In the supreme conference room of Utopia Security, Sun Jack, his face ashen, looked over the data analysis report submitted by the Think Tank. After a while, he picked up the translucent screen and slapped it down on the conference table, "Everyone, take a look."
All the senior executives of Metropolis who were present quickly shared the data. When they saw the data comparison, the expressions on everyone's faces grew grim.
Sun Jack looked at everyone and said in a deep voice, "We can't win. Given our current scale, we simply can't beat them. Even if we deploy all our spacecraft carriers to interfere with the weather weapons, at most we could only delay them for one month. If we don't find a solution within one month, we will all die."
When the word "die" slipped from Sun Jack's mouth, whether it was the people on the video call or those in the room, it felt as though a stone was pressed onto their hearts.
The moment they had received Sun Jack's promise of real power in Metropolis had now utterly become a noose around their necks.
Others might surrender, but these people were now irreversibly tied to Sun Jack; they could no longer separate from him.
The first to speak was Abu, his face cold, "My people will find a way to lock down this information, to avoid causing a panic. The enemy's propaganda war has started. There are already many spreading rumors online, but they have been suppressed by the Public Relations Department."
As Sun Jack listened, he rapidly browsed through the information sent by the Public Relations Department. Various reports proved that they had refrained from imposing internet bans just to spread this news to everyone, to tell them that FFP was beginning to move against Sun Jack.
"We could try running the Breeding Factory's production lines at full capacity, to produce as many flesh-and-blood soldiers as possible and narrow the gap in strength between us," Old Six rarely suggested an idea seriously.
Sun Jack scrolled down the data on the system interface and pointed his finger to mark something in red, "Time. You forget that we only have one month to prepare. Even if the Breeding Factory is producing at full capacity, how much can it really produce in one month?"
"Even though we have DNA enhancement technology on hand, which can vastly improve individual combat strength, as long as the numbers don't reach a level where quantity turns into quality, we still can't win."
"As for Combat Machinery and other weapons companies, they have already been producing non-stop 24/7 in the fight against Emola."
"What if we temporarily retreat? We have nothing blocking us from behind. What if we just give up Metropolis?" Delete said with a rather pale face, her lips tight, as she directed the company's AI system to start simulating retreat routes and calculating the probability of retreat.
"Retreat to where? The outside is all filled with intense radiation layers; where can we retreat to? If we give up the mature industrial production lines of Metropolis, it's no different from outright surrender!" Sun Jack outright vetoed the suggestion.
In the conference room, everyone was discussing countermeasures against the FFP Expeditionary Army, while remote video feeds continuously popped up on the wall.
Until the evening, no one had come up with an effective solution; at most, they could only possibly extend the enemy's arrival by ten days, and even that was the best scenario derived from the data simulation.
"Tapai, how is the Kang Tao Virus doing?" Sun Jack looked towards Tapai's meat chicken, hoping that the instantaneous eradication of Emola by the Kang Tao Virus might spark some hope in him.
However, Tapai shook his head slightly at Sun Jack's suggestion. "I don't think the same tactic can be used three times. The enemy is not foolish, and don't forget, even the highly dangerous Kang Tao Virus was intentionally captured by FFP; if they can capture it, naturally they have ways to counter it."
Annoyed, Sun Jack waved his hand dismissively, his virtual projection, as well as the video communications on the wall, all disappeared; he exited this seemingly futile meeting.
As he tapped a few times on the screen, soon a drone carrying a thermally insulated medical box landed on Sun Jack's table.
Upon opening the box, a transparent injection pump containing Gaofeng Technology DNA Laboratory's upgraded intelligence enhancement version 2.1 was revealed.
As each needle pricked into him, Sun Jack's thoughts became rapidly agile, and his concentration quickly enhanced.
He began to use his constantly improving intellect to think of strategies, but even in the end, with his scalp heating up to the point of emitting white smoke due to the high temperature, he still couldn't come up with any strategy.
After all, in the face of absolute power, any conspiracy or trick is futile.
Tapai, unable to watch any longer, removed the water-cooling device from his own combat machinery and directly installed it on Sun Jack's head to cool down his CPU.
He didn't speak, only looking thoughtfully at the meditating Sun Jack through the eyes of the combat machinery.
"Refund the escape pod you just bought," Sun Jack suddenly spoke coldly. "I will definitely not leave the people of Metropolis behind to cut off my escape."
Surprised by these words, Tapai responded, "You're monitoring me? Not many in Metropolis can monitor me, so I guess it must be Digital Personality, right?"
Sun Jack slowly opened his eyes and looked at the cat-eared mechanical maid in front of him. "I wouldn't let the same thing happen twice, would I?"
Tapai clicked his tongue in amazement, "Makes sense, that intellect of yours, growing sharp enough to predict my predictions."
Looking at Tapai, Sun Jack said, "Even though I have a deep connection with you, some losses I can only take once. I will definitely not let this guy go beyond my control again."
Tapai didn't react to Sun Jack's actions for a while, but after a moment, he slowly said, "You really went low there."
Sun Jack stuffed the cooling device into his arms, "You don't need to worry about this side, use all your processing power on Emola and bring back all of Emola's resources. Also, go open the door; Poet doesn't have the authority. He's stuck outside."
As soon as Tapai opened the door, Poet walked in, bent at the waist, and Tapai immediately gave him a nod of the chin.
"Rapping, huh? Which gang do you roll with? West Coast?"
It seemed the two got along well, as they quickly started to fist-bump.
Their fists outstretched, they made various complex gang gestures at each other. After bumping fists, they stepped apart.
"jack.sun, I hear you were looking for me?" Poet said in his usual laid-back style, seeming utterly unbothered.
Sun Jack sighed, unable to respond, but then perked up and passed over a cigarette.
"Sorry, I don't smoke, especially not this weak stuff," Poet declined very politely.
Sun Jack got straight to the point and summarized the current situation to Poet, looking at him with some expectation afterward.
Suddenly, he reached out with both hands and firmly grasped the other man, looking at him expectantly. "I know you've got the skills, and those damn poems of yours must mean something deep, so now that FFP are at our doorstep, stop hiding your capabilities. I need your power!"