Cyberpunk: Starting in 2071

Chapter 12 is wrong, very wrong!
In the time that followed, Mercer diligently transformed into a coder.

During the day, I spend my time in cyberspace exploiting the resources of the Arasaka server, writing programs, running data, and conducting tests.

After work, I continue to take advantage of the freebies offered by Arasaka Education Software, learning all sorts of technologies.

At first, the other junior hackers were a little uneasy.

But every time Mercer entered cyberspace, he would lie down on the ground and then start writing programs and doing research without restraint.

The other junior hackers finally felt relieved and began to study hacking techniques in a similar manner.

Deep diving, supported by large servers, is a dream come true for hackers, offering a wonderful opportunity to quickly improve their hacking skills.

With the support of computing power, programs that used to take a long time to develop and test can now be developed and tested at an extremely fast speed, without the worry of overheating.

And Mercer was by their side—it was during this time that these young hackers finally understood just how talented Mercer really was.

The difficulties that baffled them were nothing to Mercer; he could point out five or six areas for optimization in the program they had painstakingly written.

You can ask Mercer any questions you don't understand or lack technical knowledge about. Even if Mercer hasn't learned something, you can find a solution by analogy.

Since entering this underground facility to start mining, the junior hackers, who had made almost no technological progress, were experiencing a long-lost feeling of what they had felt when they were studying at Arasaka Academy.

The roaming AIs that had previously caused unease seemed to have all vanished.

Even those dangerous red programs that roam the old network seem to deliberately avoid Mercer. Even if some unintelligent dangerous programs drift by, they become Mercer's targets.

He would even occasionally take the initiative to find some data wandering on the old network for testing, according to him, to test some virus puppet attacks.

Sometimes, it involves trying to extract certain code features and attempting to forge programs from the old network—this is so that, if necessary, the disguised old network AI can be used to induce the Great Firewall to launch a devastating attack.

They even occasionally dabble in their old ways, which is extracting scattered data from the old network, commonly known as cyber archaeology mining.

Believe it or not, there are quite a few good things in the old network. A lot of the data left over from the old network are treasures stored by various companies back then.

For example, weapon design blueprints, code for certain AI designs, or even text containing company secrets.

Some of these weapon technology blueprints are even comparable to current technology!

No wonder Arasaka came up with this 'Project Star,' sending people in to mine data; it really is profitable.

In Mercer's view, the risks and rewards of using ordinary hackers to do this kind of thing are completely disproportionate.

But he's different. With the kitten Barthemos gave him, any slightly intelligent wandering AI will run away at the scent, while those without brains will come over...
Believe it or not, Mercer has become bolder now and actually encountered one, testing just how destructive his 'death wish' really is against a mature AI.

Although it was designed to counter defensive AI, Mercer understood its nature after a closer look.

There's no such thing as a difference between defensive and offensive AI; AI is just AI.

If an AI can kill a firewall-type AI, it can kill other types of AI; the only difference lies in efficiency and speed.

It's like a missile used for siege warfare. It may not be as effective and accurate as hitting a stationary target when hitting a moving target, but if it hits, you're still going to die anyway, and it might even be more effective in causing more damage.

What's truly terrifying about roaming AI is that if they can't win a fight, they can just run away; the speed at which AI can escape is far beyond human imagination.

The more Mercer researched AI, the more he felt the limitations of humanity in certain aspects. Even with the help of large servers, the effective operations that the human brain can perform per unit of time are limited.

AI is different; its computing speed depends solely on computing power.

In other words, if humans, supported by computing power, could accelerate their thinking in cyberspace and make one hundred judgments and actions per second.

With the same computing power, AI can make judgments and perform operations a thousand times, ten thousand times, or even a hundred thousand or a million times.

This is the limitation of the human brain. Unless we completely abandon the brain, use data to support our thinking, and completely replace the human brain with computing power for calculations—which is also the current situation of Bartmores and his group.

Otherwise, AI still has a huge advantage over humans online.

The only thing capable of killing them is a program that also possesses AI characteristics.

Meanwhile, Mercer was diligently exploiting loopholes and studying hard.

