Planet of Sand and Oasis of Iron

Chapter 52 52. Don’t be polite in such a weird place

The lights in the reception hall inside the building were dim, but even in such a dim place, there were still signs of human activity.

The moment Seifer entered with the light on, a sweet voice said, "Welcome. Do you have an appointment?"

When the light shone over, a woman was seen dressed ostentatiously, with various modifications visible on her body, not looking like a normal person.

She greeted him with a formal yet not-too-offensive smile, as if in her eyes, Cypher, dressed in his armor, was just a visitor.

“…No appointment.”

"If you don't have an appointment, what business are you here for?"

"What is your company's business scope?"

The other party continued to smile, and introduced himself without noticing that Seifer was shining his flashlight around the entire hall:

"Our company has been engaged in network security technology for many years and is committed to building the world's most secure protection network. Yesterday, we just launched our blockbuster product - the Hummingbird personal protection kit."

"It's easy to install and operate, and you can enjoy the Internet in just three steps!"

Ah, is this the cyberpunk background setting?
Leica's voice was calm over the comms: "Be careful, something is very wrong. Red Crossbow, gather enough intelligence before we're attacked."

I listen to your words as I listen to your words, so don’t say that next time.

Seifer nodded slightly, not caring whether she could see it or not. "Which floor is your company's product promotion and display on? Can I take a look?"

"Of course, please take the elevator on the right. Welcome again."

As the receptionist spoke with a perfect smile, Sefer was already standing at the elevator. She spoke to the air and then sat down without saying anything else.

There's a kind of... a kind of NPC beauty.

"Well, it's a bit like a preset program. Is there a button in the elevator?" Leica's voice was a little noisy, and in comparison, it sounded like Dr. Mei was talking in her ear.

After pressing the button marked with the work area, Seifer suddenly realized a problem.

The lights outside looked bright, even in the elevators, so why were the lights not even on in the reception hall? Was it to discourage anyone from checking in?

The elevator dinged, reminding us we had arrived at the work area.

The lights are bright, and various light sources converge together, making the entire work area appear extremely bright. The soft carpet allows people to walk on it silently without affecting other people's work.

There were a lot of people, including at the workstations. Seifer stood at the elevator door but did not go out because what he saw was "very strange".

Men and women in suits are busy at their workstations. Some are typing on holographic keyboards, some are discussing work content with colleagues, and some are preparing drinks at the water bar for colleagues.

The person who received the drink happily thanked his colleague for his concern. The supervisor was walking between the workstations, giving practical instructions to the employees on what to adjust - it was normal and ordinary, and it was how a company should be.

However, the monitor was not turned on, the holographic keyboard did not exist, and the water bar was not started at all. The employees who drank water from empty cups and said the drinks were delicious, and the people who stared at the black screen and typed on the keyboard did not find it strange at all.

'ding dong'

The elevator door closed and continued to go up without any security measures. When it opened again, it was the company's lounge.

A few scattered employees chatted leisurely and fiddled with their phones, though their phones had long been turned off and the TV repeatedly flashed a no-signal warning. The floor was covered in dirt.

When Seifer thought this might be some NPC setting, the employees who were just chatting about "XX team's car got purple in the Xth round" suddenly turned their heads, and one of them even turned 180 degrees, looking at him in the elevator with an expressionless face.

'ding dong'

The elevator door closed, blocking the sight of those people. Cypher continued: "Have you observed those people? Can I fire at the threatening target?" Dr. Mei: "Yes, but with caution. It is recommended to inspect and recover valuable data after the enemy is disabled."

Leica: "Okay, be careful, these people don't look simple. There is no such anomaly in the records before. Don't be eliminated early, Red Crossbow."

I wanted to say, "I think you've been showing more concern lately," but considering that the doctor is also online, I decided not to.

'ding dong'

The elevator door opened again, but Seifer found himself not on the floor where he had scheduled the 'CEO's Office', but back on the first floor.

Strange... The elevator is supposed to go up, so how did it end up on the first floor?
As Cypher was about to step out of the elevator, Dr. Mei suddenly reminded him, "Red Arrow, is there any information worth noting on the rooftop? According to your signal scan, there are a lot of engineering equipment on the rooftop."

Seifer immediately retreated back to the elevator. "Bad news! I see I'm on the first floor, not the roof."

"Perception error?! Red Crossbow, take off your observation equipment, it may have been invaded by something!" Laika shouted immediately... but to be honest, it was a bit difficult.

Because he was seeing with his own eyes, and he would be blinded if the bullet popped out.

Seifer instantly pressed the button to close the elevator doors, then directly selected the self-check on the UI in front of him. He didn't know until he checked, so he checked—whoa! Silent access, ten minutes ago.

In other words, I was hacked as soon as I walked into the building?
The self-check program immediately reversed and attacked the access node, and then restarted his eyes. Seifer only felt a strange and distorted phantom light interweaving in front of his eyes, flashing as if the three-color cathode ray tubes had malfunctioned at the same time, and then calmed down again.

The elevator was still the same elevator, but there was no light inside. The door in front of me slid open silently, and the open rooftop was filled with all kinds of unfamiliar equipment.

He stepped out of the elevator and said, "The impact has been dealt with. I'm on the rooftop... As expected, the lights are fake, but I don't know if those people I saw before are real."

"It's true. Our mapping equipment is not affected. Let's check what's on the roof."

During the conversation, Cypher suddenly dodged and jumped between the two devices, pointing his gun at a corpse in front of him. After two seconds of silence, he went over and took the folding notebook from the corpse's hand.

The screen went dark, then lit up.

'I want to play a game with you.'

Are the things in the vision so weird?
The elevator behind him closed quietly. As the elevator car sank, Seifer stuffed his notebook into his backpack and rushed directly to the manual passage. He kicked the fire door out with a powerful kick.

"Change of plan, I'm going downstairs."

Dr. Mei's assistant replied, "If it's convenient, we suggest you stop at each floor. This anomaly is very technologically advanced, and there may be high-value targets to acquire."

"A high-value target will appear at any time during the scan. If you can get it and come back, we'll pay you more. Are you willing to accept it?"

So what if?

"Ha... That's really troublesome. You can figure out the value of the red crossbow arrows yourself. Remember not to get into trouble in the vision. Otherwise, what you can bring out will become very random."

Leica's reminder is more intuitive.

"Also, since we've already sensed the enemy in the vision has launched an attack, don't hold back... Hmm, a moving target has appeared, be prepared..."

Before she finished speaking, Sefer met a staff member in the stairwell who was smiling but holding a baton in his hand. He walked up to Sefer enthusiastically and asked if he needed help, but the baton was crackling with electric light.

Not accommodating, Cypher punched the man on the head.

His neck tilted back 180 degrees, and the pipe supports in his neck were all exposed and fell to the ground. His blood and some mixed substances instantly sprayed half of the corridor.

There was an obvious retching sound coming from Leica's side.

(End of this chapter)