Wizard: Become stronger by drawing cards from the potions variety show

Chapter 793

Residential area.

This is where all formally graduated professionals live and work in peace and contentment; it is a real human community far removed from the ivory tower of libraries.

In the library, everything is measured in academic credits; but here, the hard currency that measures everything has become "points".

People of different professions and levels receive vastly different monthly point allocations. The harsh reality is that 90% of a person's potential for points is already determined by AI based on their performance and abilities during their time studying in the library. While theoretically there's still a possibility of achieving a "point leap" through major breakthroughs, very few people can maintain their passion for learning and research under heavy work pressure.

The first of each month is the day for distributing points, and it's also the busiest time in the residential area. People spontaneously gather in the central area, forming an open-air market several miles in radius around the bank. Here, people can directly exchange goods and information, bypassing the high intermediary fees and taxes of official platforms. This tacitly accepted "loophole" has existed to this day, and everyone tacitly understands it, which is mostly due to the tacit approval of AI.

However, today is somewhat unusual.

The approach of several massive armored hovercraft caused a commotion.

At first, people thought it was AI's security force coming to regulate the market. But when the vehicle got closer and they saw the giant corporate logo on the side of the car, they breathed a sigh of relief—it was probably just another giant coming to promote its products.

This has happened before; many good products that can improve the quality of life initially became popular in this way.

This time, however, the convoy drove straight through the crowd and came to a steady stop in front of the bank.

A handsome man stepped off the first bus and greeted the market administrator who approached him with a relaxed smile.

"Don't be impatient."

He patted the armored vehicle behind him.

The train doors burst open with a bang, but instead of well-dressed salesmen, a group of armed men with all sorts of equipment, exuding a menacing aura, jumped out.

The administrator felt breathless after just one glance from one of them. He noticed the repaired battle marks on the armored vehicle and his heart sank: something was wrong.

"Hey bro, step aside and wait a bit, we have some serious business to attend to." The handsome man patted the administrator on the shoulder in a friendly manner, then put on his helmet, grabbed a pulse weapon, and pressed a megaphone to his throat.

The next moment, his voice clearly reached the ears of everyone within several kilometers:

"Everyone, please stay where you are! There might be some big commotion coming up, but I guarantee that everyone who cooperates will receive points as compensation! We are, uh, Changming Group, whatever, we'll definitely be giving out compensation!"

He spoke in a relaxed tone, as if he were announcing a celebration.

"Believe it or not, the choice is yours. But if I were you, I'd choose to watch the show; it's a win-win situation, and there's always a good spectacle to see, isn't it?"

He chuckled, removed the microphone, and waved to his men, ordering, "Alright, guys, let's get this going!"

The ragtag group immediately picked up their weapons and surged toward the bank's main entrance like a tidal wave.

The administrator sighed and wisely chose to stay put.

He knew that an attack of this scale must have a backup plan. Who knew what methods they had prepared to prevent the information from leaking? Blindly fleeing would only be dangerous.

Meanwhile, the crowd in the distance, upon hearing the "points compensation" announcement, surged toward the bank like streams flowing into the ocean.

Many people thought, "It won't hurt to watch," until they witnessed terrorists shooting and smashing the bank's facade and destroying patrol robots.

This group of guys, who look like a ragtag army, are actually quite strong in combat.

The patrolling robots at the entrance were mostly shot in the head with a single shot, and the combat robots inside the bank were also stopped by them.

Gunshots rang out inside the bank building, along with occasional sounds of collisions.

The remains of a combat robot were smashed out of the glass curtain wall; it had already been dismantled.

Screams erupted, but no one left or stepped forward.

There were many combat professionals among the crowd, but they all chose to stand by and watch.

No one would easily risk their life for a huge bounty on AI.

The fact that those low-hanging, malfunctioning surveillance cameras indicate that the perpetrator possesses sophisticated hacking skills capable of penetrating AI networks, which is no ordinary crime.

Moreover, the enemy's invasion was too fast, and the gunfire became increasingly louder and sparser.

Suddenly, the giant glass curtain wall outside the bank lit up, projecting the figure of the leader.

