"Ring, ring, ring," along with the system's alert sound, dogecoins kept pouring into Matrix's newly opened account.
This was the huge bonus for this time, and the company AI also indicated that her salary had increased by 30%.
Matrix faced all this without a flicker of emotion on her face, continuing to charge forward with the rifle in her hands.
The commission didn't last too long and ended quickly.
The corporate war was over, and now they were just picking up smaller jobs.
Matrix boarded the return bus with the other mercenaries, whose quality of life naturally wasn't great, as the smell of sweaty feet and body odor mixed with laughter and swearing filled the entire carriage.
A man leaned over, brazenly inspecting Matrix's face. "Wanna fuck?"
"No, not interested," Matrix calmly declined the request, yet didn't have any negative feelings towards him.
Having survived a near-death experience, he wanted to vent the stress in his heart through sex.
If her reproductive organs were still intact, maybe she would have chosen this convenient and affordable option as well.
In the past, these were incomprehensible to Matrix, but now, after becoming one of these people, she finally understood.
She wasn't uncouth; she just didn't care under the constant threat of death.
She didn't lack ambition; it was just that working alone consumed all her energy, leaving her exhausted and unable to spare any for studying.
It wasn't that she didn't try; it was just that in the Metropolis, even if she worked hard for a hundred years, she could never catch up to the daily capital gains due to the Matthew effect; there was no hope in sight.
When she switched from the perspective of a Holy Grail Person to a Metropolis person, she suddenly realized they were all people just like her.
Glancing at the dogecoins in her account, she calmly clicked on the system and bought a set of second-hand female reproductive organs, planning to use them for now.
Looking through the bus window at the people struggling hard in the rain, she always felt an urge to do something.
Soon, Matrix took action. She scanned all the content of the books and distributed it online for free, so others could reference it.
She even wrote about the relationship between the Metropolis and the Holy Grail, as well as the reasons behind the design of the Metropolis, wanting more people to understand the truth.
However, the view count was pitifully low. Hardly anyone saw it, even though what she said was the truth.
At first, Matrix couldn't understand why no one was looking, but as soon as she put herself in their shoes, she got it.
People in the Metropolis were already trying hard just to stay alive; they had no extra energy to think about anything else.
Feeling an inexplicable depression, Matrix put on a transparent raincoat, got off the bus, and walked into the rain, wandering about in this bizarre city.
"I must find a way to integrate all this into their lives," she thought.
As she walked, a light suddenly dawned in Matrix's eyes. "I've got it!" she exclaimed, and immediately spent money to order some electronic drugs.
"Free Electronic Drugs! Free Electronic Drugs!" Matrix shouted, and immediately a crowd gathered around her.
She raised her gun and fired several shots into the air. "Don't fight! No need to fight! Line up!"
As she distributed the electronic drugs, she started to preach. "Revolution is the grand act of us, the proletariat, to build a new world of equality, justice, and prosperity!"
"Wake up, everyone! Metropolis is just a dumping ground for Holy Grail! Our enemies are those Final Producers!"
"Stop hating each other and fighting amongst yourselves! Our only contradiction is class struggle!!"
The hoodlum nearby, having received his electronic drugs, couldn't wait to insert them into his own port. He hadn't yet enjoyed the pleasure when he felt a massive amount of data forcefully shoved in first.
"What the hell is this? 'Das Kapital'? 'The Wealth of Nations'? 'Interest and Currency'? Buddy! This batch ain't pure!"
"First, you receive the data! After it's done, then comes the electronic drugs!" Matrix spoke up.
The people who got the drugs began whispering to each other, "What's wrong with this guy? We gotta study before getting high?"
"Don't know, maybe it's some new Cult."
"I think he's fucking crazy."
The free drugs were distributed quickly, and in no time at all, they were all handed out.
Watching their departing figures, Matrix didn't know whether it would have any effect, but as long as she persisted, there would eventually be a day when it would take root and sprout. This thought made her feel much better.
After a day's hustle, Matrix headed to a damp underground pedestrian street nearby; she was hungry.
The drainage of this underground street didn't quite cut it; the water on the ground came up to the knee, yet it didn't hinder their trade at all.
Various exaggerated neon signs and holographic ads demonstrated that any kind of business you could think of was here.
Next to a shop festooned with a variety of guns was a fried noodle stall, and beside it, there was a network technology support shop.
...
Matrix casually walked into a bar and ordered a hot dog combo meal. While listening to the bar DJ's rap, she turned on her taste adjuster and started eating.
"Under the Federation's economic revival, compared to the period before the financial crisis, Metropolis's economy has seen a considerable improvement!! The unemployment rate has dropped another 25%!! Our future is not just a little bright, it's extremely bright!"
"You bastards! Whores! If you ask me, for the sake of our beautiful Metropolis, let's take a hit! What do you say, huh??? Hahaha!!"
Matrix muttered a curse under her breath, a trace of impatience showing on her face. She was fed up with this trash information; the whole Metropolis network was filled with this nutrient-free garbage, incessantly cramming these shit thoughts into their heads all day, no wonder all of Metropolis was in such a goddamn mess.
"Tap tap," a large hand knocked twice on the table where Matrix was sitting.
As Matrix looked up, she saw a man with several large bumps on his scalp staring at her with naked eyes. "Where are you from, girlie? Come sit with me?"
Without wasting a moment, she shifted her arm to reveal the Utopia Security logo on her shoulder.
"Fuck, corporate bitch!" The man's face filled with contempt, and he turned and walked away on his metal reverse-joint prosthetic limbs.
As soon as the onlookers saw the logo of Matrix's company, hostile gazes and jeering noises came from all around. "SB company dog! Get out!"
"You company-bootlickers! You're not welcome here!!"
"Still eating? Go eat shit, corporate dog!!!"
Matrix hadn't wanted to pay attention but the comments around her were getting harder and harder to ignore. Finally, she slammed the remaining half of her hot dog down on the table.
"All you can do is talk trash to me here! What the fuck else can you do! You think the companies are exploiting you!! If you have the guts, go fucking resist the company, resist capital! Yelling at me doesn't do a damn thing!"