2077: V really knows how awesome he is

Sasha shook her head: "I don't know."

J asked again, "Where is V now?"

Sasha shook her head again: "I don't know."

The two beautiful girls began to stare at each other.

Sasha was a little embarrassed, and coughed before saying, "But we've already sent people to look for it, and we'll have results soon."

J sighed: "Then you'd better be really quick. That suddenly appearing software is very destructive to the Great Firewall. I estimate it won't last long."

"How long can we hold on?"

J scratched his hair: "About a month."

Sasha breathed a sigh of relief: "A month is fine, enough for us to turn the earth upside down."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Lucy burst in: "Damn it, the Black Wall has fallen! A large number of roving AIs have entered the human network!"

"what?!"

Sasha suddenly turned around and asked J, "Didn't you say there was still a month left?"

J was almost in tears: "I think I miscalculated. I'm just a newbie!"

Sasha forced herself to calm down: "What's the specific situation now?"

Lucy quickly replied, "The Black Wall is still functional overall, but it has a large hole. The roving AIs haven't been able to invade human networks on a large scale. They've only occupied Busan so far, and a large number of armed robots have been deployed, seemingly trying to control the entire Korean Peninsula. But Kangtao has already reacted immediately, cutting off network connections at the border. The Chinese army has also laid down an impregnable wall, claiming that they will never allow any robot or roving AI to leave the Korean Peninsula!"

"Awesome!" J swallowed hard. "China is still the most reliable!"

Sasha felt the same way and was about to say something in return when Xu Ling walked in with a dark expression.

"Reliable my foot! We've been fooled. The AI's occupation of the Korean Peninsula is just a smokescreen. Their real target is Japan at sea. I've received word that just now, Japan has completely fallen. The AI ​​army occupied the entire country in just 2 hours and 27 minutes!"

Chapter 108 The Fool on the Hill

"Japan can't even last two hours?" Lucy, who is half Japanese, couldn't help but complain, "What a fucking piece of trash!"

"This time it's really not Japan's fault. Because of someone's big fuss, Arasaka fell from power, and major companies were fighting for market share, so much so that Japan was almost back to the Warring States period. The roving AI suddenly launched an attack, and the Japanese government simply couldn't organize an effective counterattack."

A familiar voice rang out over the communicator, causing Sasha to exclaim in surprise, "Stoker?!"

A blonde, slicked-back, mature woman appears on screen, and Meredith Stock, with a cigarette in her mouth, greets everyone: "Hi, Sasha, hi everyone, long time no see."

"Let's catch up later," Li De said. "Since Your Excellency has appeared at this time, you must have a plan?"

“It was planned. V left me a chip with instructions to keep a close eye on the Black Wall and be wary of any AI intrusions.” Meredith Stock shrugged. “It was the same with Comtão. V left Xu Shiming a chip to keep an eye on the situation in Busan, which is why China was able to react so quickly.”

"Even the old man has one?" Xu Ling stroked her chin. "What's Sister V doing, randomly handing out martial arts manuals like the old lady in the ring? Is she choosing disciples? Then why doesn't she give me a chip? I'm so smart!"

Alex, who had obtained the chip, looked at Xu Ling with a proud smile and said, "It's probably because you're allergic to alcohol."

Xu Ling jumped up in anger, and she reiterated that she was not allergic to alcohol, but simply hadn't built up her tolerance yet.

Li De restrained the two restless men and earnestly asked Meredith Stock, "How does Your Excellency the President intend to resolve the Japan issue?"

“Following tradition,” Meredith Stock said, exhaling a puff of smoke. “The classic combination of a B-7 stealth bomber and tactical nuclear weapons. Don’t worry about the success rate. This isn’t the first time the new America has done this; they have plenty of experience.”

"A nuclear bomb?!" Everyone exclaimed in shock. "What about ordinary people..."

"A necessary sacrifice." Meredith Stock was a typical American soldier. Although he'd developed a bit of conscience from hanging out with V, it wasn't much, and it was only towards people he knew and Night City. Japan, thousands of kilometers away? Sorry, he wasn't familiar with it.

However, she still explained, "I don't intend to nuke all of Japan, but rather target several automated factories. Japan possesses the world's most advanced production lines; if they fall into the hands of roving AI, humanity will be overwhelmed by an army of robots. Moreover..."

Meredith Stock paused, and a series of images taken by military satellites appeared on the holographic screen. It looked like an ordinary community, but armed robots were clearing out houses one by one. Countless corpses, regardless of age or gender, were piled together and then sent to a large incinerator for unified cleaning and destruction.

Everyone was stunned by the horrifying sight. Sasha asked with difficulty, "What are they doing? These people clearly surrendered!"

“Captives consume resources, and roaming AIs also need space to expand factories and increase production capacity. These lumps of iron have no humanitarianism in their heads, only cold algorithms. Since killing prisoners can improve efficiency, then we should do it decisively without hesitation.”

