Chapter 52: Equilibrium
[Equilibrium] The story takes place after a great war, in a world that has been unified.
This is a man-made, pseudo-utopia.
The rulers believe that the cause of the war was human emotion and feeling, so they force everyone to be injected with drugs that suppress their emotional responses and destroy everything that could potentially generate feelings.
The government injects everyone with a drug called Prozium that numbs their emotional capacity, turning people into compliant automatons.
Humans with emotions are considered "sense offenders," and the government sends highly skilled "Clerics" to exterminate them.
The protagonist, John Preston, is a high-ranking Cleric with superhuman reflexes. He can subdue enemies just before they attack, has mastered gun-kata to its extreme, and can even sense the location of contraband through intuition.
He destroys all works of art and literature, and kills anyone who defies orders and refuses to abandon their emotions. Even his partner, Partridge, who possesses a contraband book of poetry, is not spared.
However, under the accumulation of various factors, Preston begins to wean himself off the Prozium, trying to experience what it is like to live with emotions.
He saw the beautiful world bathed in sunlight, listened to Beethoven's exquisite music, and was captivated by the wondrous and moving scenes that appeared in his life for the first time. He felt deeply ashamed of his daily acts of destroying art.
When a cute puppy was about to be incinerated in front of Preston, he could no longer remain calm; human emotions began to awaken...
Jake, dressed in a well-fitting suit, appeared in an empty plaza.
Evening should have been a time for people to enjoy the outdoors in the plaza, but without emotion, the plaza served no purpose, cold and deserted.
He didn't linger, but instead carried a large black leather briefcase to a slightly dilapidated building.
At the same time, several speeding black police cruisers stopped in front of the building, and more than a dozen officers, wearing black tactical gear and armed with standard firearms, jumped out.
This was the scene at the beginning of the movie.
In the building in front of Jake, there was a group of sense offenders, and the protagonist Cleric would soon come to eliminate them.
The group of officers acted swiftly and in unison, completely ignoring Jake, who stood by watching the scene unfold.
This film was a decision Jake made after much deliberation. Gun-kata could almost solve his lack of advanced combat skills.
To learn gun-kata, he either needed to become a Cleric or overthrow the Tetragrammaton's rule.
Jake didn't want to be an emotionless person, so helping the people of this world overthrow the Tetragrammaton's tyranny became his primary goal.
Without an identity in this world, Jake would be almost helpless, and his emotions would make him stand out among a group of expressionless people.
Facing a group of Clerics with unparalleled gun-kata skills, Jake's only possibility was capture, trial, and incineration!
Therefore, overthrowing the Tetragrammaton's rule in this world became the first step.
Overthrowing tyranny is no easy task. How many people in the underground resistance in the film have emotions? Among them are many truly capable individuals, yet they failed to succeed after planning for so long, which shows the difficulty.
Even if they succeeded in the end, this success was based on the male protagonist joining their cause.
Recalling Christian Bale's performance in this film, Jake couldn't help but be impressed. He was no less impressive than the Batman he played in the Dark Knight trilogy; he was practically superhuman.
Using his gun-kata skills, one man, wielding two pistols, single-handedly took on over twenty heavily armed tactical officers in a wide-open space, annihilating them all without sustaining any injuries—his formidable strength is evident!
To learn, one must find the best teacher; this was Jake's plan. Moreover, without John Preston's help, overthrowing the Tetragrammaton's rule was clearly impossible.
Since all developments required the protagonist, Preston, Jake naturally couldn't just stand by and watch.
At this moment, the protagonist and his partner, who had secretly developed feelings, arrived at the building.
The sharp, all-black Cleric's uniform resembled both a suit and a tactical coat.
Both men's expressions were blank, but one was faking it, the other genuine.
Preston got out of the car and was about to enter the building when he noticed Jake standing nearby. He glanced at him, showed no reaction, and turned to walk into the old building.
Even the most perceptive high-ranking Cleric couldn't discern a person's true nature with just one glance.
Furthermore, a sense offender would never dare stand before two high-ranking Clerics.
Watching the protagonist enter the building, Jake turned and left.
He timed it precisely; in just two seconds, the sound of gunfire erupted.
The battle was about to begin, and cries of pain filled the air from inside the building.
Jake stopped about a hundred yards from the police vehicles, showing no sign of urgency the entire way.
He wasn't familiar with the sense offenders upstairs, and the lives of strangers were clearly not his concern.
He crouched down and opened his briefcase, revealing a massive weapon.
