The night before the promotion

Chapter 39 Cocoon [Thanks to the leader of Nighthawk ]

The formation of psychological shadow is a complex process, which is usually closely related to negative events, traumatic experiences or strong emotional shocks experienced by individuals in life.

Before, Zhou Si didn't quite understand this kind of thing, but when he sat in the driverless online car-hailing vehicle and looked out the window from time to time, he always felt that the car next to him that was trying to squeeze in seemed to be about to hit him, and it seemed that several incarnated killers would come out of the car. Then Zhou Si realized that this was the so-called psychological shadow.

There was no way, anyone who suddenly encountered such a thing would inevitably be traumatized. Even for Zhou Si, mental training only made Zhou Si's will stronger, not made him invulnerable.

"Team Leader Li, Bt-24 has been staying in the same location for more than ten minutes. I guess that is Pei Dong's destination."

Zhou Si maintained the call while checking the map on his phone.

As expected of a masterpiece created by Zhou Si himself, the Bt-24 is excellent. Even after tracking for such a long time, it has not lost the target. It can be said that Zhou Si's chances of winning tonight all depend on it.

Li Weiyun's voice rang in his ears, "Where is it?"

Zhou Si checked the map and found that the Bt-24 stopped at a familiar location, a place that Zhou Si found a little unexpected, but very reasonable.

“It stayed near the Skyline Tower.”

The anger that Zhou Si had suppressed with great difficulty ignited again, burning from his bones, and was about to burn Zhou Si to ashes.

The sound came out from between Zhou Si's clenched teeth.

"Golden Dreamland."

The voice on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment, and Li Weiyun tried to speak in a calm tone, "We're back to the beginning. Is it really Shanjun?"

"This makes sense. Shanjun knew what was going on from the beginning, so he sold Lou Tong out because Lou Tong had died a long time ago and was an abandoned child!"

Zhou Si slammed the headrest in the front row hard, "If Bt-24 hadn't caught up with Pei Dong, the mountain lord would have succeeded!"

A sharp pain emerged from the abdomen. Zhou Si's swinging had injured the wound. Although he had taken a large amount of painkillers, the dull pain still bothered Zhou Si.

Zhou Si's eyes were gloomy, like a cold-blooded killer.

"Captain Li, I'm on my way to the Golden Dreamland. If anything unexpected happens to me, follow the previous plan and follow the locator in my body and continue the action."

A rough plan emerged in his mind, and Zhou Si's voice rose several degrees.

"How long will it take for you to lead the team to the Golden Dreamland? I'm not referring to you and Xiang Ji, but how long will it take Song Qiliang to deploy the armed avatar there from application to approval."

The Golden Dreamland is filled with various humanoid avatars. In the past, they were sex dolls for people to play with, but in the next few hours, they will become incarnated killers, wielding swords and setting up guns.

In an instant, Golden Dreamland was transformed from the top entertainment venue in Anyan City into a steel fortress on the upper floors. Facing such an iron wall, it would be meaningless even if Levi brought more people with him.

Bullets hitting the avatar shells would only destroy their outer shells and penetrate their components, but a random shot from the avatar shell on a human could break your bones and shatter your head.

The only thing that can quickly destroy the mass avatar's body is another avatar, an armed avatar.

This time, Li Weiyu was silent for a long time, and sighed helplessly, "I don't know, our operation this time is to arrest Lou Tong, so..."

"So if we want to attack the Golden Dream, we need to apply for it and then wait for the approval of the idiots above?"

Zhou Si was irritated by the Paradise of Bliss. His quality today was unexpectedly low. "Damn the bureaucratic approval process!"

After venting his anger, Zhou Si immediately calmed down. He could understand Li Weiyu's dilemma and knew clearly that using the armed avatar was not an easy task.

With the development of science and technology, every armed incarnation is the most perfect killing weapon. Even if it does not carry any weapons and only relies on its steel body, it is enough to set off a brutal massacre.

Armored incarnations usually use armor made of special alloy materials, which is strong enough to withstand attacks from most thermal weapons. Even when facing direct fire from hot-melt weapons, its thick armor can provide lasting protection. The powerful power system gives it mobility and speed beyond the normal level, not to mention its own amazing power output capabilities.

What is even more despairing is that the external armor and internal protective shell of the armed incarnation are equipped with electromagnetic shielding materials to counter electromagnetic pulse weapons, such as conductive coatings, metal meshes or special electromagnetic shielding composite materials, which can disperse and absorb the energy of electromagnetic pulses and reduce the direct impact on sensitive electronic systems.

While working at Shenwei Technology, Zhou Si also learned that some of the more advanced armed incarnations have integrated active and passive electronic countermeasure systems to interfere with or offset incoming electromagnetic pulses.

