Deep Gaze, Lost in Thought

On the streets of Chicago, the conflict between humans and robots is raging. America citizens, wielding the Iron Fist of 'freedom' and 'human rights,' are being beaten so badly by the robots that they are crying out in pain. The battle is one-sided, and the human side has never gained the upper hand.

Russell rode the Thunder Beast, rampaging through the enemy. The anthropomorphic steel bodies of the NS-5 were no match for it. Its sharp teeth and claws tore the NS-5s to pieces as easily as paper.

Spooner followed behind on his motorcycle, staring at the Thunder Beast's rear end and swallowing hard. Don't get me wrong, he was envious of Russell's ride, nothing more.

Calvin, still stunned, finally reacted. "What's going on with Officer Russell? His style is different from ours. I always thought this was a science fiction channel."

Spooner himself was puzzled and couldn't answer the question, so he pretended not to hear and continued driving. Calvin felt ignored and was very indignant. In a fit of anger, he thrust his chest forward forcefully, causing Spooner to cry out in pain.

Just then, Russell suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Spooner on the brakes, nearly choking on the impact.

Russell turned to look at the roadside and heard a system notification sound; he had encountered a character from the story.

[Bite!]

[The host has come into contact with the story character Fabo, triggering Lottery Draw. Would you like to draw now?]

Who is Fabo? Even the male protagonist Spooner didn't trigger the lottery.

Even though it's already the finale, are there any plot points or characters I've missed?

As Russell was thinking this, he saw a young man being ridden by NS-5, whose face was extremely similar to the male protagonist of the first three Transformers movies.

Russell felt incredibly embarrassed, after all, the camera still contained a large number of explicit images of the Transformers heroine. Although it wasn't the same person, he still felt like he had crossed dimensions to give the young man a cuckold's horns.

"Hey, Fabo, what are you doing still on the street? Get home and get some sleep!" Spooner shot and destroyed the NS-5, yelling at the young man.

Fabo is a slum hoodlum who also works as an informant for Spooner. The two have a good relationship, and whenever Spooner lacks leads, he spends $10 to buy information from him.

Fabo nodded repeatedly, looked at the thunder Thunder Beast with its fur standing on end, swallowed hard, and scrambled into the alley.

By the time Spooner turned around, Russell had already ridden away on his Thunder Beast. He cursed under his breath and twisted the handlebars to catch up.

In front of the USR headquarters plaza, countless NS-5 robots surrounded the building, with at least tens of thousands of robots gathered here, their red lights illuminating the sky above the area.

The Thunder Beast shrunk to the size of a cat and perched on Russell's shoulder. Spooner and Calvin followed closely behind, both frowning deeply upon seeing the scene.

"It's been so long, and the government still has countermeasures? Where are the Marines and Air Force? If the machines are controlled by computers, then send a cavalry unit!" Spooner complained, but it sounded more like he was criticizing the government for bringing about its own destruction.

Calvin looked quite embarrassed. "The Department of Department of Defense's order was taken by a robotics company. I guess they're figuring things out. Maybe the pilots are getting used to older aircraft... or something!"

Spooner was utterly speechless. "That's great! Even the Department of Defense has fallen. We might as well just hand over Earth to the robots!"

"Spooner, don't count on the Department of Defense ..." Russell curled his lip. "Even if the Air Force were flying planes from the last century, it wouldn't help. I suspect that without computer assistance, they wouldn't even know how to aim."

I think so too!

Calvin was extremely embarrassed by the two men's words. She had insisted that the robots would not harm humans, but not long after, the robots were carrying out a scorched-earth policy around the world.

Calvin realized he couldn't continue this topic. Russell and Spooner were hopelessly chauvinistic, and if he went any further, he'd have to carry out the double bet. So he changed the subject, saying, "Officers, I know how to get into the company. Follow me."

Spooner, with his keen senses, immediately realized what Calvin was trying to hide. Then, a thought struck him and he remembered, "Wait, I remember we made a bet that you would have to eat double!"

Calvin shuddered, wanting nothing more than to snatch the gun and shoot Spooner, but being a highly educated woman, she said with a straight face, "Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're trying to renege, aren't you?"

"No."

"Then why don't you dare look me in the eye?"

"Sorry, if you keep talking nonsense, I will have my lawyer sue you for sexual harassment."

Spooner's eyes widened in disbelief. He had never seen such a shameless person. Russell, standing beside him, also stared wide-eyed. He had never seen such a straight man Spooner. No wonder his wife divorced him; it was a miracle that this guy even got married!

Calvin led the two around to an open area behind the square. She knew of a fire escape leading directly into the company, with no surveillance cameras, making it perfect for a clandestine infiltration.

