Sun Jack, disguised in Mimetic Camouflage, watched as two members of Gaofeng Technology cursed at him, growing cruder and more vulgar with each word; beside him, Tapai couldn't help but roll up his sleeves, ready to teach them a lesson. But he was stopped by Sun Jack. "Let's go, we'll take a look upstairs."
Just as Sun Jack turned to leave, he saw the female manager suddenly stop cursing and her voice became soft and gentle.
"What's wrong, my sweet daughter? I'm at work right now, I'll be back soon."
In that moment, the woman went from a raging lioness to a tender mother.
It was hard to imagine that in this cold, impersonal company there could still be maternal love.
Looking at the expression on her face, Sun Jack suddenly realized that Gaofeng Technology wasn't just a cold-hearted machine; no matter how much the company opposed him, it was built by individuals.
And at that moment, "Ah~...." accompanied by a scream, a blurred figure flashed past the window.
By the time Sun Jack got to the window, he saw blood flowing from a body on the ground, gradually staining the surrounding puddles red.
"9 out of 10," Tapai rated the person who had just jumped.
"Who died?"
"The foot fetishist from Marketing, the one who liked smelling stockings. He mustn't have been able to take it anymore, I heard he took out a bunch of online loans."
Just as two company members beside Sun Jack had begun to speak, another figure plummeted from the sky, and both instinctively opened their livestreams.
"Jump more, damn it! More jumps, more jumps; maybe I'll manage to buy my daughter a new toy today!" The woman, wrapped up in the excitement of the livestream, cheered fervently, trying to gain some benefit from her colleague's suicide.
"Let's go." Sun Jack left the office with a cold expression, riding the elevator continuously towards the higher floors, watching figures intermittently jumping out the window, his anger building more and more until he suddenly burst out swearing.
"Damn it! It's just a stock drop, not like they're starving! Why the hell are they jumping off buildings!"
Tapai, after quickly searching for information, explained: "That's not necessarily the case. According to the information I found, Gaofeng's employment agreement allows all Gaofeng Technology members to voluntarily purchase a certain ratio of Gaofeng Technology's stock. The more they buy, the higher their chances of employment."
"So most people borrow money to buy stocks for a job here. If the stock price drops, it means their assets shrink, not to mention most have mortgaged everything for cash. The more the stock falls, the deeper into debt they get."
"What a shitty company!" Sun Jack had realized today that those who run big companies can exploit to the extreme.
After pondering for a while with his chin in his hand, Tapai said, "Hmm... if you look at it from the perspective of company operation, this makes sense. If every company employee held stocks in their own company, there'd be no need for supervision; everyone would work themselves to the bone. Maybe we should try this trick in our company? According to my calculations, it could significantly increase employee loyalty to the company."
After saying this, Tapai waited for Sun Jack's rebuttal, but unexpectedly he remained silent.
As Sun Jack watched the numbers changing on the elevator screen, he asked, "Are you saying they died because of me?"
"Of course, if it weren't for your prohibition of DNA programming technology development, Gaofeng Technology's stocks wouldn't have plummeted so rapidly," Tapai answered very frankly.
"So, am I supposed to restart the DNA experiments just for their sake? What about the test subjects?" Sun Jack's voice carried a hint of hesitation.
Looking at the pained expression on Sun Jack's profile, Tapai thought for a moment before patting him on the back, "Why do you care so much? Isn't it you who said you'd pay everything to win? Now it's just a few people dying, don't be so fragile."
"This is where? This is Metropolis, no matter what you choose, you can't save everyone, Sun Jack. Stop tormenting yourself, be better to yourself."
However, upon hearing this, Sun Jack's gaze grew steadily more determined, "No! Who says I can't save them? I can save them! Why don't I just clone myself to conduct the DNA project?"
Startled by these words, Tapai looked shocked. "Are you insane? A lunatic? I'm a bit confused now—Are you the robot, or am I the robot? Do you really have no self-interest at all?"
"On one hand, there's a crazy person who values money over life, and on the other, a company dog who kills without remorse, none of you are good people, not even worth a hair on your head!"
"You don't understand; you won't get it," Sun Jack shook his head, clenched his fist, and punched his chest, his teeth gritted as he stared back at himself and said, "I can't betray my conscience. I'm staying strong on sheer willpower; I can't let it go, or else, let alone anything else, just the AI Crisis alone could consume me!!"
Just then, the elevator stopped, and the doors opened, but neither of them stepped out.
Sun Jack patiently explained his reasons to Tapai. "It's not just about saving them; there are other considerations as well. As long as the DNA project doesn't stop, then Faxis won't be so stiff with us, no matter what kind of tricks Guan Sanke wants to play, we'll be able to keep up."
"Those experiments are no different from eighteen levels of Hell; are you really going to go through with this? It's going to hurt a lot," Tapai looked at him.
"Do you think I'm afraid of all the torture from the experiments? No, what I fear is becoming someone like Faxis! Let's go! Let's find Number 13!"
Just as Sun Jack stepped out of the elevator, a mechanical hand reached out from behind and grabbed Sun Jack's hand. "But have you ever thought about how heartbroken your friends would be if you go through that torment?"
Feeling a sudden jolt in his heart upon hearing this, Sun Jack turned around, looking back at Tapai. If it hadn't been for a recent check by Section 3, he might have really thought the other had succumbed to the AI Crisis.
Sun Jack's voice turned very complex. "Tapai, Guan Sanke may have made his move; we don't have time to think about anything else now, we must take the initiative. You'll help me, won't you?"
In response to Sun Jack's question, Tapai paused for a moment before saying, "As a robot, I obey the Three Laws. I will help you unconditionally and absolutely, but..."
"There are no buts, let's go. No matter what kind of move Guan San is pulling this time, we'll resolve it together."
Sun Jack patted Tapai on the back of the head and took the lead stepping out of the elevator.
Tapai watched Sun Jack's retreating figure; the screen briefly flashed a red exclamation mark before quickly disappearing.
He lifted his reverse-jointed legs and slowly followed.