Subverting The World [Cyber] - Chapter 24
Shi Xu gathered all of Jenny’s collection of bionic skin, even coming across some artificial polar bear hide.
“Why do you still have this?” Shi Xu asked, bewildered as she examined the various animal skins.
“There used to be someone who was into furries…” Jenny blushed and covered her face, “Prison warden, don’t give me that look!”
That person was herself. No shame in liking furries—it’s a pretty broad interest.
Shi Xu never judged anyone’s preferences; she simply packed up the skins and left. Some of the faces looked heavily used—what were they for, exactly? Probably for covering shifts.
Giving this group paid time off was definitely cheap for them.
Shi Xu put on one face, grabbed the medical kit and other skins, then exited the infirmary.
Soon after, a group of bionic guards who had been checking in arrived and entered the infirmary.
Jenny was still tidying up.
The team leader asked, “Nurse Jenny, have you seen prisoner number 666?”
“No,” Jenny waved dismissively. “Don’t bother me.”
“The trace scans show fresh dust and disturbed vents on your side.”
“That’s just a mouse,” Jenny said with a roll of her eyes.
The bionics were skeptical. Despite extensive checks, no mouse hairs were found.
“Jenny, you killed a mouse last week but left no trace. According to regulations, we have the right to question you, and if you don’t cooperate, penalties will follow.”
Jenny sighed, unsure how long she could keep covering for the warden. Honestly, the warden hadn’t asked her to do this; she was just trying to protect her.
But… a little professional loyalty never hurt, right?
She tried to stall, hoping the warden would somehow pull through and maybe even reward her.
“Ask away,” Jenny said weakly. “I don’t care.”
“Alright, we’re going to polygraph you. Please answer truthfully.”
A device monitoring heartbeat and bl00d pressure was attached to Jenny’s arm.
“What’s your name?”
“Jenny. Don’t be a doctor in your next life,” she joked. “My family is full of doctors.”
“Please stick to relevant answers. Next: your age?”
“26.”
“What do you like?”
“Muscle men and furries,” Jenny clasped her hands over her heart. “Especially muscle furries.”
Squad leader: “Where is the warden?”
Jenny: “I don’t know.”
Squad leader: “Where is prisoner number 666?”
Jenny: “How should I know?”
Squad leader: “How many people were in the infirmary just now?”
Jenny: “Just me.”
Squad leader: “Okay, what was inside the empty cabinet you opened?”
Jenny: “Bionic skin.”
Squad leader: “Which part?”
Jenny: “I don’t remember.”
Squad leader: “Lying. Answer again.”
Jenny hesitated: “Face.”
Squad leader: “When did you open it?”
Jenny: “Not long ago.”
“What did you do when you opened it?”
“Cleaned.”
“Where is the skin now?”
“…”
They checked the trash and surroundings thoroughly.
“Surveillance footage showed defects; the trash bin had no bionic skin.”
“No cabinets were found nearby.”
“The incinerator logs show no record of destruction.”
“Nurse Jenny, if nothing is missing or damaged, prisoner 666 wouldn’t run off on their own,” Captain Bionic said. “At least that’s what my database says.”
Jenny’s bl00d pressure spiked, heart rate increased, and data was immediately sent to the warden’s office.
“Alert! Alert! Prisoner 666 may have changed faces and is escaping. All units must investigate any suspicious individuals! Database comparisons required!”
“Warden’s office has authorized use of force, repeat, counterattack is now permitted!”
The bionic guards sprang into action.
Jenny curled her lips and glanced at the clock.
Five minutes. That’s how long she held on.
But no one asked whose skin was taken. Not because she wouldn’t say—it’s that no one cared.
She hoped the warden would appreciate the effort.
Meanwhile, the warden, looking for a break, ran headfirst into a group of bionic guards.
Passing by, just as she turned to leave, one spoke:
“Guard Dong Dong Qiang, aren’t you on paid leave? Why are you still here?”
“I came back for something,” Shi Xu replied. “What about you? You look busy. Need help?”
She noticed the bionic’s pupils flashing blue, scanning her face, and the gun barrel aimed at her.
After recognition, the muzzle lowered.
“We won’t disturb you. It’s a special period. Please complete your check-in and avoid lingering in the prison.”
“Okay,” Shi Xu smiled. “I’ll check in now.”
She knew the fatal question was coming and decided to beat them to it.
“But your network’s spotty. When I came in, I didn’t connect to the prison’s system. Not sure if my entry was logged. Why not upload it for me?”
Morgan was busy washing data, so the network really wasn’t stable.
The prison’s entry has a rarely used non-electronic checkpoint—basically a fire escape passage usually locked.
“Got it, registered for you.”
Meanwhile, Morgan Ruiyin was scrambling to find any live faces or escaped prisoners, unaware that the prison’s whitelist just lit up with one person.
When she realized it, she noted that bionic manpower was insufficient; she needed human help.
Morgan shifted focus to the real human guards—since they’re harder for her to hack—and found only twelve.
Just twelve.
Morgan split them into three squads and sent messages ordering patrols.
Now they had to obey, even against their own will.
Because Morgan held all bionic permissions and had tampered with the system, she could incite rebellion, especially if someone was physically strong enough.
She could control prosthetics in seconds.
The warden saw the three patrol orders arrive.
Shi Xu raised an eyebrow.
She had swapped out twelve people to create the illusion Morgan had more manpower.
If there were only one real person, Morgan would spot it by contacting her. But with twelve?
At least for now, Morgan was fooled.
What made the twelve truly effective—and avoided exposure—was that they were real employees, impossible to replace.
Shi Xu studied Morgan’s computational focus.
Thanks to the prison’s outdated hardware and software, Morgan lacked the resources to control even the basic robots, which remained idle.
She knew Morgan must be tracking the twelve now.
That question…
Shi Xu entered the cleaning tool room opposite and turned on all twelve sweeping robots charging inside.
She assigned patrol routes and attached location trackers from the staff lounge to each robot, matching team info.
The twelve robots moved out on patrol.
Shi Xu stepped out, aware time was tight.
Her real goal: the network maintenance room near the studio.
…
At first, Morgan noticed nothing suspicious; a few small blinking dots moved as expected.
But when the first patrol team arrived, she studied the map and grew puzzled.
Why was the patrol route so strange? Why did it keep running into walls? So odd…
Morgan hacked into camera feeds to watch the patrol.
No person appeared—only a cleaning robot.
The robot’s position perfectly matched the patrol route.
“Poof,” Morgan sipped coffee, exasperated.
“I thought this would be simple… whatever, the ice bath’s ready.”
She wiped coffee from her mouth and entered the ice bath/server room where bionics were preparing.
Morgan donned a special hacker suit, stepped into the bath, and connected to the brain-computer interface.
The data world transformed from cold numbers and keyboard screens into a vivid, three-dimensional immersive experience.
She saw all history—people, bionics met, records, data—
Time, place, identities.
Morgan pieced everything together.
The warden moved through the ceiling vents, reached the infirmary, and took all the bionic skin.
The first face change was a prison guard’s face, traced to a location.
Then she headed east, changing faces twelve times.
What was her destination? What was her goal?
Only one thing lay in that direction.
The prison’s network processor.
She was going to sever the internet!
“We must stop her!” Morgan commanded, ordering an immediate lockdown around Shi Xu’s location—no, “lockdown” was too slow.
Morgan fired the signal, and the walls began to crumble.