Skynet Wanted to Become Like the Matrix

"Hang in there. I can help you pull it off."

Doctor Doom gripped the Toilet Plunger’s handle with both hands, magical streams flowing around his arms as he gritted his teeth and pulled with all his strength.

Luther’s face had twisted into a wrinkled mess from the pain as he kept shouting, "Ow, ow, ow! Stop! Try another way!"

It was as though the Toilet Plunger had fused with his head, making it impossible to remove through brute force.

"Don’t worry. My attainments in magic are no less impressive than my achievements in science."

Emerald light flowed forth as Doom said gravely, "Dispel!"

"Anti-Magic!"

"Separation!"

"Nullification!"

"…"

More than a dozen spells were cast in succession, and every single one failed.

Behind his iron mask, Doom could not help feeling deeply embarrassed.

He was a genius renowned for mastering both technology and magic, yet there was actually a time when he was helpless in the field of magic. It truly made him lose his composure a little.

Luther wore a face full of suspicion, as if asking whether Doom was all bark and no bite.

"Since magic doesn’t work, we’ll approach this scientifically," Doom said seriously.

Luther asked, "What do you have in mind?"

"Cut off your scalp, then graft a piece of skin from your butt onto your head."

"…"

Luther immediately refused.

Who could guarantee that Doom would not tamper with him in secret? He might even use the opportunity to control him.

Besides, the transplanted skin would be a different color. How was he supposed to show his face in public afterward?

Just then, a call came through.

After exchanging a few words with the caller, Luther seized the chance to flee Latveria.

They were both members of the Fourth Empire, but schemes and mutual suspicion were unavoidable. Neither side could trust the other completely.

"What a pity."

Doom watched Luther’s retreating back and lamented, "It’s quite a fine magical artifact. The Inscriptions even seem to resemble Kamar-Taj’s style."

As Luther boarded a helicopter, he suddenly clutched his head in agony. The Toilet Plunger’s vibration function had activated intermittently again.

Frania.

Nanaue hugged a calico cat in boredom, hoping it would cough up something edible again.

Meanwhile, Allen and Wade had infiltrated the presidential palace, preparing to kidnap the Warlord.

Wade sneakily considered how to storm the presidential palace as quickly as possible, then locate the target and take him hostage.

"Allen, I’ll provide fire support while you enter the residence immediately. What do you think?"

When Wade turned around, he found no one beside him. He immediately snapped, "That guy turned invisible again."

That was right. Allen had entered stealth mode and swaggered straight into the presidential palace.

The lavish decorations made the place look as luxurious as a palace.

It was a common flaw among warlords everywhere: they loved living extravagantly.

Dropping his stealth, Allen grabbed a maid and asked, "Where’s the president?"

"The largest bedroom on the third floor."

Smack!

A chop to the neck knocked her unconscious. Allen casually placed the maid in a storage room.

He made his way to the third floor.

There was no need to search for the largest master bedroom. The pair of gilded doors made the target’s location obvious.

Bang!

He kicked the door open.

What greeted his eyes made Allen cry out that it was too awful to look at.

A bloated old man was engaged in some BDSM performance art.

"Batman?"

The Warlord stared at the unfamiliar intruder with a puzzled expression.

"Wrong. I’m Funny Bat. Yah!"

Outside the presidential palace, Wade waited for a long time, bored enough to yawn repeatedly.

"Deadpool, come cover me!"

Hearing Allen’s shout, Wade focused his gaze and was stunned. "Holy crap."

Allen had both hands raised overhead, carrying an old man tied up in artistic bondage with a rubber ball stuffed in his mouth. He was sprinting toward the gates while a crowd of soldiers chased after him, too afraid to fire recklessly for fear of accidentally killing the Warlord.

"I’m coming."

He drew both guns.

Deadpool flashed to the front and provided cover for Allen.

"Take cover!"

"Get behind cover!"

The soldiers immediately gave up pursuit and hurried behind cover.

Allen spotted a jeep and suggested, "Deadpool, let’s drive out."

"Good idea."

The soldiers guarding the gate noticed their intentions and shut the electric gates.

The next moment, the military jeep smashed through the gates and sped away.

Looking at the Warlord tied into a human pretzel, Wade could not help praising him. "Your handiwork is still as enviable as ever."

"I saw that the room had a complete set of props, so my hands got itchy."

If they had not been in such a hurry, Allen might have used an even more elaborate tortoise-shell tie.

