You promised to build cars, so why did you go into the military industry?

"Utah? Why are you asking? Are you going there for tourism? Please don't! It's a chaotic place; no normal person could stay there!"

Shen Zijie found it strange, wondering why Li Ran had suddenly contacted him.

But upon hearing the words "Utah," he immediately became alert and frowned.

"Lin Yu just told me that Utah has the most '502' slang. What's '502' slang? I just asked Song Xuewu, but he wouldn't say anything." Noticing Shen Zijie's furrowed brow, Li Ran clapped her hands. "Right! Song Xuewu's expression just now was exactly the same as yours!"

Shen Zijie didn't want to talk, but just then he saw Su Qing walking over and pushed Li Ran towards her.

"President Li, we've uncovered the people who launched the DDoS attack this morning." Su Qing said indignantly, "Those competitors only use these underhanded tricks, ugh."

Faced with Su Qing's complaints, Li Ran did not immediately respond, but continued to ask:

"Su Qing, do you know Utah? Why do all the people I've asked look troubled?"

"Utah..." Su Qing scratched his head as Li Ran interrupted his thoughts. "That's the fifth safest state in the US."

"???" Shen Zijie stared at Su Qing with wide eyes, unable to believe it.

"Then 5..."

"That's not important!" Su Qing waved his hand, interrupting Li Ran. "When I was at Factory 627, no matter how high-ranking an official was, they all addressed me respectfully as Senior Engineer Su. Now, these people are treating me like dirt? Mr. Li, can you stand this? I certainly can't, and I'm going to get my revenge. Besides, I'm not asking for authorization; I'm just informing you. I guarantee it won't be noticed."

This was the first time Li Ran had seen Su Qing so emotional, so he didn't offer much comfort but simply patted him on the shoulder.

Three days later, some traditional gasoline car manufacturers' official websites experienced glitches, instantly alerting those who were already feeling guilty.

The companies met up and conducted a joint inspection, finding that the IP distribution and access frequency were within the normal range.

It seems like the number of customers checking the official website has actually increased... what a load of rubbish!

In 2013, there were only 6.18 million internet users, of which 5 million were mobile internet users.

Does this mean all the remaining PC users are now looking at cars on the official website?

However, they couldn't find any evidence against it, the access behavior was perfectly normal, and there was nothing seriously wrong with the server, except that the bandwidth was being heavily consumed.

Despite strengthening firewalls and intrusion detection systems, there was no improvement, leaving several IT managers looking bitter.

One of them rubbed his eyes:

"Our skills aren't up to par. Let's upgrade our bandwidth service for now, for a month first..."

"How do we reimburse this money?" another person asked.

"Public relations expenses?"

"..."

Even after upgrading the bandwidth, the official website was still lagging. After upgrading again, it was still lagging.

It wasn't until the third upgrade that the lag was significantly alleviated, but that was only in the middle of the night.

Even during peak hours, it still lags.

I made do like this for more than three months, and it wasn't until the Chinese New Year that I fully recovered.

But in Li Ran's view, none of these things were as important as what was to come.

Back in his dorm, alone, he decided to conduct a talent recruitment drive.

The system responded to Li Ran's thoughts.

[Enable: Over-Limit Talent Recruitment]

"Yes"

Please confirm the reference quantity.

"502" Li Ran subconsciously submitted the number he had heard the most in the past two days.

[Calculating the probability wave function...]

[Fetching...]

[Under observation...]

[Wave function collapse complete; real-world projection established.]

[Recruitment will begin in 5 seconds. We wish you a pleasant gaming experience.]

-----------------

It was like a bucket of cold water being poured over your head.

Li Ran shivered and tried to open her eyes.

But a voice from the depths of the universe told him that the entire scene was frozen in time, and he could only observe it once the seal was broken.

Soon, the clearing of his memories made him realize his situation and his next task.

