2077: V really knows how awesome he is

Chapter 89 A Thousand Faces

Due to network mapping, there is also a CN-07 on the moon. Since AI aggregates vast amounts of data around code, there's no distinction between the two CN-07s. While the CN-07 in Night City was battling Delaman, the CN-07 on the moon also rioted.

In order to help its counterpart out of a predicament, the lunar version of CN-07 begins to vie for control of the mass accelerator inside Tycho Crater.

That's right, it's the facility that Arasaka secretly wanted to build. It was later exposed at the end of 2076, which is the famous Frankfurt Incident. V in his previous life was involved in this incident and was fired.

The so-called mass accelerator is actually a super cannon. Its essence is a non-rocket space launch system that uses electromagnetic force instead of chemical fuel. It can directly eject packaged raw materials into space, greatly reducing the cost of space transportation and shortening the distance between humans and the stars.

As early as 1995, the European Space Agency (ESA), in cooperation with the then Pan-African Union, established the world's first mass accelerator on Mount Kilimanjaro, the "Roof of Africa," near the equator. In late 1999, ESA successfully transported modular components of another mass accelerator to Tycho Crater on the Moon via a soft landing and completed their assembly. This enabled mutual jet propulsion between Earth and the Moon, upon which the entire lunar colony base and the famous Crystal Palace orbital space station were built, ushering humanity into an era of great leaps forward in space exploration.

Unfortunately, this golden age didn't last long. The mass accelerator was incredibly useful, but its downside was that it was too useful. While ordinary people were still dreaming of future space colonization and taking on huge loans for unrealistic lunar properties thanks to the hype from real estate agents, powerful figures were discovering that the mass accelerator wasn't just for transporting goods; it was also a highly effective weapon of mass destruction.

In 2008, the Soviet Union and the United States engaged in a brief space race, known as the First Orbital War. Due to the alliance between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Soviet Union, they used a lunar mass accelerator to drop a two-ton meteorite at Colorado Springs, Colorado, instantly destroying the U.S. military's high command and bringing the First Orbital War to an abrupt end.

A year later, in 2009, the European Space Agency discovered that the new US FIA was attempting to seize the Crystal Palace space station, which was under construction. As a warning, the agency dropped a 5-ton meteorite off the coast of Washington, D.C., which directly led to the resignation of the then-new US president.

Although it was only used twice, the mass accelerator has already made a name for itself, and the European Space Agency (ESA) has thus firmly established itself as the leading agency in space development. Major companies that want to set up operations at the lunar cloud sea base must obtain approval and permission from the ESA.

Saburo Arasaka was an ambitious man who was naturally unwilling to remain subordinate to others. He secretly built a mass accelerator on the moon, but unfortunately, he died in the Konpaku Building. Yoriyuki Arasaka was a good spendthrift son who didn't care about his family's wealth. When the Frankfurt Incident broke out, Arasaka's unfinished mass accelerator was completely demolished as an illegal building.

CN-07 also highly values ​​the mass accelerator. V can punch the sky open, but it is absolutely impossible for it to push a falling meteorite back. As long as the mass accelerator is mastered, even V will have to lower its proud head.

The mass accelerator is the lifeblood of the European Space Agency, and it is very difficult to acquire. CN-07 would not have resorted to this tactic if it hadn't been forced into a corner.

But once it's started, AI will give it its all.

To draw enemy fire, CN-07 seized control of 83% of the automated turrets and security robots at the Cloud Sea Base, orchestrating a massive digital revolution. Humanity was caught completely off guard; major companies hastily withdrew their defenses to protect themselves. The European Space Agency was furious, but at this moment, it could only quell the unrest first.

As henchmen trained by the European Space Agency, the High Knights were dispatched immediately. They were extremely skilled in space warfare, but their usual training was mostly focused on armed seizures of power from major companies. Now, facing this AI army, they were like PVP players switching to PVE, with problems arising in everything from equipment to skill point allocation.

Thus, the battle evolved into a protracted war, until Song Zhaomei directly eliminated CN-07 in cyberspace, turning the AI ​​army into headless flies, and the High Knights finally achieved victory.

"High Knight's boasting is impressive, but is he really that bad in actual combat?" V complained. "As expected, paper data without actual combat records is just bragging."

