Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 452 Miracle! [8.1K]

The network could not be stopped; Lin Yue was facing an extremely large number of intelligent death programs.

Those entering from the other side of the black wall were intelligent programs that had survived decades of iteration and natural selection. For Lin Yue, one of these AIs was actually much more troublesome than the data fortress of Night City Company…

After all, even established global police forces like cyber surveillance are not enough to handle these procedures.

That's why they hire AI hunters at exorbitant prices to eliminate or capture AI.

As long as they are all AI in a different form, that's fine.

The thing Lin Yue least wanted to face was that kind of thing—

In cyber networks, they are sometimes indistinguishable from living people; network surveillance and countless AI hunters have encountered such command programs.

They are remarkably similar to digital souls in their manifestations, possessing meticulous logic, the ability to express emotions, and their own interests and hobbies. They can even establish online relationships with human hackers.

But according to network surveillance, they cannot change the nature of roving AI.

Just like the nature of predators, they will eventually bring disaster, and some of their obsessions are completely different from those of humans.

For example, if an AI believes that half of the world's population needs to be eliminated, the resulting disaster would be extremely difficult to defend against.

Brandon was born on this side of the wall. The data spore exhibits weak intelligence, but its decision-making and behavior logic is actually very close to that of humans, which is why it is used as an AI for managing enterprise data fortresses.

Despite the possibility of being mistakenly killed at any moment, Lin Yue quickly made his decision.

His data analysis capabilities have been expanded to the maximum, and he is using some of his computing power for combat. The purge may take a long time, but he cannot let any fish slip through the net.

If a living person is trapped in the net area, Lin Yue will kick them out immediately.

But in situations where it's impossible to distinguish...

Lin Yue will only resort to ruthless killing!
This can be understood as follows: as long as AI enters a loophole in the black wall, even the smallest mobile AI could deal a devastating blow to V, who is focused on using the internet monitoring program!
If Lin Yue had to choose between saving the passerby and V... he would unconditionally choose the latter.

At this time.

Lin Yue's sarcastic remark, "Artificial Grandpa will keep you company," was like water dripping into a hot oil pan...

The powerful rulers of the online world seem furious that the "cockroaches" on this side of the wall dare to stop them.

Instead of investigating why Lin Yue was able to tear an AI apart alive, they chose to launch a series of cyberattacks against Lin Yue, breaking through the sea of ​​data one by one!
Lin Yue made a move.

Within the data spore fragments of the bizarre geometric AI, his eyes, a blend of azure and scarlet light, stared directly at the changes ahead in the still-lingering rain.

The closest AI consists of hundreds or thousands of slender, vine-like clusters of thorns with acute-angled geometric shapes, slapping against the surface of the sea of ​​data.

Almost instantly! It surged forth!

These vines swirl like a storm, their sharp angles rapidly slicing through the surrounding data streams. Their sole purpose is data recycling, to shred any data that is difficult to deconstruct...

"You must feel uncomfortable looking like this, right?"

If anyone else were standing here, their consciousness projection would be instantly torn to shreds. However, Lin Yue charged into those deadly "vines" like an arrow!

Behind Ultraman, the AI, which had been barking like a wild dog, pounced on him. She simply raised her hand, and the program seemed to be instantly put into a compressed air tank and forced to compress.

"Why... do I feel like my data has become one with yours?"

Without any instructions.

Otto discovered that her computing power had also been diverted, and even though it was only a small portion, it still struck her as incredible.

at this time--

Night City has become a holographic cyber network city projected with light and shadow!
Everyone stopped trembling and hiding, even the politicians in the city hall of Night City, the company employees who were holding an emergency meeting, and so on...

Regardless of social class or occupation, people were drawn to this almost miraculous data performance.

The corporate troops stationed on the border of Night City were in an uproar, all believing this to be a final, dazzling display before their demise…

Even the Tiger Claw Gang, who were fiercely grabbing the passerby's collar and carrying a samurai sword, stared blankly at the scene above.

On the city's emergency public radio channel, in order to prevent citizens from panicking and rushing to the border, the current situation was explained repeatedly, stating that it was a bug in the mainstream universal prosthetic eye model caused by an unavoidable failure of the Night City public network.