Also located in the facility, Ena Tano, the newly appointed director who had initially made grand pronouncements about launching the second phase of the 'Star Project,' now looked rather displeased.

"why?"

At this moment, Ena Tano stood behind the network technology team and the monitoring team, her brows furrowed in annoyance.
"Didn't they say that the frequency of AI attacks was increasing?"
Why is it that now, even when we specifically search for AI, and even stay on the same IP address on old networks for extended periods, no AI is appearing?

"Could this be related to the ICE set up by the Guardians?"

Some technicians speculated:

"Many of those mobile AIs are highly intelligent. After discovering the ICE guardian on our hackers, they may think it's a trap, so they are still observing."

"So, the ICE we set up for them, the Guardian subroutine server we specifically brought, has become an obstacle for us?"

Ena Tano frowned.

The technical team leader shook his head and said:
"You may not know much about AI. Generally speaking, the wandering AI that actively attacks human hackers is the batch of AI that was most corrupted by Bartmouth back then."

Their core logic will not allow them to abandon their targets. No matter how difficult the opponent, those AIs will only think about how to kill the target, and will not consider retreating.

In a sense, the ICE systems we deployed from Arasaka Corporation were actually the largest targets that the AIs preferred to attack.

so.
I'm more inclined to believe that the hacker who attacked and caused the server crash was most likely Ott Cunningham, as for the male AI...
We hope he is Bartmore.

But since the end of the fourth corporate war, there has never been any eyewitness account of him on the internet to prove his existence.

Therefore, we are more inclined to believe that it is an unknown AI created or enslaved by Ultraman in the Old Web.

"I just want the results. How exactly do I lure out those AIs?"
Even without Ultraman, there should at least be some presentable results to report!

Even if I just captured some random wandering AI, I can go back and report.

As soon as Ena Tano finished speaking, the technical team leader looked troubled.

He could only answer cautiously in the end:

"Perhaps we should continue with the first phase of the mission."
Perhaps the act of mining data will elicit a reaction from those wandering AIs?
The data unearthed can also be considered a project outcome; if important information is discovered, it will be considered a contribution.

"Where is that boy named Mercer?"

Ena Tano said coldly, "After such a long period of surveillance, have you found out what the AI ​​left behind when he interacted with it?"

"We are truly sorry! We can only speculate that he may have received some kind of consciousness, but we don't know exactly what that AI transmitted through our server or where it was transmitted to."
I understand. I will continue to observe Mercer further. I request that he undergo a more rigorous examination, including a device test in the real world.

Furthermore, a data check will also be conducted in cyberspace; the former will be handled by Dr. Oda, while I will personally conduct the latter via deep-sea diving.

Before Ena Tano's icy gaze could fall upon him, the technical team leader gave his answer. Ena then looked away, pondered for a moment, and said, "However, let's examine the prosthetic body first. After the examination, have Dr. Oda report to me privately."

Data verification in cyberspace is mandatory; you must go in person.

Also, for the subsequent deep dives, you'll have someone take them in, with the aim of actively seeking out AI. I'll have the Guardian AI enhance its computing power.

You should go and check for any errors yourself.

If there is no income within this month
This suggests that the AI ​​we encountered before is unlikely to return, and that the AI ​​attack must have had a deeper reason.

Then let's focus on the data that caused the server overload when the AI ​​appeared last time.

Damn it, I've mined so many Relics! Do you know how much a single Relic costs?

The technical team leader could only bow repeatedly and admit his mistake.

After watching the monitor screen one last time, Ena Tano let out a long sigh, shook her head, returned to her office, and dialed Dr. Oda's number.

"Director Tianye, what are your instructions?"

A virtual half-body image of Dr. Oda appeared in her psychic eyes.

Tano Ena said coldly:
"After today's deep dive, we'll immediately take Mercer for a full-body prosthetic examination, including both the software and hardware aspects, as well as the recovery status of his brain nerves."

If we can confirm that he is that rare type, I will transfer that batch of experimental prosthetic bodies over.

You need to record the data in advance and submit it to me.

