Chapter 1037 - 79: Liberation

[City Broadcast: Please be aware that the glorious United States has been illegally invaded.]

[City Broadcast: Please be aware that loyal American soldiers are under attack by separatists in New York. The nation is at the highest level of alert.]

[City Broadcast: Please return to your posts immediately...]

[City Broadcast: Those who do not return to their posts within the designated time will be considered as theft of company property, and violators may face a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison, or a fine of 2 million US Dollars, or 50 years of labor to pay off debts.]

Click—

A faint electrical noise buzzed in a back-alley clinic in Los Angeles. Dr. Conners, wearing a mask and a filthy white robe, had his prosthetic right hand deep in a patient’s brain, severing the backdoor device of the Rocksen Group.

When he withdrew his hand, a large amount of faintly glowing, pale green blood oozed from the surgical wound.

"Alright, you owe Rocksen nothing now. Embrace your new life."

"To hell with a new life, I just want to twist the head off a company stooge and kick it like a ball."

As Conners packed up the equipment, he said, "In that case, you might want to consider joining us, joining the Avengers Alliance..."

BAM—

Before this poor Avenger could pledge to the so-called "Avengers Alliance," the door of the clinic was violently pushed open with such force that the metal hinges flew off!

The patient, who was planning a bold declaration, instantly turned pale: Could it be Rocksen coming for them?

But it wasn’t Rocksen’s armed soldiers who arrived; it was Peter Parker—prosthetic-laden Peter Parker, who was so strong because of the prosthetics in his body.

"Doctor, we need to move immediately: something’s not right. Rocksen might be launching a full-scale assault. We have to leave here and return to New York!"

"A full-scale assault?" Conners hesitated, "Wasn’t the broadcast saying that there were invaders attacking?"

"Forget the broadcast, doctor; don’t forget how Rocksen publicizes things—they’re pros at lying through their teeth! Hey, you...brother, give us a hand; we need to get out of here."

Peter quickly helped Professor Conners pack the toolbox. The once frail child was now very robust—not a hulking brute at first glance, but he could easily carry an entire prosthetic welding machine.

While packing equipment, Peter shouted at the bewildered patient, and Conners felt his pocket, taking out an injector and administering it to the patient. The patient’s wound started to clot, and his mind cleared, hastily joining in gathering belongings.

"...Where’s Gwen?"

"He went to find Dr. Otto and Dr. Tumus. I parked the car in an abandoned outer city—it’s bad, the mechanical units in town changed their behavior pattern three days ago, and now they are launching armed sweeps of low-controlled districts.

We must act quickly; I have no idea when they might find us here..."

The sky over the Rocksen-occupied city was gray and smoggy, with oil fuel dominating the streets filled with people on the verge of mental collapse—

Most people need to work over 20 hours at their job site to pay off their debts, with the remaining four hours spent nearing a mental breakdown.

To prevent societal unrest caused by lack of rest, Rocksen developed a security management driver, procured by President Ellis as a "benefit" directly installed into people’s prosthetics.

This way, once off work, the mentally exhausted workers are physically suppressed into a semi-sleep state; the software driver controls the prosthetics returning to the room...

Usually, by the time people wake up to find themselves back home, it’s time to work again. If they’re too tired, they can continue to use this "benefit" on their way to work, commuting while semi-sleeping, and once at the work site, receive a hormone and nutrition package injected through a fixed port—

Though it’s stated as receiving, it actually costs money. If health-related expenses increase and employees can’t afford to enter work mode, they take out a loan to purchase. With cyber network technology, online loans are incredibly convenient.

Even, thanks to the US "big government" controlled by President Ellis, automatically approves loans if a citizen’s needs are detected.

Failing to repay loans means being unable to break free from the "Social Contract Protection Act" pushed by the US, unable to escape Rocksen’s contracts, which essentially means working for Rocksen until death.

Smart people might question: How does a society that doesn’t consume develop? How does it create GDP?

Because Rocksen Group’s strategy of exploring otherworldly realms can create a lot of GDP; Rocksen requires stronger extraction equipment, more refineries, a more robust transportation network, and more intense singularity particle refining equipment...

Everything is for a grand goal. Peter has noticed the issue but has yet to understand what exactly this grand goal is.

The trio headed outside the clinic to find the usually dead streets somewhat chaotic: all the combat robots were activated and launched into combat mode. Armored vehicles rolled overwhelmingly through the streets, while helicopters and planes from nearby military bases started up, and alarms blared throughout the city.

A squad of soldiers immediately spotted the trio emerging from the basement. After issuing a command not to move and cooperate with the investigation, they sprinted over!

Peter appeared to cradle his head, but in reality, he was counting down in his mind: the countdown to when to act...

"To hell with you, company stooge!"

BOOM!

A roar erupted in the distance, bright green flashes exploded on the street, black smoke rose skyward. Numerous combat robots and soldiers bypassed the head-cradling Peter and Conners, raising their guns to run toward the explosion!

"Go!" Peter whispered to Conners, "I sent a ’Day of Uprising’ message to all Avenger members, hoping this will stall some troops in New York..."

Whirr—

Before he finished speaking, a supersonic fighter spacecraft streaked low across the sky, then swiftly climbed into the sky...

Peter was so taken by the scene that he forgot to act, for the plane was being pursued by several air-to-air missiles!

Boom!

The speeding fighter plane, like an eagle with clipped wings, was blasted into fragments in the sky, and the debris trailed plumes of black smoke and flames as it plummeted to earth!

Amidst the clouds seemed to be some massive object breaking through, punching bulges into the thick clouds—

Missiles and gatling guns rained down on the ground; the nearby military base, following a giant bomb drop, erupted into massive fire columns, completely overloading and obliterating the entire base!

Whoosh—

The shockwave cleared the city’s smog, as a titanic war machine broke through the clouds. Fighters, floating cars, and armed helicopters poured out in full force, mercilessly sweeping away enemy units!

Titan Robots dropped from the sky, friction heating their skin into a scorching glow. Before Peter’s astonished eyes, a Titan smashed directly onto the ground, instantly crushing the soldiers and robots at the landing point, with the shockwave sweeping aside all surrounding soldiers!

"...What...is...that thing?"

Under the gawking gazes of the trio, the Titan swung its colossal sword, standing before them. An electronically enhanced voice echoed:

"Do not fear, civilians, we are here to liberate you."