Gunfire, Punk and Necromancer

Three execution golems, as seen at the Great Exposition.

With mechanical steps and no regard for the cold weather outside the carriage, the three execution puppets, who covered their faces with masks and covered their bodies with full-coverage chemical protective suits, came to Zhuang Xuteng in unison, and then stood at attention. They were as quiet as corpses, completely devoid of curiosity about their surroundings. Through the transparent glasses on the mask, the pupils of the three execution puppets are shining. They are definitely not human eyes, but only implanted artificial eyes.

Bright and sparkling are two completely different states. Zhuang Xuteng looked at the three execution puppets and felt a little scared. Although he could easily kill purple-skinned men now, and even more non-combat, lower-level guys like executive puppets, he felt awkward when he thought that this thing would be working in the protein bug farm, and even a little bit nausea. Zhuang Xuteng immediately stopped Miss Nawu who was introducing the functions of the puppet and said: "Our family wants to recruit workers, not this kind of puppet."

"Correction, your family is looking for people who can complete the work of the protein worm farm, and they are fully qualified. There are operators behind the execution puppets. They do not need to enter the dangerous environment of the protein worm farm to complete their daily tasks. , which also complies with labor protection laws.”

"According to the Labor Protection Act, my parents should have received free medical support for the radiation they suffered in the protein insect fields."

"I don't know about this. I am only responsible for executing matters within the contract. However, I can help you introduce lawyers in related fields and may be able to give you further answers." Miss Naou kept a professional smile and continued. Said: "We have stored the basic work content of the Protein Insect Field in the shadow control cores of the three execution puppets. The remote control personnel in the background will conduct tracking and control for a week. I believe this can solve almost all practical problems. If If there are still problems, we can follow up at any time. But you don’t need to worry about anything, because according to the contract, the output of the protein insect field is insured by us, and you will not suffer any losses.”

Zhuang Xuteng frowned, shook his head slowly, and said, "What if something goes wrong with these execution puppets? Will they become killers or robbers? My parents live here, and I don't want them to be threatened in any way!"

"Oh, don't worry, that won't happen. All execution puppets have been inspected before leaving the factory and meet the OSI-2106 safety standard. Simply put, they are safer than a piece of mud on your bed."

"But there is a manipulator behind them, right? What if the manipulator gives the order to attack?"

Miss Nawu laughed three times and said: "Your assumption is that anyone can kill. This is an airtight assumption that no one can refute. But you have ignored the other side of the assumption: when the When the residents are in danger, the company's operators can also control the execution puppet to provide rescue assistance. In addition, the answer to your question from an official perspective is this: all risks and corresponding compensation are written in the contract. You Just take a closer look and you'll see that we don't want to trigger such high compensation at all. We will ensure the safety of the execution of the puppet."

ensure? Insurance? compensation? Zhuang Xuteng's memory has not deteriorated. How he received compensation after losing his job is still vivid in his mind. "I just want normal human workers, not these execution puppets."

"That's how the contract stipulates. If you unilaterally breach the contract, the compensation clause will be triggered. It doesn't matter to me, but it should be a big expense to your wallet."

Zhuang Xuteng finally heard the word "you" from this woman's words, but this "you" was related to "wallet". People in the company don't respect people, they only respect their wallets, and they only care about the money in them. Zhuang Xuteng gritted his teeth, opened the relevant parts of the contract, and read it over and over...

Well, there are no loopholes in the contract - for the company - and choosing to terminate it at this point would leave him with a debt of hundreds of thousands of euros in compensation. Although he could afford the money, why should he give it to the company in vain? Moreover, once his parents knew about it, they would definitely not be able to bear the impact of being frugal all their lives.

The cleverness of the company's contract is that it takes advantage of the information gap and has completed the layout in advance. As an ordinary worker on a protein bug farm, when hiring people, they always think of hiring the same human beings. Who would have thought that they would be the ones to execute the puppets? The entire contract didn't mention whether it was a living person or a living corpse, it just talked about completing the workload, ensuring work efficiency, etc. Let alone his parents, even if Zhuang Xuteng handles this matter himself, he will still fall into the trap in the end.

"Then let's implement it according to the contract..." Zhuang Xuteng sighed and accepted this reality. "I would like to ask, how many executive puppets are working outside your company now? If there are a lot of them, my neighbors will accept them faster, and it will save some unnecessary trouble, right?"

