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Damn it, just at this moment the supervisor from Kyoto Infinity connected! They directly seized control of the excavation site's equipment using remote operation!
I still have the capacity to send a message to that supervisor, but what to say?
The supervisor will certainly not let me off! Xu Yang frowned and pondered.
In such a situation, I had no choice but to steel myself and deal with him first.
"Invasion by Black Fire Innovation Company." Xu Yang sent a message back, "Urgent need for assistance."
"I've got you on camera."
Xu Yang looked up and saw several cameras on the rock walls in operation, their red lights blinking.
Hair stood on end.
When I was in control, I could still mask my own image from the screen; now that the equipment was in someone else's hands, my movements were fully exposed, and my cover was not advanced enough.
"Xu Yang from Kyushu High Pavilion?" the other party messaged.
Xu Yang was dumbstruck when he saw this message.
Immediately after, the other party sent over a copy of Xu Yang's profile.
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Suggestion — This profile has been displayed publicly as a typical serious offender by the full Corporate Alliance. If you are company personnel, you should distribute photocopies of this profile to all partners and employees as a warning (page views total 1,779,533 unique visitors).
Name: Xu Yang
Age: 28
Place of Birth: Xia
Affiliated Enterprise: Kyushu High Pavilion
Position: Level 2 Neural Network Engineer
Employment Period: 138 years September 5 to 144 years July 10
Current Status: Fugitive
Company Rights: Canceled
Criminal Record: Betrayal of Kyushu High Pavilion (detail 24) / Major violation of Corporate Alliance laws (detail 79) / Unauthorized operation of company property (detail 1680) / Absence (accumulated 10 days) / Underperformance (accumulated 11 days)
Social Connections: Cleared 35 people
Financial Services: Kyushu High Pavilion Heartwarming Loan (click to view latest offers)
Security Package: Invalid
Employment Recommendation: Never
Major Offender Code: CAA1449 (suggestion: kill or retrieve the complete head; live retrieval: unnecessary)
Total Bounty: 21.5 million Funds + 35 days of paid leave (public notice period remaining 199 years)
DNA Code: Click to download
Last Known Location: (Updated) Aizu City - Katagi District - Bronze Titan Company A1 Excavation Site
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"This is you, right?" the supervisor said.
Xu Yang didn't dare to reply, fear gripping his heart.
Staying inside would get me killed by Matteo or the Witch, stepping outside would get me hunted by Kyushu High Pavilion. I had vainly hoped for a chance to reconcile with them, following the suggestions in the employee manual. Now it seems that the reconciliation regulations were just a trap, and contacting them for money would just bait me in.
"Security departments from half of the Eastern Hemisphere's companies have already received the message from Kyushu High Pavilion," the supervisor said, "You are not bad at hiding."
Every second away from the company was like walking on a tightrope.
There was a thunderous roar all around.
Xu Yang turned his head and looked toward the exterior of the excavation site; he could see those gigantic sentry posts lighting up once more, illuminating the excavation site bright as day.
"Warning: Illegal activity detected." a synthetic voice announced.
Upon detecting Matteo and the Witch in the core area of the excavation site, the security installation immediately activated, and a barrage of bullets targeted them, raining down rapidly.
Ratatat—
The sound of gunfire was incessant, Xu Yang dove into the mining equipment nearby, as bullets and shells exploded on the rocky ground, leaving countless craters and breaches. Mines detonated one after another, creating earth-shaking blasts.
My eardrums were in severe pain.
After the barrage, the smoke cleared and Matteo was unscathed, but his synthetic skin had been completely destroyed, revealing the pitch-black alloy shell underneath; his sunglasses were also shattered, eyes pulverized, exposing the bulletproof cameras behind them.
The Witch lay curled on the ground, presumably blasted to death.
"The work of Digital Mind merely bought us roughly twenty minutes, not a bad deal, nor a profitable one," Matteo's steel body remained motionless, bullets bouncing off its shell without even denting it, he spoke nonchalantly, his voice now completely synthesized, "You should consider the cost-effectiveness next time. As it is, it wasn't as mystical as the legends say. You're only worth 1 million..."
Matteo's back rose with a set of missile launchers, from which several high-explosive missiles swiftly flew out, aiming at several major power generators, battery storages, and turrets around him.
Boom boom—
A series of explosions later, they were reduced to scrap metal, and like the previously hacked ones, were rendered useless.
In despair, Xu Yang scanned Matteo's steel body, finding every network access point securely locked, making hacking impossible.
"Hiding over there." Matteo looked towards the mining equipment where Xu Yang was hiding and charged rapidly, "If you don't want to join, then I'll just dig out your brain. You should be quite familiar with this punishment, copy out the important information, erase the free will, create a personality matrix, stuff it into some robot... the same usage... and Digital Mind is ours... along with your money..."
Would things have changed if I had clung to life at Kyushu High Pavilion?
To be a living dog at the company's workstation, or to flee outside and become a dead man?
"Your territory has been trashed by Black Fire Innovation's people," Xu Yang quickly sent a message to the excavation site manager, "Turn on the Electromagnetic Pulse equipment!"
"No," the manager replied, "The Electromagnetic Pulse will destroy the entire excavation site, only a KOM-3 level order can execute that."
"Can't you see how much the equipment is already seriously damaged from the main control console? If we don't solve this soon, everything here will be doomed! And the Ancient Witch live subject will be lost, too!"
The other party did not reply for a moment.
"If you want to minimize the loss, this is your last chance, we can't let it fall into the hands of Black Fire Innovation!"
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