As Wood gradually approached the seabed, the dark side of Delhi City presented itself before her, in stark contrast to the colorful neon lights above.
At the ocean floor, corpses shackled by chains swayed like seaweed; a chilling tradition in Delhi City where if you want to make someone disappear without a trace, the depths were always the preferred choice.
Apart from the "seaweed," the murky sea bed was littered with concrete barrels. Some cracked open to reveal the stark white bones inside, silently recounting their tragic past to Wood.
The entire seafloor was like the River Styx of the Grim Reaper, endless to the sight in every direction, making one's skin crawl with involuntary goosebumps.
Having witnessed this, Wood's heart shuddered, and she gained a deeper understanding of the information BOSS had implanted into her mind; capitalism, especially its distorted form, was no better than the wilderness.
She swam for a short while before a massive abandoned pipeline appeared before her. Waving to her companion who was also swimming nearby, Wood dived in.
Inside the pipeline was an N-shaped structure with a hollow environment just fit for their secret meetings.
After Wood emerged from the water, she activated her boot device, and with the lights underneath, she stood directly on the water surface—a necessity for living in Delhi City.
As she removed her oxygen mask, others gradually arrived, but Wood immediately noticed him among the crowd—it was Sun Jack, the Clone Sun Jack assigned to their group.
Compared to others who arrived with diving prosthetic bodies or equipment, Sun Jack seemed to prefer using DNA modification technology. His eyes covered with white film, his neck slit open with three gashes for breath like gills, and his limbs had transformed into webbed appendages.
In that moment, Wood's eyes filled with gratitude and excitement. Her ability to pursue her aspirations and not to remain as an ignorant Wild Man like before was all thanks to BOSS's arrival, who had stepped in to save her from certain death.
Although Sun Jack had told them to see him as their leader, in Wood's heart, he was a godlike existence.
It wasn't just Wood; the other Wild Men also looked at Sun Jack with awe and respect.
"Has everyone arrived?" Sun Jack activated the system's built-in facial recognition, noting that 12 people were still missing.
"BOSS, the others have spread out to the perimeter for lookout," explained Plastic, the vice-captain, respectfully. He, too, regarded Sun Jack as a deity—a conviction that only grew stronger the more he knew, rather than out of ignorance.
They, like cockroaches, bred and preyed on instinct in the wild, starting to reproduce from the age of 12, and then dying off due to radiation, diseases, and hunger between their 20s and 30s, perpetually trapped in this endless cycle without ever seeing an end to it.
It was Sun Jack who broke this cycle, transforming them from animals into humans—a feat no one else had accomplished in hundreds of years.
"Everyone," Sun Jack spoke, and everyone listened attentively, "I've just received news that the Metropolis has been destroyed."
The image broadcasted that morning on the system filled everyone with righteous indignation.
For the Wild Men, their days in the Metropolis were the most beautiful memories of their lives, each one fantasizing about when they could return to relive those moments. Seeing the Metropolis destroyed was more painful to them than death itself.
"Who did this? Who could have done such a thing?"
"Kill them!"
"Is it FFP?"
Sun Jack extended his webbed hand and pressed it downward, silencing everyone.
"Everyone, please be quiet. I know we're all upset, but let's not forget why we're here. Dwelling on the past is useless. If we want to live the days of Metropolis again, then each one of us must give our all!"
"The destruction of a Metropolis doesn't matter if we unite. I believe together, we can turn the entire world into a new Metropolis!"
Upon hearing this, the Wild Men expressed no hesitation or doubt, trusting Sun Jack's words 100%.
Seeing the time was right, Sun Jack announced the mission. "The higher-ups have assigned a task to our squad. We can stop laying low now. Our squad will cooperate with groups 3 and 5 to eliminate the weakest gang, the Shark Gang, and seize their territory to get a foothold in this city first," he declared.
Plastic voiced some hesitation, "Boss, what about the DTPD? A fierce shootout might draw their attention. We shouldn't be too conspicuous right now, should we?"
"Someone from group 9 has already infiltrated them. By three o'clock tomorrow afternoon, DTPD won't be able to spare any manpower to deal with us. Once we've taken over the territory and paid the cops their protection money in advance, they won't care about any changes within the slums' gangs."
As Sun Jack spoke, the muscles on his face rapidly changed, transforming into the face of an ordinary woman to avoid being tracked. "For future contact, having one person out of every ten will suffice to avoid drawing too much attention."
"Additionally, Think Tank has established a new communication and reward system based on our current situation. Everyone should download a copy of it," he continued.
The Wild Men almost religiously inserted the chips containing instructions into the neural slots behind their ears and began to meticulously decode the information.
Upon seeing a well-established system of military ranks and medals, the Wild Men didn't care much. What they cared about more were the reward IOUs on the list, which could be exchanged for currency, food, and housing based on points accumulated.
Of course, none of these things were available now; they were just IOUs. They would only become redeemable after the capture of a city, serving as a kind of positive feedback incentive system.
But even without this positive feedback, the Wild Men took each task very seriously because they knew how hard the past had been and thus appreciated the present all the more.
"Everyone, send me the intel you've gathered, and I'll have Think Tank integrate it," Sun Jack said, preparing to leave. As a low-level messenger, his work was very important and quite intricate.
Fortunately, the system-assisted AI saved him a lot of trouble.
As the information and videos were being transmitted and Sun Jack was watching the AI organize it, he felt an unusual gaze.
Turning his head, he saw a Wild Man staring intently at him, not with respect or awe, but with a suggestive look.
Sun Jack instantly disconnected from the network and looked at the person.
At his command, the other Wild Men quickly formed a circle around the man.
"Don't be nervous, Jack. Can't you recognize an old friend? I'm UO. Looks like you're not doing so well. I'd like to propose a deal," the person said.