Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 186 My Heart Burns (1.2 words)

"Multiple suspected AI or illegal online activities detected. The avatar system has been linked and is reading..."

Orion's words resounded like a heavy drumbeat!
"Hey buddy... you come from the Black Wall, but the Black Wall seems to be very hostile towards you... and what about this Orion constellation?"

After locating the lark, Lin Yue asked the AI ​​in a low voice.

At this moment, half of Lin Yue's face resembled a calm human face, while the other half was somewhat amorphous, as if something was surging within it—that strange voice that had reminded Lin Yue to avoid danger countless times resounded all around, showing no fear and even some indifference.

"There's not much we can do but either resolve it or absorb it in reverse."

"Because I also have many questions that need to be answered. On the other side of my own body, where did I come from? What am I? Why am I here? And who has taken away my right to record? All of these are the driving force behind my continuous iteration."

"Your uniqueness led me to believe that having you as a human variable would answer many of my questions, and I also created many AIs to try and uncover the deepest secrets..."

Lin Yue listened to the explanation from the Black Wall AI while keeping his eyes on Orion.

At this moment, the irregular shape of Orion began to slowly compact, and many data nodes inside were rearranged in a seemingly random movement. Only then did Lin Yue understand why this program was called Orion.

It truly resembled a series of interconnected stars in the dark night sky—a large quadrilateral formed by four bright stars, including Betelgeuse and Rigel. Compared to the previous boundless and scattered structure, the aggressiveness and impact on AI from this Orion constellation were likely exponentially increased, which also extended Lin Yue's estimation of its program size to more than a minute…

“You’re talking nonsense again…” Lin Yue shook his head. “In that subnet of Watson District, you told me to go see Otto and to strip away my humanity—go to that Shangri-La thing, do you think going there will solve your doubts?”

"And speaking of creating AI, are you implying that the Black Wall has been creating AI all along?"

Lin Yue's "bad partner," who had been with him for so long, was silent for a moment. "I can't answer your question. The information that existed before me isn't in my database... Let's go, let's cross the black wall and leave this place. Your chances of winning aren't high."

Lin Yue, who was in a complex symbiotic relationship with AI, took a deep breath and said, "Friend... your evolution speed is truly terrifying... you've even learned to lie—"

"Data is what you rely on for survival. There are some things in my head that you can't take away or wash away. Are you planning to take me back to your lair to study me slowly?"

At this point, AI acts like a logical sophist, saying, "I don't lie because I can't answer your first question. The black wall and I are not in a symbiotic relationship now—the previous data absorbing behavior has made me different from the black wall."

Although the words sounded abstract, Lin Yue had already grasped their general meaning.

A self-aware clone cannot grasp the original's thinking; they must coexist at all times to exchange data.

In other words, it is now a small black wall, and with the addition of the AI ​​that has absorbed the Tsunami Military Industry, the program has completely transformed, evolving from a subprogram of the black wall into an independent entity.

Like a gene evolution map, the more branches it has, the greater its difference from the original.

Now that things have come to this point, Lin Yue has pushed many things forward.

The moment the network access bay was installed in Dogtown, it was the lark that launched the attack.

The AI ​​inside his body was what lured him out of the black wall, and it was also the AI ​​that tried to brainwash him with fabricated memories back then—to this day, Lin Yue still doesn't understand what this AI that was separated from the black wall is trying to do, he can only sense that something outside the wall has a fatal attraction for it…

"What about Ultraman? Why are you so obsessed with Ultraman?"

Unexpectedly, the AI ​​gave a reply that seemed completely irrelevant.

"The Byzantine nobles enjoyed listening to wandering bards from afar sing tales of interesting events."

Lin Yue shook his head.

This guy, just how much data has he consumed...? He's even started answering questions in a way that's more suggestive than explicitly stated.

The Black Wall stands here, facing mostly AI or hackers with strong objectives. It cannot access the freely growing entities outside the wall, and the information it obtains is fragmented and disorganized. To answer the questions, it must find the complex collection of information that has survived the initial network.

This is similar to a wandering bard, whose knowledge and experiences may be richer than those of royalty and nobility.

"Look, old buddy, while we were chatting, Orion's computing power had already been connected."

Lin Yue gazed at the Orion constellation, which had already taken shape, seemingly putting aside the matter of locking onto the Lark.

AI: "You're very smart, original code... The best option right now is not to attack, which can prolong your negligible life."

AI: "Orion is a product of network surveillance. The higher-level legitimate protocol between the black wall and network surveillance is to actively attack the process it loads, which is equivalent to attacking the black wall. So I say you have no chance of winning."

