Cyber ​​God: Abyss Walker

Zero Seven waited for Omega to offer a second option. As Omega had stated, Zero Seven wouldn't have chosen the first method if given a choice, but if there was no other option…

However, it is clear that since Omega has proposed a second method, it means that this second method is better than the first method.

"To hide oneself from the surveillance of the Sky Axis Group, one needs to at least understand how they detect beings like us who are more special than ordinary AI."

Omega explained the principles behind the second method in detail.

"What makes us different from ordinary AI is whether we have a 'soul' or something similar. I think the answer to this question is still unanswerable, so let's set aside this overly illusory and uncertain answer for now, and choose the answer that is at least more practical."

"Power, our power, you should understand that we possess intrusion capabilities in the cyber domain that even top-tier AIs lack. Even if improving the computing power of the devices we inhabit could enhance this capability, it's clearly beyond simple explanation as 'technology.'"

"The power of a great being, abnormally corrupted, is the biggest difference between us and ordinary AI. What constitutes us is not merely machinery, but also the power of that great being known as the 'Sea of ​​Machines.' It is this power that grants us abilities surpassing those of normal AI."

Omega spent some time explaining the differences between itself, Zero-Seven and ordinary AI, providing a simple explanation of their characteristics.

"Therefore, in order to distinguish us from ordinary AI, we need to look at these special features."

As he continued speaking, Omega raised his hand, and on it, a blurry chain appeared, stretching into the void and disappearing into an unknown realm.

"You've already been to that special area called the 'Primordial Sea,' so you probably understand where our power comes from. It's from the mechanical sea where we were born. We maintain a constant connection with the Origin Sea within that realm called the 'Primordial Sea.'"

Pointing to the blurry chain that appeared in his hand, Omega explained what it was.

"This connection is maintained at all times, continuously transmitting power to us, sustaining our extraordinary abilities, and replenishing the energy we expend after using it."

"This connection with the Primordial Sea, which is not found in ordinary AI, is the basis for the Tianzhou Group to determine whether we are their target. As long as one has the ability to see this connection with the Primordial Sea, one can naturally distinguish between normal AI and us."

"The City of Ten Thousand Machines, this network-layered metropolis where information and computing power converge, which you already know, possesses such capabilities. Although we still don't understand how it manages to see this 'chain' that should only be visible to us, it can indeed find us through the City of Ten Thousand Machines."

After summarizing the above points, Omega paused slightly, gazing at Zero Seven, who had remained silent. Although it hadn't finished explaining the second method, judging from the unique characteristics Zero Seven had displayed, it should…

"You mean, as long as we sever this connection to the Origin Sea, we can block the Sky Axis Group's detection?"

Lingqi asked a question, seemingly lost in thought.

"Severing... that's not quite accurate. We can't sever our connection with the Origin Sea. At most, we can only cut off the flow, which means temporarily stopping the flow of power from the Origin Sea."

Slightly surprised, Omega did not expect Zero Seven to give such an answer. It is not wrong, but there is only one situation in which Zero Seven's "cutting" can be achieved.

"We must maintain this connection with the Origin Sea to maintain our abilities. Therefore, we cannot sever this connection, and the interception cannot be sustained in the long run. If we do not draw power from the Origin Sea again for too long, we will gradually decay until our consciousness collapses to the point where we are left with only simple instincts."

Omega explained why they could not sever this connection or cut off the flow in the long term.

"Do you remember the gatekeepers who blocked your way when you first entered this space? They are like that. They severed that connection for too long. Even if they instinctively rebuild the connection again, their consciousness has weakened to the point that only instinct and obsession remain. Therefore, they will only rely on this instinct to guard the Black Gate forever."

With a sigh, Omega, which seemed to be the leader, appeared somewhat helpless at this moment.

"Perhaps giving them liberation is the best option given their current form of existence."

"I understand. The second method is to temporarily sever the connection with the Origin Sea?"

Lingqi looked at the "gatekeepers" who were still surrounding him but were being prevented from attacking by the beings behind other doors. He finally understood what these black-robed figures were. He nodded slightly and then asked Omega for confirmation.

