The Corporate Apocalypse: Jakarta's Survival Guide to Cosmic

Chapter 16: The Final Audit and the Mass Soul Strike

The roar of The Liquidator did not sound like a lion or a dragon. It was a cacophony of a jammed photocopier, the screech of a thousand incoming faxes, and the sound of paper being slowly shredded. The thirty-foot-tall monstrosity stepped forward, leaving a trail of pitch-black ink that instantly dissolved the white marble beneath it.

"Rendy! That is no ordinary monster, it is a walking paper shredder!" Alana yelled. She dove behind a stack of frozen files, dodging a spray of giant paperclips launched from the monster’s arm. The clips embedded themselves in crystal pillars, shattering them into jagged shards.

Rendy rolled across the floor, clutching Coach Udin’s book, which was now vibrating violently. The heat began to sear his palms. He opened a page that had just appeared in glowing ink.

'Chapter 24: Mass Strike Procedures and Workflow Sabotage. Tip #108: "The Liquidator is a machine driven by compliance". It cannot attack a subject currently in "Industrial Dispute" status. To stop it, you must create administrative chaos that forces its processor into a Deadlock.'

"Everyone! Do not fight it with force!" Rendy ordered, his voice hoarse from the paper dust. "Gondrong! Juling! Stop attacking! We are going on strike!"

"A strike?! Boss, he is about to turn us into juice!" Gondrong yelled, his staple gun glowing red hot. But seeing the dead-serious look on Rendy’s face, he finally lowered his weapon. "Fine, I trust you! I am on strike! I am not working if I do not see my overtime pay!"

Juling shut off his disco lights. The four of them stood frozen in the center of the arena, dropping their weapons on the floor.

The Liquidator came to a dead halt. The chainsaw made of steel rulers on its arm slowed down, then stopped with a painful whining sound. The red sensor on its head—shaped like a hole puncher—flickered rapidly.

"Subject Analysis: Inactive Status," the monster’s robotic voice boomed. "According to Company Regulation Article 8, security units are prohibited from executing employees who have filed an administrative grievance. Requesting instructions from the Chief Executive Officer."

The CEO, who had been smiling triumphantly from his throne, suddenly stood up, his face turning a furious shade of crimson. "What is the meaning of this?! Liquidator, delete them! I am the one in control here!"

"Negative," the monster replied. "Per the source code you authored, this system must follow procedure. Subjects Rendy and team are currently in "Mediation Period". Awaiting defense documentation."

Rendy smirked. He stepped forward with the swagger of a high-priced attorney, despite his cargo pants being ripped at the knees. He held Coach Udin’s book high.

"Mr. CEO," Rendy said, his voice echoing through the sky lobby. "In accordance with Chapter 25: "How to Sue Your Boss in the Universal Court," I am demanding the cancellation of Earth’s Liquidation due to procedural flaws. You say humanity is not productive? Look at these sardines!"

Rendy held up the dented tin of sardines once more. "This is a can of gratitude-flavored sardines."

Gondrong didn't give this to me because I paid him or because I'm the boss; he did it because he actually cares. Caring is an energy you can't code and you can't calculate, but it can move mountains. You want to replace us with zombies? A zombie could never make sardines taste this damn good!"

"Enough with that sardine nonsense!" the CEO roared. His fiber-optic robe flickered violently, pulsing with gravity waves that made the floor tremble. "You are nothing but an anomaly! You're just grit in my perfect machine!"

"This grit is what keeps your machine running, you moron!" Alana screamed from Rendy's side. She snatched up her bow, but this time she wasn't aiming for monsters. She pointed it at the fiber-optic cables snaking from the CEO's throne toward the ceiling. "Rendy! Now!"

Rendy slammed his palm onto the page of the book, which was glowing with a pure white light. "Final Chapter: Emotional Merger! Everyone, grab my shoulder!"

Gondrong and Squinty moved in fast, gripping Rendy's shoulders. Alana closed in too, her left hand on Rendy's shoulder while her right hand drew back the string.

Energy from Coach Udin's book surged into Rendy, radiating out to his friends. This wasn't magic; it was a flood of memories. The smell of rain, the raw terror of being hunted by zombies, the laughter over Alpha's corn fritters, and Alana's tears at the HI Roundabout. All that human "inefficiency" fused into a single wave of raw, high-voltage data.

"Emotional Data Injection... NOW!"

Alana loosed the arrow. It wasn't made of wood anymore; it was a bolt of pure white light carrying the entire weight of their collective humanity.

The arrow streaked past The Liquidator—who was still standing there confused and on strike—and slammed directly into the heart of the throne's fiber optics.

BOOM!

It wasn't a fiery blast, but an explosion of pure color. The sterile white sky lobby was suddenly drenched in messy, vibrant hues. The smell of fried rice hit the air. The sound of a child's laughter echoed. The scent of jasmine wafted through.

Existential Corp's system went into a total crash.

The CEO shrieked as his body began to unravel. Floating monitors flickered with a message: [FATAL ERROR: HUMANITY DETECTED. SYSTEM UNABLE TO PROCESS LOVE, REGRET, AND HOPE. SHUTTING DOWN.]

"NO! MY PRECISION! MY ORDER!" the CEO screamed before he finally dissolved into millions of digital rose petals.

The Liquidator crumbled as well, turning into a whirlwind of colorful sticky notes blowing in the breeze. The white world around them began to fade, replaced by a scenery they knew by heart.

They started to fall. It wasn't a painful drop; it felt more like sliding down a massive, fluffy cloud.

"Rendy! Did we win?!" Gondrong yelled over the whistling wind.

"I have no idea! But I am freaking starving!" Rendy shouted back, hugging his book tight.

They landed with a synchronized thud on damp green grass. Rendy opened his eyes. He saw a bright blue sky. No data cables. No red clouds. Just the hot, smoggy Jakarta sky, but it felt incredibly... real.

They were at the Monas grounds. But not the ruined version. Monas was being repaired by people—actual humans, not zombies—who looked dazed but were already starting to help one another.

Rendy looked at his book. The pages were blank again, except for a single note on the back cover:

'Thank you for shopping at Coach Udin's Store. Your trial period has expired. You are now the Admin of your own reality. P.S: Don't forget to be happy; that's the hardest KPI to hit.'

Alana sat beside him, wiping her grimy face but wearing a massive grin. "Ren, you see that?"

Rendy turned. Right there, a zombie—one that seemed to still have remnants of the virus but looked much calmer—was trying to sell corn fritters on the sidewalk using a patched-up cart.

"The world is still a mess, Al," Rendy said, adjusting his glasses, which finally snapped completely in the middle. "But at least we're the ones writing the reports now."

Alana laughed, leaning her head on Rendy's shoulder. "What's your first report going to be?"

"Chapter 1 of the New World: How to Eat Corn Fritters with a Grumpy Girl Without Getting Bitten," Rendy deadpanned.

In the distance, the sun set in a gorgeous orange hue, proof that sometimes, the most nonsensical things are the only ones that can save the world.

The apocalypse was over, but the adventure of being human had only just begun.