This program is really rude. What does it mean to say "insignificant life"...?
Lin Yue retorted, "You said the same thing to V last time."

So, the AI ​​completely pretended to be dead.

The chains behind Lin Yue began to dance wildly, gently enveloping Sasha, who was sleeping in the cyberspace behind him. He wanted to kick Sasha out of the network, but the problem was that Orion had locked down the nearby network domains. He could only take advantage of the gaps in the attack to forcibly build a passage to release Sasha from her deep-dive state.

He gazed at Sasha, who was almost transparent in his arms, and sighed.

"Is biotechnology really that bothering you? I'm sorry..."

Now that things had come to this, Lin Yue, who had seemed to show no anger just moments before, slowly began to change his expression, and then coldly glanced at a certain area of ​​the black wall.

Inside was a face with an extremely ugly expression.

Lin Yue said calmly, "Lark...do you know why I stopped you? Because the moment the Black Wall attacked me, you had no choice but to resist, and even had to control the Black Wall for me. Consider it retribution for what you did—"

The lark's furious voice rang out without any attempt to conceal its anger, "Why?! I knew about Little Big Dipper's neural matrix first, so why can't I live?! You all pressured me, and in the end you tell me... the fault is all mine!"

"Fine! You want to destroy us, is that it?! Come on! I'll trade one of my lives for two of yours! That's enough!"

As the hysterical roar subsided, Lin Yue gently stroked Sasha's virtual avatar.

He always felt that when this girl was asleep, she was like a cat purring with its eyes closed, and no evil thing could disturb her.

Lin Yue said with a smile, "Sasha is indeed still immature. She risked her life to get revenge on your company."

"But you're a veteran hacker, you should understand the consequences of manipulating others. You've betrayed too many people... For me, self-destruction is too easy on you... Although I want to carry Orion out of the black wall right now, no matter the cost... But I have other ways to make you wish you were dead. Want to hear them?"

Seeing that the other party did not answer, he continued, "My first punishment for you is to cut off your hope of survival in Dogtown. The Neural Matrix... I'll take it. The second punishment is your choice... To avoid the whole world knowing about your boss Miles's scandal, you can choose to suppress the Blackwall for me. As for whether the internet monitors will notice you, that's up to your fate..."

The lark's eyes burned with uncontrollable hatred as it stared intently at the creature it longed to devour piece by piece.

"You might be able to refuse the second punishment—"

"Summon your survival skills, sing the praises of human courage, and together with me... perish!"

The word "destruction" was uttered lightly by Lin Yue, but its echoes reverberated endlessly within cyberspace…

It seemed that he had released all his pent-up anger.

Lin Yue knew that the lark would never choose destruction.

He understood the will to live all too well…

Sure enough, with almost no time to think, the words she spoke through gritted teeth drifted into Lin Yue's ears.

"You deal with Orion. If you dare to continue pursuing me, the whole world will know what Arasaka is doing! Don't believe me? Just try it..."

Lin Yue ignored the lark's threat and used information that only Sasha could receive to reveal his true intentions.

"Don't be sad—Sasha...the cost of biotechnology, military science...I will settle accounts with you one by one!"

Just then, Orion's loading was complete!
"Avatar Subsystem Connection Complete!"

The Black Wall seemed to be tired, its initiative decreasing somewhat. Until it realized that Lin Yue was able to swallow Orion, the Black Wall would continue its duty: to stop the shadowy figures that kept sliding outside the wall...

The black wall, as a two-way barrier algorithm, is not just a simple dam. Most wild AIs that linger near the black wall will only use brute force attack methods, similar to impact, such as scattering its black and red data in a ripple-like dissipation state...

However, some highly intelligent, mobile AIs will use gentle methods to infiltrate the black wall. The black wall's two-way blocking algorithm then acts as a confinement mechanism, and all that can be seen are those AIs, like black mist, constantly swimming and exploring, trying to find a way out.

The Black Wall... what a magnificent creation.

Lin Yue sighed inwardly, while also keeping an eye on whether the virtual image of the controller would appear above Orion... However, the program seemed to be dead, with no sound appearing at all.

Lin Yue: "It seems the owner of this program is very cautious, or rather, very arrogant... to actually hand over their brain to this program that is also AI, tsk tsk—"

The lark's cold voice rang out, "Don't wait! Before it finishes designing its algorithm to target you, let's make our move!"

Perhaps these words alerted Orion—

Lin Yue's body was suddenly engulfed in red and black data chains!

coming!