However, such rhetoric is weak and ineffective at this moment.

WNS, an authoritative media outlet, is explaining the current events through popular science, with the authorization of "someone"...

In short, the data holographic traces unfolding at this moment are the explosive news that "a visual network disaster has occurred within cyberspace, causing the collapse of the Night City network" and has swept across the entire Night City!!!

When those bizarre data images emerge from the deluge of data, even a child nestled at home leaning on their parents' shoulder knows—

“AI…”

As the child pointed and babbled at the strange vine "dragon" projection, the parents, their faces filled with sorrow, lowered their heads and huddled together, awaiting the countdown to death.

The whole world seemed to have abandoned Night City. So far, apart from the company's military surrounding the place and turning it into a gladiatorial arena where criminals and villains ran rampant, there were only ordinary people at home whose heads were suddenly burned through.

Strangely enough, a beam of light, like an arrow, swiftly pierced into the so-called AI. In an instant, the wandering AI rapidly disintegrated, shrinking as if it had lost moisture. When it shrank to its limit, the thing instantly cracked into countless fragments!

A rainbow-colored rain fell over the entire Night City, and the distorted neon lights instantly ignited the stunned crowd below.

Even a fool knows that AI has been solved!

only…

Behind the vines, countless strange-looking things still stood in the same spot.

The dense, even blurry, appearance is due to incomplete imaging caused by the sheer number of particles.

Suddenly, the internet seemed to have been restored!
Many people heard the beeping of receiving messages in their brains. The spam emails that would normally be met with curses and insults now looked like happy news of winning the lottery!

"back to normal?"

Not only the citizens of Night City, but also the officials of the Night City government were dumbfounded.

Restoring the network means that information from the outside world can be transmitted in. Even though they know that the outside world is taking a wait-and-see attitude towards Night City at this time, it can at least make the citizens of Night City feel excited.

"Really, Congressman Jefferson!"

Jefferson listened to his assistant's excited voice and the enthusiastic chatter around him, leaned forward slightly, and frowned, clearly still worried.

Do not…

The problem is far from being solved.

The problem was solved without the dreamer sending any message?
It's important to understand that the cyber authorities determined at this point that the breach in the Great Firewall still existed, and just ten minutes earlier, the internet surveillance had reported the brain death of the senior agent responsible for repairing the firewall…

They just didn't know that this was London's doing.

The city hall quickly received the so-called request for authorization, which was the European Community's network surveillance.

Jefferson had never expected things to turn out this way; his expression was a mix of dismay and blankness…

Does this mean Europe can solve this problem?
So what exactly did I do?
Before he could finish his internal struggle, a holographic projection of the network surveillance headquarters appeared in the conference room.

"back to normal?"

The young man standing in front of the collector reached out and patted something. Seeing that the screen was normal, he took a few steps back and revealed the clearly seated senior executives of the network surveillance headquarters, all with indifferent faces.

Who is in charge of the City Hall in Night City?

The speaker was somewhat difficult to see due to signal interference; it's remarkable that they were able to maintain a signal connection in such a chaotic network area.

The person on the other end seemed not to have found the mayor of Night City, and simply asked in a calm tone.

"The mayor has been assassinated, and the entire Night City government is now involved in the decision-making process."

Jefferson spoke calmly.

never mind…

If the Europeans can put an end to this mess, he'll have to figure out what to do next. As long as the city exists, Jefferson can afford the consequences of his choices.

Even if the dreamer threatens him with the promise of assassinating the mayor, he doesn't care; he doesn't want Night City to become a dead city.

"Oh, is it so?"

The other side quickly got straight to the point, as if the death of the mayor of Night City was no big deal.

"We initially estimated that this cyberattack would wipe out more than half of Night City's population, but currently—"

"Fuck you Europeans! Your cyber surveillance system is giving the company a backdoor? Now that things have blown up, you still have the nerve to say you expect half of your staff to die, and you're not going to clean up the mess for your branch, are you?"

Jefferson turned his head and glanced at it.

I didn't expect it to be the councilor who lived close to the company; perhaps the death toll was just too real.

