Mind Police

"Based on the extent of the battle damage, you can compile a compensation list, and our mother city will provide appropriate compensation."

The two women were sitting in the VIP room of the fortress, listening to a holographic announcement—or rather, a demand.

Apart from war reparations, they are basically all demands.

"The Mother City needs you to upgrade your respective 'electronic brain technology' to level 10 within six months."

"Within this month, the mother city needs you to provide a computing power enhancement of one billion units."

"Maintaining the security of electronic brain hardware requires joint efforts from both parties, and we do not want to receive complaints from any large enterprises."

Both women had serious expressions. The end of the corporate war was just the beginning of the Electronic Brain Project. There would be a lot of heavy work to be done next.

Therefore, it's hard not to suspect whether someone's escape was for the safety of the rich woman or for their own comfort.

After reciting a long list of strict, even harsh, requirements, the holographic projection's tone finally softened.

"Congratulations, ladies. At least until the next technological revolution, the three mother cities will give you the green light, and you will receive countless orders from all over the world. Your power will reach the level of a super-corporation at an alarming rate."

The two women smiled upon hearing this; wasn't this exactly what they wanted?

"There was supposed to be a reception for the old man from the fortress, but he had some things to attend to, so our minister, the minister of the Humanity Experimentation Department, will be hosting you."

"Thank you for your trouble, everyone in Mother City," Ye Da Luoli nodded.

The Humanity Experimentation Department.

Du Zhaodi's heart skipped a beat. In her memory, this was also a behemoth. As one of the six departments, it was responsible for the normal operation of nearly 5 billion virtual personalities worldwide, and at least half of these 5 billion virtual personalities were androids.

Therefore, it is also known as the Bionic Crime Prevention Center, which is responsible not only for protecting androids, but also for preventing android crimes.

In other words, this department happens to have the power to target a particular woman.

The thought of this gave her a sudden burst of energy.

As the final step was completed, the "system notification" sounded once again, even thousands of miles away.

[Your faction leader mission 'Winner of the Electronic Brain Project' is complete. Leader template is being randomly selected.]

Suddenly, a transparent turntable appeared in front of the senior engineer. The turntable spun rapidly and finally stopped at an option.

[You have obtained the Leader Template - The King's Man]

The King's Man (Faction Exclusive):

Male beauty is appealing: For all female managers, your charm increases by 40%.

A Wise Husband: Your aura will increase the political charisma of strong female characters in this faction by 30%, and there is a small chance that they will gain the allegiance of high-level NPCs.

Beauty Unrivaled in the Harem: Under your influence, all female staff members in this faction will have their work efficiency increased by 35% and their loyalty increased by 30%.

[Your character score -100]

"..."

This is a typical boss template, with three auras, all of which provide buffs to the faction.

The only problem is, why are you blaming my character?!

The senior engineer expressed his utter injustice, saying, "I haven't done anything yet, how can you deduct my money? This is baseless accusation!"

So, you've got some serious system tricks up your sleeve now?

"Brother Gao, your appearance—" Fatty Xiang stared at Engineer Gao for a long time before hesitatingly asking.

"What's wrong with my appearance?"

"No, it's nothing, nothing is different."

As a die-hard otaku, Fat Xiang doesn't even like real-life lolis. His only hobby is playing with virtual machines and anime girls. Naturally, he wouldn't be attracted to "The King's Man," so he just glanced at it and was completely unaffected.

"Sir, is there anything you dislike about this villa?"

"The pretty female android saleswoman said nervously."

The customer's expression just now was quite complex, a mixture of pleasure and dissatisfaction, dissatisfaction mixed with excitement, and excitement mixed with sadness. In short, the changes were so numerous that it was hard to bear to look at them.

Freedom Beyond has 10 districts in total. There is no difference in infrastructure, wealth gap, etc. There are no slums, gang districts, or corporate districts. The only difference is that the later the number, the more expensive the housing.

The reason why housing prices are so high is largely because the further back the area is, the closer it is to the deep network and the fortress. Although the distance is not much, it is still a symbol of status.

As the "King's Man," he naturally chose the tenth district from the very beginning.

"It's okay, I'll take another look."

According to the salesperson, this seaside villa is filled with the romantic and beautiful style of the civilized era. It covers an area the size of five football fields and has ten bedrooms, eight shower rooms, four virtual machine rooms, a consciousness upload space, three flying car spaces, a large aircraft parking space, a swimming pool, and a small dock.

According to the salesperson, if you purchase in full, you will also receive a team of android servants, about 20 androids, ranging from cleaning types to bed warmers, and they come with a three-year warranty.

