Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 194 Transcendence [Last Chapter] [Third Update]

A clear, ethereal voice seemed to transcend the black wall that was recuperating.

"If I transcend nature, I will never use it again."

"[Any natural object manifested as a physical form...]"

"[The exquisite forms recast by ancient Greek goldsmiths using gilding and plating were enough to awaken the drowsy emperor];"

That is?

V stared at the dark red wall in front of him, the irregularly dissipated data on its surface seemingly slowly bulging out—

She witnessed a cybernetic spectacle that would be unforgettable for a lifetime!
The woman, looking down upon the world within the walls like a deity, did not float with her legs together, but rather, like a goddess in ancient Greek mythology, she stood on one leg with the other knee slightly raised…

V's eyes seemed to glaze over...

Ultraman...Cunningham?!
Is she the woman who once drove the company to a bloodthirsty frenzy?
Behind Lin Yue's half-crippled body, the woman silently looked at the virtual image with its head drooping on her chest and silently finished reciting the last line of the poem.

"[Or perhaps lingering on golden branches, singing softly, recounting the events of the past, present, or tomorrow—]"

"[Singing for the princes and noblewomen of Byzantium...]"

V admitted that he witnessed a "miracle".

"She is coming."

Hua Zi's voice was cold.

And those ethereal chants were not poems, but the key that Ultraman used to unlock the secrets of the divine vehicle!
"You still don't give up."

V looked at Hanako, who had suddenly spoken, with surprise. In her opinion, the entity outside the black wall was much more powerful than she had imagined... Had Hanako gone mad? Was she provoking this Ultraman?

Almost as if teleported, the huge virtual image that appeared above the black wall entered the interior of the black wall slowly but without any hindrance!

V herself didn't even notice that she muttered a curse word in front of Hua Zi.

"My..."

Ultraman's voice traveled in all directions.

"The area outside the black wall is not a place you should be..."

Although it was a virtual avatar, V felt as if Hua Zi's teeth were almost crushed.

"Let's do it, warriors!"

Ultraman seemed to completely ignore these humans, making one wonder if she couldn't hear Hanako Arasaka's words, instead uttering a seemingly random statement with no clear target.

“V…We’ve arrested her before, and we have a whole set of ICE procedures to deal with her—this is an opportunity, and we’re risking being discovered by the whole world by bringing out this weapon for this.”

Then, the woman sighed and said, "Father... he really did plan everything perfectly. He said it was a brilliant plan to kill two birds with one stone."

As V watched the data from Ultra attempt to break through the Soul Killer's barrier and rapidly advance into the Divine Carriage, the specially designed ICE for Ultra blocked the data, which was sprouting and growing like branches and leaves... and that special barrier almost instantly began to bite back at Ultra's data.

Just as V was wondering how this legendary figure, mentioned by top hackers outside the Great Firewall, would do it.

She suddenly disappeared!

It's a true disappearance... the place is empty, and there's also—

cold? !

Hua Zi tried his best to hide the ferocity in his expression, his hands trembling...

The voices of hackers came one after another.

"Couldn't track it down... Damn it, that's awful!"

"Miss Hua! The internet police are coming—"

All eyes were drawn to the Arasaka family member who had come to the cyberspace to oversee the battle. After a brief silence...

Hua Zi uttered only one word in a slightly trembling voice.

"Let's go..."

but…

V had no intention of leaving.

At this moment, besides being completely bewildered, all she wanted to know was where Rin was...

The problem is that I have absolutely no idea how this entity disappeared right in front of me; it didn't leave a single trace...

With internet censorship looming ever closer, V had no choice but to grit his teeth and quit the internet.

Just before the internet was cut off.

Hua Zi, clearly experiencing a significant emotional fluctuation, gave V his final order:
"Bringing Rin's body back, and all personnel who have come into contact with the physical body, are things that Arasaka values ​​highly, as you know."

……
-
Jingle Bell…

The dimly lit room was filled with the slightly jarring sound of a mechanical alarm clock.

In front of the computer screen emitting a faint glow—

The young man, wearing headphones and tilting his head, suddenly woke up!
"屮!"

As the gaming chair slid, Lin Yue lost his balance and landed hard on his backside, gasping for air and letting out a cry of pain.

Sitting on the floor, still in pain and irritated from getting up, Lin Yue grabbed his headphones and threw them onto the chair behind him. His face immediately froze in pain.

Swish!
Two slightly slender hands touched her chest, then her face, her expression shifting from pain to a strange look tinged with fear.

On the computer, it was the main menu page that Lin Yue had exited the game interface from.

Glug...

He stared intently at his favorite game and its familiar cyberpunk-style icon, his Adam's apple bobbing as he unconsciously swallowed…

[Character Name: V; Level 59; Company Dog]

Holy crap... no way?

