Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 442 The Dike Breaks (Part Two)

Wow!

The long data chains tightened rapidly; these dense, pale blue chains were enough to crush any online hacker in cyberspace.

Meanwhile, the cyber surveillance hackers roaming the cyber network only glanced at the direction of the data chain before silently leaving the network area.

Looking at the end of the data chain, these defensive data programs capable of imprisoning large-scale AI are actually connected to—

Black wall!

"Fuck you!"

A hoarse and eerie voice echoed endlessly in the cyber network, sounding strangely like a combination of electronic synthesized voice and a woman's roar.

The calm, still black wall seemed to be an unchanging, thick barrier composed of data light particles, but as those data chains penetrated deeper…

A woman's face, wailing in agony, was slowly torn out from above!
With each attack of the data, the woman's enormous, pained face was torn apart...

There's no one else but the lark.

Those data chains were the work of a brilliant hacker team tasked by Miles with controlling that out-of-control, massive digital life form!
Since their crushing defeat in Dogtown three or four years ago, these arrogant teenagers have become some of the most ruthless figures in the cyber world…

They were masters at using servers illegally funded by the new US President Myers, leveraging this "natural barrier" in the cyber network to eliminate countless enemies for Myers.

"The Lark's personality is barely responsive. Use the ice-breaking program to completely eliminate her personality!"

"But--"

"Wouldn't that cause the lark to go out of control?"

Two different sources of information communicated using complex data disguises, and soon a third person joined the conversation.

“Miles’ orders were to keep the Lark’s entire data disk, but you’ve turned her into a program. How are we supposed to explain this?!”

The hacker in charge was like a black fog in the cyber network. It was a data program he developed himself. When he roamed the major network areas of the world, the "black robe" helped him avoid countless scans - even AI scans were no exception.

Furthermore, this program has a virus-like infectiousness, and it can also cause a chain reaction on teammates with the same permissions. This makes it impossible for the Lark to pinpoint the source of the data... So at this moment, it can only helplessly roar in cyberspace.

"Is this thing even human...?"

The user in the black robe squinted, his voice low, as he watched the AI ​​data spores being pulled from the lark onto the data chain.

The cleaning software on the program panel quickly devoured the Lark's AI spores, which, upon closer inspection, were flames that were almost integrated with the blue color of the chains themselves, encircling them.

The Lark has too many tricks up its sleeve. Based on two years of data learning and without interference from the AI ​​personality, it's safe to say that none of the hackers in this team could stand against it, and even the entire team would be no match for it.

If Miles hadn't controlled the software deeply embedded in Lark's entire consciousness, Lark could have unleashed a massive cyber massacre in cyberspace with impunity...

The more difficult it is for the lark to tear itself out from inside the black wall, the more dangerous the situation becomes.

Because the Black Wall identified the lark as a wandering AI, it attempted to permanently control the lark inside with its own body…

But Miles's demand was that Washington control the lark.

Now, the only goal of this new American president, whom his political enemies call a dictator, is to save the Lark's data to an offline server.

"You should know that personality consciousness cannot be instilled into a database!"

The hacker, quickly snapping out of his daze, tightened his grip on the data chain, and another wail came from the other end.

"Could it be that Ms. Miles knew from the beginning?"

The young man didn't speak, but instead pursed his lips and stared at the bizarre figure in cyberspace that seemed to be integrated with the black wall.

"Night City's cyber police are already giving us the green light. Keep Miles under control and proceed as planned... Ms. Miles just sent a message from the anchor point using an old-fashioned cipher card."

"The package has arrived, and the lark can still be used as before."

The two hackers beside him, who had been pulled a distance by the lark and were barely able to steady themselves by grabbing their hands, were filled with panic.

"Damn it! How come we didn't know about something so important? Could it be the Relic that caused such a stir in Europe before?"

The young hacker nodded.

"Yes... the president got the thing, but... Black Dream is dead."

When the young hacker said these words, his clever companions immediately understood what their leader meant.

"That guy?"

The hacker leader nodded.

