Leaving the hospital room, Samuel Young didn't rush to rejoin his entourage. Instead, he walked to a nearby stairwell, where he could look out over Accra's nightscape through a vented window with railings.
Without needing to deliberately use his psychic abilities, Samuel used his far-superior vision to clearly observe the "life" in the area below.
Some people, having finished a day's work, chose to buy some beer and barbecue with their coworkers and head to the beach's public dining area to drink and chat. Couples were strolling through the street food markets, and there was a family of three who had just left a shopping mall, walking toward the parking lot with smiles and laughter.
Of course, in the areas with open-air stalls and bars, some people were getting into heated physical altercations due to arguments and other reasons.
But before things could get too out of hand, a drone patrolling the area flashed red and blue lights and lowered its altitude, hovering over the crowd involved in the conflict, issuing a warning:
"This is the NAPD. All individuals are to cease any violent behavior immediately. I repeat, cease all violent behavior immediately and await the arrival of officers. Do not attempt to leave, or we will employ non-lethal countermeasures."
Upon seeing the NAPD—New Accra Police Department—drone arrive, most people quickly regained their senses.
If anyone chose to resist, or if those with criminal records attempted to flee, the drone would immediately use a taser, followed by rubber bullets aimed at the legs to completely disable their ability to escape.
The drones initially issued serious warnings; failure to comply meant that violators or lawbreakers would bear all the consequences.
Soon after, police cars also flashing red and blue lights arrived at the scene, and the situation was handed over to the real officers.
These officers were fully armed, dressed in dark blue combat uniforms, and equipped with lightweight yet Level IV (Ⅳ) bulletproof vests.
Additionally, their helmets were fitted with monocular displays, providing detailed information and assistance in real-time.
These standard-issue gears allowed the officers to handle most emergency situations with ease.
If one observed closely, they would notice the insignia and shoulder patches on the officers' uniforms, emblazoned with the words "Atlas Co."
After all, the "rebirth" of this city was inextricably linked to Atlas.
Watching the diverse scenes of life below, Samuel couldn't help but agree with his old friend, Zhaofeng Wang, the head of the research department.
Indeed, Accra had integrated Atlas's new products in almost every aspect, greatly improving the residents' quality of life and accelerating economic growth.
A fast public transportation system, a citywide wireless network, and most importantly—
A comprehensive surveillance system.
Accra's emergency departments were entirely "sponsored" by Atlas, so compared to the police, hospitals, and fire departments of other major cities around the world, Accra's facilities were a generation ahead.
This significantly raised the cost of committing crimes within the city. Anyone attempting to commit violence in public would be confronted by an NAPD drone within thirty seconds.
Even meticulously planned crimes, such as murder and robbery, would eventually be uncovered, with the perpetrators facing imprisonment or execution.
Moreover, all of Accra's prisons were constructed, operated, and maintained by Atlas.
Atlas had also established an Overseeing Agency (OA) in the city, based on its internal investigation department.
The OA was part of Accra's administrative system but operated with a certain degree of independence.
The OA was responsible for overseeing various industries, from minor issues like pricing anomalies and shortchanging in the market to more significant concerns like whether companies were refusing to pay overtime or monitoring the work ethic and financial dealings of city officials.
In general, the OA answered only to Atlas's investigation department.
After four years of trials and infrastructure development, Accra's standard of living had steadily risen, placing it among the world's top ten cities by mid-year.
However, in Zhaofeng Wang's view, no city could compare to Accra because it was the culmination of the hard work and dedication of Atlas's research department and various other departments.
"…"
Thinking about his old friend's health, Samuel furrowed his brows.
At sixty-seven, Zhaofeng's age would typically mark the beginning of retirement and a peaceful life in any ordinary, stable country.
But once Zhaofeng started working on a project, he would lose himself in it, unable to rest until he fully understood and mastered it. Forcing him to take a break was harder than killing him.
Despite Samuel's multiple attempts to force Zhaofeng to rest, using his authority as an absolute superior, Zhaofeng would either outright refuse or deflect with excuses like "I haven't earned enough money this year," "If I go home, I have to help take care of my grandkids, and that's more exhausting than work," or "I can't stand still until I've figured this thing out."
Samuel understood that Zhaofeng wanted to bring the world closer to the one they envisioned in the limited time he had left.
The conversation in the hospital room also brought back memories for Samuel, of the days spent roaming the West more than a century ago.
As the 20th century progressed, many familiar faces succumbed to the ravages of time: "Uncle," Morgan, Marston, Adler—they all aged and passed away.
"…"
Samuel let out a silent sigh.
When Atlas was first founded in the early 20th century, biotechnology was virtually nonexistent.
By the late 20th century, especially after the second space gate was opened, Atlas gradually mastered more advanced cloning techniques and new consciousness transfer technology.
In *Avatar 2,* Colonel Miles Quaritch, who was supposed to die in the final battle of *Avatar 1,* had his consciousness and memories copied by RDA technicians before his death.
Later, the RDA used biotechnology to "resurrect" Quaritch in an Avatar body.
However, the "resurrected" Quaritch was merely a newborn inheriting the original's thought patterns and copied memories, so it wasn't a true resurrection.
Atlas also mastered this technology.
However, experiments conducted on Class D personnel revealed that if a clone and the original were confined together, they would almost always end up killing each other.
Both would strive to prove that *they* were the real one.
Samuel had witnessed such experiments conducted by the biology department and could easily distinguish between the original and the clone.
The reason was simple: the clone lacked a "soul."
The phenomenon of Class D personnel and their clones killing each other reminded Samuel of a particular race from *Warhammer 40k*—
The Necrons.
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