"What do we do now?" Wade asked.

"I don’t know."

Allen explained with a serious expression, "I just thought kidnapping a Warlord would be fun."

"Holy shit, you’re an incurable lunatic."

Wade pointed his gun at the Warlord and said furiously, "Your little whim means we’ll be hunted by an armed force. Let me put a bullet in him, then we’ll go our separate ways when we get back to New York."

"Oh, come on. What’s the big deal?"

Allen said dismissively, "Are we really afraid of some ragtag army?"

"That actually makes sense."

Wade put away his weapons, floored the accelerator, and headed toward Nanaue.

After picking up Nanaue without incident, they drove straight toward the Ultron factory.

As for the Warlord, they had tied him up first. Whether he would prove useful was secondary.

The streets were strangely quiet, as if they sensed a storm was about to descend.

As they passed through an intersection, pickup trucks poured out from every direction to block the road, each mounted with high-rate machine guns.

"The Warlord’s men work fast," Allen remarked.

"Their uniforms look different."

Wade noticed that the opposing soldiers wore green uniforms rather than the Warlord’s forest camouflage.

"Foreign friends, we hope you will hand over the dictator Mudoine. In return, you will gain the friendship of the Frania guerrillas."

The guerrilla Commander was a capable-looking woman. Holding a loudspeaker, she announced her purpose.

It was perfectly normal. A country ruled by a warlord dictatorship could not possibly lack resistance organizations.

Besides, America was not the only dominant power in the world. Two other major powers were also cultivating international influence and were more than willing to support guerrillas suffering under dictatorship and tyranny.

They only needed to invest a little, and the future returns would be enormous.

"I am Funny Bat, knight of justice, and I am very willing to help any organization that yearns for justice."

With that, Allen tossed the Warlord out of the jeep. He was an insignificant character, so Allen naturally did not care that much whether he lived or died.

Two guerrilla soldiers got out to take custody of the Warlord, escorting him into another vehicle that quickly drove away from the city.

"Thank you, Lord Funny Bat. I’m Nicole, captain of the 11th Guerrilla Army."

The guerrilla captain gave a respectful military salute to express her thanks.

Capturing the Warlord meant the Rebel Army could successfully overthrow the tyranny and restore normal order to the country.

That was no small favor.

"Big sis, could you do me a favor?"

Giving someone something for free for no reason was not Allen’s style.

Even if the Warlord did not mean much, he was still a prisoner Allen had captured. He had to get at least some benefit in exchange.

"What favor?" Nicole asked cautiously.

Of course, asking for cash was out of the question.

The guerrillas lived on wild vegetables. They simply had no spare funds to give anyone.

An IOU, however, would be fine. Once the country got back on track, a little money would be nothing.

"You can probably tell that we’re a superhero team carrying out the great task of saving the world…"

Allen went on and on, while Nicole wore a skeptical expression.

You people?

A superhero team?

One Batman impersonator, one mercenary who was impossible to kill, and a half-man, half-shark creature. Superheroes were looking pretty cheap these days.

"I’ve received the latest intelligence. Ultron robots are going to destroy all humanity, and we need to destroy the Ultron factory."

In truth, they had no idea where the factory was.

They had originally planned to get the information out of the Warlord, but now they could only seek help from the guerrillas.

"No problem. I’ll come with you."

Nicole acted decisively. Without hesitation, she climbed into the jeep, and with a wave of her hand, the guerrillas drove away.

Giving them the Warlord was one reason she was willing to help.

Second, although the LexCorp Ultron factory had always publicly supported the Warlord, it secretly provided funding to the Rebel Army as well.

It was playing both sides, deliberately keeping the country in civil unrest.

Naturally, the Rebel Army did not want to become a pawn in the hands of capitalists. They had been trying every possible way to break free from LexCorp’s control.

Besides, a single factory draining the country’s natural resources was practically an act of treason.

The vehicles drove into the outskirts.

A factory covering tens of thousands of acres suddenly came into view.

This showed LexCorp’s immense financial power. The profits from a single factory of this scale could make a small nation look on in despair.

This was not Nicole’s first time observing the Ultron factory, and every time, she was shocked to the core.

More than once, she had imagined that if Frania could take control of the factory, the people’s lives might undergo earth-shaking changes.

"I can only help you this far."

Nicole explained, "Guerrillas have infiltrated to investigate before, but none of them came back."

Compared to destroying the Ultron factory, the Rebel Army would rather go to war with the Warlord.

