Malfunctioning Utopia

Chapter 35: Prosthetics

In Sun Jack's apartment, King Kong was performing surgery with one hand while reciting sutras with great satisfaction.

"You seem to be in a good mood," Sun Jack commented, watching him with his remaining eye.

"Of course! Business is good. Remember, if you ever need prosthetics again, you can always count on me."

"Naturally, but let’s get one thing clear. If your prosthetics fail during my mission and cause me to screw up, you won’t see a dime from this job," Sun Jack pointed at him, ensuring there were no shortcuts taken.

"Master Jack, how could you think so low of me? I’m not that kind of person. We’ll be working together for a long time, and I’m all about building lasting business relationships." King Kong chuckled, picking up the prosthetic eye to prepare for installation.

Only now did Sun Jack get a clear look at the prosthetic. It resembled a normal eye so closely that only under the shadowless lamp could one faintly discern the circuits and chips embedded in its iris.

After a bit of fiddling, King Kong secured the prosthetic in place. Sun Jack blinked, noticing a subtle change in his vision. It wasn’t obvious at first, but something felt different.

"How does it feel, Master Sun?" King Kong asked, stepping back with a satisfied smile, admiring his work like a proud artist.

Sun Jack rotated his new eye, and a prompt from his neural system appeared, indicating a new prosthetic was ready to sync. With his approval, the prosthetic connected seamlessly.

He glanced at the 3D projection TV to his left and activated the new abilities. Immediately, his left eye felt warm and tense, and the once-lit projection screen vanished.

Shifting his gaze to the ceiling light, he watched the room plunge into darkness as the sensors were disrupted. Any electrical device he looked at instantly powered off.

"If I’d had this before, I wouldn’t have struggled so much with that AAB fight," Sun Jack mused, canceling the interference mode and switching to night vision.

After thoroughly testing the prosthetic to ensure no issues, he transferred the payment to King Kong.

9.942@

Staring at his now single-digit balance, Sun Jack sighed. Being a mercenary was a vicious cycle of earning and spending money to stay alive.

"Alright, I’m heading out. Master Sun, see you tomorrow!" King Kong gathered his tools and left with his cybernetic Buddha, which carried the equipment bag.

Sun Jack continued experimenting with his new prosthetic, marveling at the sheer power of technology.

While glancing around, he suddenly noticed Tapai wrapping the prosthetic eye he had just removed with translucent sensory cables.

"What are you doing?" Sun Jack asked.

"Didn’t you say you wanted me to be more human-like? Since memory upgrades are too expensive, I figured I’d repurpose this eye for myself."

"Can you even do that?" Sun Jack felt a bit uneasy.

"Why not? Human organs and mechanical components are functionally similar. As long as it gets blood flow and stays hydrated, it’ll work. I want to try." 𝘳Ἀ𐌽ŎꞖ˧

"Do whatever you want." Sun Jack texted King Kong, asking him to bring a batch of grenades with him tomorrow.

"Jack, when the payment comes through, remember to give me 2@. I need to upgrade my armor," Tapai said.

"Just tell me what you need, and I’ll buy it for you. Why go through the hassle?" Sun Jack turned, using his new eye to look at Tapai.

"Do you even know what armor components I require? Or what processor my brain uses? Besides, why are you being stingy? Upgraded me means better help for you in the field."

Sun Jack scratched his head, regretting ever giving Tapai extra memory for improved processing.

"Not happy? Too bad. You wanted more detail, and detail comes with costs," Tapai shrugged.

Sun Jack sighed but then had a sudden thought. "At this rate, are you going to turn into one of those cyber-crisis cases like the ones before?"

"You flatter yourself. I’m not even close. Do you think this amount of memory could spark a cyber crisis? That’s embarrassing to even suggest. Plus, with BCPD’s 5th Unit watching, you should focus on things that actually matter."

"The 5th Unit?" Sun Jack headed to the bathroom, searching for more information via his system as he brushed his teeth. Soon, the data appeared on his yellow-tinted projection lenses.

Apart from patrol officers and investigators handling routine cases, the BCPD had seven specialized divisions for unique incidents. Cyber psychotics fell under the jurisdiction of the 6th Unit, while the 5th Unit oversaw AI regulation and monitoring.

Any AI product a company wanted to launch required their approval. Though there hadn’t been a single incident in centuries, their primary mandate remained the suppression of any potential cyber crises.

Their elite special operations team used state-of-the-art prosthetics, and their strength was unparalleled. If they detected even the slightest risk, they would cordon off an area and deploy micro-nukes, executing chain elimination orders if necessary.

After watching case footage, Sun Jack couldn’t help but gasp. He turned to Tapai. "Great. I’m basically living with a ticking time bomb."

"(￣△￣；) Should I leave, then?"

"Where would you even go? If someone catches you, they’ll trace it back to me anyway. Just stay here."

"About my payment..."

"You’ll get it. Add more human-like features while you’re at it. And figure out how to integrate that eye. If the 5th Unit comes sniffing around, claim it’s a remnant from your past as a meat puppet."

"Then swap out more parts for me. I can’t wait!"

"...!" Sun Jack felt like Tapai was cursing him.

That night, Sun Jack stayed up late, replaying past events in his mind to ensure nothing could be used against him by the 5th Unit.

The next morning, Sun Jack was woken by a knock at the door.

"Who the hell is it this early?" he grumbled, storming toward the door.

To his surprise, it was AA, standing timidly with an umbrella in hand.

"I’m sorry... Did I wake you?"

She wore an oversized, sky-blue T-shirt that looked more like a dress draped over her thin frame. It was clearly not her clothing, but it gave her a casual, slightly lazy charm.

After checking the hallway to ensure no one was following her, Sun Jack opened the door. "Come in."

As soon as AA stepped inside, she jumped at the sight of Tapai mounted on the wall. "Oh! You’re here too?"

"Stop with the small talk. Sit on the couch. I’ll explain the job. If you want to back out, now’s your chance."

With nothing fancy to offer guests, Sun Jack filled a cup with tap water and placed it in front of AA.