The senior engineer set his sights on the "Consciousness Upload Space," while Fatty Xiang set his sights on the "Virtual Room." The two men, who had absolutely no idea about housing prices, exchanged a glance.

"Fat Xiang, send the money!"

"Okay!"

Opposite this seaside villa is another villa, whose owner is an E-type android.

Type E androids are expert-level androids. From the outside, there is almost no difference between different models of androids, but expert-level androids have specially customized research chips and matching body structures, making them extremely efficient in development.

At this moment, the android resembling a middle-aged man is standing on the balcony, holding a cup of coffee, curiously staring at the new neighbor across the street.

"Honey, what are you looking at?" A gentle woman walked over and draped a coat over his shoulders.

This woman, however, was not an android, but a natural person.

"I'm looking at my new neighbor. He bought the house outright. This new neighbor is really wealthy."

"In that case, should we invite them over to my house?"

"Wait a minute. If we don't know where they're from, we need to be careful," Yi Yun said softly. "At least we need to make sure they're safe. Maybe they're fake."

"Fakes?" Mrs. Yi asked in surprise. "Are they also androids?"

Yi Yun's expression changed slightly, and Mrs. Yi realized she had misspoke and promptly apologized, "Darling, that's not what I meant."

Yi Yun's expression returned to normal, and she gently pecked the other person's cheek.

"Changing mindsets is always difficult, just as there are always differences between the mindsets of androids and natural humans, but as long as we love each other, nothing is a problem."

"That's natural."

Madam Yi leaned gently against the other person's chest, her body going limp.

"What I mean is," Yi Yun continued the previous topic, "They may not be living people, but virtual people, that is, data illusions created after cyberspace merges into reality. These kinds of illusions are playing out all over the world."

"Are they... virtual?"

"It's hard to say, but the police will be here soon to verify our identities, and then we'll know."

"Would you like to rest together for a bit?" Mrs. Yi suddenly asked, her face slightly flushed.

"Okay, what model do you need this time?"

Yi Yun smiled and carried his wife into the house. Just as he had said, two almost transparent human figures quickly floated to the front of the villa that the senior engineer had bought.

One of the police officers glanced at his colleague, nodded, and took out a data analyzer. Soon, the numbers on the device fluctuated for a while before returning to normal.

"Physical Man"

"That's right, it's Physics Man."

The two then passed through the wall and appeared in front of the senior engineer.

Fatty Xiang's expression changed drastically. He immediately stood in front of the senior engineer, and a sharp, sonic boom-like sound of gears grinding emanated from his body. In an instant, he transformed from a simple, honest fat man into a super killing machine.

"Don't misunderstand, we're just here for a routine inspection."

"I am Mind Police Officer No. 413114."

"I am Mind Police Officer No. 413115."

"Don't get excited, Fatty Xiang. It's a virtual creation. No matter how strong your physical attacks are, they're useless."

Despite this, Pang Xiang still stood solemnly beside the senior engineer, his whole body radiating a murderous aura, ready to strike at any moment.

The senior engineer had sensed their arrival long ago, and stared at them curiously for a while before finally speaking:

"Cyber killer?"

"We are mind police, not killers."

"Oh, a cyber assassin without the killing module."

Both are virtual entities, the difference being that the Mind Police are similar to the twin ghosts in The Matrix Reloaded, while the Cyber Killer is Agent Smith.

The other party did not refute what the senior engineer said.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"To ensure the safety of the other side of freedom, we will conduct a sampling survey of your memory system and brain modules to ensure that there are no electronic viruses, implanted programs, or backdoors."

"Tsk, as expected of a high-level map, the security is indeed strict. What if I don't want to?"

"Then you will not be able to purchase property in Zone 10."

With a wave of his hand, a mind policeman caused the previously enthusiastic android salesman to suddenly lose consciousness, his eyes flashing with electronic light, his head drooping as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

"The technology of Cyber Killer seems to have been updated again."

The senior engineer noticed that the salesperson's memory data had been uploaded to the storage center of this "mind police officer," without leaving any trace of the original data.

The senior engineer had never seen a low-level cyber killer use this tactic.

"What department are you from?"

"We are the product of a collaboration between the Memory Supervision Department and the Humanity Experimentation Department. Please make your decision as soon as possible."

The senior engineer smiled, but before he could speak, a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Since when did those little guys with heads and skulls become qualified to investigate our people?"

The two police officers turned around and quickly saw four figures.

"High-level observer detected"

"High-level observer detected"

"High-level observer detected"

"A 'Special-Level Inspector' has been detected."

The two mind police officers turned back to look at the senior engineer, and this time, a red code appeared in their eyes.

"The target level is too high; testing cannot be performed. Please evacuate the site immediately."