Add to that the long-suppressed emotions within Night City, and the fact that the higher-ups in the internet surveillance system spoke in this tone…

Jefferson lowered his head slightly.

In fact, he wanted to ask that question too.

"so?"

Just as the congressman's chest heaved and everyone was hoping for a solution, the head of the internet censors said something in return, asking a question.

"The Black Wall cannot be allowed to have any problems. We will clean up the entire Night City Internet Surveillance Division, and the International Court of Justice can also try them."

"Fortunately, the Night City zone is very small."

"We are here to inform you that the Night City network zone has been fragmented and reordered... It will be merged into the old network along with the Black Wall hole, and will be processed by us for network migration according to the purchase price from European suppliers..."

Jefferson had already realized the problem.

"What do you mean?"

"The meaning is simple: you spend money, we provide manpower and resources. It's a certainty that only a portion of Night City's population will survive, and we have no way to deal with such a large hole."

"Furthermore, we discovered that the branch manager of Night City's cyber surveillance accepted a large amount of bribes from the company, and companies that disregard the Night City Stability Agreement bear an undeniable responsibility—so I ask you all, who is instigating this cyberwar?"

Jefferson sighed deeply.

"There's a company in Night City that can temporarily shut down the Night City network. We believe they can threaten our data. Besides, the new US president has also fallen into this area. Shouldn't we sit down for a cup of tea instead of having some friction?"

"We are aware of these problems..."

"But the premise is that you are the culprits who caused this, and do as we say."

Jefferson paused for a moment, glanced at the reactions of those around him, and seeing that no one intended to speak, asked, "Who can live?"

The man sitting to the side of the network monitor chuckled, "The company knows who gets to live."

Jefferson's fist clenched suddenly.

"Anything that can create value, a gang, or anything else, is acceptable, as long as they can afford to pay. Internet surveillance is not a charity; anyone who can afford to pay can survive."

“European network equipment can bypass the Great Firewall and abolish the entire network. You will have brand new network zones to use, subject to our supervision, and you will no longer need to go around the censorship as before.”

"The price is 5,000 euros per person, including brain-computer interface surgery and equipment relocation—"

Jefferson felt a buzzing in his head…

Human life and trade are blatantly linked, and Europeans are using this opportunity to turn Night City into their outpost. This kind of behavior infuriates most people in Night City's municipal government.

However, this was not the only thing that enraged Jefferson. Beneath the hypocritical smile on the face of the man who was talking about the "contract details" lay an extremely shrewd calculation.

"In addition, several companies from Night City also attended the meeting. We have a one-way connection, and they all agreed to the proposal. However, I want to specifically mention Arasaka. They seem to be uncooperative. The citizens of Night City are aware of all this, which has saved you a lot of trouble, hasn't it?"

"Are you treating the City Hall of Night like a puppet?"

Jefferson glared at those guys.

A senior official from the internet censorship department responded, "Internet censorship can bring order to this place. During company conferences, the world is orderly, and there are fewer dangerous criminal activities online. But your freedom makes the internet increasingly dangerous. We are just providing order."

"You don't have to accept it, but you should ask for other people's opinions, and the company's..."

"Be smart, Jefferson."

Jefferson listened to the barbed and threatening words from the other end of the line... He lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought, and after a long while, he let out a sneer.

The whispers were clearly audible.

"Five thousand euros is the annual income of an average family in Night City. One person can live on that."

"The company extracts savings from every individual, starts cyberwars, and now the citizens have to foot the bill? You bunch of..."

Jefferson clenched his fists.

He knew that once some words were spoken, there was no going back.

But his conscience could not bear such torment, even though he had once accepted the plan that only a portion of the people could survive.

"Bastard."

"what?"

They seemed surprised that a councilor from Night City who was in charge would use such an offensive title.

They knew what Night City was like, but they pretended not to hear and showed utter contempt. Whoosh!

A chair was pulled out of the way, and Jefferson, who was about to continue cursing these greedy Europeans, heard everyone stand up.

The outside world has changed. The Internet Surveillance Headquarters spent a lot of effort to repair Night City's network just to seize some profits, but the Dreamers also made perfect use of this opportunity!

In the deluge of data, those AI systems that stood like towering peaks were brought down one by one by the barrage of data. People once thought it was a cybercrime attack, but now it seems that wasn't the case...

