by <unknown>
Sitting atop his lap was a filled-out registration form with the Blackwatch logo stamped on top of it.
At the time, the gigantic LED panel on the exterior building was playing all kinds of news footage concerning Blacklight Biotechnology.
After the previous news clip ended, the figure of three people appeared on screen, their appearance was accompanied by passionate jazz music.
The three dark figures stood tall amid the darkness and flames and as the camera panned closer, their appearance was finally put on display.
Among the three of them, two were white men while the other was a black man. They had their arms across their chest as they faced the camera. They appeared confident and unyielding, evoking a powerful sense of justice with their posture.
The member at the center of the group suddenly proclaimed, "Severely crack down on any form of crime and resolutely defend the rights and interests of every citizen!"
After that, another man who appeared slightly younger also proclaimed, "Every second count, for every second wasted could mean another innocent citizen's life lost!"
At last, the black man followed. "Justice may be late, but it's never absent!"
"Courage!"
"Honor!"
"Sacrifice!"
The three proclaimed in unison and stretched their arms outward to stack their hands together. They looked together at the camera. "We're the BHB Combative Police Force. Join us to preserve world peace and protect the right of public citizens. Blackwatch is always waiting for you to enlist!"
At last, their figures faded out from the view of the camera as a sentence appeared on the screen. "Blackwatch is recruiting combative police, anyone is welcomed to the trial training."
When Pedro Lane saw the world-renowned legendary figures appear on the screen, especially the captain leading the trio, an icy and hateful glare gleamed in Lane's eyes.
The image on the display switched again within seconds. A fair-looking girl with a somewhat stiff expression appeared on the screen. She was facing the camera and held her arms out in front of the camera enthusiastically and said:
"Xingtian series home Androids will soon be inducted into thousands of households. I'm your family nanny Xiao Ai, take me into your home!"
"Bang!"
Before the commercial finished, a beer bottle was suddenly thrown onto the display. It shattered on the ten-meter tall, gigantic display and left a very visible hole in the middle of the LED screen...
Lane was caught off guard by this and immediately snapped his neck around to investigate what was happening. He saw dozens of poorly dressed middle-aged people holding banners with written slogans on them. They stood in a formation behind him and started shouting at the Blacklight Biotechnology building.
Various quotes were written in a poor font using a red marker on the boards they held. "Androids stole the work of the poor", "Androids are a manifestation of sin", "God created mankind, but did not create Androids", "The purity of mankind should not be desecrated" and so on.
So, it was the protestors that boycotted Blackwatch's Androids...
Pedro Lane shook his head at the sight of this. He turned around again and saw eight security guards wearing bulletproof vests with the Blacklight Biotechnology logo printed on it. They swarmed out of the building with batons and explosion-proof shields and charged past Lane as they went after the group of protestors dressed shabbily in common clothes...
The following scene went just about as one would expect.
Lane paid no further mind to the commotion. He took a deep breath and made sure he looked presentable before he wheeled the wheelchair through the main entrance of the Blackwatch headquarters.
Upon entry, he saw the enormous lobby that was unlike the lobby of any other common office buildings. A stupendous amount of effort clearly went into the renovation of the lobby. The floors were clad with black marble tiles, the furnishing was mostly silver color and looked highly futuristic, the table and chairs were clean, transparent, and made of glass. The atmosphere of the lobby gave a powerful postmodernism impression.
Lane became slightly nervous and took a large gulp. When he approached the counter, the staff at the counter greeted him with a smile that could wipe away a person's worries. "Welcome, honored guest. I'm Android 3199 and will be your receptionist for the day, how can I help you?"
Lane realized the identity of this lady upon hearing this greeting. He shot a look of slight amusement at the receptionist and asked, "Hi, I'm here for the application to become a combative police."
With that, he handed the application form over.
The Android lady raised both her hands and politely accepted Lane's form.
After a quick round of observation, Lane quickly noticed that although the movements of this lady in front of him were smooth, it was not completely natural. Her movements were almost mechanical and did not contain the hint of fluidity in a regular person's movements.
Despite this observation, what he was looking at was rather impressive already. Unless one were to pay extra attention, it would be hard to distinguish the difference between humans and Androids at first glance.
The lady receptionist only glanced at the form briefly before looking up again and informed with a warm smile, "Dear Mr. Lane, welcome to the application for Blackwatch's Combative Police Force. We at Blackwatch are now collaborating with the Northern American District Police Department, I will now enter your information into the company's intranet and the New York City Police Department database. This is your number. Please head to the second floor for registration, be sure to queue..."
With that, the lady stretched out her hand again and handed a silver electronic card to Leon.
"Alright, thank you..."
Lane nodded and accepted the electronic card. He unintentionally grazed against the slender fingers of the receptionist while receiving the card.
The lady receptionist's skin was warm and had a tender texture one would come to expect of human skin. Lane had the faint impression that he was touching a real human...
