Hearing the other party's tirade, Sun Jack immediately broke out in a cold sweat—if the Himalayas were to explode, everyone present would die!
"Keep cool, just stay calm!" Sun Jack hurriedly tried to soothe the hysterical X. "Destroying the entire Himalayas doesn't leave you with nothing; it's a lose-lose situation."
X sneered at him, "Lose-lose is still better than you winning. I'm different from them; I climbed up step by step from the bottom! They want to compromise, but I won't! They don't dare to risk their lives, but I do!"
"Do you understand how much effort I've put in to get to where I am today? Why should I let you take it all away!"
By this time, Tapai had arrived behind Sun Jack. He looked at X and opened the software to quickly scan the opponent's micro-expressions and rapidly analyze the probability of the opponent hitting the self-destruct button. Then he shared the data in real time with Sun Jack.
When he heard X talk about coming up from the bottom and the rise in heart rate that followed, Sun Jack immediately looked for a breakthrough in this area. "X, since you came up from the bottom, since you know what it's like down there! Think about what you've been through! Everything you experienced, like a cycle, continues to replay below. I just want to break that cycle! I want to help the past you!"
However, the probability in the screenshoot jumped instantaneously from 63% to 83%. "Why should I help them? Why? Only the worthless need help! I don't need your help to rise; I can become a Holy Grail Person on my own! And I deserve it because I'm different from the start! They can't make it! Then they only deserve to be at the bottom, only fit to be dogs for others!"
Next, X turned to Sun Jack, gasping for air as he asked, "Sun Jack, I want to ask you, why do you want to help those wastes of space? Do you think they'll be grateful to you? Don't kid yourself!"
"Even if you succeed, what does it matter? They're greedy, and after they succeed, they'll want more! They will forget your kindness and only remember any wrongs! They are forgetful! At first, they might build statues of you, but a few years later, they'll spit on those statues! They are arrogant; they will believe their success is due to their own efforts, not because of you! What is the point of what you're doing?"
Hearing this, the Poet who was picking his nose by the side suddenly had his eyes light up. "A kindred spirit! That's exactly what I said to him, but he wouldn't listen." Just as he was about to reach out for a handshake, Tapai stopped him. "Whose side are you actually on?"
Seeing that the other party's emotional value had dropped a bit after the tirade, Sun Jack spoke again, "Nobody's perfect. I just want to help those I can, whether they are greedy or arrogant, and I don't need them to remember."
X scoffed, "You don't need them to? I bet eventually they'll only remember you, turn you into a totem, and put your will on a pedestal!"
"Don't be naive! Sun Jack! Everyone is for themselves, or nature and fate will destroy them! Take advantage of whatever value you have left to secure your benefits!"
Sun Jack shook his head. "It doesn't matter to me, I don't care, success or not, I don't mind, as long as things are better than they are now."
"You may not care, but I do! Why should everything I've worked hard for be handed out to the lower classes based on a few self-righteous words from you! Do they deserve it? Back off! Or we all go down together!"
Sun Jack tried various methods in the hope of making the opponent give up this mutually destructive approach, but the probability in the image never dropped below 50%.
Seeing an unwavering determination in the other's eyes, Sun Jack knew that further talk would just be a waste of breath, and he had to find another way to break through.
"Is it possible to bypass X and disconnect the red button and self-destruct system link from somewhere else?" Sun Jack asked.
Soon, a Sun Jack copy that was scanning the periphery spoke up, "No way, not to mention this is technology from The Previous Era, this thing is the main power source for the entire Himalayas. Don't forget we're still up in the sky—if we disrupt it now, the entire Gravity System of the Himalayas will also completely fail, and it would fall straight from the sky and roll down Mount Everest all the way to Nepal!"
"UO! What about you! Stop just watching from the sidelines," Sun Jack asked again.
UO's voice was still unrushed. "We've talked about this before, network matters are for us to deal with, and the physical aspects are your responsibility. This is purely mechanical, and you have to handle it."
"Hack into X's neural system!"
Saotome's voice rang in Sun Jack's ear. "You're telling me? It's impossible; he's physically disconnected from the network."
Just then, Tapai secretly leaned in and whispered into Sun Jack's ear, "They saw something was off and have exited the Himalayas network. Now they're talking to you through several layers of bounce networks."
"Damn! These bastards!" Sun Jack tried to stabilize X's mood while considering how to break the impasse.
He had Tapai hack into X's residential system to look for more information about X, attempting to understand him better from different angles.
"Jack, look, today's X's birthday," Tapai suddenly said.
"Birthday?" Sun Jack looked over in surprise, only to find out that today was indeed X's birthday, but how could this information be useful?
Meanwhile, X had switched to a camera outside the Himalayas. Seeing the entire city engulfed in flames and explosions, a hint of regret crossed his face.
"Sun Jack, you've ruined everything. I should never have kindly helped you, just look at what's happened because of my momentary soft-heartedness. Everything's such a mess in the Himalayas now; I wish it were all fake."
"Fake?" When Tapai heard X finish that sentence, he suddenly turned off all his Combat Prosthesis, the mechanical hands clapping as he cheerfully sang, "٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you~"
Sun Jack's mouth gaped open in disbelief at the sight, looking at Tapai as if he were crazy. Was now really the time to celebrate their enemy's birthday? Had Tapai lost his mind?
But when Sun Jack saw Tapai tilt his head slightly, he quickly caught on and understood what Tapai was trying to do. He quickly set his weapon down and joined in the clapping, "Happy birthday to you~"
Disturbed by their howling, the Poet walked over with disdain, "That's not how you sing. Let me show you." He then began to sing Happy Birthday in a beautiful operatic voice.
The sounds of three different birthday songs echoed in the tense control room, instantly washing away the heated atmosphere.