Malfunctioning Utopia

Chapter 21: Work Calls

As Sun Jack stared outside, the sky gradually brightened, and the rain dwindled from a downpour to a drizzle.

He knew he couldn’t keep going like this—sitting around wouldn’t fill his stomach.

Rubbing his face vigorously with both hands until it turned red, he straightened himself up and resolved to get moving.

“Tapai, wake up. Today, we’re getting food no matter what, even if we have to steal it!”

Just as he slipped on his freshly dried jacket from the washing machine, a notification popped up on the top-right corner of his neural system’s HUD. It was Song 6’s avatar, trembling and buzzing incessantly.

Hesitantly, Sun Jack opened it, and Song 6’s tattooed face instantly filled his view.

“Yo~~ long time no see, bro!”

“What is it? Planning to pay me back?” Sun Jack asked impatiently.

“Pay back? I need money to do that, man! Do I look like I have money?”

“If you don’t have anything important to say, I’m hanging up.” Sun Jack’s hunger was driving him crazy—he was so starved he could almost gnaw on a piece of Song 6’s face.

“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t hang up, bro! You’re looking for work, right? I’ve got a job for you—big payout!”

“Who told you I’m looking for work?” Sun Jack felt a pang of violation, like his privacy had been invaded.

“Tapai told me, duh. He asked if I had anything. If it weren’t for him, I’d have given it to someone else.”

Walking over, Sun Jack angrily smacked Tapai, who was charging on the wall. “Can you not be so ‘smart’? Couldn’t you ask me first before blabbing to him?”

Tapai’s screen lit up with an annoyed emoji.

“(꒪⌓꒪) Dude, you literally told me to find you work. How do you manage to treat your own words like trash? You can’t even afford food, so quit pretending. If you don’t find work, you’ll die here with no one to pick up your body.”

Sighing in defeat, Sun Jack turned back to Song 6. “What’s the job?”

“Heh, it’s a good one! If we pull it off, you and Tapai can each earn at least 5 @coins!”

Hearing this, Sun Jack’s expression remained unmoved. He wasn’t as naive as when he first arrived. After those interviews, he understood the real value of @coins.

You could hire someone to risk their life for just 0.15 @ a week. If this job offered 5 @, there had to be a catch.

“Tell me first—what’s the job?” Sun Jack crossed his arms, his tone cautious.

“We just need to find something.”

“What is it?” Despite his empty stomach, Sun Jack knew better than to jump in blind.

Before Song 6 could answer, his camera started shaking. “Someone’s coming. I’ll send you the address—come check it out. It’s a team gig, not just you. Oh, and there’s a hottie involved~!” 𝐫ÁꞐо𝔟Èŝ

Sun Jack hesitated, but when he saw the meeting point was at a restaurant, he immediately grabbed his jacket.

“Tapai, quit charging! Let’s go—we’re finally getting food!”

Riding on Tapai, Sun Jack enthusiastically arrived at the address Song 6 had sent. When they got there, both were stunned by the building’s appearance.

“You sure this is a restaurant? It looks more like a dump,” Tapai said, craning his neck.

The so-called restaurant turned out to be a rundown bar under an overpass. Its name, “Hotdog Diner,” might have been appropriate for the city, but the exterior certainly wasn’t.

Black and blue garbage bags were piled so high they looked like they might collapse the roof. The flickering neon sign was tilted, sparking occasionally, while the ground was riddled with potholes and filthy puddles.

“Well, we’re already here. Let’s check it out. And don’t forget to load your gun,” Sun Jack said as he stepped inside.

To his surprise, the place was packed. Groups of rough-looking individuals, many with prosthetics and unfriendly faces, gathered around tables in threes and fives. The tables were empty, not a scrap of food in sight, leaving Sun Jack doubtful that he’d find anything to eat here.

“Hey!” A metal arm waved from a corner. “Bro, over here!”

Frowning, Sun Jack made his way over, ready to chew out Song 6, but his attention was caught by the woman sitting nearby.

She was a tall girl wearing a semi-transparent green glowing raincoat. Underneath, she had on a short-sleeved shirt and hot pants, revealing a lithe and well-proportioned figure. Purple electromagnetic fiber strands replaced her hair, tied into a ponytail behind her head.

Leaning back in her chair, she was working on something through her neural system. A chip plugged into her temple flashed rapidly.

“Come on, come on!” Song 6 greeted Sun Jack with his usual overly familiar manner, pulling him into a chair. “Let me introduce you. This is Four Ai, our team’s doctor and engineer for this job.”

Hearing her name mentioned, the girl’s chip stopped flashing. She looked at Sun Jack and gave him a nod.

“Oh? Four Ai? That’s a lovely name.” Sun Jack extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Sun Jack.”

Four Ai glanced at his hand, a faint smile tugging at her lips. She reached out and shook it firmly.

“I should correct you—Four Ai isn’t my name. It’s my kink.”

“Oh, your kink, huh. Hm?!”

When Sun Jack instinctively searched his neural system for the term, the results hit him like a ten-ton hammer.

Fourth Love—distinct from heterosexual love (Type 1), gay love (Type 2), or lesbian love (Type 3)—referred to a specific kink where women dominate men, using objects to penetrate them.

“What the f***?! Can this place get any weirder?! Even kinks are this insane?!”

While Sun Jack was mentally crashing, Four Ai’s hand slid down his arm, sending alarm bells ringing in his head.

“Crap! This woman’s about to mess with me!”

Feeling a chill down his spine, Sun Jack quickly stood up and switched seats with Tapai.

Unfazed by his reaction, Four Ai immediately turned her attention to Tapai. “Hi there, little metal guy. Your prosthetics must’ve cost a fortune, huh?”

“No, no, no!” Tapai hastily pushed her hand away. “Σ(゜ロ゜;) Please spare me! My system isn’t compatible with your XP!”

Seeing things get out of hand, Sun Jack couldn’t just leave his robot to fend for itself. Pointing at Four Ai, he declared, “She’s a woman.”

At this, Four Ai lost interest immediately, retracting her hand with a disappointed look.