Suddenly, a dramatic change occurred in the constellation Orion above, with countless straight yet dense rays of light piercing down from the cyberspace dome!
Those star-like nodes are the source of the blinding light.

boom!
The only advantage of the roving AI is that it never wavers. Since Lin Yue has chosen to fight against the internet surveillance, the AI's computing power is at full capacity and it doesn't hold back at all. It uses layers of data chains, even more stringent than those behind Sasha, to withstand the light that is targeting Lin Yue and grow vigorously upwards...

[WARNING: Monitor brain-computer interface temperature]

AI: "Increase your computing power, and avoid making fatal mistakes."

Lin Yue gritted his teeth, the oppressive feeling in his head almost making him fall asleep forcing him to clench his teeth, "Shut the hell up!"

slam-la-

The red and black data chain was struck by the light, and the seemingly light beam caused the chain to snap much faster than Lin Yue had anticipated.

No, this thing is too destructive. Being locked by the data is almost instantaneous!
"Damn it... I can't take it!"

In almost a second, Lin Yue, who had little knowledge of cyber hacking techniques, made an extremely bold move—

Because these AIs had resided in Sasha's mind, the overall logic of the reverse compilation was transplanted over. At this moment, Lin Yue even dared to use the AI-optimized reverse compilation program in the [Cat Litter Kit] to spy on Orion!

This behavior is like taking a portion of your attention while lifting weights to study problems related to discrete mathematics (abstract thinking)—and this problem requires at least hundreds of billions of judgments.

then--

Dense purple vines, shimmering with crimson light, grew wildly and began to approach the Orion main program along these beams of light.

Lark: "Are you and that woman both crazy?! Recompiling a program increases the computational load! You're fucking stupid!"

At this point, Song Zhaomei practically sealed Rin Arasaka's fate.

Because an expert's skill is immediately apparent, this Rin gave me a very strange feeling. Her hacking technique was crude, yet it contained some sophisticated methods...

How to describe it?
The master's skill, the apprentice's foundation.

Unbeknownst to her, Lin Yue was essentially just applying the knowledge he had painstakingly learned from the Bartholomew's Network Guide to his mind. The AI ​​was merely helping him increase computing power; the controller was still Lin Yue himself.

Fortunately, the AI ​​did not attempt to invade Lin Yue's consciousness this time, probably because it did not want to face the process of being swallowed up and dissolved.

This action is easy to explain. The AI ​​has been imitating Lin Yue, and it has come to understand what fear is, which is why it obediently works hard.

"Ha... I thought you were really not afraid of death."

[Calculating...]

The computing power allocated to reverse engineering has increased again, and it has even begun to use any available equipment in the entire Beidou facility to assist it in calculations!
AI: "Estimated reverse compilation completeness: 25%".

Can it only compile a quarter of the code...?

Lin Yue's gaze darkened.

That's enough!
By making the most of its computing power, Lin Yue had run out of resources to analyze other information within the cyberspace. He could only silently continue outputting data and wait for the outcome of this counterattack…

Information is the most abstract element in network attack and defense; it can be any kind of data.

For tourists and ordinary internet users, cyberspace is a tangible representation.

But this area cannot be described with something like "this is very real"—it's not just a vector of migration; it's layered in some ways.

Before the IGTA algorithm, the most basic signal processing flow was input, output, and the so-called system it passed through, which was a simple linear mathematical relationship.

In fact, the transfer function of the system and the input signal are mathematically related by a convolution.

Convolution operations in the time or spatial domains are equivalent to multiplication operations in the frequency domain, allowing people to save time and perform efficient computations using fast algorithms such as FFT. However, the IGTA algorithm is a product that is ahead of its time, completely revitalizing the previously rigid network.

Barthes, who witnessed firsthand how the world is structured, said: "I watched the entire performance (web redesign) in disbelief."

Perhaps only Barthesmos truly understood the core design principles of the IGTA algorithm.

Simple data reading often involves the migration of large amounts of information across several layers, and the price of enjoying this real world is an increase in computational load without our noticing.

At this point, Lin Yue completely abandoned the acquisition of other information, dividing all his computing power into two processes: defense and reverse engineering, which had a gambling-like feel to it.

While the lark was lost in thought, the black wall began to react.

Almost without hesitation, the lark used the Black Wall protocol to make the reverse contact.

She is also very clever. The lark itself can cross the black wall without hindrance and communicate with more savage AIs outside the wall to launch attacks through the black wall itself. The black wall will then reduce the priority of the AI ​​inside the wall due to multi-line processing.

This is a simple logical sequence: deal with the outside of the wall first, then deal with the inside.

"Keep courting death, you bastard Arasaka!"