"Congressman!"

"Look!"

The internet monitors were also looking down, asking if AI hunters from other networks had entered the Night City network in groups.

Even those high-and-mighty European gentlemen couldn't help but stand up.

The network surveillance system, which has dominated the internet for decades, has the world's best network analysis department. They observe the data flow patterns of attack AI, and what seem like small disruption programs contain computational power close to that of super servers.

"Is AI attacking AI?"

They can only submit reports like this.

"wrong…"

"There are still several hackers in Night City connected."

"What about the username with the highest data throughput?"

The senior internet monitoring officials frowned.

Well-known hackers from all over the world have their names on the internet monitoring system. Logically, they shouldn't act like this and embarrass the system. If they find out who this guy is—

The internet regulators won't let this guy get away with it.

however…

When the top analysis department listed this user among the few hackers on the Night City network in the data provided, the network monitors all felt as if they had been slapped in the face.

[Regular User]...

Yes.

That's his nickname.

Meanwhile, a hacker named V, who had close contact with the Black Wall's data, was also discovered by the internet monitoring authorities.

"Go."

With just a glance from the higher-ups, anyone who dares to smear the black wall in front of everyone and slap the internet regulators in the face, as well as any ordinary user, will be forcibly kicked out. That's the rule.

It's perfectly reasonable for the first person to try something new to set the rules.

only…

Can the internet censors really take action?

……

Deep within the public network of Night City, where sub-level AIs resided, Lin Yue, slightly out of breath, was completely unaware that millions of people were watching him hunt down AIs. After all, information was scarce, and he hadn't even managed to contact Emma.

However, Lin Yue just sensed a sudden burst of energy in the stagnant network area. He saw a surge of data coming in from the outside, and Ott bluntly explained that this was the European network's network surveillance taking action—

Lin Yue, who thought he could retreat and rest, never expected that the internet police would say such a thing. At least... Lin Yue thought that the internet police, who had maintained the network for so many years, would be afraid of the cost of millions of deaths. However, he did not expect that it was a complete calculation, and that it was an opportunistic act that took all the content into account.

It's unclear whether it was a coincidence or instructed by internet regulators.

Apart from companies like Kangtao, Arasaka, and Kijiro, the remaining companies announced that they would purchase so-called European standard-compliant network equipment at low prices, and even started a so-called brain-computer interface restructuring project, claiming to cooperate deeply with the Internet monitoring authorities in order to win a quota.

In just half an hour, all the companies had come up with ways to extract bone marrow from the company.

Lin Yue has already hunted down no fewer than a dozen AIs!

At this moment, it felt no different than swallowing a fly. Lin Yue wasn't afraid that no one would know he had saved the internet; he was afraid of such a meaningless rescue. The internet police had long since become mortal enemies in Lin Yue's eyes. Perhaps it was time to bring out that plan?

However, just as Lin Yue dodged to the side, compressed a sub-level AI, and quickly altered its data to destroy it, two messages came through the temporarily restored network.

They belong to Emma and Gloria respectively.

"Damn... uh, hello? The network seems to be back up?"

Emma's impatient voice came through, and Lin Yue hurriedly traced the data stream to its source, confirming that this audacious woman was connecting to the network and attempting to communicate with him...

"What are you doing? Didn't I tell you to retreat to Badlands? Forget about Pacifica or Dogtown—"

However, Emma unusually interrupted Lin Yue.

“No, without Taipingzhou and the people who live there, we will have nothing.”

"I've already sent Suzuki and two girls from the cyber department to lead teams to the border between Pacifica and Night City. Night City will pay the price for their actions online, starting with Haywood... Don't worry, this territory and port are so big, we're definitely going to take it!"

"But... what worries me is why you can't stop the internet zone?"

Lin Yue then said, "I'm not entirely sure. I have a feeling that the underlying network code here has been tampered with, but I haven't finished cleaning up these AIs yet. Listen to me... log out of the network first."

Emma shook her head in refusal.

“V is helping you, and so am I. Our people will only go for it if they see that I, the person in charge of the company, am not afraid to die. Do you want the ‘Hope Building’ that we have built to disappear?”

