Are you fond of that place?”

“I absolutely hate it!”

“Then why are you so shocked?” Gao Ning turned another page, glanced at the dispirited Lisa, rummaged through the pile of books, and handed her a fairy tale. “Read. Why overthink? Didn’t you already decide to become rich?”

His attention returned to his reading.

He had thought the resort would be all about leisure, but to his surprise, there was a massive bookstore as well. The selection was impressive, especially the academic and technical volumes—the programming books alone dazzled him.

After some deliberation, he chose to focus on programming.

Although Earth in Elysium was rotten to the core, its achievements in artificial intelligence were unrivaled. The fully automated treatment protocols of the universal medical pods, the balance and friend-or-foe recognition of the mechanical police—all pinnacle achievements of technology. Even Elysium’s daily operations relied fundamentally on intelligent programming.

Moreover, their technology seemed to have perfectly sidestepped the risk of programs turning on their creators. The World Parliament freely deployed three hundred million mechanical police—an astronomical number. Unless they were absolutely certain, even the dumbest leaders wouldn’t dare issue such orders.

However, programming books were exorbitant. He bought fewer than thirty textbooks and still spent half a million. Lisa almost popped her eyes out when she saw the bill.

Old Gao the Second wandered over and plopped down across from him, grabbing the tea and draining it in one gulp. He let out a satisfied sigh.

Gao Ning’s eye twitched. So the hero units are really something—half-mechanical, half-biological, yet smoking, drinking, and chasing girls don’t hinder them in the least. If it weren’t for the fact that you look just like me, I’d have thrashed you by now!

Grumbling inwardly, he found himself unable to read any further.

“The factory’s shift is over,” Old Gao the Second announced.

Gao Ning glanced at the summoning timer—still a few minutes left. He called over a waiter and instructed him to deliver the books to his room. Then he stood up. “Let’s go. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can get back. I’ve got a lot of reading left.”

Lisa asked, “Where are you going? I’ll come too!”

Old Gao the Second chuckled, patting her delicate shoulder. “Go back to your room and behave, or you’ll blow through all your money.”

Lisa shot him a glare.

He laughed and headed out.

Though there were mechanical police everywhere, as combat units, they were still incredibly valuable. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many annual losses due to “unusual circumstances”—mostly poor folks ambushing them, then dismantling and selling the parts on the black market.

Thus, assembly plants stockpiling parts were heavily guarded. It sounded ridiculous to have humans guarding the mechanical police factories, but that was reality.

The cost of damage to the mechanical police far exceeded human wages. Wages could be delayed, even paid on credit; mechanical police energy and part replacement could not.

Any competent capitalist knew which to prioritize.

In the car, Gao Ning put down his binoculars and quickly sketched the building layout on a blank sheet of paper, circling the guard posts.

“There, that’s the general setup. Altogether, twenty-three guards front and back. Be careful—if there are dogs, we might miss them.”

Old Gao the Second glanced at it, tossed it to the two soldiers in the back seat. “Piece of cake. I’ll handle it.” With that, he opened the door and got out.

Gao Ning said, “The third paratrooper will be deployed to your position after the outer guards are cleared.”

Old Gao the Second waved him off, his silhouette shimmering before vanishing outright.

Gao Ning paused—he’d forgotten the tailcoat had a stealth function.

“You two, stay behind and keep your distance—adapt as needed!”

“Yes, sir!” The two saluted, grabbed their weapons, crouched low, and disappeared into the night.

Gao Ning closed his eyes and focused his attention on the Red Alert interface.

The light representing Old Gao the Second moved swiftly, almost in a straight line to the factory, instantly engaging a yellow marker, which vanished immediately. One of the markers for the Liberation Army crept forward, taking the place of the yellow marker. On the other side, Old Gao the Second dispatched another sentinel in the same way. As he moved deeper inside, Gao Ning deployed the third paratrooper overhead.

Old Gao the Second worked efficiently—with the tailcoat’s various features assisting, he quickly took out guard after guard. When only seven were left, their presence was finally discovered.

A harsh alarm sounded, someone screaming, “Intruder! There’s an intruder—sound the alarm—” Before the sentence finished, several crisp gunshots silenced the factory. The alarm cut off as well, and the emergency protocols for the mechanical police were only halfway through before being shut down.

“My turn,” Gao Ning murmured, stepping out of the car and heading toward the factory.