2077: V really knows how awesome he is

They could see that Jefferson Perales was a good man who genuinely wanted to do something for people, but unfortunately, his kindness was exploited and turned into a sharp knife aimed at V.

V sent Jefferson Perales's household registration information.

“You do have an older brother. It was because he worked hard as a mercenary that you were able to complete your studies.”

Jefferson Perales suddenly burst into tears, yet he felt no sadness whatsoever. The tears seemed to have a mind of their own, flowing uncontrollably.

No, it's not out of control.

Or rather, it's simply that I'm not in control of my present self, and the reason I'm crying is because my past self is crying!

V remarked with emotion, "It seems that your memories with your brother are very precious to you."

“But I forgot him, completely forgot him, and I can’t remember him even now.” Jefferson Peralez cried incessantly, yet remained shockingly calm.

He felt as if he had been sliced ​​in half, making it impossible for him to distinguish between illusion and reality.

"Can I recover?" Jefferson Perales asked, trembling.

V looked at Joanne Koch, who sighed softly and said tactfully, "That will be a long process, an incredibly long one, perhaps even taking the rest of your life."

Jefferson Perales' expression darkened for a moment, but quickly hardened again.

"Manipulating people's minds is a heinous crime, and this technology must be destroyed!"

“Of course.” V glanced at the blue-eyed man. “Everything I’ve done is to find the culprit.”

“That’s good, V. Although I’m still hostile towards you, I’m willing to believe you.” Jefferson Peralres forced a smile with all his might. “Thank you, V. Thank you for everything you’ve done for Night City. Now, please kill me!”

Everyone was shocked, and V said in a deep voice, "Things haven't gotten that bad yet."

“It’s not over yet, but nobody can predict the future.” Jefferson Perales smiled bitterly. “I don’t understand technology, but I understand strategy. Since they’ve pushed me out as a dagger against you, I’m completely under their control. I admit my defeat now and I hate them, but what about tomorrow, the next hour, the next second? Is my surrender now a genuine surrender, or is it a surrender they’ve manipulated me into making? V, I can’t control myself. I don’t even know what I’ll do next. Even if you believe me, I don’t believe in myself.”

"I can lock you up."

“Don’t be naive, V. You lock me up, and after fifty years, you heal me, and I regain control of myself. But how do you know that my regaining control isn’t controlled by them?” Jefferson Perales said with utmost sincerity. “You are the leader, you can’t act on emotion. Kill me, that’s the safest course of action!”

Everyone knew Jefferson Perales was right. Misty even muttered to herself, "Thunder tore apart the crown-shaped tower, and the two fell from the burning tower, the 'conscious self' and the 'social self' collapsing simultaneously. The upright tower actually came true here?"

Those who have heard Misty's prophecy understand that the so-called cognitive self is Jefferson Peralres' free will, while the social self refers to his inability to survive after this event, as he is no longer trusted by human society.

Sasha and the others were all taken aback, never expecting that Misty's tarot cards would actually work.

Misty herself was quite puzzled, because it was unprecedented for the divination for V to come true in someone else's experience.

Before she could figure it out, Jack spoke.

The burly Haywood boy drew his "Golden Fierce Wife" from his waist and said in a deep voice, "I'll do it."

V is the emperor of Night City, but Jack is just a thug in Night City.

So he does what V cannot do, and he kills the people V cannot kill!

Clearing all obstacles for V and helping her climb to the top step by step—that's what I, Jack Wilson, am supposed to do!

The ruthless woman with golden hair aimed at Jefferson Perales's forehead, who gave her a grateful look.

Just as Jack was about to pull the trigger, V gripped the gun.

“Leave it to me,” V said.

"President V, you don't need to force yourself, I can take your place..."

"Thank you, Jack, but you've already done so much for me. Let me do it myself this time."

Have I done a lot for President V? I have no idea.

Jack was completely confused, but he still let go of her hand.

V looked at Jefferson Perales: "Any last words?"

Jefferson Peralres thought for a moment: "Let's build a Night City where everyone is equal."

"I'm sorry, I've already promised someone else, so I can't grant your request."

Jefferson Peralez was taken aback: "The other one... what kind of Night City does he want?"

"A better night city, even if not for everyone."

Jefferson Perales was silent for a few seconds, then laughed: "That's good too."

"Thank you for your understanding. As compensation, I will inherit your hatred." V said earnestly, "I will tear the person who started all this to pieces, I promise!"

“This is the most beautiful vow I’ve ever heard.” Jefferson Peralez closed his eyes.

boom!

Gunfire rang out.