He laughed unrestrainedly: "I'm so glad you all kept your promise! I always keep my word."

With a wave of his hand, countless electronic vouchers flashing with strings of characters rained down from the bank, quickly covering the ground in a thick layer.

Everyone gasped in surprise.

Those are real points!

However, the crowd remained hesitant.

Even if illegally obtained points are credited to your account, how can they escape AI's scrutiny?

The young people on the curtain wall seemed to see right through their thoughts:

"You're afraid of AI, aren't you?" His voice was inflammatory. "Think about it, why are some people far less talented than you able to rise to the top so quickly? Because your value is entirely determined by AI's weighting algorithm! It considers you worthless!"

"Now, these on the ground are your deserved compensation! Don't worry about the source; we've destroyed and scrambled the relevant data. When you pick them up, our program will assign a 'legitimate' source for each point. This will remain a little secret between us, how about it?"

Where there is a lot of money, there will always be brave men.

Finally, someone picked up a redemption code, trembling.

The terminal showed that dozens of points were instantly credited to the account, the source of which was a series of realistic "overtime records" and "project bonuses," without any flaws.

The silence was broken.

One person, two people... more and more people joined the ranks of scavengers.

The initial cautious movements escalated into a frantic scramble, eventually turning into a frenzied grab.

Meanwhile, the rain of redemption codes continued to fall from the sky.

----

The flashing light screen reflected the frenzied faces of everyone.

They have thrown caution to the wind.

Anyway, it has been confirmed that the points have indeed become a legitimate source of points. Although it is unknown how this was done, for him, the biggest benefactor now is a truly good person.

They had to consider whether this was their only chance in their lives to become rich overnight.

With these points, they can complete their professional development, buy a bigger house, a better life, or even redeem some easy jobs—all of which they can obtain immediately.

"Relax, everyone. Don't fight or start a brawl. If you do, hey, that guy, I'll take you down."

With a deafening boom, a burst of pulse weapon fire, seemingly from nowhere, struck one of the people trying to grab the weapon. The man's flushed face instantly turned deathly pale.

"There are a lot of points, please believe me, these points are enough for each of you. I don't want to teach you manners, but I hope you can understand them on your own."

After this farce, order outside was suddenly restored. Everyone lost their minds, but they were equally unwilling to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a fortune.

The figures on the giant glass screen outside the bank had disappeared, but no one cared or paid attention; they were all focused on robbing the money right in front of them.

……

Inside the bank.

"All data has been copied."

"Our contact information is also in the accounts of those people outside, and they will contact us on their own initiative."

"As planned, the computing power pool stored in the bank will be destroyed first. Although it's a bit wasteful, it's a necessary price to pay."

"Fifteen minutes are up, prepare to evacuate. The AI's 'hounds' are probably already on their way."

The handsome man at the head of the group casually waved his hand, and the bulletproof glass curtain wall on the left shattered instantly. He leaped and landed perfectly beside the armored vehicle below, as light as a falling leaf.

A few people who looked up caught a glimpse of this scene, but simply lowered their heads indifferently and continued frantically picking up the points redemption codes on the ground.

The man's lips curled into a slight smile.

The other team members also jumped down in turn, but their movements were far less effortless than the leader's.

Just then, the buzzing of a drone came from afar. The crowd picking up redemption codes instinctively hunched their shoulders and buried their faces in their collars, but their hands didn't stop moving in the slightest.

The man raised his hand and held up a gun.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two precise shots rang out, and two drones in the distance exploded into fireballs. More drones seemed to suddenly go out of control, colliding and crashing to the ground.

"withdraw!"

He deftly opened the car door. The armored vehicle instantly rose into the air, tracing a beautiful arc before speeding away.

"What's the situation now?" he asked while steadying himself.

"This is not good," came the reply from the other end of the communication. An electronic map unfolded in front of him, showing that countless scarlet markers were closing in on them from all directions around the point of light representing them.

"Ha, quite a show of force." He scoffed. "Raise the bar!"

