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Chapter 53: Wake Up, Christian Bale
"Wait..." Jake raised his hands, indicating he couldn't resist.
As a Cleric, aside from those who resisted and were shot, the remaining sense offenders who were unable to resist were to be tried and then incinerated.
In John's view, Jake was no match for him to begin with, let alone now when he had his guns.
"You are a sense offender?" He pointed the gun at Jake's head with his right hand, staring intently into his eyes.
He had his own ability to identify sense offenders.
Based on John's experience, there was always something else in the eyes of sense offenders, and this was easy to discern.
The simplest sign was the contraction and dilation of the pupils—a rare phenomenon for humans in this new world who had completely lost the ability to express themselves through their eyes.
"As you can see," Jake said, his whole body trembling at the sight of the gun-kata master pointing a weapon at him.
"According to the law, you have committed assault on a peace officer, murder..." John slowly approached Jake, reciting the charges against him one by one.
"And sense offense," Jake blurted out first.
Looking at John standing before him, Jake smiled. "But now, it's my turn to charge you!"
Seeing his smile, John instinctively sensed something was wrong.
A sudden gust of wind swept across the calm, empty plaza, coming from the left, aimed at his neck!
Wait, someone was attacking him!
John's lightning-fast reflexes made him instinctively tilt his head, his left hand protecting his neck!
Thump!
A foot kicked his arm, the heavy blow causing him to bend over.
Glancing at the shoes in front of him, John knew who the attacker was without turning around. "Partridge?" His question carried a hint of certainty.
"I'm glad I have another ally," Jake said, turning to the Cleric who had awakened his emotions.
Just moments before, Jake had seen Partridge emerge successfully from the smoke. He had assumed this man, who had been feigning emotional suppression, would continue to pretend and help John eliminate him, but he hadn't expected the man to be so decisive, attacking without warning John.
How could he not understand that Partridge was going to help him?
Just like when John first gained his emotions, he was willing to risk his life to rescue those sense offenders.
From losing emotions to regaining them, they cherished their feelings, preventing things they couldn't bear to see happen, and completely following their hearts.
If those injected with Prozium were absolutely rational beings, then those who had just gained emotions were the embodiment of feeling. They would marvel at the beauty of sunlight, care about others' smiles, and even cry over trivial matters like children.
Jake was lucky to have the help of this Cleric who hadn't experienced emotions for very long.
But even if the two of them joined forces, could they really defeat John?
The chances were slim, but they would only know after fighting.
The three of them instantly became embroiled in a chaotic melee. Against two masters of gun-kata, Jake's clumsy close-combat skills were simply no match.
So he decisively withdrew from the battlefield.
Although his close-combat skills were poor, his marksmanship was extremely accurate. The height of the muzzle, the velocity of the bullet, and the target's position had long been a formula in his mind.
That was the formula he had derived while using the NZT-48 pill. Although he didn't understand why it still worked now, it didn't stop him from using it methodically.
His brain raced, calculating!
Firing!
Just as Partridge was at a disadvantage, Jake fired, forcing John back.
John, nearly hit by a bullet, wanted to retaliate with a shot of his own, but Partridge pressed forward again!
And so, Jake kept firing—from one shot every two or three seconds at the beginning to almost continuous fire. Partridge had never cooperated with Jake before, but he possessed a fearless determination, so the two surprisingly worked in perfect harmony.
Meanwhile, John was struggling to keep up.
Even though gun-kata allowed him to dodge bullets from all directions through precisely calculated movements, humans couldn't outrun bullets forever.
Finally, as his left-hand pistol magazine was almost empty, Jake's shot grazed John's finger.
Although it was only the skin of his index finger, this sudden pain caused him to falter!
"...This is awkward," Jake wiped his sweat, snatched the two guns from John's hands, and examined them. "These are laser handcuffs; there's no way to open them with force."
John was finally subdued by the two men, with luck playing a large part.
If it weren't for Partridge's sudden help, Jake might have had to use invisibility serum to infiltrate John's house, break his Prozium supply, and force the protagonist to stop injecting the drug.
But the ending was still good.
After putting laser handcuffs on John's hands and feet, Jake, along with Partridge, carried John into the old building where the smoke had cleared.
The laser handcuffs came from the world of "The Hunger Games," the same ones used to restrain Peeta in the third movie.
The laser handcuffs weren't made of lasers, but rather a type of high-elastic fiber restraint, which was anti-shock and fireproof, and could even block attacks from sharp objects. In the movie, Peeta had used these sturdy handcuffs to protect Katniss several times.
"Who are you?" Partridge grabbed John's feet, and together with Jake, they carried John.
"Someone with feelings, just like you," Jake smiled back. His smile was the best proof; even if someone injected with Prozium could manage a smile, it would be a stiff, contorted expression, hardly a smile at all.
"I know you haven't used Prozium for a long time," he said, gesturing to Partridge to put John down after the two men carried him to the second floor. "And I'm telling you, your powerful partner will also awaken his own feelings, and very soon!"
"Partridge, you will be judged!" John didn't seem shocked by the news. His wife had been incinerated before his eyes, yet he had felt no grief at the time.
His words were destined to be ignored.
"What are you going to do?" Partridge asked, looking at Jake.
"The real Father died several years ago. The current Father is just a fabrication by Vice-Counsel DuPont." His words stunned the two high-ranking Clerics, even the emotionless John.
Ignoring how sensational his news was, Jake continued, "He pretended to be Father, using Prozium to manipulate all of humanity and achieve his tyranny, so..." He paused, pointing to the sense offenders on the ground who were about to wake up. "Therefore, we should overthrow the Tetragrammaton's rule. With their help, we will surely succeed!"
"You're lying!" John struggled angrily, perhaps not even understanding what anger was, but the bulging veins on his neck showed his inner turmoil.
"Whether I'm lying or not is none of your business," Jake turned and sat down. "I need to talk to John Preston, a man with feelings, not you, a heartless machine."
A moment later, the unconscious sense offenders on the ground awoke. Opening their eyes and seeing the two high-ranking Clerics, they instinctively reached for their guns, but Jake stopped them. "This high-ranking Cleric has been arrested. As for the other one, he's a sense offender just like you. Can't you tell?"
Seeing the vivid expressions on Jake and Partridge's faces, the group of sense offenders finally believed him.
After a brief conversation, Jake successfully contacted the leader of the underground resistance. They exchanged only a few words before the other side invited Jake to their base.
They would agree to overthrow the Tetragrammaton's rule, no matter the cost.
William Fichtner, who plays Jurgen in the resistance, was an actor Jake admired—someone who always played supporting roles but possessed exceptional talent. He'd had memorable appearances in films like The Dark Knight and countless other Hollywood productions.
With this appreciation for the actor from the real world, Jake discussed their next steps with Jurgen.
First, they would get John off Prozium, believing that John, having regained his emotions, would choose to side with them.
John would then assassinate the fake Father, while the underground resistance would destroy Prozium pharmaceutical factories around the world.
"Just one day!" Jake, now a key figure in this organization focused on human emotions, raised a finger and emphasized. "Just one day without the drugs! The humanity of this world will lead us to victory!"
However, before that, they had to keep John imprisoned for two days.
John was specially placed in a cozy, warmly-lit room by Jake, the room playing soothing classical music and filled with adorable plush toys and paintings.
This should help him break free of Prozium more quickly.
"So, wake up, Christian Bale!"
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