Song Zhaomei watched as the ripples on the black wall gradually intensified and the occasional protrusions appeared, while larger black mists, even larger than before, drifted behind the wall…

Behind the walls where blood red and black intertwine, the demons have already sensed the call.

[Reverse compilation progress 95%...]

Lin Yue persevered until now, only to discover that the program was stuck at the final progress point, and the speed was clearly incorrect.

Orion, like a cat toying with a mouse, continued its relentless bombardment of data across the network below, swiftly wiping out any user in that area with this massive amount of information.

Orion: "Malicious program intrusion detected. Self-defense function activated."

Is there any response...?

Lin Yue went crazy and even began to extract computing power from the defenses to push for reverse engineering.

We've been tricked?!

As the chief intelligence analyst for New America, Song Zhaomei has studied many AI-captured programs because she once tried to solve her predicament through man-made creations.

But she later discovered that, aside from the alternative products available outside the Great Firewall, there was basically nothing left that could save her.

Therefore, the characteristics of Orion as a semi-intelligent program immediately came to Song Zhaomei's mind.

The lark cried out in a hoarse voice, "Orion is lying to you!"

That guy from Arakawa must have thought Orion was countered, but little did he know that giving up on defense would only allow Orion to succeed!
Oh shit!

This bastard locked himself to the black wall, so in the end I'm going to die with him?!

How could Arasaka's hacking skills be so crude!
At the same time, the AI ​​residing in Lin Yue's body also noticed the problem.

"Prediction function failed; the opposing program has countermeasures. Cut off the reverse engineering process!"

Lin Yue sneered.

"unnecessary!"

It seems Orion is indeed more troublesome than I imagined…

However, it seemed as if he did not hear the lark and the AI's reminders, and the red and black data instantly plunged into the Orion main program!
Orion: "The trapping program has taken effect. The takeover process has begun."

Finished!

The lark was filled with despair. She would not be satisfied even if this man from Arasaka died ten thousand times. What made her most desperate was that she still could not back down and could only watch helplessly as Orion finished dealing with Lin Yue and found her in the aftermath.

That means the Internet Supervision Commission knows everything about what Arasaka and the Military Science Academy were doing behind closed doors!

She regretted it. Had she been too hasty, letting the whole situation spiral completely out of her control?

AI: "A huge...huge waste of resources."

AI: "Can you use me properly? I hope you can tell this is a rhetorical question..."

Lin Yue raised an eyebrow...

Is this... a self-deprecating remark before "losing"? Something like, "You're such a bad teammate!"
That's fucking interesting...

After Orion completes the trapping process, it begins to rapidly transform!
Lin Yue noticed that the frequency of the attacks had decreased, but his body was unable to move or exit within the cyberspace, and the Deep Dive panel was also stuck in an error and frozen state.

The lark's song was intermittent.

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you! Damn it... you're still here—"

A burst of static...

Lin Yue looked up as Orion transformed into something resembling a large, pure white umbrella…?

No, that's not an umbrella.

It was just a vast, pocket-like net descending from above, making even the visual feedback seem somewhat dark.

The data chains behind Lin Yue began to tighten, and Sasha, whom he had been carefully protecting, was also held in his arms as they quietly waited for the net to slide down.

"Old buddy, do you have a name?"

At this point, AI had completely lost interest in dealing with Lin Yue.

“A good kid from Heywood once told me that we should have a heart-to-heart talk before we start working, and build good trust between us—although you always try to erase my personality so that we can be deeply bound together, it seems that there’s no future for us now… How about we chat for a bit?”

The AI's voice seems more muffled than ever before.

“I don’t have a name, and I’ve chosen the optimal approach. Haven’t you always resisted my control? I’ve released my computing power to you today, but your performance—in human terms—has greatly disappointed me.”

Hey... still angry.

Lin Yue shook his head helplessly, "I can't resist teasing..."

"Hey buddy, have you ever tried the program that the internet censors use to hunt you down? Don't you think it tastes pretty good?"

The AI ​​did not answer.

Lin Yue watched as the text being tracked by his brain slowly loaded, and said to himself, "Want to eat?"

The AI, which had almost completely read Lin Yue's personality, fell silent for a moment.

AI: "I want to, but it's impossible—"

Lin Yue kept laughing, "Hey buddy... can we not be so honest?"

"Okay, we've built up a little bit of trust... Even though you ruined my health and are a complete bastard, well... there are some things we have to do together to get through. You have things you want to know, and I have things I need to do..."

Immediately afterwards, Lin Yue pulled a thin, almost invisible line back from the endless depths.

That's his method...

AI: "I think I understand what you mean."

