Cyberpunk: Starting in 2071

Chapter 46 Deep Dive: Researching AI
"Are you sure? You've been out all day. How about we talk about it tomorrow morning?"

Lucy looked at Mercer with some concern beside the brand-new hacker chair.

Mercer, now equipped with a brand-new hacker client, was excitedly checking the hacker chair program on his new laptop.

"Lucy, don't you want to dive deep into Night City's cyberspace?"

Mercer's expression was as innocent as that of a child who had just received a new toy.

Lucy hesitated for a moment, but finally said, "Then I'll sleep in your room tonight and keep an eye on you. I figure you'll be sitting in that chair all night anyway."

Deep diving is a dangerous activity; once a hacker has fully dived into the deepest part of the world, they almost lose all awareness of the real world.

Moreover, if he encounters danger, someone needs to disconnect him; otherwise, he might not have time to log out and could very well have his head burned out on the chair before he can escape.

While emergency disconnection also carries risks, deep diving is different from uploading consciousness into the cyber world. As long as the connection to the hacker chair is broken, the worst that can happen is that the chair will be burned out.

Many hackers don't actually die in cyberspace.

Instead, after being attacked in cyberspace, his brain was impacted and he fell into a coma. Even though the hacker chair had automatically disconnected for protection, no one noticed the anomaly and no one could provide him with emergency care. In the end, he could only wait for brain death to arrive.

"Uh, that works too."

Mercer thought about it and didn't refuse. This hacker chair was quite comfortable to lie on, much more comfortable than the lousy mattress Adcard had arranged in the tent.

He ran the program one last time to remove the backdoor program left by Zeta Technology.

"These big companies are like leeches that can't change their ways. It's one thing for their computers to have backdoors, but their hacker chairs have backdoors too, and even their hacker client software and CPU coolers have hidden backdoor programs."

Mercer grumbled as he shared the program he had found with Lucy:
"Look at this, they even dare to explicitly state in the user agreement that they will collect customer information and you can't use the service if you don't agree to the agreement."

After removing the backdoor, even the warranty was void. They're like a bunch of parasites, trying every possible way to crawl into your brain.

Lucy just smiled and leaned against the mattress, watching him fiddle with these things: "But they still can't escape your eyes."

"Definitely, no matter how skilled their programmers are, they can't outdo my guy."

Mercer finished speaking with a smile, then looked at her apologetically: "However, your new hacking equipment will have to wait a while. These things are much more expensive than I thought."

"It's okay, I don't want to go deep diving anytime soon. Aren't you even a little bit traumatized?"

Lucy sighed, to be honest, she was now afraid of the hacker chair: "I think buying me a deep-sea diving capsule would be fine, the kind with ice cubes, maybe that would make me feel better."

Mercer just smiled at her and said, "Then you'll have to go in naked—don't forget we'll be spending time together afterwards."

"You don't think I'd care about something like that, do you?" Lucy seemed very calm, but the tips of her ears were slightly red.

She really hadn't expected this.

"Those cheap stuff with ice is useless except for being cheap. If the hacker chair doesn't work, there's always the advanced infiltration pod. Although it looks like a big refrigerator, it's still better than lying in ice water."

Mercer said, but did not insist. He simply said, "It's okay, Lucy. Even if you want to dive deep before you're ready, I won't agree."

Today's cyberspace is a stage only for geniuses. Not only are there organizations like the Internet Police monitoring Night City's network 24/7, but major companies also have people monitoring the network.

There are also many idiots like the Voodoo Gang who like to wait for newcomers to appear in Night City's network and then engage in cyber extortion.

"Yes, and even New America. Believe me, although the FIA ​​has officially withdrawn from Night City, there are definitely people watching Night City's network."

As Mercer spoke, he remembered a woman.

Lark.

A rising star under the new president of the new America, Myers, a brilliant hacker with exceptional talent, and also a pitiful bird in a cage.

She is probably still in the early stages of being transformed into a cyber nuclear bomb, and it's unknown whether she is the one in the FIA ​​responsible for monitoring Night City's network.