The armored vehicle suddenly climbed, quickly reaching mid-altitude. This strategy allowed them to shake off most of the ground troops, significantly reducing pressure.

However, the enemy they faced still outnumbered them by dozens of times. Even if these AI-controlled robots were somewhat clumsy, their sheer numbers were enough to overwhelm them.

He gripped the car door tightly with one hand, the wind whipping his hair wildly.

"It's up to you guys. If you can't handle it, I won't pay the commission this time."

"If you don't pay, we'll deduct it ourselves," the voice on the other end of the line retorted, but their hands didn't slow down at all.

Almost simultaneously, multiple powerful viruses broke out among the pursuing AI forces via the local area network. Due to the close proximity of the forces, even if the network was immediately disconnected, the viruses had already completed cross-infection through short-frequency channels.

In an instant, the pursuing units in the sky fell like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

However, more troops are still approaching from afar. The current crisis has only been temporarily averted.

The man showed no sign of panic; he confidently held up three fingers.

"Three, two, one."

The moment the countdown ended—

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Violent explosions echoed from the outskirts of the residential area and even within the industrial zone. Flames shot into the sky from all directions, and even some special areas were rocked by explosions.

Within the AI's security network, several higher-priority tasks instantly appeared:

[Ensure the safety of personnel in key areas.]

Protect assets in mega-corporation zones.

The AI ​​combat sequence that was originally surging towards them like a tide was as if forcibly reversed by an invisible hand, and they all rushed to other "more important" incident sites.

"Everything is going according to plan, Lucy," came the exclamation from the other end of the communication.

"Of course, everything is under control." The man, using the alias "Lucy," smiled slightly. As the armored vehicle sped past a building, he leaped into a pre-opened window, followed closely by two other team members.

The room was a storage room with several wardrobes placed side by side.

Lucy pulled open one of the drawers and quickly changed into casual clothes. The instant she put the clothes on, her facial features rippled like water, transforming into those of a beautiful blonde woman. She casually picked up a silver leather suitcase.

The two teammates behind him had also changed their uniforms.

Lucy reached out and covered their faces, and their faces distorted and reshaped, becoming completely unfamiliar.

The two examined themselves closely in the mirror on the wardrobe door and found no flaws.

"Honestly, Lucy, I'm always amazed by what you do," one of them exclaimed. "With this skill, you're practically born to be a spy."

Lucy, or rather the blonde as she is now, shrugged nonchalantly: "You couldn't earn as much as I do as a spy. I can do what I love and I get paid by the hour. There's no better job."

The two men behind her exchanged a glance. They had long suspected that Lucy might be a retired, or even active, top agent, though he had never admitted or denied it. Now it seemed they might have been right.

But none of that matters anymore. Since they all share the belief of resisting AI and voluntarily joined this group, there's no need to bring up their past experiences.

The three of them pushed open the door of the storage room, walked calmly into the corridor, arrived at the lobby, and took the elevator directly to the top floor.

This is the city hall.

Lucy had a clear goal. She walked straight to the deputy mayor's office, turned the doorknob without knocking, and went inside.

Inside the office, the deputy mayor appeared to have been waiting for some time.

"Well done, Lucy." The deputy mayor's face was beaming. "That was a big commotion, buying us valuable time. This will definitely lead to a reshuffling of the inner circle, which is a good opportunity for us to place our own people there."

He grew increasingly excited as he spoke, his voice becoming increasingly seductive: "If everything goes smoothly, this will be the starting point for us to reclaim control of the city! At that time, every one of you here will be a hero of this city!"

Hearing the noticeably heavier breathing of the two teammates behind her, Lucy simply smiled faintly.

"Forget about empty promises, Mr. Deputy Mayor. With your boss around, you'll never get into the real inner circle." Her tone was calm, yet incisive. "You'd be better off thinking about how to get him removed."

The deputy mayor straightened his tie, his smile unchanged, but a barely perceptible shadow of unease flickered in his eyes: "Lucy, you're still as outspoken as ever. But what I admire is precisely your keen insight."

Lucy tossed the box in her hand, and it landed smoothly on the table.

"You got what you wanted."