He is a pancreatic cancer patient who is trying to escape time and travel to the future in search of a glimmer of hope through hibernation technology.

The task is to recruit a young Chinese scholar named Fang Zhengjie within 72 hours.

As for the rest? They are all unknown.

After an unknown amount of time, time flowed on, the seal broke, and the recruitment officially began.

The countdown in the upper left corner of the field of view begins to change.

Opening his eyes, Li Ran saw a shadowless lamp hanging high above him, making it difficult for him to see his surroundings.

Immediately afterwards, a tingling sensation came over me, and it felt like many ants were crawling on my right shoulder, followed by waves of pain.

A slightly immature voice came from all directions.

"Oh? You woke up pretty quickly? The prosthetic surgery was a success. Don't move, just bear with it! Lie down a little longer, the wound will heal soon. Beep..."

Prosthetic body? Surgery?

Li Ran was startled and subconsciously turned his head to look to the right, only to find that he could not control his body, as if his whole body was bound by something.

Seemingly sensing Li Ran's intention, the youthful voice spoke a few steps faster:

"Why don't you old popsicles ever follow doctor's orders?"

Beep...

I told you, don't move!

Anesthesia is very expensive; you can't afford it.

However, if you're willing to pawn a kidney, it's not impossible to get you the injection.

Beep...

"It really is..."

Upon hearing this, Li Ran broke out in a cold sweat, and the scene froze instantly.

As if sensing Li Ran's will, the adrenal medulla above the kidneys began to secrete adrenaline frantically in order to help him endure the pain.

"It seems that this suffering isn't insurmountable," Li Ran thought to himself.

After a while, Li Ran's pain gradually disappeared, and his whole body was soaking wet, as if he had just come out of a sauna.

Realizing the restraints had eased, Li Ran instinctively used his right hand to prop himself up, then his body tilted and he fell to the right.

"Click"

Looking at the coffin-like object beneath him, deformed by his prosthetic body, Li Ran was somewhat bewildered.

He tried to raise his right hand, but found himself powerless.

With great effort, I turned my head and found that my once slender limbs were gone, replaced by a metal part that was only the length of a large arm and resembled the structure of a monkey's arm.

"Is this what a prosthetic body is?" Li Ran was filled with deep doubt.

When Li Ran came to his senses, a young man with dark circles under his eyes, messy hair, wearing a white coat, and looking displeased floated above him on a tray.

"Such heavy dark circles! You could look like a stay-at-home girl without makeup," Li Ran thought to herself. Then she noticed that the young man who stayed up all night had a device similar to bone conduction headphones on his ear, which was flashing red light.

After assessing the difference in their fighting abilities and considering his own current state of weakness and fatigue, Li Ran thought for a moment and said:

"I'll pay for it?"

Then, he subconsciously reached into his pocket with his right hand, but instead of finding his wallet, he tore his shirt.

"What are you doing?" The young man who stayed up late tilted his head, somewhat puzzled.

"I'm looking for my wallet..."

"wallet?"

"It's a tool for holding cash..."

"cash?"

"It is the general equivalent."

"Oh, you mean credits, right?" The young man who stayed up all night suddenly realized. "Why do you old fogies always use these incomprehensible words?"

Last time, someone woke up shouting something like "Allāhuʾakbaru" and then ran away while I was loading the language pack module.

Upon hearing this, Li Ran chuckled twice.

"From then on, every popsicle I dug out was injected with a drug that acts on the N2 choline receptors of the motor nerve endplate membrane."

You know what, these kinds of drugs, though they have a long history, are cheap! They're plentiful and filling, perfect for you bunch of penniless guys who've just woken up from your slumber.

Aren't you curious about his outcome?

Li Ran finally understood why he felt sore and weak all over; he had been drugged.

So he manipulated the right robotic arm to support his immobile chin and shook his head:

"I'm not curious. It's just that he's dead."