The group of hackers looked at him as if he were a plague demon, hurriedly lowering their heads to tighten the chains and quickly carrying out their leader's orders.

"But don't worry..."

"Even if that large AI from Dogtown emerges, we can still maintain the initiative."

It doesn't matter if it's a rigid program; the point is to create an AI-powered lark. As long as Relic's technology is in the hands of the new America, there can be a second and a third lark.

It's important to know that military technology possesses complete cloning technology, so this is not a difficult task for them.

Soul Killer is Arasaka's signature weapon, which New America cannot obtain. Therefore, they can only allow AI to completely take over the Lark's consciousness, so that the purely data-driven Lark can be controlled and compressed.

Arrests, offline arrests—they were the heroes of Washington after doing all that.

"I heard that we can switch positions after this big deal is completed?"

Aside from a hint of fear, her companion's tone also held excitement. The legendary Rin was only able to rely on the AI ​​Ultra beside her—that large artificial intelligence was extremely annoying—

However, after two years, this group of new American hackers learned a lot from their previous crushing defeat, especially when facing large-scale AIs like Ultraman, they now have a trump card.

"Of course, Miles will reassess our scientific partnerships with military technology, which means we'll likely be disbanded as well."

"Don't forget the purpose, hmm?"

As the lark's body was about to be torn out from inside the black wall, the hacker leader sneered, "The data is completely exposed. Find the location and destroy this woman's personality and consciousness."

The Washington hackers who had been hiding in the shadows and hadn't yet made a move were now all out in force!

The lark, still struggling within the black wall, saw a barrage of beams of light pierce through her body. Looking closer—

The enormous woman's forehead has another woman hanging down, seemingly unconscious. Her upper body is swaying and hanging outside, and her legs seem to be integrated into the head of this large programmed image!
That's where the Lark's personality consciousness resides. In other words, Miles has known very well over the past few years that the Lark is not awake for long periods of time, and that the malicious program is carrying out orders most of the time. But she still dares to leave the key to winning many missions to Song Zhaomei.

The biggest gambler in this game has emerged: the "King" of the new America.

"Damn it! This thing is struggling!"

The hacker, who was just daydreaming about the future, clearly had no idea that the lark could pinpoint his location...

"how is this possible?"

A look of disbelief flashed in the hacker leader's eyes—

"Damn it! Grab him! Don't let him get caught so soon!"

The black-robed figure clearly concealed everyone's IP addresses...

Just as the guy was lifted into the air along with the chains, the girl not far from the leader growled and cursed, "That damn bastard was listening to online music, is he a fucking idiot?!" The ruthlessness in the leader's eyes became even more pronounced.

"Cut off contact with this guy, don't let it affect the important matters!"

"Help me! Activate the cloaking code!"

The new American hacker, who had been wailing in mid-air, seemed to vanish in an instant. Everyone looked at the chain that had been lifted up by the AI-generated lark's massive hand...

Gudong.

Someone swallowed hard.

Standing before the gigantic head of the "Lark," like a piece of meat suspended on a thread, the hacker stared at the terrifyingly hollow, data-driven face before him, especially the data particles that pulsated within the empty pupils, like flares erupting from the surface of a burning sun…

The hacker seemed to have entered a time-stopped state, with the entire data panel frozen. He panicked, looking up and down at the trembling data points, while simultaneously glancing at the empty eyes of the AI-generated lark.

The woman, her body hanging limply from her forehead, looked like a corpse, as if she were in a cold storage room.

"Don't!"

"don't want…"

Accompanied by a series of strange cawing sounds, in the hacker's trembling eyes, the lark, which had already been judged to be unconscious, actually...

At that moment, the woman who had been hanging down moved, seemingly slowly raising her body.

Upon closer inspection, it appears as if a cluster of blue data light particles surrounding the lark's own consciousness gently lifts the lark's head, its eyes glowing with a black-red light, much like the black wall behind it.

"No! The lark is being controlled!"

The moment this chilling thought crossed the hacker's mind, he immediately wanted to turn around and warn his partner behind him...

