Weariness…
This was perhaps the most intuitive manifestation of City dwellers.
People lived mundane lives, yet saw no dreams and no future.
And after losing their dreams and original aspirations, they could only compromise with the City as a whole.
Here, the light in people's hearts had long since been extinguished. Everything they did now—ostensibly for the sake of living—could only be described as existing.
"Sigh…"
Arthur's thoughts gradually returned. He smiled apologetically at the other three.
"Sorry, I got distracted…"
Realizing he had delayed them, he took the initiative, pushed open the main door, and stepped directly into the sunlight outside.
"Let's go."
It had to be said—Lobotomy Corporation's branch had done an excellent job with its landscaping.
After walking past a wide expanse of lawn, they finally saw a high-end black sedan parked in the lot.
"Alright, bodyguards, get in," Supervisor Lentz said with a smile, patting the car. Without any additional action, the door opened automatically.
It wasn't until Arthur got inside that he realized there was already a driver in the vehicle.
At first, he was slightly surprised. The City possessed countless forms of Singularity technology—so why wasn't there even autonomous driving?
But the answer came to him quickly.
The City had always adhered to one principle:
"People-Oriented."
Exactly as it sounded—any job that could be done by a person would never be done by a machine. Even jobs that a person couldn't do would still be forced onto people.
This was said to stem from the past—a machine rebellion so severe that the Head's distrust of machines had reached the point where a City-wide taboo was enacted.
Things like autonomous driving and independent AI…
Aside from a handful of Wings, no civilian workshop would dare to develop such technology. And even those Wings would never openly defy the Head by deploying it.
This world was exactly like the final line in the description of the E.G.O equipment Grinder MK4, which Arthur was currently wearing:
"The rebellion of machines is no longer a threat to modern society."
...
Supervisor Lentz sat in the front passenger seat.
Arthur took the back left, Yulia sat in the middle, and Komini on the right.
The Lobotomy Corporation driver smoothly guided the vehicle into the flow of traffic.
They were headed toward W Company's headquarters.
Arthur looked out the window.
Beyond the busy roads lay the highly futuristic City. The buildings of W Nest were predominantly blue and black, yet the careful urban planning prevented the area from feeling overly oppressive.
And the most striking feature of the entire Nest was undoubtedly the gigantic skyscraper at its center.
Arthur tilted his gaze upward, taking in the sheer scale of it.
That was their destination.
W Company's headquarters—a massive core complex that integrated research, cultivation, and transportation.
The entire planning of W Nest revolved around this colossal structure. At night, W Company's logo at the top would illuminate, its brilliant blue glow visible even from the Backstreets.
It was a declaration to everyone—
Who ruled W Nest.
"Sigh… I really don't understand why Head A suddenly assigned you all to protect us."
The silence in the car was broken as Supervisor Lentz spoke.
Perhaps worried the atmosphere was too stiff, he took the initiative to start a conversation.
"It's just a simple business meeting. Honestly, this feels a bit excessive…"
Unfortunately, only Arthur responded.
"Does Supervisor Lentz think we're unnecessary?"
"..." Lentz laughed awkwardly. "No, no, that's not what I meant. I just think—since you're all out already, you might as well treat this like a vacation. No need to stick to me twenty-four hours a day…"
"Vacation…"
Arthur glanced at Yulia. Her expression hardly looked like she was on one.
W Company
Its full name was WARP Company, the Wing responsible for all transportation within the City.
W Company's Singularity was widely believed to be spatial transmission, and that was how the company marketed it.
Its primary service was the Warp Train.
By tearing open space and sending the train into another dimension, W Company allowed travel between stations to take only ten seconds—no matter the distance.
Of course, this was assuming there were no delays.
Like all Wings, its true nature was something the vast majority of City residents would never be allowed to know.
At this moment, the vehicle carrying Arthur's group had already entered the enormous shadow cast by the W Building.
Traffic flowed endlessly around them, yet strangely, the automated vehicle inspection systems were offline.
This resulted in abnormally low entry efficiency—every vehicle had to be checked manually.
"Stop."
Several staff members wearing blue baseball caps halted them at the massive entrance.
"Identification."
The leader seemed ill-tempered. Before the driver could even lower the window, he had already raised a taser-like weapon.
"Why are you carrying weapons? Everyone out of the car!"
He had clearly noticed the E.G.O equipment carried by Arthur and the others.
At his words, the surrounding W Company employees nervously drew their weapons and closed in.
"Is there going to be a fight?"
Komini looked at Arthur, visibly flustered. This was her first time witnessing something like this.
"No," Arthur replied calmly.
He had already seen Supervisor Lentz take out a document.
Besides, conventional City weapons stood no chance against E.G.O equipment.
The document was passed through the window.
The moment the leader saw it, his pupils contracted sharply.
"L Company…"
"I'm so sorry—truly, very sorry!"
His attitude changed completely. The staff immediately shouted into their walkie-talkies:
"Honored guests have arrived! Clear Road 3 immediately!"
"What? You're worried about where those cars go?!"
"Don't f*cking bother—we're about to lose our jobs!!"
The response was terrifyingly efficient. The gate procedures were completed in mere seconds.
"I'm terribly sorry, sir—truly sorry!" the leader said, sweating profusely as the car passed.
He jogged alongside the vehicle, desperately explaining himself.
"Please be magnanimous and don't report this to the Director…"