"That's right, he was an undocumented immigrant. He was immediately mothballed by the patrol vehicle as soon as he showed his face. I didn't even get his body back, and I still have to pay a fine! I'm so ripped off!"

The red light on the headphones started flashing more frequently, and the young man, who was staying up all night, ripped off the headphones and let them fall onto his shoulder.

Then he controlled the tray to fly around Li Ran once, nodding as he flew.

He returned to Li Ran's head, looking down at him, attempting to create a sense of oppression.

"There's no rush with the compensation. After the federal employees start work at 10 a.m. tomorrow, I'll take you to get your status processed, and then you'll have your own credit point account."

"Old popsicles like you from the 22nd century are most welcome to loan providers. Someone will handle the loan for you, and everything else can wait until you've got the loan."

"Hmm?" Li Ran asked, somewhat puzzled. "A loan?"

"In the Europa Federation, loan amounts directly determine a person's social credit rating." A blue light screen unfolded in front of the young man who stayed up all night. "I saw your information before the freeze was lifted. I know that you Chinese have a habit of saving, but don't bring it here. Saving money privately is unconstitutional."

Also, I've cured your cancer. In exchange, your entire right arm is mine. However, to ensure your limb is intact and looks good, I've fitted you with a primate sub-universal prosthetic body—free of charge.

Li Ran was speechless. Installing a short, monkey-like arm, he looked worse than Yang Guo.

At this moment, Li Ran regretted using 502 as the benchmark. He felt that the world had been so distorted that even Satan would find it evil.

Seeing that the young man who had stayed up all night was about to leave, and considering the limited time, Li Ran quickly called out:

Do you know Fang Zhengjie?

"Fang Zhengjie?" The young man who had been staying up all night paused and turned back. "Is he also an old popsicle? Which hibernation zone is he frozen in? I'll dig him out, and I'll waive the compensation for this medical pod for you."

"I can't remember..." Li Ran was speechless, then felt a sense of despair. The mission didn't provide any details, which meant that Fang Zhengjie, the mission target, might actually be a hibernator...

"Oh, it's okay. You've just thawed, so amnesia is normal. If needed, I can help you sort out your memories using a machine; it'll be quick." As if remembering something, the young man who stayed up all night added, "It doesn't hurt, really."

Li Ran waved his hand, indicating that he understood.

After the young man who stayed up all night left, Li Ran gave up his idea of ​​going out at night. On the one hand, he felt weak and unable to move, and he was willing but unable to do so. On the other hand, he was an unregistered person and if he encountered a patrol vehicle at night, he would be at a great loss if his account was forcibly deactivated.

The next day, Li Ran was awakened by a sharp pain.

The young man, who had been staying up all night, was seen controlling a robotic arm to administer medication to himself.

With the injection of the medicine, the feeling of weakness and limpness returned.

"So cautious?" Li Ran had a headache. "Is there no trust between us?"

The young man who stayed up late grinned but didn't respond.

The young man, who had been staying up all night, placed Li Ran on a device that resembled a wheelchair and took Li Ran out.

They flew to the Federal Office in silence.

Under the surveillance of the AI ​​on the third floor, Li Ran underwent bloodletting, fingerprint, palm print, iris print, voiceprint, and thought pattern collection. Soon after, Li Ran successfully obtained his personal information card.

Then, the two arrived at a hall in the northeast corner of the third floor.

The young man who stayed up all night handed Li Ran over to a white man with a hooked nose at the entrance of the hall.

Soon after verifying his personal information, Li Ran gained 5000 credit points.

"Hey, wait a minute, is my credit limit only 5000 credit points?" Li Ran said, somewhat unconvinced.

"The remaining 48,000 is in his hands." The hook-nosed man pointed to the young man who had stayed up all night waiting outside the hall.

Seeing Li Ran being brought out, the young man who had stayed up all night went up and circled Li Ran a few times, marveling at her appearance.

"I didn't realize you were so valuable."