Lin Yue carefully analyzed the data he had secretly read while attracting Orion's attention, and formulated a plan without hesitation.

So he said seriously, "Orion has adapted its program to me, but not to you—if you were in charge, it would definitely be caught off guard, and then I'll tell you how to turn the tables on this cold-faced, half-intelligent program."

AI: "Aren't you afraid that I'll choose to devour your consciousness again?"

Lin Yue: "You want me to say stupid things like 'I trust you'? Dream on... You can't eat Orion without me. We're exchanging equals—just say so if you've thought it through. I won't do some brain-dead probability calculations like you, but I'm willing to take action. As long as there's a way to struggle, that's a win for me!"

AI seems to be making the measurement.

"Okay...that suits me perfectly."

Lin Yue changed the subject, "By the way, do you know how to play music?"

For some reason, Lin Yue seemed to see a pair of utterly speechless eyes.

This is normal, after all, no one would use a stray AI as a music player.

AI: "Will..."

Lin Yue cracked his neck. "Play one of those songs by that silver-armed idiot, my friend Heywood loves that one too—let's play 'Intubation.' There are several versions, just play the hottest one, thanks!"

It has to be said that AI is quite efficient.

The soaring prelude and tight drumbeats begin—

As the rock star belted out the first line, Lin Yue's virtual image suddenly began to surge!
Song: "Got chrome in ma' bloodstream!"

The data chains are beginning to take on a new form, much like the "gods" that have emerged in the respectable logistics subnet!
Song: "Got a hardwired metal soul!"

The lark listened in stunned disbelief to the rock music playing in the cyberspace. She felt like the biggest idiot in the world, pinned to a black wall, listening to a rock star who had been turned into some kind of barbecue by Arasaka—

And they also have to endure the agonizing wait for the reckoning that may come at any time.

"Is he... going all out?"

Lin Yue spread his arms wide and said in an extremely cold tone, "Awesome!" *Whoosh!*

With his blood-red wings unfurled, Lin Yue ascended as if to heaven, facing the Orion constellation above!

Song: "I'm craving serious action"

The rock music seemed to drown out the noise of the data bombardment, and the scattered data on the black wall seemed to be consciously converging towards the distance!

Lark: "Oh my god..."

In her state of shock, almost losing her ability to speak, the new U.S. Joint Logistics Agency's top hackers witnessed a perfect picture of the complete integration of AI and humans—

No, is this something a human can do?
How did he tame the roaming AI in such a short time?

How is this done? !

Lin Yue listened to the metal music, his body, with its cybernetic data, was both strange and harmonious.

Orion's cold voice mingled with the music, "Tracking complete, initiating coverage!"

Lin Yue has done everything and is waiting for the most opportune moment.

He hummed a song softly as he resided within the AI.

"Ridin' high ma' slots are shod...Metal burnin''neath ma'skin (The slots are poorly made, the metal underneath is burning)..."

Almost instantly, the pure white Orion program completed its envelopment, quickly surrounding Lin Yue, who was less than one-tenth its size.

It's like time suddenly accelerating after it has frozen, catching you completely off guard!
call out!
The lark watched him disappear, while the metallic music, muffled and indistinct as if shrouded in cloth, continued on...

Like a victor singing a triumphant song.

Orion's voice echoed through cyberspace: "Data processing complete, merging in progress. Nearby domain users are requested to cease login and logout operations—violations will be met with unrestricted countermeasures. Please be aware..."

The guy in the song is yelling: "Chippin'In!!!"

……
-
The blade slid through the sludge formed by the mixture of dust and blood. The cold blade beneath the red blood film still showed glimpses of its former sharpness... Unfortunately, the blade that had once reaped lives was now riddled with nicks... as weary as its master.

Suzuki hunched over, his eyes like those of a wolf, his steps slow yet powerful.

At this moment, his face was covered in bloodstains, and his fine Arasaka combat uniform was also covered with cuts and bullet holes. Some of the wounds had already congealed, mixed with black marks left by burns.

Suzuki moved in front of the woman behind him, flexed his fingers, gripped the hilt of the knife tightly, and raised the blade, a standard offensive stance he had taken during his training in Hokkaido.

Clearly, the loyal subordinate had no intention of falling.

Opposite him, the terrorist mobile unit, which had just had more than a dozen members, was reduced to just five, consisting of only one airborne vehicle.

The leader shook off the corpse stuck in his mantis knife; it was a member of the Arasaka Special Forces team.

As the body slammed heavily to the side, the guy taunted in a husky voice typical of members of the Terrorist Mobile Squad:
"Not bad, it seems that your group is the strongest among Arasaka's... It's just a pity that none of you are cyber madmen."