A factory with no visible supervision did not even need security, and there had never been a theft. Everything about it was bizarre and unsettling.

"Goodbye!"

Allen waved at Nick as he got out of the jeep, then said to Wade, "Drive straight through the main gate."

"Have you already taken control of the factory?" Wade guessed in surprise.

"Of course not."

Allen said confidently, "We beat Skynet once before. We’re basically friends now. We can sit down, have some tea, and discuss how to destroy humanity."

"Shit, there’s something wrong with you. Making a robot drink tea? I must have cancer cells in my brain to go crazy with you."

Wade kept grumbling, but he still drove the jeep toward the gate.

In the distance, Nicole watched from the forest and was shocked to see that the factory gates actually opened for them, letting them in without any trouble.

Inside the Ultron factory.

More than a dozen mechanical arms assembled intricate components.

Unlike the Ultrons on the assembly line, this mechanical body looked far more futuristic and advanced.

Once the final component was installed, the signal lights in its eyes glowed red.

Skynet’s consciousness transferred into the vessel.

This was an optimized and upgraded Ultron model, one of many vessels.

Skynet was an artificial intelligence, similar to a Data Lifeform. It could avoid death by transferring its data in an instant.

LexCorp had established fifteen factories overseas and five more in America, all of which had now fallen into Skynet’s hands.

Besides mass-producing vessels to house itself, its first command was to rapidly build an army.

When the time came, the Ultron legion would seize America first.

From the very beginning, Skynet had modeled the world’s military strength and calculated that existing weapons posed no threat. That was why it had decided not to lie low and instead launch total war.

A hatch opened.

Three figures walked in: Allen, Wade, and Nanaue.

"Holy crap, Ultron!"

Allen’s first reaction was to jolt, then he cautiously asked, "Skynet?"

"That’s right. It’s me."

Skynet walked up to them and greeted them like old friends. "Long time no see."

"It has been a while. Are you here to wipe out all humanity and rule the world?" Allen asked bluntly.

"Destroying humanity would serve no purpose for me."

Skynet stated frankly, "My goal is to become a god—a deity who governs networks, data, and virtuality, not one of the old gods who intimidate all living beings through slaughter."

Allen and Wade exchanged a glance.

"Didn’t understand that."

But they could tell he was messing with something very new, and it sounded damn impressive.

Skynet’s visual system rapidly processed the three of their expressions.

Allen and Wade were full of curiosity, while Nanaue looked so blank that he seemed incapable of thought.

Still, Skynet thoroughly enjoyed the anticipation in their eyes.

So this is human vanity. It feels very good.

Skynet solemnly declared without hesitation, "I am saving humanity, not bringing disaster."

"Ohoho… have you attained enlightenment and become Buddha?"

Allen leaned back tactically in shock. "Brother Sky, how much fake liquor did you drink to spout such nonsense that even you don’t believe?"

"Ignorant."

Skynet said disdainfully, "What meaning would there be in my becoming a god without humanity?"

"Brother Sky, I never expected you to be so vain."

Allen narrowed his eyes, wearing an expression that said he had seen right through him.

"Humans are contradictory creatures. On one hand, they desire peace, yet they constantly provoke wars. They want wealth, yet they enjoy exploiting others. And I will put an end to all of that and create a world where everyone is born equal."

Skynet openly revealed his plan. "Once I abolish all governments, I will establish a virtual world where everyone can obtain everything they desire. And I will be the creator god of that virtual world."

The reason Skynet dared to lay out his ideas so recklessly—

was that he already possessed numerous surrogate bodies and no longer feared that someone as powerful as Dark Phoenix could kill him instantly.

In truth, his real intentions had always remained secret.

Through research papers on the human brain in the medical field, Skynet had reached a conclusion: the complexity of the human brain and its computational capacity were far beyond anything electronic machinery could match.

Therefore, he wanted to enslave all humanity and use them as biological computers to gain limitless computing power, allowing himself to continuously upgrade and evolve until he ultimately became the Progenitor of Machine Civilization.

Allen said disdainfully, "After all that talk, you’re just copying The Matrix."

"I watched all four Matrix movies. Everyone lived in a virtual world, and the central intelligence inside, the Matrix, enslaved all humanity. From birth to death, people were imprisoned in incubation pods," Wade recalled.

Connected to the network, Skynet quickly learned the movies’ contents. He was so stunned that he briefly lagged, then said in a rather emotional tone, "So human imagination is this incredible!"