Malfunctioning Utopia

Chapter 15: Advertisements

Sun Jack lay on the bed, listening to the rain outside. For the first time in a while, everything felt calm.

But that calm was fleeting. Slowly, like a tide creeping in, the emotions he had been suppressing caught up with him—fear of death, rejection of the unfamiliar environment, and the grim realization that he was now disabled.

Shaking his head firmly, he forced himself to his feet. He had to adapt quickly to this strange new world. Without adaptation, he would likely face danger again.

Sitting on the sofa, Sun Jack began watching the advertisements and news displayed before him, absorbing as much information as he could to familiarize himself with this new reality.

The more he browsed, the clearer the world’s current state became. The concept of "countries" no longer existed. Governments had vanished, replaced entirely by corporate capitalism. Mega-corporations controlled entire cities, using their wealth to govern regions.

Each city, including this one, was managed by a corporate council formed by the largest companies. Even security services were outsourced, with corporations pooling resources to hire private security firms.

Technically speaking, the BCPD wasn’t a police force—they were private security guards.

Of course, corporations didn’t do this out of altruism. Expecting corporate executives to have a conscience was as absurd as expecting the moon to fall from the sky. The simple truth was that a minimum level of order was necessary to maximize profits.

Scrolling further, Sun Jack found a detailed history of corporate conflicts over the past century. Wars, assassinations, espionage—corporations engaged in relentless battles to the death, all in pursuit of profit.

Strangely, seeing all this gave Sun Jack a small sense of relief. It seemed corporations cared only about money. As long as he wasn’t a threat to their profits, he wasn’t a target. The field of archaeology had vanished completely, which meant he, as a man frozen for a thousand years, wasn’t seen as some magical relic everyone wanted to devour.

For now, he was safe—but only for now.

He recalled Song 6’s warning: in this world, exposure meant danger. If his true identity were revealed, he’d be in deep trouble. Tapai, for instance, wouldn’t hesitate to erase him if it came to that.

Sun Jack clenched his fists. He had to keep his identity an absolute secret and blend in as much as possible with the locals.

Looking over, he saw Tapai tinkering with a wireless charging port, modifying it into a compatible charger for himself using fiber optic cables.

"What are you staring at? (´･—･)?" Tapai asked without looking up.

"Nothing. Carry on," Sun Jack replied, returning to his research. With his immediate safety concerns addressed, he now focused on understanding the neural system he would soon install.

For something that was about to be implanted in his brain, he wanted to know as much as possible.

"Come and see~~! Check out the latest neural enhancement network, Titan Ver. 1.15! Not only does it integrate seamlessly with any prosthetic, display bullet counts, and feature self-contained ICE protection to keep your firmware safe from tampering or hacking, but it also comes with customizable ports! Add as many enhancement chips as you like, plug and play! Whether it’s a pain editor or a taste modulation module, it’s all compatible..."

Ad after ad played, and Sun Jack began to understand more about neural networks. In essence, they were like smartphones for the brain, controlling not just devices but even the body itself. The higher-end models offered even greater control, from managing pain thresholds to enhancing physical strength.

It was absurdly advanced, yet undeniably appealing. The sheer variety of features was enough to tempt anyone into making a purchase.

But Sun Jack reminded himself—this was all advertising. No matter the world, ads only ever highlighted the positives while glossing over the negatives.

Judging from the events of the previous day, it was clear that the gadget the bald man used before his death was specifically designed to counter neural systems. Anyone with a neural system had their heads smoking, but Sun Jack, with his "all-natural" brain, had narrowly avoided disaster and managed a reversal. ꞦαΝοβĚꞨ

"A neural system is still a system, meaning it can be hacked, tracked, or infected with viruses. I might not care too much—any system from a thousand years ago would be written in programming languages they wouldn’t even understand—but you’re different. There’s no guarantee someone won’t sneak a backdoor into your system and turn you into a puppet," Tapai said, plugging himself into the makeshift charging port.

Hearing this, Sun Jack grew restless and began searching for information.

Using keywords like "neural system virus," he unearthed a slew of bizarre cases. One report described someone drowning in a sink because their prosthetics malfunctioned after a virus attack. Neural systems, while incredibly convenient, came with a myriad of risks. The problem was, this wasn’t just any device—it was something implanted directly into the brain.

That night, Sun Jack barely slept, torn over whether to install the neural system. Installing it posed significant risks, but without it, he’d be like someone in the modern era trying to live without a smartphone—completely handicapped in this technological world.

When he finally drifted off, a loud knock on the door woke him up.

"Bro, open up! It’s me!" came Song 6’s voice.

Opening the door, Sun Jack found Song 6 grinning at him, flashing his gold tooth.

"Don’t you sleep? Up so early?"

"Sleep? Bro, how old-school are you? You still sleep? Just get the surgery and cut that habit already."

After everything he’d seen yesterday, the idea that people didn’t need sleep here didn’t even faze him.

"Cool," Sun Jack replied, giving him a thumbs up. He freshened up quickly, grabbed his jacket, powered up Tapai, and stepped out.

The three of them descended in the elevator and headed for the building’s exit. Sun Jack, still grappling with his neural system dilemma, felt Tapai tap his shoulder.

"Jack, look! (◔-◔) Factory settings, low B-light!"

Sun Jack looked up and saw a woman walking toward them.

It was the catgirl from last night, though she looked nothing like her sultry club persona now. She was carrying her high heels in one hand, a cigarette in the other, her eyes droopy and lifeless—clearly a victim of an all-nighter.

"Have some manners, will you? Stop giving people weird nicknames," Sun Jack scolded Tapai, annoyed.

"Linda Linda! What a coincidence! You live here too?" Song 6, ever the chatterbox, greeted her cheerfully.

The catgirl recognized the three of them and responded with a blank expression, raising her chin slightly before heading to the elevator, brushing past them without a word.

Watching her retreating figure, Sun Jack couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy. Life must be hard for her, forced into such work at such a young age. She probably felt awful inside. What was she thinking about right now?

Just as the elevator doors were closing, her sultry, melodic voice floated out: "Fing hell, what luck. I run into three fing idiots right after finishing my shift."

"...…"