Chapter 1349 - 438: Global Economic Recovery, A Prosperous Outlook! (2)

Chapter 1349: Chapter 438: Global Economic Recovery, A Prosperous Outlook! (2)

"Miller."

John Miller, a worker buried in hard work on the assembly line of an electronics factory in Berlin, suddenly heard someone call his name.

He lifted his head, revealing a face with sunken eyes, like a riverbed in a drought season filled with dry, cracked wrinkles, and his messy gray-white hair and beard had not been groomed for a long time.

A thirty-year-old with a face nearly fifty.

Miller looked in the direction of the voice, which was from the office; the production supervisor was waving at him, signaling him to come over.

Miller walked into the office, seeing a man wearing tinted safety goggles sitting at the desk; even the supervisor could only stand at the door, the cold air inside made him shiver.

The supervisor pointed to the chair in front of him, and Miller walked over nervously to try to sit down, but before he could touch the chair, he heard the man coldly say

"You’re fired."

Miller froze in place, a bit at a loss, taking several seconds to react, he shouted frantically

"Wait! There must be a mistake, I’ve never been late, never stopped working, I work 16 hours a day, how could it be me..."

But his argument was meaningless, the company’s will was not something a worker could oppose.

Several security guards suddenly walked in from outside, ready to drag Miller out, but at this moment Miller burst out with incredible strength and rushed toward the production supervisor, firmly grabbing his arm and kneeling on the ground.

As humble as an insect

"Supervisor, I need this job, I’m begging you, I have a family to feed, I really need this money, if I’m unemployed, my whole family will starve..."

"I..."

The supervisor looked at Miller, then at HR, hardened his heart, and forcibly pushed Miller away, letting security pull him out.

Sorry, I can’t help you.

This time the order came from company headquarters, they brought in new smart equipment, just one can replace the work of dozens of workers, and it doesn’t even require a salary.

If it weren’t for the equipment needing maintenance, even he as a supervisor would be fired.

"Wait!"

HR suddenly stopped the security personnel.

Feeling the force pulling him disappear, Miller was about to rejoice, thinking things might turn around, but then heard HR continue

"Before throwing him out, remember to dismantle the work prosthesis, that’s company property."

"Understood."

Not just Miller, many others in the factory were fired in succession, no matter how much they begged it wouldn’t change HR’s iron heart.

No compensation, and no unemployment benefits or social assistance, losing a job meant cutting off all sources of income.

Germany, despite having a global employment rate second only to Tokyo University, in the face of the cold company society, unemployed workers were essentially indistinguishable.

Thus, a bizarre phenomenon emerged.

The upper class was delighted by the revival of the economy, financial prosperity was on the horizon, while the lower class faced mass unemployment.

The applications of the Human Brain Array went far beyond basic assembly line use, theoretically, combined with the new Behavior Chip, it could engage in every industry, replacing nearly all middle and lower-level workforce positions.

After all, nothing is more welcomed than a workforce that doesn’t need wages, meals, rest, with a daily consumption of merely two spoonfuls of sugar + vitamins + a small amount of protein, equating to the labor of dozens of workers.

And the unemployed Miller wandered desperately on the streets, unsure where to go.

His work prosthetic arms were forcibly replaced with the cheapest old-style prostheses, exposed mechanical joints even emitted the grinding sounds of rust-damaged gears, like the wailing of a person ready to fall apart at any moment.

This was not out of compassion, just a concern that his armless departure might harm the company’s reputation, besides, these prostheses were free, mere waste.

Miller wasn’t sure how to explain to his wife upon returning, email bills of overdue payments already worried her into gray hairs, without a wage, perhaps by next month their family might be driven out by the bank due to debts.

Looking at those convulsing on the roadside due to drug addiction, drooling speech, Miller collapsed realizing he seemed only a thread’s distance away from them.

Snap...

Miller felt a hand pat on his shoulder, turned to see it was Babos, a worker similarly kicked out of the factory.

But his expression was unlike Miller’s sulkiness, instead showing signs of a fulfilling life.

Even the old face similar to Miller’s seemed a few years younger.

"Are you drugged again?"

Miller stepped back slightly, increasing the distance

"Drugged? Of course not."

A high-spirited Babos said

"Don’t be so gloomy, brother, that hellhole has nothing worth staying for, and we’re about to strike it rich anyway."

"Strike it rich? Are you daydreaming?"

Miller took another step back, afraid this high-on-drugs guy might suddenly explode

"Don’t you know yet?"

Miller whispered

"Housing prices have surged drastically in the past two days, everyone’s scrambling to buy, even that little shack we have is worth fifteen grand."

"So what?"

Miller frowned

"Even if it’s valuable, if you sell the house where’s your family going to live?"

"Not selling."

Babos explained

"You mortgage the house to the bank, borrow some money, and just pay interest monthly, then use the borrowed money to take out a loan to buy a new house. Right now prices are skyrocketing, maybe in two years you’ll earn back plus interest."

Miller listened in a haze, these bits of information were almost beyond his brain’s processing limits.