Chapter 69: tion


    The speed of BCPD’s Unit 3 exceeded Sun Jack’s expectations. Within half a minute, their officers hadn’t yet arrived, but a swarm of drones with shing red-and-blue lights was already blocking the truck.


    “BCPD! Pull over immediately! Upload your dashcam footage! Comply with the investigation!”


    The next moment, all the drone rotors abruptly seized up, and they plummeted to the ground like fallen leaves—clearly hacked.


    The warning ignored, the assault began. Thunderclouds above suddenly parted, and two missiles screeched through the air, aimed directly at the truck’s cab.


    “What the f***! They’re just blowing it up with missiles? Unit 3 is this heavy-handed?” Sun Jack muttered, startled by the sudden esction.


    But before the missiles could strike, the hover vehicle trailing behind the truck activated. A radar-like ck device extended from its underside, causing the missile warheads to shake violently. Just before reaching the truck, they detonated prematurely.


    The massive shockwave pushed the truck from the leftne to the right. But this was only the beginning. Two jet-ck fighter jets burst through the clouds, heading straight for the hover vehicle.


    With the battle unfolding overhead, Sun Jack knew this was the perfect chance to slip in unnoticed. Riding Tapai, he rushed to the truck’s left side and activated his cybeic eye, ring sharply.The interference worked. The truck gradually came to a halt.


    “Xiao Ting%! Run! Unit 3 is here!” Sun Jack shouted as he sted open the trunk and rushed inside.


    But as he entered, he was greeted by a grisly scene: shattered brain matter scattered across the floor, equipment in disarray, and chaos everywhere. The headless woman who had been there was gone.


    He hadn’t anticipated her being even more cautious than he’d expected. As soon as things went south, she had fled—without needing his warning. It was perfect for his n.


    With no time to waste, Sun Jack shoved aside dangling data cables and rushed toward the mechanical chair. “AA! Watch the perimeter!” he yelled.@@novelbin@@


    Tapai quickly retracted his wheels and darted to the control panel. His sensor lines acted like fingers, rapidly typing away on the keyboard.


    Sun Jacky back on the chair as the data lines pierced into the back of his head. The sharp, searing pain shot straight into his brain. “Hurry up! Faster!” he urged.


    “Shut up!” A red notification shed across Tapai’s disy. “Overclocking mode activated.” Thin streams of white smoke began to seep from the seams in Tapai’s armor.


    As Sun Jack felt something drilling deeper into his brain, memories began flooding back uncontrobly, elerating until they overwhelmed his consciousness. It was like being submerged in a vast ocean.


    “Done! Data extracted! Memory and logs deleted!”


    At those words, Sun Jack grabbed a de and shed the connections from the back of his head. Without hesitation, he dashed out of the shipping container.


    As he exited, he couldn’t resist turning back to aim his prosthetic arm at the equipment behind him.


    Lightning crackled, piercing the air. Electric arcs whipped andshed at the machinery, sparks flying as explosions and mes erupted. Watching the destruction with satisfaction, Sun Jack fled the scene with his team as quickly as possible.


    The battle in the skies continued, but Sun Jack didn’t care who won. He was only interested in stealing what he needed during the chaos.


    To avoid being tracked, Sun Jack took several detours, wandering for hours before finally returning home.


    As he stepped inside, his heart was still pounding. Today had been a rollercoaster. The n was risky, but he had no other choice. Fortunately, it had all worked out.


    Ignoring his exhaustion, Sun Jack urged Tapai to send him the extracted data. Momentster, a flood of dense data logs appeared on his system interface. But Sun Jack only cared about one line:


    “User 1394 hippocampal ce cell search rate: 100%. No signs of editing detected.”


    Seeing this, Sun Jack felt an immense weight lift off his shoulders. He exhaled deeply, and a grin spread uncontrobly across his face. He beganughing out loud.


    “Haha! My memories are real! They haven’t been edited! I’m just suffering from amnesia! Just amnesia!”


    “Is it really that exciting?” Tapai remarked from the side.


    “Of course!” Sun Jack eximed, flipping in the air with glee. “Damn, I’ve been terrified! Ever since I started doubting my memories, I haven’t been able to eat or sleep properly!”


    He pulled out his phone, scrolling repeatedly through old screenshots. That sense of unreality disappeared. These snapshots of his past now felt warm and familiar again—genuinely real.


    “AA’s still here. Put your phone away,” Tapai reminded him.


    Sun Jack nced at AA, who seemed utterly fascinated by the unfamiliar mechanical device in his hand. Smiling, he tucked the phone away and patted her on the head. “Today’s a celebration. What do you want to eat? My treat—let’s feast!”


    He was genuinely overjoyed, far more than he had anticipated.


    “No, no,” AA quickly declined. “Boss, I can’t let you treat me. I didn’t even help much earlier.”


    “Are you with me or not? Stop being so formal!” Sun Jack slung an arm around her shoulders and another around Tapai, dragging them both outside.


    That evening, Sun Jack and AA stayed outte, drinking heavily. By the end, both were red-faced and thoroughly drunk. The cost? His bank bnce sank into the negatives again.


    But Sun Jack didn’t mind. True, he could never go back to his old life. Yet, even in a world a thousand years ahead, he needed to believe that the things he once cherished were real—not fabricated.


    Those memories meant infinitely more than a bit of money.


    Half-conscious, Sun Jack babbled nonsense to AA, his words growing more cheerful as he spoke. It had been ages since he felt this happy.


    He didn’t know how much time passed before exhaustion overtook him. Drooling, he curled up against one of Tapai’s charging legs, drifting off to the sound of rain pattering against the window.


    At some point, he felt unbearably hot. Jolting awake, he realized his right hand was on fire.


    Panicking, Sun Jack could only watch as mes consumed his body. He struggled desperately, sweat pouring down his face, until his eyes snapped open.


    It was just a dream.


    But relief was short-lived. Even though the mes were gone, his arm still hurt—despite being wide awake.