Cyber ​​God: Abyss Walker

"I learned some machine repair methods from the materials and completed the skin of the MK1 body myself. The effect should be pretty good."

Ling Qi lowered her hands, rocked her wheelchair, and walked into the house while talking, with Wang Yu following behind her.

"During the rest of the time, I conducted a covert search on the public network of the abandoned city, looking for information about the parasite in your head, Wang Yu. Since this information is not publicly available, it was not difficult for me to find it by only checking the private information. Based on this, I discovered some things."

Wang Yu's Star Ring Mercenary Device received a piece of data from Zero Seven. It wasn't a detailed description of the parasite, but rather a statistical chart that investigated the major gangs within the abandoned city.

"This number is over 70%, which means these gangs are actually using parasites similar to those I've been thinking about to control their members?"

Looking at the markings on the statistical chart for each gang, Wang Yu frowned and asked Ling Qi, "The markings mean that the corresponding gang also used this parasite."

"That's right. Some gangs have relatively strict network security. Following Mr. Wang Yu's advice, I didn't force my way in. Under this premise, we can confirm that more than 70% of the gangs are using parasites. I estimate that the complete count is more than 80%."

Lingqi nodded, confirming this statement.

"So many gangs are using this parasite at the same time? Have they used this method before?"

Wang Yu realized that there was probably something hidden behind this large-scale use of parasites, but he didn't know much about this world, so he could only ask when the Zero Seven Gang started using parasites.

"Mr. Wang Yu is right. These gangs in the abandoned city had never used this method before, at least one or two years ago. They started using parasites to control their gang members after a certain point in time."

"I traced back to the gangs that first started using this technology and found that the information seemed to have been wiped clean from the internet, leaving almost no trace. These parasite technologies seem to have appeared out of nowhere, but that is obviously not reasonable."

"So I think these parasite-related technologies all originated from Xindu, but this is just my speculation, because I have never found Xindu's interface in the abandoned city's public network."

Lingqi quickly answered Wang Yu's question and offered her own speculation.

"Xindu? You absolutely must not attempt to hack into Xindu's network."

Upon hearing the word "New Capital," Wang Yu's expression naturally turned serious. He reminded Ling Qi that the gap between New Capital and the Waste City was like an insurmountable chasm. If one were attacked by the "firewall" on the Waste City's public network, one might be able to escape, but the network in New Capital would probably not offer any chance.

"I understand, Mr. Wang Yu. I just checked some information about parasites. This technology should indeed come from Xindu, because I didn't find any related research records or projects in the abandoned city."

"So, I'm very sorry I couldn't help you. What I can confirm right now is that the only way to safely remove the parasite from Mr. Wang Yu's brain is through the worm mother, who is controlled by the gang."

Lingqi's tone carried a hint of apology, as she apologized for not being able to help Wang Yu.

"That's normal. Doctors can't do anything about it. The prototype of this parasite control method does indeed come from 'Tree of Life,' one of the four major companies in Xindu. As a variant of this parasite, it's normal that there are no loopholes for them to exploit. After all, the technology they possess is far ahead of its time."

Wang Yu didn't care that Ling Qi hadn't found a way to get rid of the parasite in her brain, which was within his expectations. The fact that the gang could be so confident in controlling the sorcerer with just this one method must mean they had their own strength. And if this technology was originally provided by Xindu, then everything makes sense.

"Why would New Capital give this technology to gangs so they can control sorcerers? If we extrapolate from my case, my mission is extending into the wasteland, so is the other gangs using parasites for the same purpose?"

With his left hand supporting his chin, Wang Yu fell into a brief moment of thought. The information that Ling Qi had found revealed something. Xindu must have some purpose in giving this technology to the gangs in the abandoned city.

"The wasteland... but why are they so interested in the wasteland? No, I know too little. Whether it's the wasteland or the new capital, I know almost nothing. To be honest, I'm probably just some dust that was accidentally swept up in some event... Hmm?"