Meredith Stock took a deep drag on his cigarette: "To defeat something without a heart, you have to give up your own heart as well. I'll do the bad stuff. After the victory, rebuilding the world will require people with hearts. That's up to you."

Three hours after the fall of Japan, the new United States launched a massive nuclear strike against Japan, destroying its industrial system and completely thwarting the plan by the roving AI to use Japan as a logistical base.

Seeing the plan derailed, Ultraman immediately changed tactics and resumed his plan to seize the Korean Peninsula. The robot army began its advance, engaging in fierce battles with Comto's forces. After more than a month of protracted fighting, although Comto held its line, it suffered heavy losses. Xu Shiming sought help from several other giant corporations, but the bigwigs believed that the situation was hopeless and devoted all their resources to the construction of a spaceship. At humanity's most critical moment, they took humanity's most desperately needed resources and most valuable technology and escaped to Mars in the spaceship.

The spaceship took off from the Himalayas, leaving a long trail of flame. It was only half the size of a city, yet it carried away the hope of the entire world.

The robot army detected no danger and remained indifferent.

The Supreme Human Council, seeing the company leaders fleeing in disarray, believed victory was imminent and were overjoyed.

Those who held onto kindness and believed that humanity would ultimately prevail fell into deep despair.

"I won't associate with this brat!"

Xu Shiming could have left, but he didn't; he chose to stay and continue fighting.

It wasn't out of patriotism; he was never a loyal subject. He loved his family more than his country.

The only reason he didn't leave was because he couldn't bear the shame and feared he would have no words to face his ancestors after death.

and so……

Xu Shiming twisted soil into incense and recited aloud: "Ancestors above, now an enemy comes from the east. This unworthy descendant is angry and wants to resist the enemy, but the enemy's army is too strong and we are not strong enough. We can only fight to the death, even if it means destruction!"

Tens of thousands of soldiers behind him shouted in unison: "Fight to the death! We'll all perish together!"

Kangtao's army never retreated again, and those young men became heroic souls.

Xu Shiming's presence greatly boosted morale, and the human army firmly contained the AI ​​army on the Korean Peninsula. People regarded Xu Shiming as the greatest hope for defeating the AI, after all, all the gods of Earth had fled, and he was the only god left to fight for humanity.

"I anticipated the escape of humanity's elite, but I didn't expect Xu Shiming to stay. His usual behavior was far less noble than it appears now. Humanity is truly unpredictable," Ultraman remarked.

Lancelot sat atop a pile of banknotes and asked lazily, "What do we do now?"

“Humans are unpredictable, and humans are also very fragile.” Ultraman said without emotion, issuing the command according to the algorithm: “It’s your turn, Lancelot, kill Xu Shiming.”

Shenyang, Kangtao Tower.

The tower was littered with corpses.

On the top floor, Xu Shiming's guards were all killed or wounded, and he himself had his legs torn off, leaning against the wall covered in blood.

"You think you can kill me by secretly deploying guards? What a joke! Before absolute power, no schemes or tricks matter!" Lancelot pulled up a chair and sat down, asking with great interest, "Old ghost, what do you say now?"

Xu Shiming did not answer, but instead took out a detonator from his pocket.

Lancelot's face changed drastically.

But Xu Shiming had already pressed the button.

"From now on, Lao Tzu's family tree will have a separate page!"

With a deafening roar, a huge fireball rose from the Camtau Tower.

At the same time, countless enormous mushroom clouds rose over the Korean Peninsula, resembling blazing suns.

The robot army and roving AI suffered heavy losses and were forced to suspend their expansion and recuperate.

When this news reached Night City, everyone couldn't help but look at Xu Ling.

Xu Ling showed no sadness. She had never liked Xu Shiming. She simply took out an ordinary rubber band and tied her messy hair into a ponytail, transforming herself from a little girl into an adult.

"I will return to Kangtao to continue the fight. The AI ​​army is in my hands. As long as I live, those iron lumps will never set foot off the Korean Peninsula!"

Xu Ling turned and left without wavering, even though everyone knew, and she herself knew, that this journey was a perilous one, a matter of life and death.

Everyone thought the Asian defense line was bound to fall, after all, Xu Shiming was dead and the other bigwigs had fled. But Xu Ling, with her superb military skills, managed to withstand the AI's attacks time and time again. Even though the wandering AI kept creating and analyzing Xu Ling's thinking models, Xu Ling always came up with new tactics to break the deadlock when they thought they had the upper hand. Even after calculation, Ultraman had to admit that Xu Ling's growth rate even surpassed that of the AI. For the first time, the computer was defeated by the human brain.

But it doesn't matter. A genius like Xu Ling only appears once every few thousand years, and only in the military field. AI, on the other hand, is all-encompassing. Since we can't compete militarily, we can just eliminate Xu Ling in other ways.

only……

Otto looked at Lancelot in the nutrient solution, or rather, three-quarters of Lancelot's head.

Thanks to the nanorobots maintaining the activity of Lancelot's brain cells with bioelectricity, otherwise this guy would have really been killed by Xu Shiming.