Song Zhaomei smiled and said, "It's not that bad. The High Knights have a unique advantage in space combat. Their poor performance this time was mainly because they were caught off guard. One guy named Lancelot was quite outstanding. He piloted a mining robot and wiped out a squad of AI rebels. Now his heroic deeds are being publicized all over the moon. It seems that the High Knights are planning to use him as propaganda to boost morale."

"Lancelot? I saw that guy on the moon. He was extorting tourists back then, piloting a silver-white single-soldier mech. How did he end up fighting with a mining robot?"

Song Zhaomei gave the standard answer: "I don't know."

V didn't know either, but she stopped thinking about it since she hadn't even considered conquering the moon. Whether the High Knights could fight or not was none of her business.

"How are you feeling?" V asked the lark with concern.

"It hurts a bit, but it's not a big problem. Just plug the cable back in, do a deep clean, and delete some redundant data."

"That's good. I'll reimburse you for the cost of the deep cleaning."

Song Zhaomei immediately beamed with joy: "That's exactly what I've been waiting to hear."

Her life-or-death struggle was not quite the same as V's. V's nerve atrophy was a condition for which there was no effective treatment, but Song Zhaomei's backlash from the black wall was purely because she didn't have the money to get treatment.

There are many terminal illnesses in the world, but not that many. The most terrible disease is never cancer or AIDS, but poverty.

Miles is a real tightwad, but V is not. Song Zhaomei finally managed to latch onto a wealthy and generous benefactor, and Night City now has universal health insurance, slightly alleviating the poverty of its people.

Even with a slight improvement, the people already regarded V as a saint. It's important to understand that mortals never ask for much, but the gods always find various reasons to refuse to bestow blessings.

“Oh, right,” Song Zhaomei suddenly said, “Because of the Black Wall, I didn’t expose my existence, so the European Space Agency doesn’t know who destroyed CN-07.”

“You did the right thing. Your identity is too sensitive and needs to be kept secret. I’ll have the counterintelligence department clean up the mess for you. You can coordinate with Carter later.”

"it is good."

The Black Wall was originally only capable of passive defense, but because of Song Zhaomei, it gained the ability to attack. Although this active attack only consumes a small portion of the Black Wall's computing power, and Song Zhaomei herself cannot bear the burden of a long-term, large-scale battle, her very existence disrupts the balance.

If no one else can use the Black Wall, but you can, then of course everyone will join forces to eliminate you first.

Humans are always so suspicious, and V didn't find it strange. To avoid trouble, Song Zhaomei was better off hiding.

As for using the Lark-branded cyber nuclear bomb to expand territory—as I said before, V has no ambition; she's content with just guarding her own little corner of Night City.

Having discussed the digital revolution of CN-07, V then turned his attention to New Africa.

It has been confirmed by the Contau side that CN-07 was able to complete the network mapping on the moon with the help of New Africa. Could CN-07's acquisition of the mass accelerator be seen as New Africa's attempt to seize the mass accelerator?

It's important to know that the mass accelerator on Earth is located on Mount Kilimanjaro. If New Africa were to acquire the mass accelerator on the Moon, then the world's only two space weapons would be in their hands.

What are these black guys up to? Do they want to become the world's number one?

V thought about the oddballs in the Voodoo Gang and realized it wasn't impossible.

Whether in her past life or this one, she knew little about the new Africa, so she simply consulted Xu Ling.

Do you understand the new Africa?

“I understand.” Xu Ling nodded. “Kangtao has always had a good relationship with them, and the government has carried out many cooperative projects there.”

"Introduce yourself to me."

"Search it online."

"There's a bottle of limited edition tequila from the Hundred Gods in the liquor cabinet."

"No one online knows as much as I do, Sister V, please listen to me!"

Xu Ling performed an epic change of expression, cleared her throat, and began her explanation.

"The new Africa has the largest land area in the world, and its predecessor was the Pan-African Union. After the European Space Agency built the first mass accelerator on Mount Kilimanjaro, many African countries realized their position in the 21st century. By competing for labor, raw materials and key land resources in the equatorial orbit, African countries successfully established themselves in the space field and quickly achieved unification."