A life was lost, a feud was settled, and Jefferson Peralez left nothing behind but hatred.

V handed the pistol back to Jack and coldly gave the order to the group.

"Send Mr. Blue Eyes to our lab and decipher his connection to CN-07 as quickly as possible, then trace CN-07's network address. Listen carefully, it's as fast as possible, so use whatever means you have. Since our Mr. Blue Eyes is willing to be AI's lackey, then stop treating him like a human being and dismember him alive!"

Chapter 84 Machinery and Personality

First, use Arasaka's [Soul Killer] to create a digital backup of Mr. Blue Eyes, and then use the biotechnology's [Goddess of Spring] technology to completely dissect and scan Mr. Blue Eyes' brain and nervous system.

"Κορηφασικη Επαγωγη, the English name is Korephase Induction."

Joanne Koch, while operating the console, explained, "Kore literally means 'girl,' and it's also the name of Persephone before she became Queen of the Underworld. She was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, abducted by Hades to the Underworld to become Queen of the Underworld. She spends spring and summer in the mortal realm and autumn and winter in the Underworld. Korephase refers to the 'Persephone state,' the state between life and death. Induction means to guide, induce, and activate, that is, to induce a person into the Korephase state through technological means. This is the biotechnology that rivals Arasaka's 'Goddess of Spring' technology, which is the 'Soul Killer's' technology."

“Alright.” V stroked his chin: “Military technology has come up with a mini Beidou project, and biotechnology has come up with the Goddess of Spring. I bet other giant companies have similar technologies. If humanity put this technological capability into interstellar colonization, we probably would have already left the solar system.”

“Who can argue with that?” Joanne Koch sighed. “But that’s how humans are. They know perfectly well what’s right, yet they insist on doing the wrong thing for their own selfish reasons. The Goddess of Spring was something my boss created to fulfill his own desires. He originally wanted to resurrect his daughter, investing hundreds of billions of dollars, but in the end, he only developed this half-baked thing. The Goddess of Spring can reactivate a dead nervous system, but it can only act on instinct. It’s as if humans really have souls. If the soul leaves the body, even if the body is resurrected, it’s nothing more than a mindless living dead.”

"The soul...?"

V stared silently at the object in the nutrient solution.

It was a collection of a brain and all the nerves in the human body. It floated in a nutrient solution, with the brain at the top and dense clusters of nerves connecting below, vaguely forming the shape of a human, but more often than not, it looked more like a brown jellyfish floating in the water.

Joanne Koch quipped, “This bizarre thing is the source of all human perception and thought. Each of us has one of these ugly creatures inside us. Strictly speaking, free will originates from it; the so-called 'I' is actually this thing. Everything our bodies create, all our actions, are to satisfy it, to please it. Some scholars even consider it a parasite. Although we believe we possess free will and act according to our own desires, ants infected by parasites think the same way. Do you know what happens to those ants? They climb to the tops of leaves, willingly exposing themselves, letting birds eat them, just so the parasite can spread further through birds.”

V understood: "The ant satisfied its internal needs, believing it had fulfilled its mission, and felt proud and honored for it. Just like humans, who strive for power and climb upwards, eventually becoming superior beings, and also feel proud and honored for it. But that is merely satisfying the self, which is not only of no benefit to the human race, but also causes constant infighting and internal friction, making the entire civilization only care about immediate interests and ignore the future."

Joanne Koch shrugged: "Maybe those extremists are right, 'my' existence really is hindering human progress."

"Even if they're right, it won't change anything. I can't stop, and the other company bosses can't step down. Humanity has built this civilization by constantly satisfying 'me.' To deny me is to deny everything about humanity."

"Haha, that's absolutely right. If the existence of 'I' was truly a mistake, then humanity has been on a dead end from the very beginning!"

Joanne Koch chuckled, then her expression turned serious again: "Found it, the location of CN-07."

"Give me."

Joanne Koch handed V a chip, which V took and inserted into his neural slot, his eyes flashing blue light.

"CN-07 exists in two places simultaneously, one in Night City and the other on the moon?" V frowned slightly. "Is that even possible?"

"I don't know. The internet isn't my area of ​​expertise. I can only guarantee that the information I extracted from Mr. Blue Eyes' brain is accurate."

"Understood. Leave the rest to me. You've been working for dozens of hours, take a rest."

"I can't rest. There are too many people who have been brainwashed by the 'Life is Short' program. I still need to develop treatment plans for them."

"Can it be cured?"

"Yes, their brainwashing is far less effective than Jefferson Peralres'. 'I' am a mentally ill person, and the human brain cannot be easily defeated."