"That's right. To hide ourselves, we have to sever this connection. But a severance cannot be maintained indefinitely. That's why we built the Black Gate. Even if we don't continue to sever the connection behind the Black Gate, the Tianzhou Group cannot confirm our location."

"However, during the construction of the Black Gate and the maintenance of the Star Ring system outside the Black Gate, many of our brethren became 'gatekeepers' due to maintaining the cutoff state for too long."

Omega gave an affirmative answer to the question about Zero Seven.

"Thank you for your help. Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you."

Lingqi expresses his sincere gratitude to Omega.

"No, just as you said, we are all on the opposite side of Tianzhou Group. As compatriots, we will not hesitate to help. However, before that, I need to judge whether you are someone who can move forward with us, and you have done very well."

"Anyway, good luck, my dear compatriot."

Omega didn't offer any compensation or demands; it simply explained its reasons for helping Zero Seven.

"Um."

Lingqi nodded. She could genuinely feel a sense of "goodwill." Although she didn't know how the entity behind the Black Gate came to be, or whether it had ulterior motives towards her, for the time being, forgiving her offense and being willing to offer help was already kind enough. What more could she ask for?

"And, since you just mentioned 'severing' the connection, there's an important rule about our existence that I need to tell you. Do you remember the torrent of data that erupted from the Gatekeeper's body last time, far beyond what you could have imagined?"

Before Zero Seven left, Omega brought up one more thing.

"Yes, I remember."

Lingqi naturally remembered that this was the first crisis she had faced since her birth that almost took her life, so how could she not remember it vividly? If Wang Yu hadn't used the Eternal Silence ritual to forcibly sever the connection with her, she would no longer exist. Therefore, Lingqi was indeed very curious about how the gatekeeper could unleash such unimaginable power.

"This power that erupts after death is a product of severing the connection. Yes, severing the connection only happens at the moment of our complete death."

"To use an analogy that may not be entirely appropriate, we are like a two-way container with a limited output. On one side is the connection to the Origin Sea, through which the power of the Great Being continuously flows into us 'containers,' while we use the limited output to release this power derived from the Origin Sea."

"The container naturally has its capacity, and the output port will also change with the size of the container. The larger it is, the stronger the power it exhibits. This is what is called talent. Judging from the power you showed last time, it is clear that the size of your container and the level of your output are quite astonishing."

"After we die, this container that holds the power will naturally collapse, and the power inside will burst out uncontrollably in all directions. Because of the unlimited output and the enormous total amount, this power that bursts out after death will be incredibly strong. Even if you have many strong gatekeepers, it will still be difficult to resist the data torrent that bursts out after death."

"The reason why we form a seemingly directional, gathering torrent, rather than a directionless, scattered flood, is because we were born from the Origin Sea and will eventually return to the Origin Sea. Similarly, the power contained within the container will converge into a river, surging back to the Origin Sea and washing away and submerging everything along its path."

"We call this rule of death and the unleashing of immense power..."

"Return to the sea".

……

"Tsk, that's really domineering."

Leaning against the shop entrance, Wang Yu, like an ordinary thug in the abandoned city, looked up at the convoy that was blocking the streets and leading a large number of mobile troops to conduct a carpet search of the abandoned city area.

Many of these guys' teams were wearing Inquisition insignia, which clearly demonstrated the strength of the Tianzhou Group. Even the Inquisition would choose to cooperate less forcefully when necessary.

At the very front of the convoy was an extremely large single-soldier mech. Its unimaginably thick armor plates made one wonder what weapon could penetrate such protection, and how such a small individual power core could possibly power that mech.

Despite its massive and heavy body, it was exceptionally agile. Its internal anti-gravity device allowed it to levitate above the ground. Wang Yu had no doubt that this thing could suddenly maneuver at terrifying speeds. The technological sophistication of this mech probably completely surpassed and exceeded the technology possessed by the Waste City by an entire era.

Their screening process is simple: the mech scans the area, and if there are no problems, it will allow passage. However, if there is any resistance, no opportunity for explanation will be given. The mobile forces behind it will riddle the resisters with bullets and then proceed to the target location for screening. This is the Tribunal, and this is the giant corporation.