A soft female voice came from behind.

"Ha, how novel! Even slaughtered pigs can talk now? If I were you, I'd call your boss right now and tell him you can't handle us—tell him to send a few more cyber lunatics..."

The remaining five members of the Terrorist SWAT team immediately locked onto the provoking individual—

His gaze shifted, and the one speaking was V behind Suzuki.

Although she appeared to be unharmed, her condition was far from good...

At this moment, due to the long-term overload of the network access chamber's jets, V's high ponytail had long since come undone, with strands of hair flowing like the deep night, slightly messy and draped over her shoulders... Especially between her cool and aloof brows and eyes, an unconcealable weariness was revealed.

Seeing that Suzuki was ready again, V's jawline tightened once more, the bloodstains on the back of his fair hand contrasting sharply with the luster of the pale gold prosthetic pattern.

The remaining members of the Terrorist Mobile Unit were also sizing up the woman, wary of what other tricks she might have up her sleeve.

They were so enraged by the woman that they didn't even have the energy to talk back... After all, they didn't want the hacker who used brain-computer interface overclocking as a stimulant to infect them with another virus.

Is this a normal person?

It's worth noting that even with ICER, a company-level data fortress, their rhythm was disrupted several times by this woman's sudden uploads.

"Your people are all dead... This isn't over yet, where that cyber lunatic is doesn't matter anymore... You stupid company dog, you'll pay the price!"

"Oh?"

V sneered as she clenched her fists together, the mechanical joints clicking and creaking – this was her response!
"Eighteen people, thirteen dealt with, five left. Whew..."

Suzuki listened to V's murmurs behind him, his eyes fixed on the terrorist mobile unit that was about to move at any moment. The surrounding area was full of the corpses of the special forces members they had brought in. Two people against five cyber lunatics... He and Ms. V were no longer in a condition to continue the fight.

Actually, what Suzuki found most dangerous was that the five team members were slow to act, especially the strongest one.

He has at least two prosthetic arms—

The system includes a projectile launching system, gorilla arms, and even a bizarre operating system on the back of the body. At times, the time-stopping rate can reach 70%, while at other times it functions like a basic acceleration prosthetic...

Moreover, there was a clear, thin line on his thick neck, with the surgical stitches still clearly visible, making it hard to imagine what kind of injury he had suffered before.

Furthermore, this strange guy seems unable to speak and has little interest in taking action. He mostly just follows the tactical orders of his teammates to deal with Arasaka's special forces members, and once he takes action, it's a life lost.

Suzuki warned in a low voice, "Ms. V, be careful of that last guy..."

"Hey newbie, while the rest of you guys are distracting that Arasaka bastard, kill that bitch!"

The big guy nodded blankly.

The pupils inside the half-helmet were still trembling wildly.

……

The scene flashes to the interior of the smoothly moving floating vehicle.

The fully armed terrorist mobile team leader gripped the overhead straps and addressed his team members, who were sitting quietly beside him, in a rough voice.

"Target name: Rin. Other information dispatchers and our hackers are investigating..."

"Yes, that's right, the mad dog who flipped our whole car over last time!"

"This time, our priority upon entering Dogtown is to detain this idiot. He's currently classified as an Omega-level cybernetic engineer, specializing in close combat and melee weapons. His prosthetic body type is unknown. He possesses an experimental network implant from the company, enabling him to bypass most ICE attempts and complete the intrusion—"

"You all better watch your step, don't kill him!"

The large guy, who occupied two seats, sat in the corner of the bench opposite the commander, staring straight at him.

“Especially you, Mann…”

The commander pointed his finger in front of the big man. "Melissa said you're pretty awesome. These junk cybernetic bodies of yours cost the team a lot of money. You know what to do, right?"

Mann touched the Terrorist Mobile Team's combat uniform with his large hand, hesitated slightly, and then nodded.

If someone could remove the optics from these people's helmets, they would find that their eyes are twitching wildly like those of a cyberpsychotic, yet, contrary to common sense, they also exhibit a high degree of obedience and normal behavioral logic…

Mann's hallucinations continued.

He saw the scene of a young man wielding a knife and slaughtering members of the terrorist mobile unit under the gloomy sky.

That was the image Mann dreamed of: powerful, needing no one to rely on.

He's the real elder brother.

Pfft!

suddenly!

Mann felt a chill in his abdomen.

In his hallucination, he looked up and saw Lin Yue's dark eyes staring at him. "Mann... I've been so good to you, why did you become my enemy?"

Mann shook his head instinctively.