Mercer's eyes suddenly lit up with excitement—if only it were her! He was genuinely curious to see who was stronger, himself or the top hacker under the new US president.

After setting up the hacker chair and checking all the hardware and software, Mercer quickly lay down on it.

"Lucy, help me plug in the cable."

Lucy could only sigh, pick up the cooling cable for him, plug it in, connect the hacker chair and the hacker client, and then plug the data cable from the back of the hacker chair directly into the interface at the back of his head.

Mercer immediately took a deep, comfortable breath: "It feels so good to have computing power back. My brain feels so relaxed."

“You’re the kind of person who’s addicted to the internet,” Lucy said irritably. “Don’t become one of those people who’s so addicted that they’re lying in a chair 24/7.”

"You don't understand how it feels for a genius like me. It's like my brain has been stripped of its heavy clothes. I feel incredibly active right now, like I'm swimming in network data."

Mercer was intoxicated.

Lucy's attitude remained lukewarm: "Isn't that right? Your temperature rose by one degree as soon as the wire was plugged in. Be careful not to overheat your brain again. We don't even know if the Relic chip is reliable."

"Oh, right, remember to retrieve all of Dadi's chips, and those two Relics who still have the Soul Killer program must be kept safe with them at all times."

This chip has great potential. Once I figure it out, I might discover other ingenious uses. Exposing this thing would be very risky.

Mercer paused as he spoke, then said, "I plan to retrieve Earth and Lyon's chips and give them to the new members of the team later."

The Relic chip is not only a repair device; it also has a large amount of memory and a very advanced micro-CPU to ensure the operation of the programs inside.

With a few minor modifications, it becomes a top-tier ICE plugin, and I'm not afraid of messing things up for them.

Moreover, the biggest advantage of this chip is that it can share data. I can use the network chip to see the world through your eyes and feel everything you feel.

Of course, the main purpose is to provide you with assistance. I can establish a network connection with you through the Relic chip, which is much more stable than a regular network connection, and the Relic chip can also…

Seeing Mercer start talking about chips again, Lucy sighed, "It's too complicated, I don't want to listen. So, are you still going to dive deeper?"

“Dive.” Mercer curled his lip. “Fine, don’t listen then. I don’t usually tell these secrets to just anyone.” Lucy smiled, watched them close their eyes, and then the indicator light on the hacker chair lit up.

She gently patted Mercer's arm: "Mercury? Can you hear me?"

"I can, but it might not be possible if I get busy. You'd better communicate with me online."

Mercer spoke incoherently, as if he were talking in his sleep.

Lucy was relieved; it seemed the deep dive went smoothly.

She stopped talking to Mercer and instead lay quietly on the bed, browsing the web on her laptop.

The only sound in the room was the hum of the radiator, but Lucy didn't find it noisy. She simply enjoyed the quiet moment, occasionally glancing at the control panel of her hacker chair.

Meanwhile, Mercer was already excitedly having a blast on Night City's network.

These are cities made up of blue data.

At this moment, Mercer has changed into an outfit similar to that of Alex, the protagonist of Prototype, and is also wearing a smiling face mask of the Legion from the game Dead by Daylight, as he strolls through this metropolis made of data.

Each data-driven structure is essentially a network of servers of varying sizes; some resemble skyscrapers, while others look like a cluster of square data blocks.

Mercer strolled freely among them, while on his shoulder, 'Death Wish,' which he hadn't released for a long time, still sat obediently as a hairless cat.

Because the Death Wish program requires a lot of computing power to run, even just activating it is a burden on Mercer's brain's computing power, so he usually shuts the program down by default.

Only when connected to the hacker chair does he have enough extra computing power for the AI—and he prefers it that way.

To be honest, he didn't feel safe letting a program with AI, which he didn't even understand, run using the computing power of his brain.

"let me see.
This is a biotechnology server, and the one with the new American flag is... well, it's definitely from the military.

