Unconventional security

The man wailed and kowtowed repeatedly until his head bled.

But the shop in front of them showed no sign of opening.

"Another one who got scammed. Tsk tsk tsk, there are always fools every year, but there seem to be more this year than ever."

"You brought this on yourself. What's the use of crying in front of someone's shop? Whose money comes from thin air?"

"If you ask me, he should just throw away the cyber soul he has. Now he's thinking about getting his money back. Why didn't he do that earlier?"

The onlookers around them didn't lower their voices at all, mocking and ridiculing without any mercy.

Chen Bei was unaware of the situation, but he heard the cyber soul.

I just bought this thing for 99 city-state coins.

After a long while, the people who had stopped left, as they were just having fun with this kind of thing. Only the man remained kneeling on the ground, not getting up for a long time.

After most of the people had left, Chen Bei walked over to the man and squatted down.

Would you mind telling me about your situation?

The man remained unmoved.

"I can pay 10,000 city-state coins as a reward."

After saying this, the man hesitated for a moment, but finally got up and gestured for Chen Bei to find a place to talk.

Seeing that things were going well, Ye Zhixue followed the two into a small alley.

After finding a good spot, the man looked at Chen Bei first, who then brandished the long knife in his hand.

"It won't cost you anything; I'll just transfer the money to your account at the bank later."

Whether he recognized the Tang sword's high value or felt threatened, he simply gave in.

"Sigh, my name is Songming," the man sighed, took the cigarette Chen Bei handed him and lit it, "This story begins on the day my mother passed away."

"You two must be from the outer city, while I was born and raised in District 9. It has advanced technology, a beautiful environment, and lots of delicious food."

"But our education is different from yours."

"On the day my mother passed away, the Cyber ​​Information Bureau sent me a proposal for a soul preservation plan..."

Inside a small apartment building of only 60 square meters, Songming had a small white flower pinned to his chest, while his father, leaning on a cane, stood shakily in front of the woman's portrait, lost in thought.

Today is the seventh day after my mother's death.

dong dong dong.

Someone knocked on the door. The father didn't look at him, so Songming had no choice but to get up and open the door. There were two people in employee uniforms outside.

A man and a woman, with the logo on their shoulders reading Cyber ​​Information Bureau.

"Hello Mr. Songming, today is the seventh day after your mother's death. How is the plan I sent you in email coming along?"

"According to the latest welfare policy of the Soul Preservation Program, you can now complete the buyout for only one million city-state coins."

Songming glanced at his father behind him, then turned and blocked the doorway, preventing the two from entering. "I'm not really planning on that yet..."

"Mr. Songming, I need to explain to you that we can only retain the information database for the deceased for ten days."

"The urban area has a very large population. If the information of the deceased is not deleted, it will continue to occupy our servers. If you do not intend to keep your mother's Internet information, it will be automatically destroyed in 3 days."

The woman's voice was cold, and seeing that Songming didn't interrupt her, she continued.

"Don't you want that cold, impersonal chat box to keep popping up messages? Even if you don't, what about your father? That's the woman who's been with him for most of his life!"

Songming glanced back at his father. Since his mother passed away, he had stood in front of her portrait every day, sometimes for dozens of hours, sometimes for five or six hours.

How happy I would be to hear news of my wife's recovery after she passed away.

"Our AI can even achieve near 100% similarity in voice, and it can also play videos, etc."

"Your son is due soon, and you wouldn't want him to have never met his grandmother, would you?"

......

Call ~

Smoke rings blew against his face in the wind, and Songming's tone was full of helplessness.

"The matter was discussed within the family. They said that money can be earned back, but we should leave something for our father to remember us by."

"I say these data are a record of my mother's life, a digital legacy she left me."

"But this isn't some kind of digital legacy; it's clearly a tombstone!"

"If I don't buy it, my relatives and friends will gossip; if I do buy it, the monthly fees will be a burden!"

Chen Bei handed him another one. "You bought some?"

The man gave a wry smile, "I can't afford a buyout, so I'll opt for a monthly lease, 5000 city-state coins a month..."

......

"You only earn 8000 a month, and you have to deduct 5000! After paying the mortgage, you can't even afford baby formula. Do you even want to raise Songming anymore?!"

Songming was thrown out of the room by the pillow, but he didn't utter a single complaint.

The short-term rental was very effective; he was able to talk and chat with his mother again, and sometimes even receive her care and concern.

There was no awkwardness at all; it was as if his mother herself was the one sending him the message on the other end of the phone.

My father is much happier now, his health has improved a lot, and he's full of energy every day.

However, the high cost of living has created real problems. He also has children to raise, and with an extra 5000 yuan per month in expenses, his salary is simply not enough.

Just as he was hesitating about whether to stop paying for his soul, an email popped up.

"We've observed that your mother's video account still has several hundred followers. You can sign an AI Soul Business Agreement, which will generate revenue for you from your mother, with monthly fees as low as 3000 City-State Coins - Cyber ​​Information Bureau."

Upon seeing the email from the Cyber ​​Information Bureau, Song Ming agreed without hesitation; it was the only option that could balance the relationship between the two parties.

The reduced payment amount significantly improved their quality of life, ensuring they wouldn't be unable to afford even baby formula.

In the first month, the mother showed no change and could only bring in a few dozen yuan each month.

In the second month, the mother's conversations started to become abnormal. She would often mention product names, but that month's earnings reached five figures.

However, Songming couldn't use the money. The other party said they needed to improve his mother's skills, and the money was for investment. But he wouldn't have to pay any more fees in the future.

In the third month, the mother's conversations became completely abnormal. She talked about GG products all the time, and Songming even saw her selling and promoting them on short video platforms.

This month, the mother's earnings reached a million.

But all of this money was withheld under the same pretext...

"Actually, I don't care that much about money. My salary is enough to live on. I just want to turn my mother back to how she was before. She's driving my dad crazy right now. When you go to the city, you'll hear that guy selling apartments talking. That's her voice."

"But when I confronted the Cyber ​​Information Bureau, they pulled out the 'AI Soul Business Book' and demanded 1 million city-state coins for the forced cancellation of the contract."

"That's why I came here to find Boss Cao. His hacking skills are enough to hack into the Cyber ​​Information Bureau. He usually steals AI souls for research."

After he finished speaking, Chen Bei understood the whole story.

No wonder he said, "Take in my mother..."

AI's soul is a trap, one thing leading to another.

Chen Bei tossed aside his cigarette butt, exhaled the last puff of smoke, and said quietly.

"Cyber ​​Godmother, this is what the Ninth District is like..."