"But whether the network stops or not doesn't matter anymore. Night City is watching you. The mayor is dead, and there will always be people who want to climb up. So I made a small deal... but the condition is that you have to work hard, darling."

Listening to the woman making witty remarks, Lin Yue was momentarily confused about what the so-called transaction was.

"Get out of Night City, cyber police. Half of the network area is ours. You can bypass cyber police in the future to avoid being unable to withdraw from European cyber operations if you fail. There are too many other benefits, but they are all what you want."

"Jefferson isn't a fool; he's already thrown the mask on."

Lin Yue was taken aback. He hadn't expected Emma to have already considered all of this and to be so confident that he could get this benefit.

Unconditional trust has always been her trump card.

"You've worked hard... Since you're willing to put in the effort, you've come to the right person."

Lin Yue casually dodged an all-out attack from the AI, then stared at the dense swarm of creatures that were already trying to bypass him and attack the V in the black wall. "Come on, give it a try!"

Emma simply smiled, unusually refraining from any flirtatious remarks, and simply instructed, "Just do your best, and tell Miss V to be careful."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Yue's cybernetic avatar flashed several times, blocking the charging Cyclops. Although the two were vastly different in size, the sesame-seed-like creature was met with a solid, data-fortress-like shell that firmly held back the rampaging AI. At the same time, Lin Yue sensed the chaotic data within the creature—

"Want to sacrifice yourself for an explosion?"

These AIs behave in bizarre ways. Sometimes they are willing to sacrifice themselves for data, and sometimes they can kill each other for the sake of iteration. From a human perspective, death means losing everything, but any decision that an AI makes to devour data—even if it dies—is within acceptable limits.

No, Lin Yue felt that this method of sneak attack and obstruction was no longer feasible. Instead, looking at the surging data chaos beneath his feet, he suddenly expanded his body, intending to withstand the impact of these guys head-on!
"Emma! You can do whatever you want!"

Lin Yue stared intently at the AI ​​in front of him, whose mouth was constantly spewing out data magma and roaring at him. "Trust me, that's the right thing to do."

With Lin Yue's approval, Emma immediately switched to the network monitoring line exposed on the internet. She received an email from Gloria forwarded by Lin Yue: "I don't have the extra energy to recover this data, please keep it for me!"

At that moment, Emma spoke up.

Just as this situation was unfolding on the network, the meeting of the network monitors in Night City's cyber network was cut off. This is the advantage of local enterprises. Brandon only needed to use a little trick to spread Emma's image throughout the entire network devices of Night City, something even the company could not do... After all, all their hackers were offline, except for Arasaka's V.

As for the others that haven't gone offline, they're just a few thieves trapped in a data fortress, unable to move forward or backward.

On the streets, the neon lights flashing on skyscrapers, television stations broadcasting news, mobile phones, personal PCs, company conference room projections, city hall conference table screens... even some fast food restaurant signs were all caught in a screen flickering mess.

"What the hell? Did those idiots in Night City not fix the internet?"

Some residents didn't understand the so-called meeting at all. The truly desperate ones were the ordinary people who knew all this but had no choice but to struggle in the city. In other words, most people were like that.

"Still don't understand? If you want to live without your brain being burned through, you have to pay money."

"Business is on the line!"

However, the discussion and speculation among the citizens of Night City did not last long before the screen was quickly replaced.

"Hello everyone, this is Dreamers."

A woman with slightly disheveled hair but impeccable makeup appeared on the screen, speaking in a calm tone.

"The culprits behind the internet company wars, the destabilizing factor in Night City—yes, it's us—"

The city of Night was in an uproar.

The long-standing and deeply ingrained brainwashing has instilled fear in the citizens of Night City of this "brutal" company, just like in Dogville. To everyone, it feels as if Night City has been kidnapped and the entire city is running around with a bomb in its hands.

However, amidst the various crowds on city advertising screens, neon signs, and in front of family television sets, occasional sighs and panicked cries could be heard; the cyber killings had not stopped, and the network collapse of Night City continued…

"Let me be clear: you were sold to the company for five thousand euros per person. Perhaps someone is dying right now, and you may be crying while holding the body of a family member. All of this is thanks to the network surveillance you trusted, the so-called maintainers of order."