"The Pan-African Union was dissolved, and in its place, the new Africa was successfully established. After the end of the Fourth Corporate War, the new Africa had become a developed country dominated by space technology, and it also had a very high level of development in prosthetics and medical advancements."

"Just as China has Contau, the new United States has military technology, and Japan has Arasaka, the new Africa also has its own giant, which is Orbital Aerospace. This company almost monopolizes the two major industries of aerospace. They not only have routes covering major cities around the world, but they are also far ahead in space transportation, tourism, and logistics. I took an Orbital Aerospace flight from Contau to Night City, and you also took an Orbital Aerospace flight when you went to Europe for a conference last time, V-sister. Even when you secretly went to the moon without me, you took an Orbital Aerospace rocket."

At this point, Miss Xu was filled with resentment.

"Haha, I'll definitely take you next time," V said awkwardly.

At this moment, Song Zhaomei spoke up.

"I still find it a bit strange. How did New Africa suddenly become a space power? The EU's military isn't just sitting around doing nothing. It's true that New Africa uses land and resources near the equator to extort money and kickbacks, which is a traditional skill of the black people. But is the European Space Agency really going to transfer the technology abroad?"

"Of course it's not that simple. To get to the root of the matter, we have to start with the establishment of the High Knights." Xu Ling blinked: "Have you heard of the 'Seven-Hour Revolution'?"

Song Zhaomei shook her head.

Xu Ling continued, "During the construction of O'Neill 1 and O'Neill 2 space stations, the workers were forced to rebel due to the European Space Agency's exploitation of African workers. They completed their revolution and independence in just seven hours. From then on, they called themselves 'High Riders' and established a nation."

"what?"

Not only was Song Zhaomei stunned, but V was also a little surprised.

"The High Knights are actually a nation?"

"At least nominally. Since it's on the moon and doesn't take up any space on Earth, the international community turns a blind eye and tacitly accepts it."

"What does the High Knight have to do with the rise of the New Africa?"

"It's very simple. Most of the founding members of the High Knights are of African descent. Even after they were recruited by the European Space Agency, they still maintained close ties with their homeland, Africa. To put it simply, when New Africa was first established, it was extremely poor. It was the High Knights who fed their homeland with food they got from the European Space Agency, enabling New Africa to take the crucial first step and develop into the space technology superpower it is today."

Does the European Space Agency know about this?

"I know a little bit."

"Would they be willing to do that?"

"They were unwilling at first, but on the one hand, they needed the High Knights to help them guard their home, and on the other hand, they wanted to win over New Africa. I heard from the old man that the European Space Agency wanted to cultivate New Africa into its new little brother, but New Africa was too ambitious. They took advantage of us and then cursed us. Now that New Africa has become a force to be reckoned with, it has become too big to handle."

Song Zhaomei shrugged: "The European Space Agency tried to show off but ended up getting screwed over instead."

“It’s not that bad.” V thought for a moment and said, “The head of the European Space Agency is obsessed with space colonization and would love for all the forces on Earth to join in. The rise of New Africa may be part of his plan. In the end, as long as we control the mass accelerator on the moon, no matter how much trouble New Africa causes, it won’t amount to much.”

“But New Africa sent a stray AI to the moon, and this stray AI is also trying to seize control of the mass accelerator.” Song Zhaomei raised an eyebrow.

Xu Ling laughed gleefully, "I reckon the European Space Agency is furious right now."

Absolutely. After all, mass accelerators are the lifeblood of the European Space Agency (ESA). The idea that Africa is monopolizing aerospace is just a harsh criticism, but disrupting mass accelerators is undoubtedly a direct blow to ESA.

Song Zhaomei suddenly realized: "No wonder the High Knights made Lancelot a hero in suppressing the AI ​​rebellion. New Africa must be the mastermind behind this. They realized that their scheme had been exposed and were trying to show their loyalty to the European Space Agency. After all, the High Knights have a close relationship with them and are considered true 'one of their own.' If their people defeat the AI, New Africa can naturally clear itself of suspicion."

Will the European Space Agency believe it?

"Believe it or not, it doesn't matter, the main thing is the attitude." V thought for a moment and said, "For the sake of the entire space colonization plan, the European Space Agency may have to swallow this, unless more conclusive evidence emerges to prove the threat of the new Africa."