Is this from Zeta Technology? Wow, Compo's servers have a pretty unique design, with two stone lions guarding the entrance.

Mercer walked casually through the network data, commenting on one dazzlingly massive data entity after another.

These seemingly massive data volumes are often not actually the real server, but rather a disguise. The real core server data is buried deep within this complex dataset.

Some of this data is generated when employees connect to the internet, some is bait set up by an ICE program, and some symbolizes some of the company's external network data.

For example, data from official websites and other complex data are all combined in an abstract form.

Mercer didn't want to get too close; he was simply analyzing the other party's structure and server ICE architecture from a data perspective.

And often only the databases of large companies have an attractive appearance—meaning that hackers have deliberately modified them to showcase the company's strength in cyberspace.

Other fragmented data volumes, such as servers in bars and hotels, generally resemble cubes pieced together from various data, as long as they are connected to the public network.

Mercer wandered around and even spotted a few hackers active in cyberspace.

These hackers are usually very cautious. When they see Mercer's unfamiliar face, they immediately switch IPs and run away instead of making contact.

The reason is simple: Mercer's appearance looks too 'human-like'.

In cyberspace, the more details you reveal, the more computing power you have, and the more data your brain can control.

Mercer not only has meticulously detailed clothing, but also a somewhat frightening-looking smiling mask, and carries a cat that looks very 'intelligent' on his shoulder.
Compared to those hackers who sometimes only appear as a mosaic of data, Mercer's outfit is practically a blatant declaration to everyone: I'm awesome.

Mercer wasn't in a hurry to deal with this bunch of scoundrels. While 'traveling' in the cyber world, he was also working at high speed, trying to analyze the composition of the data.

When he had had enough fun, he switched to a server node and hacked into it—only after entering did he realize that it was a server belonging to a black market store.

Mercer didn't care. He was just using the other party's server's computing power to test the program and, incidentally, to use the computer as a botnet, or a stepping stone.

When someone queries the source of his data, they will only find the IP address of this server first, and that is sufficient.

Mercer began using the sex shop's server to research Death Wish.

Test and observe the data changes of Death Wish during attacks, the operation of the core code, and the way the AI ​​works, etc.

The more Mercer studied it, the more terrifyingly powerful the Death Wish program seemed.

Bartholomew was indeed a genius.

Despite its small size, Death Wish contains the core code of dozens of different types of programs. Rather than a single program, it is more like an arsenal of core code.

The core of using these weapons is AI—AI can determine the opponent's form and then freely use a certain core code to immediately construct the corresponding program.

Then, in milliseconds, based on the opponent's weaknesses, new programs are continuously generated from the core code, and these 'customized weapons' are used to ruthlessly tear apart all of the opponent's defenses.

No wonder Bartmores said that the cat would be his best teacher; these core codes, with their various uses, fully contain all the tools a hacker needs.

This includes how to infiltrate server-level ICE undetected, how to silently tamper with data on the other party's server, and how to find vulnerabilities in the other party's programs.
Each core code, in fact, represents a solution proposed by Barthemos.

Even Mercer couldn't help but feel the pressure.

With so many weapons, even if he wanted to master them all, it would probably take years.

Because this involves not only learning the program, but also learning Barthes's thought process and his compilation methods.

How did he create such ingenious core code? Why was this core code so concise yet powerful? What was his programming mindset?
Or, to put it another way, what are the compilation methods and programming languages?
Barthes Moss had his own unique way of programming. In those strange and beautiful data volumes, the compilation methods of countless codes had never even appeared in textbooks, which was similar to creating a programming language of his own.

This made the programs he wrote so difficult that even the average hacker would have trouble understanding what the code was, and even Mercer found it extremely difficult to read and learn.

Mercer was like someone who had just picked up a knife; he could only see its shape and understand some of its components.

However, there is still a long way to go before one can forge a knife personally, or even create a stronger new knife using different materials.

As for AI
The more Mercer pondered Death Wish's AI code, the more he wondered—was this thing really written by a human?
(End of this chapter)