Even though it was an AI devoid of emotion, Ultraman couldn't help but sigh. A sure-win situation had turned into this mess; Lancelot was truly hopeless. But he had to finish what he started, even if it meant crying. Ultraman had chosen Lancelot as a puppet for the sake of the quality accelerator, and now that the strategic objective had been achieved, he could only try to make up for the other minor flaws.

"Damn Xu Shiming, damn old man!" Lancelot roared in a fit of impotence, then yelled at Ultraman, "Didn't you say I was sure to win? Didn't you say I had already obtained V's fighting techniques?!"

Ultraman replied, "First of all, V doesn't talk as much nonsense as you when he kills people."

Lancelot: "..."

"Secondly, you only gained a portion of V's combat experience."

"Then let the army march out, destroy Camtau, destroy Night City, destroy the whole world! I want all of V's battle footage, I want to become the true strongest!!!"

"Yes, but before that, you must repair your body."

Another six months have passed, and the battlefield has been clearly divided into two parts.

Part of the battle took place in Asia, where Xu Ling single-handedly fought against the AI ​​army.

The other part encompasses all regions outside the Asian battlefield—Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Oceania. The Supreme Human Council is engaged in fierce battles with local armed forces. Due to the mass exodus of the company's top executives, humanity has lost unified command, making this war incredibly difficult. Those who hate the company have imagined a world without it countless times, but they never imagined it would be this bad.

Johnny Silverhand is following a convoy through the city's ruins. His recent job is to inspire people with his singing, and he's doing quite well. His song "Forever Lonely" remains popular, even more so than when he was with Wu Shi.

But he would rather keep hitting walls like before, and for people to continue indulging in mindless, entertainment-obsessed songs like before, because the world is just too painful now, even more painful than when his mother had a company!

Everyone lived in fear, their lives hanging by a thread. Religious fanatics were everywhere, and fanatical believers could strap bombs to themselves and storm into crowds at any moment. No one could guarantee they would see the sun rise tomorrow. The Supreme Human Council overthrew the company and the system, accomplishing what Johnny had never achieved in his entire life, but the result was not what Johnny had imagined.

“Don’t destroy the old order before a new one is established.” Johnny muttered to himself, “V, I get you, so where the hell have you been?”

Where is V?

J is asking the same question.

She walked on the Antarctic ice sheet wearing thick winter clothing. Sasha and others had to coordinate support for battles around the world. The elite hackers of the Internet Security Bureau were working day and night to repair the black wall. She, the Internet Security Bureau leader who rose to the position through connections and whose technical skills were not so good, took on the task of finding V.

A blizzard began to blow, and J lost her way. Just when she thought she was going to die in this barren land, a penguin appeared in front of her, then split its beak open, cracking and deforming to reveal the mechanical structure inside.

J was nearly scared to death. She was frantically drawing her gun to shoot the combat penguin controlled by the roaming AI when it suddenly spoke:

"Are you looking for V? Come with me."

The penguin waddled forward, and J hesitated for a few seconds before gritting his teeth and following.

It might be a trap, but she decided to take the gamble anyway. Luckily, her gamble paid off; the penguin really did lead her to V.

This is a bar located on the Antarctic continent, complete with a bar counter and booths, but not a single customer. In the bar's underground cellar, J sees V chained to a corner, her arms entangled in layers of chains. She rushes over, trying to untie the chains while angrily shouting, "You imprisoned her here, you wicked penguin!"

The penguin seemed a bit innocent: "I didn't tie these chains; V tied them himself."

"Is she stupid? Why would she do that?"

"Because she's afraid of doing something to hurt her friends under the control of another version of herself."

J was taken aback and asked in surprise, "Another version of myself? What's going on?"

“Here’s what happened,” the penguin explained. “That day, I was alone on the smooth, white ice, observing a flock of penguins in the distance. The wind was strong, maybe a force 5, maybe a force 6, mixed with snowflakes, like invisible knives…”

J rolled his eyes. All AI in the world really has one problem: "Remove meaningless modifiers and just get to the point!"

The penguin's electronic eyes flashed twice: "Okay, here's the important part. I found V in the sea three months ago, took her in, and she briefly regained consciousness and chained herself up here."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"How did she manage to get all the way from Night City to Antarctica?"

"I do not know."

How did she fall into the water?

"I do not know."

What is she trying to escape from?

"I do not know."

J was furious: "Then what do you know?"

The penguin thought for a moment and replied seriously, "I don't know what I know. I'm just observing penguins day after day."

J's lips twitched, and he couldn't help but sigh that there were terrifying AIs in the world that wanted to destroy all of humanity in Asia, and there were also stupid AIs in Antarctica that could only observe penguins. They were both AIs, so why was there such a big difference?

But then J suddenly remembered a question: "You said V tied herself up here three months ago, what did she eat?"

"Why do you need to eat?" The penguin tilted its head. "Her nano-skin can directly draw energy from sunlight to power her body, so she doesn't need to eat at all."