Xu Ling and Song Zhaomei both understood the meaning behind V's words: "You want to deal with New Africa?"

“CN-07 has made Night City so miserable, and they are CN-07’s collaborators. If I don’t do something, wouldn’t Night City become just a roadside outpost that anyone can kick if they’re unhappy?”

"Interesting. What are you planning to do?" Xu Ling asked, looking like she was enjoying the drama.

Song Zhaomei disagreed: "V, Night City is not qualified to challenge New Africa. Don't be impulsive."

"Don't worry, I know Night City's capabilities, so I won't go after New Africa. I'll just do some orbital aviation as a token gesture." V narrowed his eyes: "As long as the meaning is clear, it's fine. Just like when New America wanted to take over Crystal Palace, didn't the European Space Agency just drop a meteorite off the coast of Washington, D.C. as a warning?"

"You have a plan?"

"It's just a prototype, it needs further refinement, no rush." ​​V smiled and said to Xu Ling, "The wine cabinet password is 0537."

Xu Ling cheered, opened the wine cabinet, grabbed a bottle, and took a big gulp.

Then, unsurprisingly, he collapsed as usual.

Song Zhaomei stared in disbelief: "Is her alcohol tolerance really that low?"

"It's okay, you'll get used to it. You can carry her to my hospital bed."

Song Zhaomei did as she was told. V's original intention was to let Xu Ling take a nap to sober up, but unexpectedly, the life monitoring software on the hospital bed suddenly alarmed.

"Upon discovering that the patient had fallen into a coma, we immediately initiated emergency treatment procedures. The attending physician is on his way and is expected to arrive in 22 seconds."

V: ?

V: !!

Unconscious? Wasn't he drunk?

Song Zhaomei's professional instincts kicked in, and she grabbed the bottle, saying nervously, "Be careful, V, this wine might have been poisoned!"

Chapter 90 Bloody Ritual

Joanne Koch arrived quickly. She was taken aback when she entered the ward and saw Xu Ling lying on the bed, but she quickly came to her senses and began to treat her.

"The immune system is activated in response to an emergency, resulting in excessive release of histamine, laryngeal edema, vasodilation and decreased blood pressure, and bronchospasm... Inject 0.5 mg of adrenaline, 50 mg of diphenhydramine, and 0.8 mg of naloxone, and administer dopamine via intravenous pump to correct blood pressure."

As commands were issued, the AI ​​assistant on the medical bed extended its robotic arm and began injecting various medications into Xu Ling.

V asked, "Is she alright?"

"never mind."

Song Zhaomei held the bottle of tequila with a serious expression: "Xu Ling fainted after drinking this. I suspect it was poisoned. Please investigate."

"No need to check, this wine is not poisoned."

"how do you know?"

“Because Xu Ling wasn’t poisoned at all,” Joanne Koch said irritably. “She has a congenital alcohol allergy, which caused pathological intoxication, and the clinical manifestation is a deep coma!”

"Huh?" V and Song Zhaomei both opened their mouths wide at the same time.

They had imagined an entire spy drama, only to find out it was just a simple alcohol allergy?

"This is no ordinary case. Xu Ling has a specific allergic reaction; there are only seven or eight known cases worldwide. I misjudged her; I always thought this little girl had a low alcohol tolerance, but I didn't expect she has no tolerance at all and can't drink at all!" Joanne Koch gritted her teeth in anger. Her reputation was ruined by this little brat, Xu Ling.

V and Song Zhaomei looked at each other, not expecting such an outcome.

At that moment, the medication took effect, and Xu Ling woke up with a soft "hmm".

V asked with concern, "Xu Ling, how are you feeling?"

"I feel like I woke up early," Xu Ling said while yawning. "I just dreamt about my deceased great-grandmother. She said she was going to cook something delicious for me and invite me to her house, and then I woke up."

The three people on the scene immediately broke out in a cold sweat, and V quickly said, "You absolutely mustn't go, we have good food here too."

Xu Ling blinked: "For example?"

V thought for a moment: "West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce".

Xu Ling shuddered, closed her eyes, and said, "Then I'll go find my great-grandmother."

V: ?