Clenching his right hand into a fist, Jon punched through the outreaching tendrils and sharp claws of the cables, and then the bodies of the countless cables before getting through to the wrist of MB-1. The impact snapped the joint mechanism at the wrist before it propagated up the chain and popped out its elbow and arm.
The metal screeched as Jon tore through all of its strength and resiliency properties with ease, pressing down on the body of MB-1 as if it is a toy underneath a hydraulic press.
A shock wave followed by a quick flash of light coming from the plasmarized air rocked the shuttle as MB-1 was thrown to the back of it. The perturbations from the 'air currents' are violent enough, and yet the further shaking from MB-1's crashing is even greater.
Thankfully, the shuttle is already nearing its destination, so when it loses height, at last, it merely skidded alongside the landing ramps.
Jon didn't wait for the audio system to tell him what to do as he kicked the door down and left behind the mess that was the shuttle interior where two robotic corpses laid motionless and smoking hot.
The airfield located high up in the mountain is only about a single football field long with many shuttles parked in tight parallel formations. All of them in visibly better shape than the one Jon just rode on. There are pathways marked out on the ground guiding the passengers towards the base that's built into the body of the mountain, and Jon followed its instructions, walking slowly into the trap.
Was it really a trap, or just a test of his ability? Jon wondered, or is it a game?
Framing all of this into a game might make things go quicker. Jon thought, the only hesitancy his power being the footage of his rampage getting out there, which some might recognize as being the same as the one who killed the innocent student Hannah Bettrick from way back.
However, if he speed-run through the entire compound, their cameras might not even be able to capture it all?
Jon thought, his mind racing through the various options as the ground underneath his feet started to move like a conveyor belt, taking him into the teeth of the monstrous building. The first area he has seen is a sort of receptionist, exhibition, and shopping area, common for the headquarters of mega-institutions. The actual base built into the mountain had around thirty levels going all the way down towards the more secretive projects.
Being a responsible journalist, Jon made sure to take pictures to his heart's content.
'Mr-Jon.' As Jon was walking through the empty main hall, a robotic guide approached him. Its make drastically more different to the two he just faced with big smooth plates covering the majority of its individual body parts, giving him an impression of friendliness and cuteness, 'Welcome-to-United-Networks! I-hope-the-shuttle-ride-was-fair?'
'A few bumps in the way, but nothing unexpected.' Jon replied with an enigmatic smile, and the robot guide took it in stride.
'I-do-apologize-for-the-turbulence. The-mountain-ridge-certain-creates-some-unpleasant-currents.'
'Unpleasant indeed.' Jon smiled as he followed the robot as he turned around.
'Your-inventory-for-today-is: A-tour-of-the-upper-levels-followed-by-DEATH-BATTLES-IN-THE-LOWER-LEVELS. Please-speak-to-me-if-you-have-any-questions.'
'I was told that I will get what I sought for if I come here.' Jon said nonchalantly, 'would that promise be honored if I win?'
'I-understand-your-concern.' The guide said lightly, stopping right before the exhibition's starting point which outlined the history of the company, 'Please-trust-that-United-Networks-always-delivers-on-its-promise!'
'I-am-counting-on-it.' Jon tried to copy the monotonic speech patterns of the robot, though it sounded more like a bad impression of the way Ally speaks. She sounded so much better than these clanks though.
'United-Networks-was-created-when-S-Prime-entered-a-time-of-crisis-and-uncertainty-with-goods-and-services-provided-by-standard-superhumans. Hence, the-void-in-the-market-must-be-filled-by-robots-that-rivals-the-superhuman-in-strength-and-yet-is-programmed-to-be-freely-controlled-by-the-owner-and-never-deviates-from-their-core-functions...' The guide began, and Jon behaved like a good tourist would, listening, nodding and taking photos.
Regardless of the threats of his life and attacks, being able to visit such a mega-corporation is still a fun experience in itself.