After hesitating for a moment, her trembling, pale fingers pressed the spacebar on the mechanical keyboard. With a crisp click and game sound effects, a line of blood-red text appeared at the bottom of the screen:
[Invading...]

[Intrusion failed!]

Lin Yue, feeling a tingling sensation on his scalp as if it were about to explode, muttered, "What's going on?"

He then staggered back a step, knocking over a pile of his collected figurines and toys—and amidst the noise, he frantically pushed open the bedroom door!
Wow!
The blinding light from the balcony immediately made Lin Yue shield his eyes with his hand…

Aside from the lingering chill on my back... that warm, comforting temperature seems to exist only in dreams.

Once his eyes adjusted to the sunlight, he quickly walked to the bedside. Golden sunlight streamed onto the street, an empty expanse... the billboards representing 2024, the cars parked along the roadside, the buildings, the clothes hanging to dry in the shops across the street...

Everything seems to be fine...

Except that there were no pedestrians on the street.

Lin Yue controlled his breathing, pushed open the window, and apart from the sound of the wind, the world seemed unusually quiet.

Boom…Boom…Boom!

A heart pounding like a bell, incredibly realistic tactile sensations, and everything so illogical... Am I alive or dead?

He slumped down, kneeling, staring at the dark security door, and buried his face in his hands.

He might find the answer if he just pushed open the security door, but Lin Yue was terrified... because he could sense that the place outside was definitely not the hometown he knew.

"Meow…"

A faint meow.

Lin Yue mechanically lifted his head from his hands, his eyes widening. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a hairless cat crouching on the sofa—not the one V had given him, and clearly older.

Furthermore, the cat's jaw seemed to be made of metal, and even its licking paws reflected a cold light.

Seeing Lin Yue mechanically turn his head and stare at it, it also stopped moving and stared intently at Lin Yue.

"hiss…!"

The cat suddenly opened its mouth, its face contorted in a ferocious expression, and began to hiss at Lin Yue!
This kind of action by cats is usually a threat or warning.

Lin Yue's hand unconsciously gripped the broom on the balcony. Perhaps he didn't even realize that the way he held it was almost identical to that of a samurai sword!

"Meow!"

A loud cry came from behind Lin Yue, and the familiar cat from his memory darted out from behind him and pounced on the prosthetic cat that was trying to threaten him!
That was... a cat that V gave to himself?

Lin Yue instinctively dodged, his movements surprisingly agile. It was as if it were a subconscious decision; this little pet, which he had neglected due to his busy work schedule, was the most important thing and couldn't be harmed. Lin Yue didn't want to dwell on why he, so frail, had managed to scoop the leaping kitten back from the air—

However, the moment he hugged his own cat, the creature turned around and rubbed against him, and the scene began to blur, just like in his memory when Johnny would become indistinct after entering the shrine and receiving the bullet pendant...

Lin Yue's online persona changed, his cat disappeared, and he himself became a weak virtual figure in cyberspace.

This is still home, only a living room constructed of simple data lines, where a tall, humanoid figure made of red data floats silently outside the broken balcony, watching over us…

Lin Yue: "Ultraman..."

Otto Cunningham's face was expressionless, for it bore witness devoid of humanity.

Ultraman's voice has a spacious yet calm feel to it.

"You do know me, not through knowledge or what you have seen or heard... but because you have observed me from a perspective that I cannot understand."

Lin Yue rested his hand on the back of the sofa next to him, which was piled with data.

"It seems you're all working in the same direction, trying to erase my memories... How about that? The Black Wall AI even tried to use you to assimilate me into your world."

But Lin Yue was very curious: Where did the AI ​​go?
Based on the progress just now, completing the stripping should be a very difficult task.

Ultraman's hand seemed to be waving, or like a ghostly shadow of Katon, as if he were telling a story.

“We have plenty of time to reach a reasonable consensus and complete the necessary exchanges.”

The largest physical entity outside the Black Wall...

Of course, Lin Yue has many problems.

"What about that AI? I know your capabilities very well... [Even people deeply bound by Relic can't achieve consciousness separation, and you still have to enter the Divine Carriage to devour data], I'm afraid you can't do something like this, right?"

Ultraman paused for a moment.

"It seems you're good at using experiences I can't comprehend to infer the extent of my abilities, but unfortunately, it's still within you, only now it belongs to me."

Ok?
Lin Yue tried to understand this abstract statement.

However, Ultraman continued, "I create AI, absorb AI, and complete my own transformation. I am fully capable of restraining it, and it will no longer be a burden on your life... It's just that your body must be interfered with by external forces, which I cannot repair."

"It is me, and I am it."

and many more…

Isn't this a case of roving AI invading the human brain?
Just as Lin Yue was wondering what to do, Ultraman answered the question as if he could read minds.