After experiencing Stephen Hawking's life in a wheelchair for a morning, Li Ran was taken back to his residence by the young man who stayed up all night.

As soon as they got inside, the young man who had been up all night gave Li Ran an extra injection.

"It's over! The mission is definitely going to fail." These were Li Ran's last thoughts before he lost consciousness.

The shockwave from the nearby explosion knocked Li Ran to the ground.

Upon waking, Li Ran experienced a ringing in his cochlea and could vaguely hear some sounds.

"You surnamed Zhou, you've got some nerve... you've gotten so bold as to hang yourself... you owe me... when are you going to...?"

Another explosion followed, and Li Ran lost consciousness from the shockwave.

When Li Ran woke up again, he found himself locked up with the young man who stayed up all night, which seemed to be a detention cell.

The walls were smooth metal all around, without a single gap, and there was no other light source except for some dim light coming in from the doorway.

The countdown timer in the upper left corner of the screen clearly showed that less than 40 minutes remained.

He instinctively wanted to scratch his head, but it didn't relieve the itch. He looked down and, lo and behold, the new primate secondary universal prosthetic body on his right arm was gone, leaving only a base.

"Incredible!" Li Ran was completely convinced.

Slowly getting up, I shook the young man who had stayed up all night awake and asked:

"What's going on? Can you explain?"

Young people who stay up all night are on the verge of collapse.

"You're the same—owing money, taking out high-interest loans, settling debts."

"Awesome!" Li Ran gave a thumbs up with his left hand.

The atmosphere quieted down.

For the rest of the time, Li Ran sat on the ground, resting his chin on his left hand, watching the young man who stayed up all night drift off into daydreams.

With five minutes left in the countdown, Li Ran, unwilling to let the recruitment end just like that, suddenly asked:

"Tell me, if I could save your life right now, would you?"

The young man who stayed up late ignored him and just stared straight at the ceiling.

"Dead? I'm asking you a question."

"it is good."

"But the price is working a full eight hours a day; only three meals and snacks are provided a day; milk is only available in the morning; lunch break is only one hour; salary increases are only given once every four months; overtime pay is only triple; one hour of exercise is required after get off work; and there is only one day of psychological counseling per week."

"???" The young man who stayed up all night turned to look at Li Ran, his small eyes filled with great confusion.

Seeing that the young man who stayed up all night was silent, Li Ran found it a little strange:

"Say something!"

"it is good."

"That means you agree. Now, tell me your name."

"...Zhou Rui."

Li Ran extended his left hand:

"It's a promise, let's seal it with a high five."

Zhou Rui reached out his left hand and gently touched it.

Li Ran then began to mentally try to submit Zhou Rui's information to exploit the system's bug.

After all, Zhou Rui is now someone who has reached an agreement with me on terms and a consensus on cooperation. So it should be reasonable for me to take back an employee who has been influenced by my "kindness".

"Am I... going to die? I think I saw... a beam of light..." Zhou Rui murmured intermittently, "I think I saw... Dad? Let me tell you, when I was little, Dad would always... always give my brother and me two credits so we could buy... 1000 painkillers..."

"Painkillers? 1000 pills? Two credits?" Li Ran turned his head, his face showing hostility. "Didn't you say before that anesthetics were expensive? That you wanted me to donate a kidney?"

"...Then...the whole family ate it...like it was a holiday..." Zhou Rui ignored Li Ran, "But I didn't eat it...so they all died..."

Li Ran shook his head, submitted the information, and then quietly waited for the system to detect it.

With 30 seconds left in the countdown, the test passed, and Li Ran breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the mission to recruit Fang Zhengjie failed, it wasn't a wasted trip. He managed to bring back Zhou Rui, a young man who seemed to have some ability.

"Hey, wake up!" Before the countdown ended, Li Ran reached out and patted Zhou Rui's face. "It's time for us to say goodnight to this world."