"It's like this. There are about a hundred execution puppets that have started working now. Yours is the first puppet used in the farm, so it is very representative. This is why I want you to become a Pioneer VIP. If you We are willing to make a certain contribution to the promotion of executive puppets, and our manufacturer will provide you with various discounts to help your career continue to develop."

"Your manufacturer?" Zhuang Xuteng asked: "Is the execution puppet an invention of the Scarlet Group?"

"Yes, the main invention patent belongs to Scarlet Group, but the specific manufacturing is a cooperative project. Now the economy has developed to a state where you have me, and I have you. Scarlet Group is not leading in all manufacturing aspects. , of course, mutually beneficial cooperation is also required. This kind of cooperation occurs in all time and space, and the execution puppet breeding protein worms here is also a kind of cooperation."

Zhuang Xuteng looked at the execution puppet again, thinking about how to get rid of these things quietly and with one blow. However... he must consider his parents' safety and his uninterrupted life. It is not difficult to kill the execution puppet and make the contract here unable to be implemented, but the company will definitely send investigators and the tranquility here will be broken.

Considering that he is still one of the "top one hundred users" and has a "pioneer role", the company will pay special attention to it, and the investigators sent here may be more powerful. Zhuang Xuteng weighed it carefully and finally decided that even if he wanted to cause some trouble for the company, he had to find a place far away from his family.

Next, Zhuang Xuteng focused on understanding how to use the execution puppet on a daily basis. These corpse-like guys don't need food or water, they just need to use "power maintenance fluid" regularly.

The specific maintenance work is all undertaken by the company, and Zhuang Xuteng does not need to worry about it. They don't need a bed or a place to live, they just need to find a corner to squat in the protein worm field. In fact, the lights in the protein bug field are not only harmless to them, but can also be beneficial to them by helping to kill environmental bacteria. This makes the company very happy, but for Zhuang Xuteng, it is indeed a loss for his family to lose an income from renting out rooms.

After talking about the details of daily maintenance, the next step is to take the execution puppet to the protein insect field to familiarize itself with the environment. Zhuang Xuteng put on protective clothing and began to demonstrate the work here. The company's personnel recorded the entire process to guide the execution of the puppet. Remote operators also came online at this time. They observed and recorded, and adjusted the settings of the execution puppet. After Zhuang Xuteng finished his demonstration, he started to use the execution puppet.

Their movements are clumsy and stiff, but meticulous. In terms of overall efficiency, they are definitely not as good as skilled workers, and even semi-skilled workers like Zhuang Xuteng are much better than them. However, the execution puppet can work continuously 24 hours a day, without eating or sleeping, complaining, or getting sick. If it breaks, it can be repaired by the company. The total amount of work that can be completed every day is more than the same number of skilled workers.

I heard from Miss Nawu that the execution puppet has entered mass production, the manufacturing cost and usage cost have been effectively reduced, and it can be put into the market in large quantities. There is currently a "Stepping Stone Project" whose main purpose is to allow execution puppets to complete dangerous, heavy, and low-level labor instead of humans, thereby liberating the labor force. The protein insect field is prone to radiation sickness and is also classified as dangerous work, so it is possible to apply for subsidies for puppet execution.

"Subsidy?" Zhuang Xuteng asked, "Who gives the subsidy to whom?"

"The Constitutional Government's subsidy for the Stepping Stone Project. Once hazardous labor is replaced, you can get the subsidy. The money is not much, let's talk..."

Alas, there is no subsidy when people do this dirty work, but when the execution puppets come, they do get subsidy. The money of the constitutional government also includes taxes paid by everyone. Is this constitutional government established for people or for companies? Zhuang Xuteng was not sure before, but now he has no doubts. In this world, labor and people cannot be respected, only companies that control capital can.

Watching the execution puppet start to work, Zhuang Xuteng felt mixed emotions. He had no idea how to explain this "phenomenon" to his parents when they came back. The execution puppet that does not suffer from radiation sickness and can work day and night is like a joke. It laughs at the parents who have worked in the protein insect field all their lives, and at every family member who works hard to raise money to treat their illnesses. It even laughs at just now Zhuang Xuteng walked into the nutrient solution field again and picked up tools to demonstrate the labor process. Zhuang Xuteng could already imagine his father's comment on this: "What the hell did I live for?"