If things don't go well, revert Project Stardust back to Phase One, then prepare to scrap the project and focus on Mercer.

If he can successfully manage these test subjects, I'll have discovered talent for the company and obtained valuable experimental data.

"Understood." After Dr. Oda replied, Ena Tano hung up the phone.

After she hung up the phone, she fell into deep thought.

Something's wrong. Something's very wrong.
Ever since she arrived here, this sense of unease has lingered in her mind. What exactly is wrong?

After much deliberation, Ena Tano finally set her sights on Mercer.

The more she thought about him, the more she felt that this guy was very strange. At first, she thought that Mercer's simple personality might have changed after he had gone through a life-or-death experience.

This is perfectly normal for a small child.

Whether he collapses into despair or awakens to new life after a period of devastation, these are both very likely things to happen at his age.

But now it seems... could it be?!

So she immediately sent a message.

[Tanno Ena: Have the staff responsible for monitoring and recording this group of hackers send me Mercer's assessment report, detailed action logs, and daily record assessments.]

Remember, what I want is every single day!

[Secretary Inoue: I'm sorry, Director Tano, but the person who was in charge of taking notes was a close associate of the former director, and they took all the notes with them when they left.]

Ena Tano: Then have him send it back to me!
Bagaya Road!
Is a work log something he can take away? Why wasn't this reported before?

Ena Tano slammed her hand on the table in anger and, without saying a word, immediately began applying to go through the internal procedures of Arasaka—was she trying to annoy her?

Then die!

That bastard might have discovered something before taking it away.
Damn it, is there some kind of trap I don't know about here?
Ena Tano became increasingly anxious as she thought about it, and then simply gave the order directly.

[Tanno Ena: Immediately stop the deep dive, and all personnel who remained at the base on the day of the accident must undergo a check of their prosthetic equipment!]
Not a single fly can escape until the investigation is complete! Make the medical team work overtime!

[Secretary Inoue: Yes!]

[All personnel halt deep-sea diving and return immediately!]

The moment the information was transmitted through his retina, the hackers gathered around Mercer in cyberspace all showed uneasy expressions.

After a brief moment of thought, Mercer said directly:

"I'm sending you a program that can be used to crack lie detector chips, but it must be run before the chip is loaded. Remember that!"

If you encounter an interrogation situation, just follow the procedure and don't say anything you shouldn't; there's no need to be nervous.

But if there's a situation where the network receiver needs to be removed, immediately send me an encrypted message, and our escape plan will be implemented immediately!

I will first use the network to release the Puppet Virus to attack the server's guardian AI. After causing panic, everyone will immediately find a safe place to hide or delay.

Once I get back, take down the server, and deal with the agents and surveillance personnel, we'll proceed with the operation. After confirming that security has been lifted, I'll use the cameras to plan your evacuation route.

We don't need to worry about other situations.

We've completed the cybernetics hacking and log spoofing these past few days; they won't be able to detect it. Just trust my skills.

After saying that, Mercer immediately logged off, and the others exchanged glances and also logged off immediately.

Upon opening their eyes, they were greeted by Agent Arasaka, a very tall man covered in prosthetics.

"Please explain why your offline time is 7.3 seconds later than usual."

"When the alarm suddenly went off, we instinctively activated the Guardian ICE first, then passed through the black wall one by one. After confirming that it was safe, we all logged off, which caused the delay."

Mercer explained calmly, while Agent Arasaka's tactical goggles flashed a cold red light before he coldly glanced at the others.

"Kyoko Tamura, please explain immediately why your heart rate has suddenly increased and your nerve activity is abnormal."

"I'm scared."

Kyoko lowered her head with a somewhat uneasy expression: "You...you're a little scary."

Agent Arasaka's lips twitched slightly for a moment, but then he just stared at her coldly: "Very well, I will personally take charge of your review—everyone, proceed in formation for prosthetic examination and re-interrogation."

However, before they could speak, suddenly, a junior hacker raised his hand.

"I want to report this!"

In an instant, it seemed as if even the oxygen in the room had thinned out.

(End of this chapter)