Wang Yu, who was still frowning in thought, suddenly stopped and looked at Ling Qi in front of him. She reached out and grabbed his right hand. The slightly cool and soft touch was transmitted to Wang Yu's senses from her palm. Apart from the temperature, the texture and strength were indistinguishable from those of a normal human.

"What, did you install sensors on yourself?"

Wang Yu shook Ling Qi's hand and asked.

"Not yet. I haven't learned that much yet. I'm afraid I'll need Mr. Wang Yu's help with these things. But, may I make a request?"

Shaking her head with some regret, Ling Qi responded, while also mentioning her own request with a touch of embarrassment.

"Go ahead and say it. If you can do it, there's definitely no problem."

Wang Yu responded with a smile, saying that he was actually in a pretty good mood and his mind was much clearer than before. He guessed this was thanks to the abnormal zone temporarily reducing his inspiration, with the depth gauge reading only around 27.

"I want to go out and see this city."

Ling Qi shared her thoughts, and this request surprised Wang Yu. Looking at the city, he had expected a request for something like improving the machine's performance.

"I can't go by myself, so Mr. Wang Yu, could you take me there? I want to walk around the abandoned city and see this unfamiliar place."

She pointed to the wheelchair beneath her. Due to an unknown defect, Ling Qi was unable to walk normally using her legs. Relying on this wheelchair, she certainly couldn't "tour" the abandoned city, so she could only ask Wang Yu to take her there.

"sure."

The request was so simple that it was somewhat unexpected for Wang Yu, but he also realized something. For Ling Qi, the abandoned city or the whole world was unfamiliar because the other party's basic understanding was based on the data in his phone.

The world and era corresponding to that data, if not the same, are at least extremely similar to the Earth where Wang Yu is. In fact, the two of them are probably the only ones in this world who can be called "fellow countrymen".

"Let's go, uh, you're really heavy."

Pushing Ling Qi's wheelchair to where he parked his motorcycle, Wang Yu tried to carry Ling Qi on his back, only to find that she was even heavier than before, and he almost couldn't lift her. The humanoid mechanical skin covering her whole body was really not light at all.

"Mr. Wang Yu, let me do it myself."

"That's not the case."

Folding the wheelchair neatly and hanging it on the back of the motorcycle, Wang Yu let Ling Qi sit on the back seat, twisted the throttle, and drove towards the abandoned city. He didn't plan to drive into the inner ring of the abandoned city. It was crowded, noisy, and bustling. The streets full of light-up signs and projections would stuff a lot of useful and useless information into the senses of the people in it. It was not a suitable place for the two of them.

"boom!"

With the engine roaring, Wang Yu drove Zero Seven at high speed along the outer ring road. In this suburban area, which is some distance from the inner ring, there are not many people or vehicles coming and going. The population of the abandoned city is extremely concentrated, almost all of them gathered in the central area. As it extends outward, both the population and building density become sparse at a very fast speed.

Ling Qi, with one hand gripping Wang Yu's waist from behind, stretched out her other hand as if trying to feel the rapidly blowing airflow, but without the implanted sensors, she still couldn't feel the feedback from the outside world.

The motorcycle was parked at an intersection with many electronic signs and warning projections. This place can basically be regarded as the dividing line between the urban area and the suburbs of the abandoned city. Looking towards the inner ring from this road with not too much traffic, you can also see the difference between the area outside and inside the dividing line.

The towering skyscrapers, layer upon layer, stand within the dividing line, occupying almost all the space. The GG sound that keeps playing on a loop inside can still be clearly heard here. Huge projections exist in several parts of each building, proclaiming the superiority of their products to pedestrians below or those further away.

Separated only by a road, the area inside and outside the dividing line is almost like two different worlds. This is also a dividing line for the social classes in the ruined city. Those who can live inside the dividing line naturally have certain assets.

This dazzling, technologically advanced metropolis, far surpassing the Earth of Wang Yu's era, shows no sympathy or pity for the weak. Money, ability, or even one's physical worth determines whether one can survive in this city that will leave an unimaginable impression at first glance.

"I never even noticed there was a river here before."

