As the sounds of gunfire diminished, Sun Jack's footsteps became clearer, and to Xiao Ting, who was fleeing, they sounded terrifyingly like a death curse.
"Stop running, you can't escape; I've surrounded the area," Sun Jack said as he closed in, guided by his tracker.
"Jack, the brainwashed chickens have broken through the encirclement; I'll try to interfere as much as I can," Tapai said. As soon as his words fell, the brainwashed chickens, mechanized and armed, surged toward Sun Jack like a tsunami from all directions, attempting to relieve Xiao Ting.
Among them were some fully armed cyborg chickens.
"That's it? You really think I'm still the same as before?"
With a "buzz," Sun Jack's laser weapon instantly appeared in his hand. Without dodging, he fought his way through these chickens.
Regardless of what chicken stood in his way, none could stop Sun Jack at that moment; he demolished them all, leaving behind piles of mechanical debris.
The chickens couldn't hold him off for long, and Sun Jack was drawing ever closer to the enemy.
When Sun Jack saw that the coordinates indicated the target was stuck in a dead end, he thought they had given up.
However, when he arrived at the coordinates, he saw a System Chip on the ground, sticky with white brain matter.
To escape from Tapai's tracking, she had actually dug the system chip out of her own brain!
As Sun Jack's scalp tightened, with a swift wave of his hand, he saw a girl hiding behind a group of chickens in the distance. She was crouched not far away, aiming a sniper cannon that was bigger than she was at Sun Jack's head.
Watching Sun Jack from afar, she sneered and said, "Asshole! Think you can catch me? Dream on!"
The very second she pulled the trigger, the heavens shattered, and with a deafening explosion, a Sky-base Weapon, modified by AA, collapsed the ceiling and slammed down.
It smashed the chickens into goo while its sturdy outer armor blocked the sniper bullet.
Xiao Ting tried to escape, but it was already too late. With a screeching sound, the Sky-base Weapon quickly rose and then smashed down heavily, trapping Xiao Ting's lower body and cutting her in half at the waist, thus determining the victor.
Sun Jack slowly walked over, snatched the weapon from her hands, and looked down at her, "Now we can have a proper chat."
It was then that Sun Jack truly saw Xiao Ting's real face.
Her features were delicate, with very heavy smokey makeup, messy long hair adorned with various chips and data port interfaces, and her body, aside from various cartoon tattoos, was pierced with various pins embedded in the flesh.
The other was indeed a beautiful girl, which did not surprise Sun Jack. Except for the odd XP, everyone in Metropolis who was wealthy was either a handsome man or a beautiful woman.
What Sun Jack did not expect was that she actually cried, which was completely different from the madwoman in his memory who liked to toy with others' brains.
Could it be that this future world was the same as the past? Were the differences between online and offline just as vast?
"Sun Jack! Сукиныдети!!, crazy! Скадина!!"
As she cursed in various languages, Sun Jack knelt on one knee before her.
"What the fuck? You have the nerve to curse me? Seems like at the beginning, it was you who copied my personality and memories without my consent, right?"
As Sun Jack's thoughts drove it, the Sky-base Weapon slowly rose, revealing a deep pit.
Sun Jack grabbed her by the neck and flew directly into the control cabin of the Sky-base Weapon, intending to interrogate this long-lost old friend in that place.
"I'm not unreasonable, you know, I kindly paid you taxes, how could you not show some gratitude?"
Xiao Ting faced him with silence, seemingly unwilling to give Sun Jack any reaction.
"I'm talking nicely to you because of the many times we've met, don't forget that in this Metropolis, you're not the only one skilled at playing mind games."
When Xiao Ting saw Sun Jack pull out three data cables from behind his neck, she finally spoke up. "You've won, I give up, what do you exactly want?"
"Simple, hand over that cloning overlap technology you mentioned first."
"I told you I can't do it, who would keep such a useless technology in the system taking up memory!"
"Really? Then you must know where it is, right?" Sun Jack positioned the upper half of Xiao Ting's body on a chair beside him, as if she were a doll.
"If I tell you, will you let me go?" Sensing that he was genuinely interested in the technology, Xiao Ting began to negotiate.
"No." Sun Jack shook his head decisively.
"Then why should I tell you?"
"Because you have no choice, you can either tell me, or I can forcibly search your memory."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ting, who had calmed down quickly, scoffed. "It'd be good if you were capable of that. This is exactly what I do. Do you think I wouldn't be prepared in my own brain?"
Seeing Sun Jack's expression turn cold, she quickly changed the subject, "Although I don't have that technology, I can tell you who does, and I can let the botnet lead you to him, but the condition is that you let me go."
"Let you go? Let you go and then get backstabbed by you again? Your credibility is already in the negatives with me."
"After all, you only want the technology, which doesn't conflict with my interests. There's no need for us to be so tense," Xiao Ting began to soften her tone in light of the current situation.
But Sun Jack didn't bite. "Ha, is it really as simple as you say? Then have I just given away 1200W dog coins for nothing? Do you really think money in the Metropolis is that easy to earn? I want the technology, and I want you too!"
Capturing such a Brain Master, how could he possibly let her go easily.
He wouldn't let this woman go until he had drained her dry.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ting stuck out her tongue, full of paper clips, and spat viciously at Sun Jack. "Damn it!! Then you can forget about getting either!"
Seeing the situation reach a deadlock, Sun Jack immediately sent a message to Tapai, asking him to come over and smooth things over.
Tapai, who had been watching the drama unfold, hurriedly stepped forward, playing the good cop, "You two have been chatting up a storm, you could talk someone to death. Clearly, your needs don't conflict; there must be a solution."
"How about this, I have an idea. As for that cloning overlap technology, you tell Sun Jack, and then, you work at Sun Jack's company."
"When you've paid off the 2000W dog coin debt, Sun Jack will let you go free. How about that?"
"What 2000W?! It was clearly 1200W!"
"Is my money that easy to owe? Don't you know I'm a capitalist now? Ever heard of high-interest loans?"