"But the Dreamers and Taipingzhou won't stand for it. Our cyber weapons are still fighting in the cyber zone to make up for the breaches in the Great Firewall caused by cyber surveillance and major companies!"

The European headquarters of the cyber surveillance agency is frantically searching for a way to get rid of Emma.

However, they were like zombies in the network, only able to stare helplessly, because Ultraman blocked the data streams that attempted to tamper with the signals from the black wall.

However, public suspicion couldn't be so easily dispelled. At this critical juncture, Night City officials released details of a "survival package" involving European internet surveillance and various companies. The internet surveillance agencies immediately realized that Night City had partnered with these companies to defuse the surveillance's aggressive intrusion.

It seems they underestimated their opponent, which led to their misstep.

The curses of the crowd were like a raging sea. Although the city was still filled with chaotic noise and piercing air raid sirens, more and more people began to turn back from the border of Night City, intending to storm the company buildings. Finally, clashes broke out between NCPD riot police and Night City citizens on the streets.

"boom!"

The eerie explosion didn't originate from anywhere; rather, it was the result of the data fragmentation caused by the violent impact on cyberspace for everyone who had undergone brain-computer interface modifications.

Above the sky, a humanoid figure, seemingly supporting the heavens, silently watched the AI ​​dragons from before the crumbling walls—

Emma's voice lingered around the residents, whose heads were spinning slightly.

"Europeans and companies want you to spend money to buy your own lives, while dreamers want you to not spend a penny."

All eyes were focused on the shadow that was holding back the onslaught of AI. In the cyber network… it seemed there really was something fighting against AI?!
The city hall of Night City immediately erupted in chaos.

The members of parliament, utterly helpless, had just reluctantly released the Europeans' conditions, only to find that the dreamer was spouting nonsense across the entire internet…

Everyone was cursing, angry, or contemptuous.

Only Jefferson's team stared intently at the holographic data above Night City...

Is Emma bluffing? Or does this company, which isn't exactly a global giant, really possess cyber weapons that even internet regulators can't match?
Emma opened her arms.

"Our demands are simple: to restore order to Night City. Furthermore, I invite you all—"

"Watch how we eliminate destabilizing factors on the internet."

"Stop the collapse of the Black Wall!"

Emma had barely finished speaking.

In Night City, some people were paying attention, some were only focused on the present, and others didn't understand what was going on, thinking they were watching a large-scale holographic mewtwo... The only thing they had in common was that they all stopped what they were doing, and even the protesters who were grappling with the NCPD riot police gradually lowered their Molotov cocktails.

Just when the world was completely silent.

A series of thunderous booms, like heavy hammer blows, resounded. The AI, which was several times larger than the giant in the data traces, was pushed back by the thing's two hands. Many of them huddled together. Whether it was an illusion or not, they seemed to hear the world roaring!

The pace quickened, the rumbling grew more frequent—

Everyone's hearts were pounding faster and faster, like the sound of a bell being struck repeatedly!
Until those things were crammed together, the so-called Dreamer Cyber ​​Weapon, with its disproportionately large arms, forcibly compressed the indistinguishable AI in front of it inward.

"Is this fucking real?"

"Depend on!"

The top brass of the European Directorate-General for Internet Surveillance nearly had their eyes pop out.

The public can see it more clearly with their naked eyes; it seems that the thing can withstand the mobile AI!

Under Emma's watchful gaze, the massive data mass, pressed down hard by her arm, began to collapse, compressing to its limit along with the tense hearts of everyone present. Then—

This super-compressed program file, which no entity or individual can currently decipher, was thus delivered to the data fortress of the internet surveillance authorities!
What kind of explosion was that?
The internet was as if a storm was rapidly sweeping through, while in the real world, data traces flickered and changed, and everyone's ears were filled with a muffled thunderous roar!

rumble!

As the data shattered, a spectacle reminiscent of the electronic cherry blossom rain falling on the entire Night City, similar to that of the Japanese streets…

The phantom simply looked down at the land.

"That's a miracle."

This is what Emma, ​​the visionary leader, said.

……

……

(End of this chapter)