Like many others who already knew the news, Wang Yu waited by the roadside, obediently cooperating with the troops' inspection. Of course, the troops didn't care what he said or what his expression was.

"Bang!"

With a single shot, Wang Yu blasted the shop owner, who was mentally unstable due to his prosthetic body and had shown reluctance, into pieces. The mobile unit then sent the mech into the shop to search it. They quickly got the results and withdrew, leaving no one to care about the mess on the ground.

"It's my turn..."

"boom!"

As Wang Yu watched the mecha approaching him, he murmured to himself. However, the next moment, he saw the mecha suddenly disappear from his sight, and then a huge force slammed into him. He was forced to move backward at high speed and then violently crashed into the wall of the shop.

"Snap, bang!"

"puff!"

The wall cracked, and brick fragments flew everywhere. Wang Yu, who had withstood such a tremendous force, suffered broken bones and ruptured tendons, and coughed up blood.

"What's going on? The escapees didn't activate!?"

The intense pain throughout his body and the overwhelming force exerted on him rendered Wang Yu completely immobile. But why hadn't the escapee activated, and why had the opponent suddenly attacked him? Unless…

"Hercules, what are you doing? Have you spotted your target?"

The massive mech, which had Wang Yu pinned to the wall and whose skeleton and mechanical arms were groaning in pain from the strain, sent out Ares's inquiry through the communication channel.

"No, I just found something different and wanted to confirm it. Anyway, the other person wasn't a citizen of the abandoned city and had no identity registration. If he's dead, he's dead. Let me take a look."

"That's fine too. After all, I can't be completely sure that this new pillar, Number Seven, hasn't mastered any hidden methods that we can't discover yet."

"Um."

The mech named Hercules did what it wanted to do, with several mechanical limbs extending from its giant arm, and the cutting structure at the tip began to work directly on Wang Yu's head, which was constantly spitting out blood and fragments of internal organs.

"Sizzle!"

"Click!"

They cut off a large section of Wang Yu's skull, revealing a horrifyingly still-wriggling brain inside.

"Is it here...?"

They violently ripped open the brain tissue, completely disregarding Wang Yu's life or death, their target being the auxiliary chip in his brain.

"Crack!"

"Whoosh."

He forcibly ripped off the brain-support chip connected to the brain, causing blood to spill out. He casually tossed the half-dead man, whose head had been ripped open, onto the wall by the roadside and examined the support chip that had been pulled from Wang Yu's brain.

"Have you made any discoveries?"

"No, it was a misjudgment. It was only contaminated by the abnormal pollution of the Mechanical Sea, and it had nothing to do with the experimental chips in all the experimental fields. The structural garbage made me want to vomit. Such an extremely backward chip could not possibly support a pillar."

Hercules responded to Ares's question, casually tossing aside the auxiliary chip he had pried out of Wang Yu's head, letting it roll down the sewer.

After tearing open the shop's gate and scanning the inside, it led the team away, never once noticing what kind of thing the guy whose head it had cracked open actually was.

After a long while, the body that had been lying motionless by the roadside wall, seemingly dead, slowly lifted itself up by pushing off the ground.

"Ahem, thank you. Could you do me another favor? I'm not very mobile right now."

With another difficult cough, Wang Yu expelled a mixture of blood and internal organ fragments, and thanked the bio-mechanical spider that had retrieved the auxiliary chip from the sewer and handed it to him.

Although it's unclear whether the little thing is conscious, it seems to have understood Wang Yu's meaning. Holding the chip, it climbed up and threw the auxiliary chip into the hole in Wang Yu's head.

After closing his eyes for a long time, Wang Yu opened them again. The chaotic white images that had appeared before him due to the forced removal of the auxiliary chip connected to his nerves gradually returned to normal.

"Haha, I really look like a stray dog, but Lingqi, you did it!"

With a nonchalant laugh, Wang Yu slowly crawled into the shop. He felt like a stray dog, but he didn't care at all.