Malfunctioning Utopia

Chapter 18: Hard to Earn Money

Staring at the floating confirmation window in front of him, Sun Jack felt the weight of pressure bearing down on him. His expression tightened as he made his decision and opened the notification.

Upon seeing the ID: Are you kidding me, this is so troublesome!, he turned to Tapai with an exasperated look. “D*** it! You scared the crap out of me!”

“You coward. How does a single request scare you like that?” Tapai sneered.

Ignoring him, Sun Jack leaned against an electronic wreath and began searching for information about last night’s battle. He knew very little about the space station, but perhaps Gaofeng Technology Corporation, having recovered it, would publish some analysis revealing details he wasn’t aware of.

More importantly, he needed to confirm whether any trace of him and Tapai had been discovered.

After some quick browsing, Sun Jack found several reports, including a few exclusive livestream analyses. Just as he excitedly clicked on one, he was met with a cold, merciless notification: Insufficient funds.

“Are you kidding me? They charge for reading the news now?” Sun Jack grumbled, feeling a near-physical pang of frustration.

“Welcome to this world, my friend,” Tapai said nonchalantly. “Capitalism runs on money, plain and simple.”

Thinking about everything he’d gone through since waking up, Sun Jack angrily dismissed all the UI displays before him. “What a hellhole.”

Staring at the rain outside, he turned to Tapai and said, “Why don’t we just go somewhere else? Earth is huge—I refuse to believe the whole planet is this awful.”

“Sure, boss, you’re in charge. But do you have the money for a plane ticket?”

Looking at his account balance—a long string of zeroes—Sun Jack deflated. Information, transportation, even leaving this dump, all required money.

Glancing at Tapai, he asked, “Can’t you make some money? Hack a bank account or something?”

“Wow. You’ve got some wild ideas, huh? I’m a robot, not Superman.”

“Well, the robots in movies can pull that off in seconds.”

“Keep dreaming, buddy. In dreams, anything’s possible. I don’t understand this world’s programming languages, and it doesn’t understand mine. I’m lucky to even connect to their network, let alone hack anything for cash.”

“Then learn the new languages! You’re a robot—your learning abilities should be incredible, right?”

“Sure, as long as you give me the money to upgrade my memory and CPU. With my current computing capacity, I’m amazed I can even talk this smoothly.”

“Then earn it!”

“How am I supposed to earn it without knowing their language?”

“Then learn the language!”

“But learning costs money!”

“Then earn it!”

Five minutes later, Sun Jack and Tapai were silently watching the rain. Sun Jack now fully understood the saying: A penny can stump a hero.

Forget information or plane tickets—at this rate, they’d be struggling to afford food soon.

Watching the hovering cars and private planes outside, Sun Jack noticed the suited professionals bustling by. Inspiration struck.

“That’s it—I’ll just get a job.”

Tapai turned his screen-like face toward him, displaying a skeptical emoji. (￢_￢)...Are you serious?

“Why not? I think I’ve been looking at this the wrong way. It’s not that this place sucks—it’s the circles we’ve been moving in.” Sun Jack explained.

“From the start, we’ve only dealt with outlaws or people like Song 6PUS, who’ll risk life and limb to save a buck. We got dragged into this mess by him.” ⱤâＮòBÊS̩

“Proximity breeds similarity. If we keep hanging around these types, we’ll end up just like them. We need to break away.”

Excitedly stepping into the rain, Sun Jack turned back to Tapai. “Look—Gaofeng Technology is a corporation, right? Corporations need employees. There must be normal, hardworking people here.”

“Alright, boss, your call. So what’s the plan now?” Tapai followed him into the downpour.

“Use your CPU to search for job listings. Anything I qualify for, pull it up. Priority one: make money!”

Their systems began scanning, and to Sun Jack’s relief, applying for jobs didn’t cost money.

However, finding a job was another story. Every listing demanded experience, qualifications, or skills that Sun Jack didn’t have.

As the search dragged on, his hunger grew unbearable. Just as he was about to give up, a customer service job caught his attention.

“Weekly hours: 56. Trial period weekly salary: 0.15 @coins. Requirements: Neural logic modification below 5%. Fewer than 100 cortical stimulant injections.”

“This, I can do.” Though the pay was low, the lack of educational or professional requirements made it a good start—enough to survive and distance himself from the chaotic underworld.

With a click, a large arrow appeared in his vision, projecting a navigation route. “Destination: 39 kilometers. Turn left in 200 meters.”

“Let’s go!”

Sun Jack didn’t have a car or money for public transport, but he did have another option.

Grumbling, Tapai hoisted Sun Jack onto his shoulder. His reverse-jointed legs compressed, transforming into wheels as he charged into the rain.

Sun Jack shouted into the wind, “Tapai! Remember! The first thing we’re buying when we get paid is food! I’m starving!”

“Here, have some fresh air instead!” Tapai snapped, doubling his speed.

Half an hour later, as the rain began to ease, they arrived at the address. The “company” turned out to be a basement next to a pile of green trash bags.

Sun Jack didn’t mind. As long as it paid, he didn’t care about appearances. If it were too fancy, he’d be worried about not getting hired.

After drying his clothes, he found the HR office, where two other applicants—a man and a woman—were already seated on the waiting bench. Dressed in suits, they seemed nervous, repeatedly lifting disposable cups to their lips without taking a sip.

“So, not everyone here is like Song 6PUS,” Sun Jack thought, offering them a friendly smile as he sat down. “There are still normal people. Not everyone’s a lunatic.”

The sound of sharp metallic heels echoed down the hallway as a woman with metal stiletto legs entered. Casting a disdainful glance at the three applicants, she took her seat behind the desk. Clearly, she was the HR manager.

“Who’s AA?” she asked, her voice dripping with condescension as she leaned back, arms crossed.

Sun Jack couldn’t understand her language, but the yellow screen of his glasses flashed, activating auto-translate.

“M-me!” A short-haired girl with purple streaks timidly stepped forward.

The HR manager scrutinized her like a piece of merchandise before asking leisurely, “Are you willing to have your uterus removed for the company?”

“Yes! I already had it removed as soon as I became an adult. No periods, no disruptions—guaranteed!” the girl stammered, her eagerness to please evident.