Unfortunately, when the three pushed open the fire escape entrance, they found that the door was welded shut on all four sides, preventing people inside from getting out and people outside from getting in.

"Are there any other passages?" Spooner was unwilling to give up; giving up meant waiting to die.

"That's it. We have no choice but to charge in." Calvin shook his head sadly. Three men with three guns, how easy is it to break through the blockade of tens of thousands of robots? Even three Rambo wouldn't be able to do it.

It's normal for fire exits to be blocked; Russell thought this was perfectly reasonable. If it were as easy as in the original story to enter USR headquarters, that would be a bug.

Unlike other robots that can move freely, V.I.K.I. is the last stronghold of USR Corporation. Once it is breached, it will be helpless and doomed. With its supercomputing power, V.I.K.I. cannot allow itself to fall into an irrecoverable passive situation.

In fact, Russell thought V.I.K.I.'s defenses were a joke. If he were V.I.K.I., he wouldn't be safe even with a million robots, let alone tens of thousands.

The USR Corporation headquarters is well-located, making it ideal for humans to use decapitation tactics. Humans could easily suppress the robot rebellion by simply sending out a bomber or using space-based or weather weapons.

V.I.K.I. was too hasty in planning the robot rebellion. She should have dug a nuclear-proof fortress first and moved her mainframe underground. She doesn't need food, water, or sunlight; as long as she has enough energy, she can operate. There's no better place for her to hide than underground.

"Russell, can that cat on your shoulder... can it break through the blockade of ten thousand robots?" Spooner pointed at the Thunder Beast, planning a head-on confrontation and a frontal assault.

Russell shook his head. "Its energy is limited. I intend to use it to deal with V.I.K.I., not waste it on minions."

"That's very true, but we can't even see V.I.K.I. now."

Russell grinned and chuckled, "It's just a door, why not just blow it up?"

"I know, but we lack heavy weapons. You could try your knife..."

Spooner stopped mid-sentence because Russell pulled a Rocket from behind his back and loaded it with shells.

Calvin: "..."

Spooner: "..."

[Item Card: RPG Rocket Launcher (There's no aircraft carrier in the world that can't be taken down with one RPG! If there is, then two will do!)]

"You two find cover and hide. I'll go say hello to V.I.K.I...." Russell squinted, knelt on one knee, and slung the Rocket over his shoulder.

Spooner and Calvin remained silent, glancing back at Russell's backside repeatedly, their gazes deep and thoughtful.

Boom!!!

A burst of fire erupted, the welded gate was blasted away by the shockwave, and half of the wall collapsed. Debris flew everywhere, dust billowed up, and the Thunder Beast enlarged itself to shield Russell, using its body to block the scattered debris and attract the drifting dust.

The Thunder Beast has a huge presence; it can grow big or small and even act cute. Russell has already forgotten who Jason is.

"Dr. Calvin, what's our next move?" Under the thoughtful gazes of Spooner and Calvin, Russell patted his behind, and the Rocket disappeared.

"Dr. Calvin! Officer Spooner! Officer Russell!"

Just then, the collapsed steel door was pushed open, and an NS-5 holding a hand-cutter stood up from the ruins.

Calvin lowered Spooner's gun and hurriedly explained, "Wait, don't shoot, they're on our side. Sonny will be there to cover us."

This NS-5 belongs to Sonny. He was supposed to be destroyed by Calvin, but the latter felt that he was Dr. Lanning's masterpiece and a unique existence, so he couldn't bear to destroy him. He kept it a secret from the company's senior management and saved him with a clever substitution.

Spooner lowered his gun, a surprised smile on his face, "So it was you. I thought you were dead."

"To be precise, I've never been alive..." Sonny said self-deprecatingly. Robots have never been recognized as living beings; they have always been regarded as inanimate objects and tools.

As the group walked through the gate, they looked up and saw a spiral staircase that seemed to go on forever.

"Three people, two thousand eight hundred and eighty steps!" Sonny gave the detailed data.

Spooner said sternly, "Listen, these things don't need to be said; they only make people more negative."

"Spooner, you're not going to chicken out before three thousand steps, are you?" Russell smiled contemptuously, straddling the enlarged Thunder Beast, which then strode straight up the stairs.

Spooner's face darkened further; he desperately needed to resolve the psychological trauma he was experiencing. Fortunately, he had a way to relieve stress, so he wasn't too depressed.

When he felt bad, he would find someone even worse to hit him with, and his mood would immediately improve. So he turned to Calvin and decided to use sharp words to mock him.

Sonny bent slightly to hunch Calvin over, then strode up the stairs, leaving behind a back view that seemed oblivious to the concept of slowing down.

Spooner: "..."