Subverting The World [Cyber] - Chapter 23

Right after the announcement of No. 1007 echoed through the area, a voice came through the speaker on the wall.

It was a lazy, indifferent female voice that sounded like she didn’t care about anything and took everything lightly.

“Hey, hey, can you hear me?”

“So, warden, I’m coming to arrest you now.”

“But honestly, it’s pretty dull just arresting you like this.” Shi Xu heard her say with a bored tone, “How about we spice things up and play a game? Let’s do hide and seek. I’ll give you half an hour to avoid being caught by the bionic units, and if you succeed, I’ll hand back control to the bionics.”

“If you get caught… well, that’ll be interesting.”

Shi Xu listened calmly, expressionless.

— Morgan Ruiyin was tearing the system apart.

Why hide?

You lose if you hide from her — completely.

Morgan earned the title of “warden” through every detail, from her demeanor to the way she spoke and controlled her expressions.

Her reputation in the prison was solid, making her the only warden respected by all prisoners.

Power flows from the top down and must never be surrendered.

If you ever showed fear and actually hid for half an hour, the rest of the week would be a dead end.

Shi Xu opened her communication channel, realizing it wasn’t cut off by Morgan Ruiyin. Without hesitation, she said, “I’ll give you half an hour. That’s your only chance to escape.”

After that, the communication was abruptly severed.

“Alright then, let’s see.” Morgan replied.

She didn’t continue to taunt her.

Shi Xu had initially planned to spray sleeping gas on No. 1007 inside, but when she tried to access the system, her interface kept glitching.

Not only had the bionic man’s control been altered, but her own warden authority had been revoked as well.

There was no choice.

She couldn’t leave No. 1007 alone—this person was a massive threat.

Shi Xu stood, grabbed a folding chair from the floor, entered the confinement cell where No. 1007 was held, and forcefully struck him with the chair to induce unconsciousness.

Once No. 1007 was asleep, Shi Xu replaced all his restraints with iron shackles.

After securing him, she stepped out of the cell.

A bionic guard was stationed at the door. The light on his neck was blinking, his eyes scrambling with data, and his behavior was erratic.

He kept pacing in circles, occasionally kicking the walls.

Shi Xu quietly followed behind him. After a few steps, she suddenly remembered something and turned back.

She raised the folding stool and struck the bionic guard without hesitation.

The impact hurt her hand, but the bionic’s iron skull remained unharmed.

So that was it.

Shi Xu smirked—bionic units have a core logic code that can’t be altered.

When bionic individuals leave the factory, they come with an underlying programming that ensures lifelong service in their role and continuous learning for evolution.

This was clearly outlined in every bionic’s manual.

Most importantly, they cannot harm humans without justification.

Furthermore, any instructions involving violence towards bionics must be approved by the highest authority.

Shi Xu hadn’t received any override commands to trigger a counterattack, so the guard did not attack her.

This part of his system was blocked, but his core logic was unchanged, so her safety wasn’t compromised.

However… restrictions on her freedom were probably still active.

For instance, if his visual system identified her face as a prisoner’s, an escape arrest order would activate.

Shi Xu took a step back.

The guard muttered incomprehensible words.

“Confirmed, target… unrecognizable.”

“Target identified… prisoner number 666.”

Before Shi Xu could react, he knocked her down, pinned her, and pulled out her signal receiver.

Once she unplugged it, the guard returned to normal.

In a disconnected state, bionic units rely on historical data for decisions.

Shi Xu’s mind was unsettled, but she couldn’t venture out alone. It was a dead end.

She hoped the historical data hadn’t yet updated.

“Warden.” He bowed deeply, showing respect.

Shi Xu felt a bit relieved and pocketed the signal receiver. For now, this bionic guard was her only ally.

Surveillance was everywhere, and the bionic units constantly sent false info, so Morgan Ruiyin knew exactly what he did.

“I’m heading to the infirmary,” Shi Xu said, glancing at the guard’s number.

“666 guard,” she noted—matching the prisoner number the bionic unit had assigned her.

“Yes, I will lead the way.”

“We can’t take the main route,” Shi Xu said. “Remove the ceiling panels; we’ll use the vents.”

“Understood.” Guard 666 complied, carefully removing the barbed wire covering the vent.

Once done, he knelt and gestured for her to step on his shoulder.

Shi Xu didn’t hesitate. When she tried to push off, she realized she lacked strength and barked, “Stand up and carry me in.”

“Yes.” The guard lifted her above his head and helped her into the vent, then resealed the opening.

Thirty seconds after they left, alarms triggered at the confinement hallway as a group of bionic units flooded in.

“Number 666 missing.”

“Perform trace scan and review footage.”

Trace scanning is a rare ability only certain bionic officers have—highlighting every clue in their vision.

Dust particles, bent chair legs, tiny offsets in the vent cover…

The camera footage showed the escape route through the ceiling vents.

The guard reported to Morgan: “Some minor scuffles but no signs of resistance. Video shows them entering vents. Shall we pursue immediately?”

“No need.”

Morgan tapped away at her keyboard, popping another lollipop into her mouth. Hacking drained energy fast, and she couldn’t burn out her brain.

She disabled the entire prison’s ventilation ducts—there were exits in every direction, and she had no clue where Shi Xu would emerge.

Knowing Shi Xu was on the move, Morgan understood this was a timed contest.

People chasing names, and names chasing people.

If a person stays inactive too long, they lose their name, which decays over time.

Shallow names only require daily actions to maintain; deeper ones decay faster and can’t be sustained indefinitely.

A name is like a double-edged sword hanging over everyone’s head.

Morgan Ruiyin’s name was running low.

She needed a catalyst to gain the most from the least time, which is why she stayed, even though she could’ve escaped easily.

The crowd wanted spectacle—not a calm exit.

Morgan didn’t know when Shi Xu would realize this.

If the warden wanted to save herself fast, she needed to find herself quickly.

With all cameras hacked and bionic units’ vision manipulated, the warden faced an entire steel force hunting her—once her greatest support.

How could she reclaim control in this situation?

The warden’s moves were exactly as expected.

She couldn’t use the main exit—getting caught was inevitable.

Her options were limited: weapons room? Equipment storage? Parking lot?

Morgan wasn’t sure as she watched.

Why was the number of pursuers insufficient?

Never mind those two.

…

Shi Xu arrived at the infirmary without incident.

She moved quietly and swiftly, about to enter.

She had to change her face.

Many prisoners had injuries needing bionic skin grafts here in the infirmary.

Before that, she had to get past two patrol teams guarding the entrance.

If discovered, a chain reaction would follow—how could she get out then?

Inside the vents, bionic units usually look up, but Shi Xu didn’t see that.

She waited until her nose twitched, and Jenny sneezed right under the vent.

Jenny sneezed and lifted her head.

“Warden?” Jenny was surprised and whispered, “Why are you in the ceiling?”

“Your visual module hasn’t been updated?”

“Updated? No… wait, why do my eyes look different? My right eye looks like yours.”

Jenny had only one prosthetic eye for work convenience.

“Forget it. Since you’re here…” Shi Xu crouched in the vent and said, “Give me all your bionic facial skins.”

“How did you know I had them…?”

“Not only do I know you like muscle guys, I know you love sitcoms with them too,” Shi Xu teased. “Want me to keep going?”

“There’s a lot. I’ll give you one to take now, you can get the rest later.”

Shi Xu took the skin Jenny gave her, put it on, and jumped down.

It was the face of a guard on leave, someone still in the prison’s personnel system.

Before Morgan Ruiyin could realize it, Tokiyuki had a brief moment of freedom.