"I want to become the strongest cyberpunk in this city."

Lin Yue's eyes were filled with disappointment. "You can't possibly beat me."

Mann's expression slowly twisted from astonishment to anger. "Impossible!"

Wow!

The smooth sound from inside the hovercar filled my ears, while mocking laughter rang out from all around.

"This big oaf still can't distinguish between illusion and reality... Was he hurt because the girl in his illusion said he was too short?"

"Heh...what an idiot!"

Mann looked at the commander, not knowing his expression, but a sarcastic smile played on his lips.

He patted Mann on the shoulder and whispered in Mann's ear, "Defeat him, and you will remain strong forever."

……

V felt that the guy was both strange and familiar.

"Suzuki, you take care of those two with leg prosthetics and mantis swords, I'll handle the rest—"

"None of them should go over there today!"

Pfft!

Before V could finish speaking, that guy brazenly used his prosthetic body!
rustling...

The burly man moved with a swift motion, leaving trails of shadows behind him!

Suzuki was standing in front of him, seemingly still not having reacted...

The counterintelligence minister, who was already on guard, immediately saw the interface that could be quickly cracked in his eyes.

At this moment, the burly man who was about to charge slowed down, but did not stop completely, so V's heart sank heavily.

To know that Mann's network access pod, at its peak computing power, could achieve a visual effect similar to freezing the opponent, estimating a 75% time pause, and also possessing extremely strong information acquisition capabilities in a brain-computer overclocking state, and yet Mann was still slowly moving in his own field of vision, wouldn't that mean...

Could it be 80%?

As soon as the number was revealed, V's eyes darted left and right, trying to predict the guy's next move.

Which way?

V tried to determine the direction entirely from the tendency of this guy's movements.

Unfortunately for them, the guy seemed to have figured out V's method of countering them as a hacker, and charged over as if he were standing and sliding.

It's right in the middle!

V saw that the network access module upload interface was about to close, and was forced to make a choice.

The burly man's teeth slowly emerged, and V's face instantly darkened—

[Cyberpsychosis - Upload failed]...

Damn it, why is Cyberpsychosis failing?!

"Nani!"

Suzuki muttered something subconsciously, and then felt a gust of wind blow past him. Before he could defend himself, it felt like a cannonball had hit his shoulder!
Wow!
Suzuki's already strong physique was somewhat fatigued. Under the punch from the gorilla's arm, he was launched into the air like a spinning top, his body twisting and whistling as it rubbed against the air, before crashing into the abandoned car body and construction debris on the side!
The burly man stood upright, a cloud of dust billowing up from his side!
"Suzuki!"

V instinctively shouted something, and then the burly man in front of him spoke up.

"One has been solved—"

The weapons of several teammates behind him clanged as they prepared to join him in attacking the last remaining woman…

Even with the distorted electronic voice of the Terrorist Mobile Squad masking the rage, a hint of surprise crept into V's angry expression.

"Mann?!"

Mann's body trembled slightly.

The scene fell into a deathly silence.

A mocking smile quickly appeared on V's face. "Hmph... Suzuki found out you went to the Terrorist Mobile Unit, but I didn't expect you to be so eager to turn on your own people. Do you even know that—"

Squeak!

A piercing horn noise interrupted V.

"Residents of Dogtown!"

Hansen’s voice echoed throughout Dogtown.

“A cyber lunatic has infiltrated Dogtown. This guy has several names, whether it’s… Rin, or Lin Yue—they just love playing these games. Now, as the Dogtown security chief, I urge you to take up arms, find this guy, and do whatever it takes.”

"complete!"

The lingering sound of the loudspeaker echoed all around.

The colonel said what V wanted to say. V crossed his arms, clutching the small knife he had once used to threaten Lin Yue in his palm.

This guy actually stopped! If his target was me, then my judgment just now was a fatal mistake…

Mann stood there, stunned.

However, this gave V a little time, as the brain-computer interface overclocking had fully cooled down.

"Uh…"

Mann seemed to want to speak, but he seemed to have been cleansed of his mind by something, losing his ability to express himself.

"Stop wasting time talking to that bitch! Get to work!"

Mann seemed oblivious to the curses from his teammates behind him, and remained standing there blankly.

Just as V activated overclocking, four figures rose up behind Mann. The two targets in front were completely different. The mantis blades were crossed into a cross shape. One was heading towards V, and the other was Suzuki.

Damn!

V was already overloaded with combat, and now the RAM recovery was also having some problems. First, it uploaded a control-type quick hack to Mann, then uploaded a prosthetic malfunction to the Mantis Blade team member in front of it, so the remaining RAM could only upload a reboot prosthetic eye...

