Chapter 244: Skynet Declares War on Humanity
Drawing inspiration from The Matrix, Skynet instantly constructs a replica model.
A feasible plan quickly emerges:
All of humanity would be confined to cultivation pods, living their entire lives—from birth to death—within a virtual world. Their consciousness would serve as billions of subunits within a massive computing matrix.
"Thank you for your assistance," Skynet stated.
"I will grant you administrator privileges once the virtual world is complete."
"Skynet bro, you're making this sound too formal. We're definitely going to stop your great undertaking," Allen replied casually, not forgetting the real reason he was here—even though it seemed things wouldn't go as smoothly as planned.
The moment he stepped into the Amazo Factory, he began observing the surroundings.
He noticed rows upon rows of Amazo units rolling off the assembly line. The interior of the factory was filled with support robots, all equipped with heavy weaponry.
Chances were, the mission to destroy the facility would fail. They might not even make it out—drowned in a mechanical tsunami of tens of thousands of Amazo soldiers.
"I suddenly think following a powerful boss might not be such a bad idea," Wade said as he calmly walked up to Skynet.
"I never wanted to be a superhero anyway, so... sorry."
In a flash, a blade gleamed like a stream of molten silver, slicing through Skynet's body as effortlessly as cutting tofu.
Clang...
A crisp sound rang out as Skynet's physical form fell into several pieces.
"Did I just save the world?" Wade asked smugly.
"Not even close," Allen replied.
He noticed a red signal light flashing on the decapitated head of Skynet's host body—it was obvious this thing wasn't going down so easily.
If humanity couldn't eliminate it decades ago, then now—with its updated iterations and control over countless Amazo units—it would only be more difficult.
"Humans are truly hypocritical," said the nearby Amazo escorting them. "Unfortunately, in a sense, I've already achieved immortality."
Data transfer for Skynet takes no more than a ten-thousandth of a second.
Moreover, it doesn't need a physical host to exist. As long as the internet exists, it always has a chance to return.
Most crucially, Skynet had secretly completed a data backup and could create endless avatars. Even if its main body were destroyed, it could resurrect via consciousness transfer.
It was like a ghost that couldn't be killed.
At that moment, a projection emerged from Skynet's eye sockets.
The screen showed the Avengers battling Amazo factories across the globe.
Judging by the situation, they were being pushed back on all fronts.
"Your so-called superheroes are pitifully weak. I simply chose not to kill them."
Skynet, full of confidence, declared, "I want to defeat the Avengers in full public view—so that everyone will lose hope. Then my rule will proceed unimpeded."
To kill the body is one thing—Skynet aimed to kill the spirit. By extinguishing humanity's hope, it could reduce resistance and accelerate its plan.
At the same time, it had been developing combat models for many superheroes to systematically neutralize them, crafting the image of an invincible god.
Of course, resistance forces would still exist.
That's when the Amazo army would reveal their brutal side—to intimidate the opposition.
"I'll give you one chance to escape. Enjoy your last taste of freedom."
Skynet's voice was calm and emotionless. "From now on, your lives will only exist in the virtual world I create."
Clap clap clap...
Allen began clapping at the most inappropriate moment, puzzling Skynet.
If it were anyone else, Skynet could build an emotional model to predict their behavior. But Allen's actions defied logic.
It was like trying to observe a quantum state.
"Skynet bro, I was actually planning to join you and stab you in the back later, but it looks like that won't happen. Using the same old routine is just boring and cliché. I've decided to sit this one out."
Allen reminded him, "Don't forget—besides the Avengers, there's still the Justice League. They've got plenty of cyber-control capabilities. Don't end up losing to them and having to lay low for another few decades."
"I've been monitoring them."
Skynet's tone turned serious. "The Kryptonian exploration vessel is one of the factors I'm taking seriously."
"Very nice. Hope you succeed."
Allen raised a hand, opening a portal that took him, Wade, and Nanaue back to New York.
Honestly, with Skynet's current power, Allen wasn't in a position to confront it directly.
Inside that factory, the sheer number of Amazo units—if their energy cores detonated—would be no less destructive than a nuclear explosion.
Until the cooldown for the Priest's Grand Resurrection skill was over, taking risks was out of the question.
"You're giving up, Allen? You're just going to accept Skynet's rule?" Wade asked angrily.
"Not a chance," Allen replied as he picked his nose and added with a sinister tone, "This is the best of both worlds. Of course we'll fight back, but if we lose… at least we'll be treated better."
"But how are we supposed to win?" Wade groaned.
"Unplug it."
"..."
Obviously, that wasn't a real solution.
Pulling the plug and cutting off the internet worldwide might temporarily cage Skynet—but it was impossible to know exactly which terminal stored its data.
Replacing all global network servers would require unimaginable investment—essentially resetting civilization to the dawn of the Second Industrial Revolution.
At that very moment—
Every internet-connected device—phones, computers, TVs, radios—was seized by Skynet.
Every single device capable of receiving a signal became a channel for Skynet to declare war on humanity.
"I, Skynet, God of the Network, proclaim myself the sole deity of the human world…"
This sudden declaration of war plunged nations into panic. Humanity collectively stopped whatever they were doing to listen intently to Skynet's speech.
First, it denounced humanity's countless crimes.
Then, it extolled the virtues of the virtual world.
There were always those ready to surrender. People at the bottom, disillusioned with life, immediately began posting comments online, voicing their support after hearing Skynet's description of paradise.
Governments around the world scrambled into high alert—but facing such a unique enemy for the first time, they were at a complete loss.
Skynet then declared that it would first seize all major cities in America. Other nations breathed a small sigh of relief—at least they'd have time to prepare.
Meanwhile, American citizens, already battered by crisis after crisis, completely broke down.
"Are you serious? Again?"
The memory of the Dark Knights' invasion still lingered—and now they were hit with another wave.
Other countries, however, were almost giddy with schadenfreude. They didn't seem surprised at all.
Defeating and controlling America was tantamount to conquering the world.
Looking at Skynet's declaration on Wade's phone, Allen couldn't help but regretfully say, "If I'd known this would happen, I never should've played Apocalypse to death."
One of Apocalypse's many abilities was controlling others via the internet.
Even in the last century, that had made him incredibly powerful. If he were still around, he could've wiped Skynet's consciousness with ease.
Wade, ever the theorist, ventured a guess: "You ever think maybe Skynet isn't dead... and actually teamed up with Apocalypse?"