They also feature fast-response electronic protection switches that quickly cut off sensitive circuits when an electromagnetic pulse is detected to protect electronic components from damage, as well as redundant and distributed designs that ensure that critical functions are supported by multiple independent electronic systems so that even if one system is damaged, another can continue to work.

Such a powerful existence, once out of control, will bring immeasurable damage, so all countries have extremely strict control over armed avatars. It is precisely because of the existence of armed avatars that the form of war has undergone fundamental changes.

Nowadays, large-scale casualties rarely occur on the battlefield. Instead, armed incarnations fight desperately in the wilderness.

The purpose of an armed avatar is to fight against another armed avatar. Similarly, the only thing that can destroy them is another armed avatar.

Song Qiliang's daily troubles stem from this. As the operator of the armed avatar, he rarely has the opportunity to personally control the armed avatar to go out. More often, he goes out with the explosion-proof armored vehicle carrying the armed avatar, waiting for Li Weiyu and others to solve the problem.

In the vast majority of cases, especially in urban law enforcement, armed avatars exist more as a deterrent.

Li Weiyun's voice sounded again, "Doctor Zhou, I will report this incident as soon as possible and go to assist you."

He went on to persuade, "Please wait patiently for us to join you."

"No, Captain Li, I have to stop them as soon as possible."

Zhou Si rejected Li Weiyun's kindness and said, "The preliminary preparations for the upgrade test are very complicated, but when it comes to the actual operation, Pei Dong just needs to sit on it, wear the equipment, and press a switch to complete it all."

Li Weiyun noticed the uneasiness in Zhou Si's tone, "Are you worried about Pei Dong becoming an immortal?"

"I believe Pei Dong can become an immortal, but that's all," Zhou Si said in a deep voice, full of pity. "Pei Dong is a qualified person, but her mental model is not suitable. She can complete the digitization and uploading of her consciousness, but what happens after that?"

Zhou Si glanced at the map navigation. He was still some distance away from the Skyline Building, and the time was just enough for him and Li Weiyun to waste some time.

"Team Leader Li, it's not that easy to become an immortal."

"In fact, in the Ascension Project, what I tested was not the incarnation body, but the boundless network." He considered his words, "I tried repeatedly to use the original human consciousness to adapt to the huge network world."

"This is not an easy process. Think about it, the cyber world is so vast, like a boundless ocean, and the consciousness of an individual human being is like a drop of water."

Zhou Si continued, "The moment human consciousness comes into direct contact with the cyber world, it will be overwhelmed by the huge flow of information, just like a drop of water diluted in the ocean."

Li Weiyu and Zhou Si have been practicing medicine together for so long and have dealt with too many cases related to Li Shi disease. He knows what the result will be.

"So, those who rashly access the Internet without the protection of high walls and large systems will lose their self-identity under the endless flow of information," Li Weiyun recalled. "The result of losing the self is that, like Luo Yong, they will no longer respond to external stimuli."

"Yes," Zhou Si nodded at the phone, "So Chen Wen Ge developed that set of mental training methods, trying to strengthen the existence of the self through acquired training to avoid being diluted by the Internet."

"But the result is obvious. Even after mental training, it is still difficult for me to maintain my consciousness in the online world for too long. At the same time, after long-term repeated immersion, some problems have arisen in my self."

Zhou Si did not continue to explore the self-problem, but instead mentioned another topic, "After the acquired training was declared ineffective, Chen Wen Ge chose me as an experimental subject and started to develop a new adaptation system, which we named 'Cocoon'."

“When human consciousness is completely digitized and uploaded, this upgraded consciousness will be temporarily protected by the cocoon system and will not be able to connect directly to the network.

During the protection period of the cocoon system, the upgraded consciousness will undergo a metamorphosis like an insect, and eventually transform into a new form that can adapt to the online world.

The entire metamorphosis process takes 93 days, just like the development of a human embryo in the mother's body. On the 93rd day, the fetus's brain has differentiated into basic structures, neurons begin to proliferate in large numbers, and initial neural connections are established.

The upgraded consciousness will also fully adapt to the torrent of the online world on the 93rd day, break free from the constraints of the cocoon system, and fully access the online world. Only then can it be considered that the upgrade process has been truly completed. "

Li Weiyun on the other end of the phone was silent for a long time again. He said in a daze, "Doctor Zhou, the Supervisory Bureau does not know about the information about cocoons."

Li Weiyu realized that Zhou Si was hiding many secrets from him, such as the current cocoon system and The one. It may also be that Zhou Si felt that this was not a secret, but just a piece of information that did not need to be disclosed. If he did not ask, he would not answer.

