Malfunctioning Utopia

Chapter 53: A Plan

"See? I told you, I’m a businessman. Everything I do is backed by reason and evidence," the bald man said, tilting his chin upward. At his signal, one of his subordinates began dragging Song 6PUS through a small side door.

As Song 6PUS was being hauled off, he turned back to Sun Jack and the others, grinning like it was all a big joke. "Hahaha, this time’s on me! Next time, next time, I swear the money will go to you first!"

Sun Jack couldn’t believe this guy actually owed 120@. This was going to be tricky.

After a moment of thought, Sun Jack raised his head and spoke to the bald man in the VIP box again. "120@—how do you expect him to pay that back? Even if you sold him, it wouldn’t cover that debt."

"Actually, he can pay it back. The kid recently got lucky—80@ landed in his account," the bald man replied with a smug grin. It immediately clicked for Sun Jack. All this time, this guy had been targeting the payment from their last job.

"That 80 f***ing belongs to us—" Tapai started to shout, but Sun Jack quickly held him back. They were on enemy turf, and with Song 6PUS in the bald man’s hands, it wasn’t the right time to make a move.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sun Jack noticed several men and women standing among the crowd, all glaring in their direction. Each bore various combat prosthetics and the "18" symbol on their faces. It was clear they were part of the 18th Street gang.

Seeing this, the bald man smirked and gestured toward the single-pane glass showcasing the roaring modified beasts. "As for the other 40@, he can earn it by joining his predecessors in the arena."

"I’ve already run the ads, and there’s a lot of interest. I’m confident tomorrow’s livestream earnings will more than cover the remaining debt and interest. Hahaha! The show’s going to be spectacular."

"Now... I’ve said my piece. Any other questions?" The bald man looked down at the group of mercenaries with a cold, condescending gaze.

His subordinates had already disengaged their weapon safeties. It was a thinly veiled threat, to say the least.

Seeing no one push back, the bald man nodded in satisfaction. "Good. You can leave now. The duel livestream will air tomorrow at 8 PM on the Eden streaming platform. Pay-per-view—don’t miss it. Show them out."

With that, he clapped his hands, sat back on his couch, and the transparent walls of the VIP room turned a solid gold color.

Standing outside, Sun Jack frowned deeply as he gazed at the blood-red Roman-style arena before him.

"This is a real pain," Four Ai muttered, her brow furrowed as she puffed on an e-cigarette.

"So what? We’re just not gonna get our money back? F*** this, that sneaky bastard has screwed us over big time!" Tapai cursed angrily.

"We can’t let it end like this," Sun Jack declared firmly. After all, 20@ was nearly a quarter of the cost for his surgery—it was impossible to just give up.

"How strong is the 18th Street gang overall? Besides the people we just saw, how many members do they have?" Sun Jack asked.

"In the grand scheme of things, they’re not a particularly strong gang. But even so, if you think the few of us can just storm in and take him back head-on, you’re dreaming," Four Ai replied.

"Can we approach it from a hacker angle? Like, maybe hack the surveillance in the room where Song 6PUS is being held?" Sun Jack looked toward King Kong for input.

"Amitabha, Sun Benefactor, the hacker C-Danny from 18th Street is not much weaker than I am. Causing some chaos in their system is doable, but sneaking in undetected is far too difficult," King Kong said with a shake of his head.

As Sun Jack racked his brain for a solution, AA’s voice came through the channel. "Um... are we trying to figure out a way to rescue Song 6PUS?"

Sun Jack turned toward her. "Do you have an idea?"

AA thought for a moment and then said, "I can’t do much... but I just checked their electrical circuits and fuses. If I disable the safety mechanisms and tweak the power supply IC, I could overload the voltage beyond what the wires can handle. I think I could cause a blackout."

Hearing this, Sun Jack was pleasantly surprised. He hadn’t expected AA to have such a sharp mind. "Nice one, AA!"

AA quickly waved her hands, as if embarrassed by the praise. "It’s nothing, really. It’s something my classmates could also do... It’s just that, like me, they can’t find jobs either…"

"A blackout won’t help. Do you really think the people here don’t have night vision or infrared prosthetics?" Father dismissed the idea outright.

But Sun Jack had a different thought. In his mind, he recalled the beasts locked behind the walls of cages—those savage eyes devoid of reason and their exaggerated cybernetic enhancements. ŗΑƝȰᛒĘŞ

"A blackout might not do much on its own. But what if, during the power outage, all those beasts managed to break free?" Sun Jack proposed.

At his words, everyone’s eyes lit up. They had witnessed firsthand the sheer destructive power of those beasts in the arena—metallic prosthetics ripped apart like paper. If dozens of them were unleashed, the place would descend into chaos.

"Let’s do it. AA and I will handle the power," Four Ai said, reattaching her e-cigarette to her ear.

"King Kong! Just like you mentioned earlier, make sure their network goes haywire when the time comes. The messier, the better!" Sun Jack added.

"Amitabha, leave it to me. I’ve downloaded all kinds of viruses from the darkest corners of the web," King Kong replied confidently.

With roles assigned and the escape route planned, Four Ai and AA headed to sabotage the power, while Father, Sun Jack, and Tapai prepared to use the ensuing chaos to retrieve Song 6PUS.

Standing outside the arena, Sun Jack kept his eyes fixed on the distant doors, silently waiting.

Before long, he noticed the holographic projections above the arena beginning to glow brighter and brighter. At first, it wasn’t obvious, but soon the light became blindingly intense.

Giving Father a quick glance, Sun Jack signaled the team to start moving. They began pushing through the crowd, making their way toward the doors.

Finally, just as the people near the arena realized something was wrong, the lights exploded with a series of crackles and sparks. One by one, the arena’s light sources burst, plunging the place into darkness.

"Move!" Sun Jack, Father, and Tapai, their cybernetic eyes already switched to night vision mode, charged into the main hall without hesitation.

As soon as they entered, the trio found themselves amidst a chaotic crowd. Without wasting any time, they turned their firepower toward the transparent walls that confined the beasts, unleashing a barrage of attacks.

The glass proved incredibly resilient. Even after being bombarded with shells, it didn’t shatter immediately. However, the beasts inside did the rest of the work for them.

Like tanks gone berserk, the beasts slammed into the weakened glass with relentless force. With a loud crash, the glass walls finally gave way. Almost instantly, a lion with two mechanical arms mounted on its back burst into the crowd, tearing into anyone it could reach with savage ferocity.

At first, the 18th Street thugs tried to maintain control of the situation. But as more and more beasts poured out, the arena descended into complete chaos.

"Where the hell is Tanaka?! Get those damn sedation injections deployed for all the beasts, NOW!" shouted a panicked youth sporting a Mohawk and lip piercings, yelling frantically at his companion.

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