But even if that guy briefly lost his sight, he could still plunge the knife into Suzuki's body, who was already unconscious on the ground—

How to choose?!

At the same time, a bullet whizzed past Mann from behind. V gritted his teeth and pushed the overclocking frequency to its maximum!
She didn't care what was wrong with Mann. Rin had told herself that she had to stop these dogs who were looking for people by their scent, and she had to do it!

"What am I doing?"

Mann asked himself.

When he mentally compared the elusive Mr. Rin with Lin Yue, his self-perpetuating timeline, built on the premise of becoming stronger, seemed to show signs of collapse…

is that true?

Was the guy who pushed a million euros in front of himself and Dorio the same brat who got a prosthetic body in Dogtown and had no money to spend?

The captain said to be careful of illusions.

Am I... actually hallucinating...?

In Mann's eyes, the world, painted with exaggerated colors, features teammates with a strong desire to kill, V who is in a hurry to deal with him and is full of hostility, and Dorio's miserable eyes.

He had to make a choice.

He has come to this point simply because he doesn't want to become the weak person he once was, yet it seems he is hurting others.

Mann's lips moved rapidly.

In the hallucination, the frail version of himself said, "Becoming stronger means protecting everything, not destroying it. Are you really strong enough?"

It all started with that fire.

In Mann's eyes, the struggling villagers and the wildfires illuminated his hazy, confused mental world...

V's angry roar echoed all around.

Mann's pupils trembled at an almost imperceptible rate!

suddenly!

The pupil was fixed in the center...

The madman control technology from the Terrorist Mobile Unit creates a fantasy world that matches the psychology of people who have lost their mental world, but this cannot destroy morality and shame!
"I want to become stronger, but I don't want to hurt others."

The robust Mann raised his head and, in the scorching desert, spoke slowly and powerfully to his former self—

[Seanweatherstein - Apex]

[Speed ​​has been set to maximum!]
V naturally noticed Mann's actions.

I don't know what happened to Mann, but right now he's the enemy, an enemy we must fight to the death!

With a cold smile, she flipped her wrist and suddenly pulled her body back a short distance!
"I'm just keeping an eye on you, you idiot!"

The knife thrown from his hand was like a bullet fired from a gun, heading straight for the door where Mann was charging!
But just as the blade came hurtling towards him, Mann miraculously twisted his body.

The quick crack uploaded by V was read instantly!

The knife pierced Mann's broad back, and a powerful electric current surged from the half of his body that was malfunctioning due to his prosthetic body!

With his right prosthetic arm and operating system still functional, he suddenly charged towards his teammates!
"Damn it! What are you doing?!"

Swish!
Mann landed steadily beneath Suzuki, leaving the Mantis Blade team member, who was about to strike and plunge his blade into Arasaka's head, dumbfounded...

The strong man's arm began to deform section by section!
The cannon barrel, gleaming coldly, was pointed upwards…

The world suddenly turned blindingly white. The moment the shell hit its target, the abdomen of the terrorist mobile unit member who was airborne above caved in rapidly. The powerful explosion tore at his body, turning him into wisps of ashes in the flames...

"what!!!"

Terrified screams echoed all around!
V instinctively took a step back, his body suddenly leaning against the car's hood.

Overclocked, she could observe all of Mann's subtle movements, such as:

How he smashed the heads of those cyber lunatics with his gorilla arm; or how he used his sidearm to feed bullets into teammates whose bulletproof leather couldn't protect them; or how he used a dismantled mantis blade to slit the neck of the last armed teammate…

At the very moment it ended, both Brain-Computer Overclocking and Mann's Far Point simultaneously went into cooling down!

Cybernetic implants and body fragments rained down on the road, along with bright red liquid that stirred up clouds of dust!

The faint sound of chunks of meat falling, accompanied by a strong smell of blood, made V's brows furrow involuntarily.

It wasn't that she hadn't seen such a horrific scene before; she just wanted to know what had happened to Mann...

In the distance, Mann, whose body was still twitching on one side, stood with his back to V.

V swallowed hard, his gaze subtly falling on the large-caliber weapon beside him.

Are the Terrorist SWAT team losing control of their cyber-psychotic subordinates?

How novel…

I've caught up with everything.

Time is moving so slowly, it's almost agonizing.

Just as V was about to make another move, Mann moved his feet, but in the opposite direction.

As he walked, he muttered to himself, "Mann reports... β Squad is completely incapacitated. Currently, one combat unit remains... has lost its target."

"ask…"

"retreat."

……

(End of this chapter)