There Must Be Something Wrong With This Game!

Though it had emerged from the sphere, the President’s hand was warm and damp, its temperature surprisingly pleasant.

He offered a disarmingly pleasant smile, his eyes filled with sincerity. It made one feel as though his hidden Charisma Attribute must be maxed out.

’This guy is terrifying,’ Duan Fei thought.

There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.

The President of Luminous Heavy Industry was a living embodiment of that phrase. To Duan Fei, the man didn’t seem like a person at all, but the very personification of capital.

For the sake of profit, people like him would sell out anything and forgive anything.

Duan Fei shook his hand politely and glanced at the spot where the sphere had been. It had vanished completely, having transformed into the President standing before him.

The President’s body looked remarkably solid, prompting Duan Fei to ask, "What kind of technology is this?"

"New nanoscale drones. Their combat capabilities are poor, but they’re suitable for remote negotiations. A lot of people want to kill me, so I generally only contact people this way. I hope you’ll understand."

"What about consciousness uploading?" Duan Fei asked, frowning.

"That ’me’ isn’t the real me. My consciousness resides in my brain, not as a cold string of data in the Moral Code," the President chuckled. "Before we get down to business, may I have a drink?"

"Of course. What would you like?" the Bartender asked.

The President sat down at the bar, picked up the menu, and ordered a Screwdriver. After taking a sip of the refreshingly tart liquid, he smiled and said, "Mr. Bartender, I’ve always wanted to sample your craftsmanship. I never imagined it would be as good as I’d heard."

"You know me?" The Bartender seemed slightly pleased.

"The famous socialist of Wing City. People say you’re formidable in more ways than one, from the waist up and the waist down."

Duan Fei gave the Bartender a confused look. He had no idea what skills the man possessed that had even reached the ears of the President.

The Bartender set down a glass, planted his right hand on the bar top, and asked from his superior height, "Since you know who I am, why haven’t you had me killed?"

"Kill you? Why? Have you done something? The biggest thing you’ve done recently is break into the Glazed Tower yesterday, which cut my company’s stock price in half. But that’s fine. It gave me a chance to buy back a block of shares."

Seeing the Bartender’s lingering confusion, the President continued, "Your past acts of sabotage have been utterly pointless. Any damage you do here, or even to the Glazed Tower, won’t hurt me in the slightest. As long as the world’s system remains unchanged, your actions will be quickly erased. You seem to have realized this, yet you persist. I can’t decide if I should call that tenacity or just a one-track mind."

Smiling as he delivered the taunt, the President watched the Bartender pull a gun. A shot rang out, aimed right at his head.

However, the swift shot didn’t even destroy the drone. The agile machine dodged the bullet, making the President appear like a phantom, impossible to harm with a gun.

The President’s form shimmered back into place. He raised his empty glass and gave the Bartender a small smile. "I suppose you won’t be refilling this for me. In that case, Lear, Valkyrie... first, allow me to thank you for your contributions all those years ago."

He gave a sincere bow, then laughed again. "But it was all fucking useless."

He gestured to the world around them. "What did you change? You changed nothing. You created a Moral Code, and that code is fucking useless. The entire world is still hurtling toward the terminus of capitalism. You’re just using your feet as brake pads, grinding yourselves to a bloody pulp on the tracks, but the train hasn’t slowed one bit. The only people you’ve managed to inspire are yourselves. You’ve made virtually no contribution to this world."

He clapped his hands, shot a glance at Hyena, and then turned his gaze to Duan Fei.

He didn’t say a word, yet it felt as if he’d said everything.

After all, silence is the ultimate expression of contempt.

Finally, he turned to face Duan Fei. "Alright, Mr. Duan. I admit I find some of your little trinkets quite to my taste, and you currently have me by the short hairs with the stock price. But I also want you to know that I can find out anything I want about you. I don’t give a damn about your secrets. Now, I’m giving you a chance to reconcile. Cede the Glory of being the first to reach the 300th floor to the Puppet Legion. Bring me the Mysterious Power and your Crowbar for research. In return, I will give you an offer you can’t refuse... for example, Level 6 Citizenship Rights."

Belittle your opponents with words, tear down their psychological defenses, and then make a generous offer. The President was clearly a master of negotiation.

But Duan Fei only gave a noncommittal shrug. "Mr. President, I’m impressed by the intelligence you’ve gathered, but I have to say, there’s a lot you’ve missed. For instance, you clearly don’t know where we come from. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be trying to entice us with Level 6 Citizenship Rights."

The President nodded. "That was an oversight on my part, but one I can correct. State your terms. I will meet them."

"That’s what I was waiting to hear. Hand over Nemo."

At Duan Fei’s demand, the President shook his head decisively. "Impossible. You don’t know what Nemo represents. He’s a favorite of a Level 9 Citizen, and he carries that citizen’s recommendation. With that status, he’s like an Imperial Envoy. A single word from him can sever anyone from the Moral Code. Their biological information would be completely blocked, preventing them from ever being entered into the Moral Code’s records."

At this, he seemed to recall something and said to Hyena and Anna, "Your old man, your backer, has always been logged by the Moral Code. But he was instrumental in establishing it back in the day, so he’s been given a pass for the time being. Don’t think your actions are so covert. We are all under the Moral Code’s surveillance."

"Ah, I see," Duan Fei said with a smile. "So, in other words, Nemo is so arrogant because he has a Level 9 Citizen backing him?"

"That’s right."

"Then I have to tell you that the man standing right in front of you is Level 9 Citizen Zero."

Duan Fei pushed Hyena in front of the President, meeting the man’s ’you’ve got to be kidding me’ stare. "I recall that citizens have the authority to access the information of lower-level citizens. I also know you’re one of the few Level 8 Citizens. So, why don’t you try and see if you can look up his information?"

The President looked skeptically at Hyena.

He had never been able to gather any intelligence on Hyena.

At first, he’d assumed Hyena was using some kind of stealth algorithm to evade conventional scans.

But now, hearing what Duan Fei said, he couldn’t help but suspect the man truly held some secret that prevented him from discovering his real identity.

Although it could be a trap, he still erected sufficient firewalls before attempting to access the man’s information.

The moment he began, alarms blared. Countless red warnings flooded his vision, informing him that he had no authority to proceed with the search.

Beyond that, he felt a chill run down his spine. A satellite weapon had locked onto his physical body. If he dared to continue, destruction was all that awaited him.

Looking at the bewildered Hyena, the President’s composure and elegance finally vanished from his face.

’Is he... really a Level 9 Citizen?’