"There are entities more powerful than me who have come into this world through your simple code and are interfering with the way the world works. The Black Wall is not lying about this."

Lin Yue: "Why? The Black Wall Society..."

Otto: "We were all created with questions, and so was the Black Wall. We create countless AIs to find answers, which is what we are meant to do. As for me, I only need to enter the Divine Carriage. There may be new questions in the future, but I cannot predict them now."

Okay, the good news is that he survived.

The bad news is... an even bigger guest is residing in the mind.

Lin Yue: "Aren't you afraid the Black Wall will cause you trouble?"

Ultraman is clearly an expert at answering questions. "Entities like us can understand each other's intentions, which is different from the way you humans interact."

"He won't bother me, but he will—so you have to complete the journey to find the answer for him, because the consequences are not something you can bear."

Look, what a blatant threat...

Lin Yue wanted to smoke a cigarette now because the way he was eating eggs had changed again and again.

Otto's meaning was too obvious. She wanted to enter the Divine Carriage and solve the Black Wall problem herself. It was like she was having a brainstorming session. Lin Yue was afraid he was going crazy.

“V, I have made contact with another entity on the other side of the black wall. It promised to help me enter the Divine Carriage—this woman is also one of its objectives.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Yue's expression brightened.

As expected, V was hacked by a rogue AI...

“Ultraman, you’re not as heartless as you seem, but you have to give me some direction.”

However, Ultraman changed the subject.

"There will always be questions that have no answers, and that's how we are born... The world seems to be a coupling of random and unpredictable events, but there's always something that can take advantage of these random events—I will no longer answer this question."

"Regarding you, have you truly remembered what belongs to you?"

Lin Yue leaned against the back of the sofa.

"Well... that's right."

The way the AI ​​altered his memories during that incident in Honshu was actually based on Lin Yue's subconscious. He had been in this world for quite some time and was a true reincarnated "native" of Night City.

Why did I suddenly wake up in the transport truck, and why did I choose facial features almost identical to my previous life when Old Wei offered me the facial reconstruction—

The subconscious mind is the most stable thing.

Lin Yue thought that perhaps only "only today do I realize who I am" could explain it.

Ultraman is right; there are always some questions that have no answer.

How you came to be is no longer important; what matters is learning to accept it.

Seeing that Lin Yue remained silent, he did not speak.

Otto said, "I chose to abandon my kind and cooperate with you for a simple reason: you are code that I cannot understand—but I need to enter the Divine Palace, so you need to be prepared to pay a price."

uh-huh…

If you're going to say that again, Lin Yue has had enough.

In short, get things done, or you'll be in deep trouble. Just because AI can't understand you doesn't mean it can't kill you; these are completely unrelated issues.

"last question."

Lin Yue straightened up.

"Um...you're not eavesdropping on my private life, are you? Sorry...someone did that before."

Ultraman's silence lasted longer than anyone could have imagined.

"You remind me of a string of code that makes me uncomfortable."

"Goodbye, Rin. If you want to contact my true self, I'll create a secure BBS for you, with an address that changes more than ten thousand times per second..."

"It will appear in your brain-computer interface when you need it."

All the data around him began to dissipate, and in the unknown cyberspace, only a lonely figure remained.

Unlike virtual avatars, he is almost a solidified texture, like a human figure carved from red and black stone. These are all manifestations of AI's extreme compression of neural system projections.

Lin Yue's hand trembled.

A virtual cigarette, which doesn't actually exist, is held between the fingers of the mouth.

He muttered something, referring to the Black Wall AI that had helped him kill many enemies and almost led him to his doom.

"I hate you, buddy, I really do!"

"Sigh, but you're really too strong... Aside from ruining your health, you don't cause any major problems, it's just that your heart is too ruthless..."

As his body rapidly collapsed into the network access point, Lin Yue knew:

The journey through this fascinating, complex, yet despair-filled world has only just begun.

The fool embarked on the path of destiny that truly belonged to him.

……

……

End of Volume One

　【If I transcend nature…】："Sailing to Byzantium" by Irish poet Yeats; In the ending of 2077, after Johnny enters the palanquin, Otto will sing this poem. I personally think it is very beautiful and has given it a certain function.

　　【Invading】: In the game 2077, after logging in and loading, the screen will display the words "Invading", as if implying that each of us is a wandering AI.

　　【The Cat with the Metal Jaw】: In the main game of Cyberpunk 2077, a hairless cat will appear whenever the shrine or the rooftop at the end is involved. The game may be paying homage to the internet god Bartmouth, but I won't go into details here.

　　[Even someone deeply bound by Relic can't achieve consciousness separation...]: In the ending of 2077, even after helping Ultraman enter the sacred vehicle, the problem of V's survival still couldn't be solved. This is the tragic ending of cyberpunk.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)