The thick barrel, painted olive drab, was the 'toy' Jake had acquired from the world of Lord of War: an 83mm SMAW rocket launcher, equipped with MK118 high-explosive rockets—a genuine American-made weapon!
Assembly was simple; in just three seconds, Jake had loaded the massive, spindle-shaped warhead and shouldered it. He roughly aimed at the police vehicles below and, without hesitation, pulled the trigger!
Bang!
The rocket launcher had very little recoil, primarily for ease of use, but its power was devastating.
The flames, tracing a perfect arc, propelled the warhead forward rapidly.
It slammed precisely into a police cruiser.
Then, in the eyes of officers devoid of emotion, the warhead exploded!
BOOM!!
The flames instantly engulfed all the surrounding black police cruisers, explosion after explosion relentlessly consuming everything within the blast radius—people, vehicles, everything!
In the blink of an eye, the flames from the explosion rolled and billowed, black smoke enveloping the entire building, forming a small mushroom cloud above!
Seeing this power, Jake nodded in satisfaction.
He tossed the rocket launcher from his shoulder to the ground, brushed off his right shoulder, and stood up, walking towards the old building shrouded in thick smoke.
The rocket launcher was disposable; there was no possibility of recovery.
This rocket attack far exceeded Jake's expectations. He had originally planned to eliminate all the officers except the male protagonist, and then persuade his emotionally awakened colleague to take action and subdue Preston, who was also a high-ranking Cleric.
Although this seemed unlikely, it was no longer a problem if one took into account the gadgets Jake had brought from the Hunger Games world.
Unexpectedly, this shot proved devastatingly effective. Looking at the building shrouded in thick smoke, even Captain America would struggle here.
However, Jake underestimated the capabilities of John Preston, a high-ranking Cleric. The intense inferno hadn't completely rendered him incapable of resistance.
The next second, a black figure, trailing smoke, crashed through a second-floor window.
He rolled on the ground to dissipate the momentum before finally standing.
This person was none other than the protagonist of this world, John Preston!
However, John wasn't in good shape. He stood unsteadily, the smoke and the fall from the second floor having reduced his fighting ability by almost ninety percent.
His once neat Cleric's uniform was now scorched by the heat, and his face was smeared with ash.
John shook his head a couple of times, steadying himself, only to find that all the officers had been wiped out, and a young man in a suit was rushing towards him!
Seeing John emerge from the smoke, Jake immediately rushed forward, striking while the iron was hot!
He didn't really want to kill John, but faced with the choice between wasting all his previous efforts and defeating a Cleric who could barely stand, Jake chose the latter.
His sprint was incredibly fast; the tailor-made suit clung to his body, causing him no discomfort, but rather fit like athletic wear.
A crimson tie fluttered from his pocket, looking from a distance like a black streak of lightning flashing across the distance, its tip sparking red!
Without needing to calculate, Jake was certain that his speed at this moment far exceeded Olympic records!
The hundred-yard distance was covered in seconds!
John swayed, adopting a defensive stance, but his slightly unfocused pupils indicated he hadn't fully regained his equilibrium.
When the two were still six feet apart, Jake stomped hard on the ground and launched himself into the air!
He clenched his right fist and pulled back forcefully!
Using the momentum of his descent and forward thrust, his punch, like a battering ram, slammed toward John's chest!
John only had time to frantically raise his hands to block in front of his chest, but it was barely a block!
The powerful force sent him staggering backward several steps!
Thump, thump, thump!!
His leather shoes slammed into the ground as Jake closed in again!
The distance John had created by retreating had shrunk to two feet!
Another punch was aimed at John's face, but it was blocked!
John's mind had cleared somewhat.
Undeterred by this initial failure, Jake lifted his left foot, performing a nimble low sweep, preventing John from grabbing his arm and counterattacking.
Then, he half-spun, his left arm whipping out like a striking snake!
Thump!
John raised his hands to his face, perfectly blocking the attack!
Seeing John's increasingly better condition, Jake grew anxious. In a few more seconds, he wouldn't just be unable to defeat John; he might be finished!
His attacks became even faster, while John's condition improved, going from being forced to defend to occasionally retaliating!
"Damn it!!"
Using his left leg as a pivot, Jake swept his right leg fiercely towards John, forcing him back, and then jumped back twice to create distance.
"Wait!" Just as Jake was about to continue his attack, he saw John's hands twitch, and two futuristic pistols appeared from his sleeves. He quickly raised both hands and said, "Wait, wait... I have something to say!"
The difference in fighting power between John Preston with guns and without them was astronomical!
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