"Then please."

“What I should do, and what I want to do,” Joanne Koch said with a self-deprecating laugh. “Although I was a terrible person in the past, my initial dream was to be a good doctor.”

“So ‘I’ am not entirely useless; at least it generated the concept of kindness.” V waved his hand: “I’m leaving now. I’ll treat you to a drink later.”

“I’ll wait for your call,” Joanne Koch replied, hesitated for a moment, and then called out, “V.”

"What?" V, who had already reached the door, stopped and turned around.

"If you have any questions, you can talk to me about them."

V was completely bewildered: "What, you want to switch careers and become a psychologist?"

Joanne Koch: "...Get lost!"

V quickly made his escape. This wandering AI isn't a stowaway; it doesn't need to wait for the small fishing boat at 2:30 AM. Now that we know its location, we need to act immediately to prevent it from escaping.

"Lucy, work with the internet police to cut off Night City's connection to the outside world."

"Oh? That would cause a lot of chaos and serious economic losses."

"Do as instructed. Even chaos is better than being wiped out by the roaming AI. As for the economic losses, I'll take this opportunity to apply for disaster relief from the international community."

"It has to be you. Okay, I'll go find those two internet monitors now."

V nodded and dialed Song Zhaomei's number again.

"V?"

"I need to trouble you with something. Please take a look at this first."

V sent over the information about CN-07, and Song Zhaomei immediately understood.

"It's a network mapping technology. Data doesn't have a physical form, so it's not surprising that it can appear in two places at the same time. If it were a human, it would require a huge server room and rooms full of servers, but if it's a mobile AI, it has an inherent advantage in this technology because it is data itself."

"So CN-07 is indeed on the moon?" V frowned. "How did it get there?"

"I don't know the specifics, but the moon and space are the weakest points of network surveillance and control. There are countless advanced technologies here, many of which are lost technologies salvaged from the other side of the Black Wall. It's not surprising that CN-07 could find an opportunity to make contact with lunar forces and complete network mapping."

“Ordinary lunar forces don’t have that much authority.” V thought for a moment and shook his head.

"Perhaps it was helped by the European Space Agency."

"No, the head of the European Space Agency is obsessed with space colonization, and the moon is his heart and soul. He might cooperate with stray AIs on Earth, but he would never send stray AIs to the moon. That would be like sending a blond guy to his girlfriend's house, with too many hidden dangers, and it would not be in the European Space Agency's interest."

"Who else could it be but the European Space Agency? Other companies may have territory on the moon, but ultimately they're just tenants. It couldn't possibly be the High Knights, could it?"

Song Zhaomei laughed at herself as she spoke. Although the High Knights had a great advantage in the space field, they were too small and had neither the strength nor the qualifications to stir up trouble.

But V was very serious.

"Not a High Knight, but not far off from them."

"You mean?"

“New Africa.” V already had a rough idea in his mind: “New Africa is one of only two organizations in the world that possesses a mass accelerator. Their technological capabilities are comparable to those of the European Space Agency (ESA), and their subordinate organization, Orbital Aeronautics, almost monopolizes the entire space industry. Although the High Knights are just a dog kept by the ESA, don’t forget that their predecessors were laborers employed by the ESA, almost all of whom were black people from Africa.”

Song Zhaomei, an elite agent of the Joint Intelligence Bureau, immediately understood the connection.

"You mean CN-07 isn't cooperating with the European Space Agency, but with New Africa, and that Gao Knight might be directly involved, or perhaps he's covering for this? Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm not sure, these are all just my speculations. Let's deal with the immediate problem first. After this is over, I'll get an explanation from those black guys."

"You keep calling me a nigger, it seems you have a lot of prejudice against black people."

"It's not my fault, the black guys I've met before were all too weird."

“Li De was also a Black man.”

"Yes, he's one of the weirdos I was talking about."

Song Zhaomei giggled, and after she finished laughing, she said seriously, "V, the moon is in my hands."

"you sure?"

"Isn't that what you meant when you called?"

"I'm sorry, Akemi, I..."

"Don't apologize to me, V. You gave me a second chance at life, and I'm willing to give you everything I have." Song Zhaomei said proudly, "Don't worry, I can't guarantee anything else, but when it comes to dealing with roaming AIs, I'm the best in the world!"

That's true, after all, she's a woman connected to the black wall.

"Then the moon is yours to take care of, Akemi. Be careful."

"You too, V."

Communication ends.

"The final chapter has begun." V took a deep breath: "After this is over, I definitely need to take a good vacation."

Cyberspace, Drumman's data fortress.