Even if his teammates had just abandoned him...

"what happened?"

"All the hackers surrounding it..."

The hackers who were trying to erase the lark's self-awareness were scrambling to move on when they saw the data intrusion.

Teng!
A bright blue light appeared in one of the lark's eyes.

That's the Night's built-in program, a unique secret that allows the Nightingale to remain conscious under the onslaught of powerful AI data...

The moment the light appeared, there seemed to be a faint sound of flames burning.

"Back off!"

boom!
A dam break triggered by online music players is unfolding rapidly, but the hacker leader of New America seems to know that the source of this long-running upheaval is not so simple.

"Force start!"

The shouts came from the other side, and the hackers responsible for providing assistance had no way out.

Because the geniuses in Washington have now grasped their Achilles' heel, acting like a watchdog force. If they don't follow the instructions of the new America's top cyber agents, their fate will be—

"Fuck me!"

Suddenly, the lark opened her mouth wide. Her data AI-powered self used the simplest and most straightforward method to merge the data with the hacker consciousness that was attached to the data chain.

As the data particles splattered like jam across the lark's scarlet lips tinged with black, all that unfortunate fellow left the world with was this final curse.

The leader of the Washington hackers has suddenly disappeared.

The teammates, now freed from the black robes, were instantly exposed to the Lark, who had just finished devouring them. The even stranger figure on her forehead sent chills down the spines of the hackers.

Boss…

Sell ​​them out?

"Damn it!"

Just as these hackers were preparing to flee for their lives—

"there!"

The hacker, gripping the chain tightly with one hand, seemed to be followed by a dark shadow. Despite the clear running path visible to the naked eye among his companions, the lark kept looking around.

because…

The lark discovered that it couldn't track the hacker's movements from beneath the black robe!
With things having come to this, this genius hacker, who had miraculously survived the Dogtown network a few years ago, chose to make one last gamble!
The hacker's eyes were filled with a chilling coldness.

"Song Zhaomei...you should rest."

It's hard to imagine that this hacker's program suite is actually a robust mount, much like a racehorse. The only difference from a real-world rider is that this horse has no limbs, only a dark, hellish aura—

The black robe above the black horse resembled the embers of a flame, and the hacker leader, like a ghost knight, pulled into the chain in his tight hand and instantly soared into the air!

Appeared!
When the lark sensed the hacker appearing on its forehead, its AI-generated image opened its mouth wide as if to let out a silent roar. The lark itself, whose consciousness now dominated its forehead, growled and cursed, "Miles's lackey!"

The hacker's eyes were now calm as the sharp hook at the front of the chain shot straight toward the lark's head—one of the fastest locking techniques available!

The lark's roar was to no avail; the program that accelerated her personality decline was now firmly planted in her forehead...

The hacker was slapped hard on the side by the AI-generated hand of the nightingale, and the program suite on his body quickly disintegrated.

This amount of data is equivalent to a car crashing directly into a person. Soon, the black robe and data suite around the hacker quickly dissipated, and the person was like an unsuspecting "zombie" that was smashed into the bottom layer of cyberspace!
"Start the program!"

Even at this moment, the hacker leader did not give up issuing commands. His partners rushed forward and grabbed the chains, trying to pull the lark out of the AI ​​program!

The hackers responsible for assisting were transformed into data particles like fireworks in the lark's casually waved palm.

Each attack resulted in the deaths of at least a dozen hackers. Watching the rain of data falling before them, the two hackers could only grit their teeth and fight with all their might.

"You bitch, you lark!"

People will naturally assume that the other person is always wrong.

But no one considered whether it was Miles's fault. They could only fight on instinct until, in despair, they saw that the lark's personality remained unmoved.

The lark looked at the blue light particles on its palm and a smug smile appeared on its lips.

"The Ye family..."

As the entire network fell silent, the lark glared venomously at the two New America hackers ahead.

until…

In the darkness of the cyber network above, a blood-red data hand loomed faintly, baring its teeth like a wolf in distress.

"I'm going to kill you, Rin!"

……

……

(End of this chapter)