The goods and services United Networks goes way beyond the advertisement played out in the shuttle on his way here. The robots are essentially now part of every single activity in life, and the strengths of the robots are graded based on the level of danger experienced in certain professions. Currently, the police department has also started incorporating some security and guarding robots from United Networks as part of their forces, though the Special Forces have been hesitant in the inclusion of this technology.
A side note on the superhuman societal and military structure of the various cities in the world.
The police handle most interior matters and are generally consisting of superhumans with limited permission to use a proportion of their superpowers in very limited scenarios. The special forces handle most exterior matters, and each individual member is equivalent in strength to the stronger of professional fighters or heroes. They all have full permission to use their individual powers in missions, similarly to heroes, and both undergo different styles of training.
Heroes are specially contracted superhumans that undergo separate and far more rigorous training compared to the police and similarly to the special forces. Though they are trained with a slightly different focus compared to the special forces, as the image and reputation of a hero is as important as his/her strength.
This is the exact reason why United Networks is so destructive in the market. By creating a large number of robots that can rival the various superhumans in strength, UN essentially threw a wrench into the power scale of the society. This started first with the cameraman business, where robots are not only more disposable compared to the normal cameraman, but the learning algorithms also enabled the subsequent robots to perform even better in missions.
There is still hesitation regarding the use of robots in the police department, but their functions are limited to the protection and guarding, and no robots are allowed in any professional fighting, special forces, or professional hero settings, for now.
Jon is certain that there are some robots that possess power far greater than the minimum requirements for any of those professions in the lower levels.
So that begs the question of why he is invited here in the first place?
Was a test of some sort from the head of United Networks?
'That-concludes-the-guide.' The robot guide said with a happy tone, 'And-here's-a-personal-message-from-our-CEO!'
Jon raised his eyebrow in surprise as a hologram flickered to life over the hand of the robot guide, and a girl with dyed blonde hair and a pair of thick-framed glasses appeared.
'Welcome to my company.' Patty said, leaning back in her chairs, 'I believe you have come here to find answers. Sadly, I want my own answers too. Come to me at level 40, and we will be able to answer each other's questions.'
The pre-recorded video flickered off, and Jon lets out a chuckle.
So out of all of us, Patty turned out to the most successful one. Perhaps that's how she grieved?
Raising a fist to the side and parrying the attack from the robot guide before slicing it in half with his fingers, Jon gently dropped his camera onto the ground and cracked his knuckles and more and more robot guides started emerging from various corners of the room.
Regardless, he WILL get all the way down and get the answers that both of them wanted.
Clapping both of his hands together, Jon shouted out into the room.
'LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED, SHALL WE?!'
The robots poured out of the various compartments, closets, storage units, shops, stores, tables, offices like waves of zombies, and charged at Jon. Murmuring the phrase of empowerment for his footwork, his fingers, and his eyes, Jon turned into nothing more than a blur and cut through the wave of metal all by himself.
'Welcome-to-UNITED-NETWORKS, MR-JON!' The robots screamed out loud with an eerie tone before slamming their fists and legs into Jon, and he cuts through them with his fingers formed into a claw like hot knife through butter. Countless pieces of parts, wires, and metal littered all over the ground, and there is no sign of stoppage for either party.
'Welcome-to-UNITED-NETWORKS, MR-'
'Welcome-to-UNITED-NETWORK-'
'Welcome-to-UNITED-NET-'
'Welcome-to-UNITED-'
'Welcome-to-U-'
'Welcome-to-'
'WELCO-'
'WEL-'
It appeared that the default voice line of every single robot guide after activation is the same, and as Jon mowed through more and more of them, he started attacking earlier and earlier before they are even fully activated, going right to the source of the robot guides and destroying them all before they even had a chance to spawn fully.
Then, as he kicked down the tunnel which acted as a spawning point and cleared the first level.
Wiping away the single drop of sweat, he cleared out the debris with a single punch before and continued marching through.