Androids did not have any self-consciousness so the girl did not respond to Lane's actions. It only smiled and watched as Lane wheeled off in a wheelchair.
Upon arriving at the second floor and exiting the elevator, Lane saw applicants sitting in rows upon rows of sofa lined along the corridor. Some of them wore bionic prosthetics while the less fortunate ones like himself who could not afford prosthetics had to be bound to a wheelchair.
These were the disabled members of society also here to apply to be a part of Blackwatch's Combative Police Force.
All major cities in the world that had an established Blacklight Biotechnology branch company also had a branch of the combative police force that was tasked with maintaining the order of the city.
The combative police department was a part public and part private department. Any members enlisted into the department would take on two roles, one of which was a police officer of the city while the other was as an employee of Blackwatch.
This job was an excellent deal for the disabled, but unfortunately, not everyone could join the combative police department. Needless to be said, the first prerequisite was to be a disabled person, it was also ideal to come from a police or military background. It was not a deal-breaker to not come from such backgrounds, but unless you were very physically gifted or trained in combat, the chances of being selected were bleak.
Lane picked a corner and waited silently. He looked at the electronic display mounted to the wall. It was flashing with the notice "New York City Bionic Combative Police Audition" with a number below it. The display currently showed the number 21.
Lane took a look at the silver-plated card given to him by the receptionist, it read 39.
Hmm, looked like there were still eighteen people ahead of him, better wait patiently...
Lane put on earphones and immersed himself into his world.
After approximately half an hour had passed. Lane took a look at the
number in the office again and saw that it now read 25. He frowned upon noting this. Fortunately, there was an Android waitress serving water and offering diligent service for the applicants waiting here.
Lane could not help but silently reflect on how the Androids developed by Blackwatch were the perfect choice to fill a position like a nanny that required one to be hardworking, attentive, and respectful. All that and no slacking off.
Whether it was by intention or not, one clear observation that could be made was that these Androids were designed to be very attractive. Any one of them could pose as a supermodel celebrity in real life. Apart from the occasional awkward movements that outed them as Androids, there was pretty much no other tell...
Lane had also heard the occasional remark from his Internet friends that these Androids had spectacular physical assets as well. They could easily pass as premium inflatable toys in bed...
After three hours had passed and it was finally Lane's turn.
The first thing Lane saw upon pushing the door open was four people dressed in suits in a dimly lit office. One of them was wearing a bionic prosthesis while the other three were perfectly healthy and normal people. There was a plate in front of each one of them that read chief examiner.
"Hello examiners, my name is Pedro Lane. I was born in Rhode Island and I'm here to apply to become a Bionic Combative Police today."
Lane bowed lightly on his wheelchair and announced softly.
"Disabled legs?"
The man sitting on the far right frowned briskly and asked without making an attempt to be sensitive about the matter, "Lane, how did your legs come to be disabled? Was it due to an injury inflicted by criminals?"
"No, I lost them in an accident."
Before he could finish his sentence, the same man interrupted him. "Was your previous profession associated with the police or military force?"
"Neither."
Lane shook his head and put on his smile. "I was a university student and I've taken several elective courses, I performed quite well."
The four examiners exchanged glances among themselves when they heard this. The only man with bionic prosthetics suddenly asked, "Tell us about your understanding of 'justice', also, what are your opinions about bionic combative police as a profession?"
"I think the definition of justice is to crack down on all evil before they can hatch!"
Lane answered promptly, "My dream is to become a superhero. The way I see it, justice is straightforward and doesn't come with any external factors or influences. Any justice motivated by other selfish desires cannot be called justice.
"As for my opinions on bionic combative police as a profession, I don't see them as true heroes because true heroes don't demand the attention and idolization of the public. I see them as a farce because true heroes are nobodies that..."
This remark caught the attention of the other two examiners. They raised their heads in unison and looked at Lane strangely. After that, they held a whispered discussion.
Before long, the man with bionic prosthetics turned to Lane and nodded. "Mr. Lane, thank you for your application. You may leave now. We'll inform you by email if you've been shortlisted."
"Alright..."
Lane smiled bitterly and nodded. He gave the examiners one last polite bow before leaving.
By the time Lane exited the Blackwatch building, the protest outside had long died down. The LED screen on the front of the building had been fixed as well. It was playing the BHB Combative Police Force commercial again.
Lane could not fight the urge to look back again. When he saw the man in the middle of the BHB team shown on the display, a faint wipe of what seemed to be hatred appeared in his eyes...
It was at this moment when a figure came to a stop in front of Lane. He turned around and saw a large, empowering man standing in front of him.
"Lane, did you get recruited?"
"No, I think... I failed."
Chapter 490: Revenge Squad |
"This person has interesting ideas..."
After they watched Lane leave in a wheelchair, the muscular middle-aged man whose right arm was a bionic prosthetic commented suddenly.