Looking at the inner side of the road that served as a dividing line, Wang Yu realized that there was actually a pedestrian path and an artificial river extending from the path. He had never really looked at this city, which he unconsciously felt a little disgusted with, before.

The river water was very clear, probably thanks to the powerful water purification technology of this era. You could see through the several meters of water that the riverbed was definitely not naturally formed and there were no live fish. The appearance of those mechanical ornamental fish was rather abstract to Wang Yu. He wondered if the guy who made this project had embezzled too much money.

That's quite normal. In this era, with the influence of various constantly evolving forms of entertainment, such scenery, which is merely for viewing and not even exciting, is unlikely to interest the residents of the abandoned city, and they probably won't even feel any psychological fluctuation.

The almost fully immersive virtual reality game makes it impossible to distinguish it from a human without disassembling it. It can be customized to create the most perfect sex doll that best suits one's desires. There are even some drug services controlled by gangs that directly stimulate the part of the brain that controls pleasure.

Ultimately, what humans call joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are actually just feelings fed back from a certain part of the brain. When technology advances to the point where it can directly stimulate the brain, many things that once seemed interesting and meaningful will no longer evoke any feelings in numb people.

The noisy, frenetic, and dazzling main theme might just be a way to give the numb nerves of the abandoned city's residents maximum visual stimulation? Who knows? Wang Yu still hasn't been able to figure out the extent of the abandoned city's technology.

"Seeing things with my own eyes is a completely different experience from reading data. This city is completely different from the ones I remember. It seems there are many new things in this city. I really want to see those different things."

As Wang Yu pushed Ling Qi in her wheelchair, she looked at the city on the side of the road and sighed. Wang Yu could easily sense the joy and happiness she showed. It was the joy of having her curiosity satisfied and the constant appearance of new things.

That's right. Speaking of Ling Qi, she seems to know a lot, but her real age is less than a month or two. Although Wang Yu doesn't really understand what kind of person she is, considering his own process of maturing, learning, trying and failing, and then repeating the cycle, her happiness at this moment seems quite natural.

"Wang Yu, I think we'll definitely be able to live much better lives in the future. There are many new things in this city waiting for us to explore. I think once you get rid of the parasite in your brain, finding a new place to live won't be difficult."

Lingqi excitedly pointed to the city in front of her. From where she was, there was a straight road leading into the inner city. Even as she stretched her view further, she still couldn't see the end of this huge city.

"A place to stay, I suppose. At least if that's really possible, it would be a good thing."

Wang Yu didn't give Ling Qi an answer immediately. It wasn't until she raised her head with a slight look of confusion that he snapped out of his reverie and gave her a somewhat ambiguous reply.

"must!"

Lingqi's Cognitive Supplement.

"it is good."

Wang Yu nodded.

"By the way, Wang Yu, why don't you get an assistive chip implanted?"

Lingqi didn't repeat what she had just said, but instead asked Wang Yu a question: Wang Yu had never had an auxiliary chip implanted, a device that was extremely common in this era and very helpful in various aspects.

"Because I don't want to have someone else's backdoor in my head..."

Wang Yu casually replied that his reason for not implanting the auxiliary chip was actually quite simple. Would the manufacturer of the auxiliary chip not leave a backdoor in it? How could that be? He knew of cases where hackers had found the backdoor in the auxiliary chip of a deserted city and hacked it, using the chip to instantly burn out the brain and kill the residents.

As for leaving backdoors that prevents people from buying, this might have been applicable in Wang Yu's era, but in the Wasteland, as long as all manufacturers leave backdoors, the residents of the Wasteland will naturally have no choice. High-end auxiliary chips can at least prevent intrusion by low-end chips. As for the residents using low-end chips, their assets can only support this.

Wang Yu already had a parasite in his mind, and he refused to entrust his life to a potential backdoor again.

"I…"

Before he could even speak, the parasite in his brain suddenly reacted, becoming rapidly active and excited. Through that connection, Wang Yu sensed a being that was being drawn to him.

His expression darkened; his malice was relentless…