Chapter 1041 - 83: Completion

Boom——

The surface trembled, another orbital mass strike projected onto Night City, the scattered concrete blocks equivalent to cluster bombs, mercilessly destroying this once prosperous city.

From above, the city has already turned dark, the only light source being the burning buildings, but even the flames are smothered by black smoke.

A world-renowned Free City under attack turned into a Dead City in less than three days, just as Military Technology deployed troops without reservation, the European Space Agency also launched bombings without reserve——

Everyone was driven to the brink, the turmoil in the European Union lasted a day, and the situation worsened day by day, accustomed to the excellent management AI of the Illuminati, they felt uneasy assessing the situation, not to mention the real loss of money.

Companies were losing money every day, but on the other side, the Worker’s Union was expanding its power daily, the European Union didn’t know where they lost, how that bunch of wretches without money could still owe money, where they got the money to rebel, they only know that they need to capture the leaders first.

At the same time, they urgently broadcasted this scene worldwide, as if arrogantly announcing:

"Your savior is dead, lay down your resistance and accept reality."

However, the European Union clearly forgot one thing, or perhaps they ignored it: the most dangerous person in the room is the one with nothing, because all they think about is taking or burning what others hold.

This planet is now a locked room.

Even if Lille really died in the bombings, even if Free City turned to ruins, even if the myth shattered, resistance would not stop——

Moreover, Night City did not perish; this city was reborn in the bombings, now a battlefield bathed in flame and steel, a factory sprinting toward the future.

There is no day and night here, only endless mechanical rumbling and the glow of melting furnaces, countless automated assembly arms swinging, endless streams of molten iron and metal powder flowing into the treatment stations, congealing into alloys through precision neurological metallurgy...

Sparks burst on the production line, like stars jumping out of the darkness, workers’ prosthetics clatter, exoskeletons hum, dust and grease accumulate on protective masks, foremen shout slogans in the deafening noise——

But occasionally, they crack jokes with each other, as if this could dispel the urgency lingering in this Underground City.

"Our Night City ~ is going to the skies tomorrow ~"

"We’re building a rocket to fly into space, do you think this thing can really fly up there?"

"Nonsense, what do you think we’re doing? Carving names on an unprecedented giant tombstone for ourselves?"

"Haha, if it really is a tombstone, we’d have to carve the boss’s name on top: Burger King trading silly big shots, the last deal, the eternal space ghost wandering up there."

"Don’t fucking joke around, if they die, we won’t survive either!"

"Hey, are you done?"

The worker looks at the robot beside him—though it’s called a robot, it’s doing work on the same level as him. Although not explicitly stated, everyone now defaults to it being a wandering AI.

What a badass thing: wandering AI smashed the old world into pieces, people thought Network Supervision saved humanity from disaster.

Now they suddenly discovered that wandering AI might smash the old world into pieces, likely just learned the behavior logic of villains, accelerating the world’s progress towards destruction.

Now wandering AI returns to attack the wealthy, people never imagined that wandering AI and the poor became class brothers.

Workers of the Marvel World completed their tasks, the production line status changed: "Is your Night City underground now? We were underground before too."

"Before?"

"Yes, before, now we won, took back the whole country in an instant, but that damn corporate dog ran to the Moon, hearsay he might blow up the Moon..."

"Haha! So badass?" Night City guy laughed heartily, "Then I get it, we gotta move faster, rush up and blow up the corporate dogs before the Moon gets blown up!

I sometimes wish what you have there is real!"

"Same here, where can I find someone like you who’s nice to talk to and quick to work? Keep at it!"

They laughed, completing the final assembly on multiple-ton propulsion fuel tanks, collaborating between mechanical arms and manpower, the massive rocket framework gradually rising in the cramped underground factory like a sword pointing to the sky.

No extra decorations, no company logos, no patent marks belonging to any person, everyone knows this belongs to no one or company——

This belongs to the people who forged it with their hands.

People from two worlds, working together to manufacture the same rocket, besides guaranteeing the whole operation goes smoothly, the Marvel World has already started building stronger computing arrays.

In the Marvel World things are okay, extraterrestrial communication might have delays, but that is Lille’s home ground; in Night City, once leaving Earth, or leaving the Underground City, communication environment would become extremely unstable...

Unless Lille could receive assistance from the true wandering AI, leveraging internet era equipment, otherwise, he needs to pre-compute large amounts to lower chances of accidents.

Though situations vary slightly, one thing remains constant for people of both worlds:

Time, time is the most precious commodity, European Space Agency’s orbital mass projector still operates, sweeping forces may launch the final onslaught anytime; Rocksen Group may also start their ultimate experiment, blowing up the Moon.

In such circumstances, production, squeeze every moment into production, exhaust all capacity, collaborate with all might is the only way to survive!

The fight isn’t just on the battlefield, people have been keeping tension ever since entering the final state, corporate dogs dream of having workers spin 24 hours non-stop, yet they never achieve:

They blame inefficiency on wretches disobeying management, blame it on Intelligence deficiency of the lower classes, blame these people being hopeless consumables, yet they never imagine:

At this moment, many people work sleeplessly, hardly even wiping away grime off their bodies, prosthetic enhancements and drug stimulation proceed constantly, nerves maintain prolonged high excitement, even advanced technology can’t suppress inflammations and rejection reactions——

In the company’s eyes, they should’ve turned into cyber psychiatric cases by now!

"Hey, can we really withstand this?"

The young technician tweaks his limbs, hot maintenance oil gushed out from the outlet, immediately filling it with new maintenance liquid.

The rocket is right in front of them.

His partner concentrates on manipulating the mechanical arm, both eyes shut entirely. Even extra mechanical activities halted, entering an extremely perilous machine control mode:

"Less talk, more work, if tired, drink some booze, take some drugs, only after building it do you qualify to fear."

This is the final chip, the last chance against the corporate dogs.

Pumping in all motor oil, prosthetics whirred, sparks flying, the technician looking at the rocket and laughed: "We gotta use this thing to smack them in the face hard."

"That would be awesome!"

Whoomp——

The launch pad started moving, cooling gas saturating the surroundings...

The last piece of the puzzle assembled on the rocket, drive written, the fated-to-change-history ship began operating.

Finished.

[Lille: All compatriots, workers, warriors——listen:]