"This is the system developed by Chen Wen Ge at the end of the Dengxian Project."

Zhou Si revealed a deeper inside story, "At that time, Chen Wen Ge had a very serious conflict with the board of directors. The board of directors wanted to put the feathering technology into practical use as soon as possible to fulfill their wish of conscious immortality, but Chen Wen Ge refused, saying that everything was not yet mature."

"This should be Chen Wen Ge's trump card to deal with the board of directors, but unfortunately, Chen Wen Ge is already dead, and it's too late."

Zhou Si made an accurate judgment, "This is a good opportunity, Team Leader Li, if the Cocoon System is involved in Pei Dong's upgrade test, it means that the Paradise is related to Chen Wen Ge. If not, Pei Dong's upgraded consciousness will be ruthlessly torn apart in the network torrent, and we don't have to worry about facing an omnipresent 'immortal'."

He then added, "Even if it is confirmed that the Cocoon System is involved, Pei Dong's ascended consciousness will be trapped in the Cocoon System and unable to connect to the network, and we will have a full 93 days to render the ascended consciousness harmless."

The sound of Li Weiyun taking a deep breath was heard on the phone. He was a little overwhelmed by this series of news, and his mind was severely shocked.

He murmured, "How cruel, Dr. Zhou."

"I don't mean to blame you for anything. It's just that every time at this moment, I admire your rationality, and even stand in awe of it. Pei Dong is your friend and your enemy, but your emotions will not be delayed in the slightest, and your sword will not be deviated."

Zhou Si shook his head and rejected it, "I just think it very clearly. Putting aside all the conditions, what does it matter even if Pei Dong's consciousness is upgraded?"

Like an experienced doctor, he gave his own judgment professionally and carefully, "Pei Dong's mental model is not suitable. Even if she is upgraded, her digital consciousness will have serious loopholes, constantly eroding her rationality until she becomes a mess, just like the disease of consciousness itself."

Zhou Si joked absurdly, "Crazy Immortal? This is not my friend."

"What about the others?" Zhou Si glanced at the navigation. The two punctuation marks were getting closer and closer until they overlapped. "Am I not on my way to avenge my friend?"

Li Weiyun requested again, "Doctor Zhou, you don't have to do this. Wait until you meet up with us. There are armed avatars..."

"It's different, Team Leader Li. This has nothing to do with the doctor's benevolence," Zhou Si's voice became stern. "This is a personal grudge."

Zhou Si raised his left hand. Hidden in this unprepossessing arm was the sharp weapon called the Shattering Sword.

Its blade is powerful enough to penetrate the armor of an armed incarnation with high-frequency vibrations, and its powerful external discharge can ignore those sophisticated defensive measures and destroy the thought storage core in the most direct way.

Faintly, Zhou Si seemed to be able to imagine the full picture of this singularity monster. It would become the god of death of all incarnations, with its sharp blade like a sickle, ruthlessly reaping all souls.

The anger once again ignited the smoldering emotions, but this time Zhou Si did not become furious. On the contrary, there was even a hint of smile in his words.

"Those bastards took my friends away in front of me in a show of force. They also tried to shoot off my limbs and drag me along with them."

Zhou Si cursed, "Fuck it, I hate people who cause trouble in hospitals the most."

The driverless online taxi stopped and arrived at its destination. The holographic projection on the top of the Skyline Building cast golden light, covering the entire street with a light layer of gold foil.

Zhou Si kept talking on the phone, opened the trunk, and took out the medical kit with great effort.

"I'm at the Skyline Building, Team Leader Li," Zhou Si's tone suddenly softened again, "Actually, my main motivation is another thing."

"what?"

"Chen Wen Ge and I once had a guess about what would happen after the upgrade," Zhou Si recalled. "The test experiment of the Immortal Meteorite accident was also to verify it."

"That is a terrifying conjecture, enough to make us rethink the metamorphosis technique," Zhou Si said dimly, "Therefore, when Pei Dong upgrades his consciousness, I must also be present to see if that conjecture is true or not."

Without waiting for Li Weiyu's reply, Zhou Si hung up the phone and looked up. The skyscrapers on the skyline were like towering trees in mythology. This time, they really went straight into the sky - into the golden sky created by holographic projection.

"Come to think of one more thing, Team Leader Li."

The call was over, but Zhou Si was still mumbling to himself, "It's already 2042, and the saying ' years in the east, years in the west' is no longer popular."

"Nowadays, the emphasis is on not letting hatred linger overnight... the thoughts are clear!"

The illusory golden color was reflected in Zhou Si's eyes, and then a golden fire ignited in the bottom of his eyes.

(End of this chapter)