Malfunctioning Utopia

Chapter 59: The Spoils

In the dim and chaotic room, Steel Heart lay motionless on the ground. Its memory was a scrambled mess after Tepai’s wild tinkering. It was unclear whether it still had self-awareness or the ability to control its prosthetics.

With Steel Heart incapacitated, the drones hovering in midair ceased all activity, entering standby mode and floating idly.

Sun Jack gasped for air, feeling the tension in his chest ease as Steel Heart lost its combat capabilities.

“Is everyone okay?” he asked, clutching his broken arm and struggling to stand.

It had been a grueling battle. Everyone was injured to some degree. As Sun Jack’s gaze swept over the group, it finally settled on the blood-soaked body of Song 6PUS.

He didn’t have much of an emotional connection to Song 6PUS, but seeing a familiar face lying dead in a pool of blood still left him with a hollow sense of loss. This was The Metropolis—death was just a fact of life. He needed to adapt quickly.

Kneeling by the body, Sun Jack prepared to say something solemn when Song 6PUS suddenly sprang to life, startling him.

“Holy sh*t!” Sun Jack exclaimed, jumping back.

“Is it over? Did we win?” Song 6PUS, his face covered in blood, looked around. When he saw Steel Heart lying lifeless on the ground, a wide grin spread across his face.

“You… you’re alive? You’re really not dead?” Sun Jack stared at the gaping hole in Song 6PUS’s chest, struggling to process the absurdity of it all.

“Bro, of course I’m alive! Did you forget how we met? I’ve got a backup heart pump!” Song 6PUS proudly slapped his chest.

“Now you see why I got it installed? Modern combat prosthetics always target fatal zones automatically. A backup heart pump is like having an extra life! You should get one too!”

“Damn it! If you’re fine, why were you lying there playing dead?! You scared the hell out of me!” Sun Jack fumed, completely baffled by the man’s antics.

“I was playing dead, obviously!” Song 6PUS replied, completely unapologetic.

Before Sun Jack could retort, Song 6PUS turned and limped over to Steel Heart, his eyes gleaming with greed as he ran his hands over the lifeless body.

“Bro! Oh my god, it’s a full set of corporate-grade military combat prosthetics! Bro, we’re rich!!”

Song 6’s excitement was palpable. He groped Steel Heart’s body like he was inspecting treasure, his face practically glowing with joy—more thrilled than he’d ever been, even at Club 69. ṝα𐌽ồβËș

“Let’s figure out how to dismantle these prosthetics. If we can strip them all off, bro, you can afford to have as many surgeries as you want!”

Hearing this, Sun Jack turned toward Steel Heart’s massive, reinforced combat prosthetics. After experiencing its power firsthand, he fully understood their value. Compared to this, the combat prosthetics sold by King Kong were nothing but overpriced garbage. If they could sell these, the profits would multiply many times over.

Steel Heart weighed several tons—transporting the entire body was out of the question. The group gathered around to begin dismantling the prosthetics.

However, Steel Heart’s components were clearly designed to prevent tampering. After circling the body multiple times, they couldn’t find a single access point to start removing parts.

The danger wasn’t over, either. Sun Jack could hear footsteps approaching from outside—members of the 18th Street gang, alerted by the commotion, were closing in.

“If we can’t take apart the prosthetics, let’s grab the drones,” Sun Jack suggested, glancing at the idle drones hovering above.

“Don’t touch those,” the Father warned. “These types of drones have tracking modules. If someone remotely activates them, they could blow up in your face.”

While they debated, Four Ai discovered a potential solution. “We can’t remove the prosthetics—they’re fully integrated—but the energy core is detachable. AA, help me out!”

With Four Ai and AA working together, they managed to extract a torpedo-shaped, melon-sized mini nuclear reactor from Steel Heart’s back. It emitted a faint, sky-blue glow and a low, humming vibration.

Even without technical expertise, Sun Jack could tell just by looking at it that the reactor was worth a fortune. This tiny device powered Steel Heart’s entire monstrous combat prosthetic system.

Reluctantly leaving behind the rest of the prosthetics, the group exited through the ventilation duct with their prize, ignoring Song 6PUS’s greedy protests.

Minutes later, they stood atop a distant skyscraper, watching as hover vehicles buzzed around the Blood-Red Roman Colosseum. Inside, the altered Cognitive Mode Buffer and unsecured databases remained untouched.

The 18th Street gang was going to have a serious mess on their hands. This was good news for the group—if the gang was too busy dealing with their own problems, they wouldn’t have time to seek revenge.

As the effects of the painkillers began to wear off, Sun Jack became acutely aware of his injuries. His arm hurt, his face hurt, his neck hurt—everything hurt. He felt utterly drained.

Life in The Metropolis was always so chaotic. If he had any other options, he wouldn’t want to be a mercenary.

Still, despite all the twists and turns, they had made it through. More importantly, no one had died, and they even walked away with a valuable haul.

“I wonder if the insurance company will cover these injuries,” Sun Jack thought to himself.

“F***!” Song 6PUS cursed, clutching his chest.

“What now?!” Sun Jack asked.

“I lost my livestream PvP match because I went offline!” Song 6PUS complained, staring at his newly opened livestream interface.

Hearing this, Sun Jack’s anger flared. Glaring at Song 6PUS, he thought about how this idiot had caused all the trouble today.

Rolling up his sleeves, Sun Jack motioned for Tepai to help him teach Song 6PUS a lesson. Seeing this, Song 6PUS panicked.

Before they could act, a notification popped up on Sun Jack’s interface: “Song 6PUS has transferred 20@ to you. Please check your account.”

29.345@.

Seeing the 20@ deposit, Sun Jack reluctantly lowered his fist. “How did your money not get stolen by Baldy?”

“Heh.” Song 6PUS smugly adjusted his tattered clothes and caught some of the acid rain in his hands to wash his face.

“I’m not stupid. If I’d handed over all my money, Baldy would’ve sent me straight to the Arena to get torn apart by lions. Bro, as long as I hold onto this cash, I get to live another day. Money is life, bro~!”

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