"He doesn't come from a police or military background and his degree of physical disability isn't severe enough either."
Another blonde-haired lady noted without hesitation. "People like him aren't suitable candidates."
"I think so too."
The man who cut off Lane mid-sentence just now agreed with a firm nod. "The key factor is the ideas he has. He's simply too rebellious for our company's cause. I'd advise against putting him through the preliminary selection."
"Seconded, let's move on from this one."
The final examiner agreed as well.
With that, three out of the four examiners had selected the FAILED input on their computers.
It was only the middle-aged man who spoke first left. He held his mouth open and darted a hesitant look at the other three examiners as he looked at the screen displayed in front of him.
Name: Pedro lane.
Age: 26.
Physical Condition Rating: C.
Political Mindset Rating: C.
Mental Health Rating: B.
Overview:
After some consideration, he proceeded to write down several sentences in Leon's evaluation form.
"The applicant displays a strong sense of justice and personality as well as strong self-awareness. I believe he's an ideal observation target, awaiting further review."
After providing this evaluation, the middle-aged man gave Lane the only PASSED review among the four examiners and promptly closed the window.
The rest of the examiners did not raise an issue with the middle-aged man's review. They were the staff in charge of the preliminary screening. The information would then be handed over to the higher-ups for another round of sampling review. There was a chance that the final ruling may be revised, though it was very unlikely.
It was very rare for candidates that received a FAILED score from three examiners to have their final ruling revised and invited to the next round of screening.
The blonde-haired lady gave the middle-aged man a gentle nod before pressing the button to summon the next candidate. Soon, another candidate afflicted with frostbite came into the room in a wheelchair.
The previous segment was nothing too notable. The screening process for the combative police force was still ongoing...
Unbeknownst to the examiners, after Lane's information was submitted into the system's back-end database, something strange happened to it. Perhaps due to a system error or some similar issue, it was transferred from the group labeled as "FAILED" to the group labeled as "PASSED".
In addition, the "FAILED" grading marked in red that was issued by the three examiners was somehow modified and turned into a bright green "PASSED"...
...
"Bang!"
There was a loud and sudden slam. A large and muscular man wearing a west who was built like an Olympian burst through the metal gate with a relentless kick as he stomped into the dark and damp garage.
The interior of the garage was a mess. Bits and pieces of unknown engine parts and wire were scattered all over the floor. There was also an off-road vehicle parked in the corner of the garage.
On the other side of the garage, there was a cluster of five to six server machines. The heat they radiated made the garage feel stuffy while the low hum of the machines echoed across the garage endlessly.
A black young man who was tweaking a device suddenly snapped around upon hearing the loud bang and took out a gun which he aimed at the door. When he identified the person who came in through the entrance, he cursed out loud and went back to the device he was working on.
"Wildfire, does it kill you to open a door normally?"
Meanwhile, another figure stepped outside gracefully from a dark corner of the garage. It was a lady with pink-colored hair that draped over one side of her face. She was chewing gum
and she spoke with a soft, sultry voice, "What pissed you off so much, hold on, let me guess..."
The lady narrowed her eyes as she fixed her gaze on the figure behind the man in the vest. It was Lane wheeling himself in his wheelchair. "Did Lamb screw up the application process into the Blackwatch Combative Police Force?"
"Right on the mark, Kraken!"
The man in the vest ranted with great irritation, "Lane never follows through with the plan that we devised for him, what a pain!"
The man in the vest turned and angrily jabbed a finger at Lane's direction. "Do you have any idea how much we've done for you to take care of your wounds, how much time and effort went into it? You'd never believe it even if I told you!"
"I'm so sorry, Wildfire..."
Lane said with a bitter frown, "It won't happen again."
"Of course it won't because there's no more next time!"
Wildfire roared and darted into a room at the other end of the garage.
He viciously slammed the door shut behind him as soon as he entered.
A suffocating silence immediately loomed over the garage.
"Hey, relax. Wildfire has become quite uptight ever since losing his wife and daughter."
As soon as Wildfire left, another young man covered in engine oil slid out from under the off-road vehicle parked in the corner of the garage. He made a quick comment to Lane and slid back under the car before Lane had time to respond...
"Thanks, buddy..."
Lane nodded dejectedly and proceeded to wheel himself to a corner. He took a photo frame on the table and silently wiped off its stains.
The picture in the frame showed a beautiful field and in the center of it was a woman sitting on a summer chair. The woman in the picture looked to be a mother and seemed charming and graceful.
There was a young and shy-looking young man standing next to the mother in the picture. Upon close inspection, this young man in the picture looked like Lane in his youth.
"Lamb."
While Lane was staring at the picture of his mother in the photo frame, there was disappointment in his eyes. The pink-haired lady suddenly approached him from behind. She bent down and leaned closer to look at the photo frame that Lane was holding. Lane could immediately smell the cheap perfume mixed with faint womanly fragrance seeping into his nose...
