Chapter 421 - 393: The Sheriff Ready to Go

[UG1 Police Exoskeleton]

[Description: Strength enhancement, endurance enhancement, agility enhancement, integrated communication and information systems, non-lethal weapon integration, vital signs monitoring]

[Energy: FlexiGraph standard storage battery, capable of full-power operation for 24 hours after being fully charged]

This exoskeleton is a modified version of a lightweight military exoskeleton. In an effort to reduce the costs of two production lines, most parts are of the same model.

The weapon system has been removed, and new-style armored plates made of shock-absorbent steel and graphene batteries have been added to key protective areas, such as the back, chest, and shoulders, providing quite decent bulletproof and blast-resistant capabilities.

However, using this exoskeleton still requires a brain-computer interface for neural synchronization.

In the Cyberpunk World, this is a hazardous thing, so the exoskeleton agreement clearly states that law enforcers will bear a certain degree of risk by using it, and the enforcement process will be recorded in its entirety and uploaded to the public network.

Also, because this is a genuine exoskeleton armor, its actual implementation will face many questions.

Within the New York City Council and municipal government, many members have expressed skepticism and hope that voters will join them in expressing dissatisfaction.

But...

Absolutely legal protests essentially mean an absolute inability to prevent ruling authorities from legally enacting a law.

So although there are internal questions, they are mostly vocal without much action. The passage of the procurement bill even faced little resistance.

And current Police Commissioner George, he is a typical bureaucrat who believes in the system:

If Anthony weren’t the mayor, if Lille weren’t a supporter of the mayor, even if someone told him that using this armor in law enforcement could catch criminals and prevent casualties, he would still not use it.

Once these conditions are met, he would even be the first to put on such a garment.

Click.

The last fastener was fitted, and the exoskeleton locked from top to bottom along his spine.

The helmet is made of polycarbonate material with not too low transparency, has good impact resistance, and allows wearers to show their faces, reducing the public’s fear of this equipment. It can also be fitted with a HUD for AR guidance.

"Wow..." Chief Stacy slowly stood up, looking at his hands now covered by the exoskeleton.

It’s amazing. According to the technical parameters, this thing weighs over fifty kilograms, but he couldn’t feel any weight at all.

Even...

He looked at the 100kg barbell beside him.

The exoskeleton operated under neural command, reaching straight for the barbell—

Lifting a 100kg barbell with one hand is already top-tier human physical condition; could he lift it?

This sense of tension caused George’s brain to issue a command which was transmitted into the exoskeleton.

This movement required immense strength, as well as superb body coordination and balance. After all, such an action that exceeds human limits was no longer a test of just one or two muscle groups.

Zzz—

The motor operated, joints adjusted, fingers tightly gripped the bar...

The bystanders all held their breath: Chief Stacy was a respected police chief but not a world-class strongman.

Could he lift it?

The faint sound of the motor suddenly sharpened, becoming quite noticeable in the quiet hall where one could hear a pin drop—

"Ha—"

Crack!

The floor cracked underfoot, and under the watchful eyes of the audience, the 100kg barbell was slowly lifted; not quickly, but remarkably steady!

"Holy shit..."

The barbell passed over his head, and George looked at the barbell in his hands with an incredulous expression, which then turned into a smile—

Bang!

The barbell was put down, and as it was about to hit the floor, it was released and smashed down, the deep sound confirming it was no prop.

Suddenly, applause thundered.

"Phew—" Chief Stacy shook his head, moving so smoothly he even forgot he was wearing an exoskeleton.

His daughter Gwen immediately approached, tapping and checking her dad like inspecting a parcel for damage.

Lille also clapped from the side, "How does it feel?"

"I feel... it’s just too exaggerated, I thought I was lifting a 20kg dumbbell..."

The exoskeleton inherited the Cyberpunk World’s Centaur Mecha design, which is to say, the feedback logic of a Linear Frame.

The user must bear at least 10% of the weight, mainly to make the neural feedback more sensitive.

Lille had increased the load-bearing proportion of the police exoskeleton to reduce the disparity the operator would feel after removing it.

Later on, it might even be limited to an 80kg class output—after all, this is police equipment, not some weightlifting gear.

Gwen, fiddling nearby, felt even more conflicted:

Her dad had become a RoboCop!

"...Is it really necessary to use this thing?" Gwen muttered softly.

"Absolutely necessary," Chief Stacy replied, turning his head and retracting the helmet’s face armor, "If the police could carry all their equipment with them, they could handle any situation."

Sometimes it was because they didn’t bring the electric shock gun and nervously shot at agitated citizens, resulting in accidental deaths.

Sometimes it was because they needed to carry a firearm, but only brought a non-lethal electric gun.

Law enforcement is a complicated job, especially when the police don’t know if the other person might pull a gun from their waistband.

Although the police would be informed about the best equipment to bring based on the emergency call, it’s never as convenient as having everything on hand.

The mayor, Anthony, was all smiles: "This equipment should also be a big help in situations like firefighting."

"Indeed," Chief Stacy nodded, "You could even say it’s more helpful."

The NYPD has just over fifty thousand employees, including unofficial ones, and with an armament rate of 10%, that’s only five thousand units sold.

Each exoskeleton sold for just barely 30,000 US Dollars.

A bigger expense was the replacements for vehicles and specialized equipment.

The NYPD has a total of 9,000 police cars and 120 motorcycles, and if two-thirds of these were replaced, that’s 6,000 vehicles, at an average price of 80,000 US Dollars per vehicle...

Another fortune was made in an instant.

If they could get firefighting involved, another profit could be made.

This money isn’t small change for city governance, but once the products are sold, they would benefit workers and businesses all along the production line.

There is resistance, but the impetus is strong as well; everyone is just trying to make a living.

Lille was also planning to continue promoting this model in other cities with Hammond and Martin—

During the subprime mortgage crisis, everyone was looking to delay for as long as possible, and implementing new technology was just the right direction to prolong things.

Accounting for the time, due to Rocksen Energy Corporation’s mischief, Detroit’s bankruptcy is likely to happen sooner...

What follows would be a test of eloquence: after all, the oil monopoly that Rocksen advocated was also an attractive prospect, and if they spread their monopolistic profits around sufficiently, naturally, some would believe helping Rocksen monopolize energy would improve their lives.

Preparations complete, it was now time for training the troops.

Anthony was gearing up emotionally, preparing to assign new tasks to the police officers in the department, when a detective by his side received a phone call:

"Hello, this is the New York City Police Department, Mr. Stone, what seems to be the problem?"

"...Slow down, you say they’ve blocked your home entrance... Okay, I understand."

Chief Stacy, who had just finished trying on the exoskeleton and was eager for action, looked at his subordinates:

"Who is it?"

"Huashi Stone, his mother is my informant in Hell’s Kitchen. He just called to tell me that their community’s property company has blocked their doors," the subordinate replied.

The police officers in the department all smiled knowingly.

Although they were unaware that Anthony intended to speak about some administrative edict,

they knew their chief was definitely eager to get out and about.

Sure enough, Chief Stacy said, "What cases has he helped you investigate? Let me see."

"It’s a pretty long case." The subordinate pushed aside the laptop on the table and picked up the microphone, "Pull up the ’Hell’s Kitchen Serial Murder Case.’

This happened over half a year ago, someone was killing people with steel spikes there, but the suspected killer was hit and killed by a truck, and the mastermind behind the crimes was never found."

Lille and Anthony exchanged a silent glance:

They had also contributed to the case files on this matter.