No matter how he laments this matter, Zhuang Xuteng sees an indisputable fact: a new era is coming, whether you like it or not. Execution puppets can do farm work in the protein insect field, and they can also do hard work on the assembly line of the magic crystal factory. There is not much difference in technical difficulty between the two. At this time, Zhuang Xuteng was even a little lucky that he was kicked out of the factory early, and then he had the opportunity to become a mercenary and truly change his life. If he was still in the Magic Crystal Factory, he would have no choice but to wait to be eliminated by the execution puppet.

"The Stepping Stones scheme is not aimed at safety assembly lines. On the industrial side, it would replace dangerous mine work first."

This kind of statement is a high-sounding lie. Mine work is dangerous, so improve safety! Even give more money! No, none of these. All the improvement work that has been done has only increased the thickness of the boss's wallet, and no action has ever been taken to deal with the dangers underground. However... Zhuang Xuteng has a feeling: in order to reduce the consumption of executing puppets and ensure the company's profit margin, underground safety will definitely be improved. It is easy for the mine to deal with individual miners, but behind the execution of the puppet is a company, and the difficulty of dealing with them immediately becomes higher.

With these thoughts, Zhuang Xuteng suddenly had a better understanding of what was on his own stone pillar in the Stone Pillar Hall, and seemed to vaguely grasp some key points. The content on the stone pillar is not a simple methodology, but an analysis of social relationships, such as the relationship between workers and companies. Zhuang Xuteng found the intersection between the words on the stone pillars and reality. Many contents can be corroborated with each other, and the internal principles are also connected. While he was concentrating on his thoughts, Miss Naou interrupted him with a sales pitch.

"Pioneer VIP, sir, you need to sign to confirm the application."

"Thank you so much!" Zhuang Xuteng glared at her, then scratched his head. Okay, Pioneer VIP is definitely a must. This is also for parents’ consideration. By joining this plan, you can become a model of the Stepping Stone Plan, which is conducive to obtaining better execution puppet maintenance services. Hating a company and being superficially paranoid about it are not contradictory, they are just two sides of the same coin. Even if it is not to deal with the company, this Pioneer VIP looks good.

Note that "looking" good may not necessarily be good.

Seeing Zhuang Xuteng sign the Pioneer VIP Agreement, Miss Nawu beamed. She had finally completed most of her main work today. Next, she began to introduce the special services that can be enjoyed after becoming a Pioneer VIP. She especially mentioned that these preferential services are not from one company of the Scarlet Group, but are launched by the four major groups at the same time.

"Scarlet's executive puppet, today's shadow follower, Dingxin's car, and Sanliu's safety blue, four of the world's top group companies are serving you at the same time. What a blessing it is!"

Na Wu was not slapped to death, thanks to Zhuang Xuteng's ability to disguise himself and to completely control his temper. He smiled and listened to the service introductions of each company. He focused on asking about Dingxin's car discounts and Scarlet Group's home multi-purpose (male) maid puppet. He suddenly turned to what he had just mentioned in one sentence and was probably only a few words long. Hide" content.

"Please tell me more about Dingxin Group's personal security improvement service. I just started using it, and I'm definitely still worried about problems with executing the puppet, so I'm very interested in this security improvement."

As a result, Miss Naou didn’t quite understand this part of the advertisement. She apologized profusely, then admitted that the Stepping Stones program was moving very quickly and that their training had been short, so they hadn't yet fully mastered every aspect. Afterwards, she called and consulted with her superiors. When she came back, she told Zhuang Xuteng: "Dingxin Group's personal security improvement service includes a complete set of defense equipment, which is a portable weapon for personal use."

"Shadow Gun?" Zhuang Xuteng looked disappointed and said deliberately: "The quality of Dingxin Group's weapons is not good, but Shadow Gun is not a new thing. At least it seems a bit cheap when it is placed in Pioneer VIP, right?"

"It's not a shadow gun, but a series of new weapons that use chemical energy. They are regardless of physical fitness, harmless to health, and their power is controllable. They can completely represent the future development direction of weapons."

"Oh? Then I'm starting to get interested!" Zhuang Xuteng knew what they were talking about, but he still acted like he didn't understand at all. "I have liked weapons since I was a child, please impress me."