2077: V really knows how awesome he is

"Okay, how long will it take to fully adapt?"

"One year and two months later, your nervous system will be completely transformed, becoming a true prototype of biological AI."

"That's great." V chuckled self-deprecatingly. "So should I be happy that I can still be human for another year, or should I be sad that I'm no longer human?"

The giant jellyfish did not answer, because V already had the answer.

"Whether in the past, present, or future, V is V."

V stood up, put on the isomer suit, and soared into the sky, returning to Earth.

But she hadn't driven far when a communication suddenly cut in.

A ghostly female figure appeared on the retina: "V, I am Ultraman. I'm waiting for you at Arasaka Tower. If you don't come, Sasha will die."

"Damn it!" V, whose house had been robbed, cursed loudly.

Chapter 113 Cyber ​​Poetry

It wasn't just V whose home was stolen; it was all of humanity.

Almost simultaneously, everyone on Earth and the Moon was hacked into the network, standing frozen in place, becoming puppets at the mercy of others.

The human alliance and the Supreme Council, who are currently at war, are no exception. Whether it is good or evil, justice or despicable, all human grudges, affections, joys and sorrows are put on pause by absolute power, just like a series of insignificant childish games.

Ultraman's image appears on any device with a screen, and her voice appears in everyone's mind.

“V, I’ll be waiting for you at Arasaka Tower. If you don’t come, Sasha will die, and all of humanity will perish with her.”

V, who was in space, was shocked. In an instant, he had taken control of hundreds of millions of people around the world. What kind of power was this?

For the first time, she saw a tangible terror.

Taking a deep breath, V said to the giant jellyfish, "Help me pilot it."

The giant jellyfish retorted, "What are you going to do?"

"Get some sleep and be in top condition for the final battle."

V flew back for 11 hours. During those 11 hours, Earth was put on pause, and all human activities were stopped.

The two sides continued their fighting, while the people outside were exposed to the wind, rain, and scorching sun. No matter how hungry, thirsty, tired, or in pain they were, they could not move. Those who suddenly fell ill suffered terribly, and the wounded could only watch helplessly as their blood dripped down. No one could utter a sound; they were all silently swallowed by death in absolute silence.

In 11 hours, more than 400 million people died worldwide, equivalent to half a city in the night.

The chips implanted in humans' brains have become shackles. While enjoying the convenience of cyberspace, they have also sacrificed their fate to it. Now that the true god of cyberspace has descended, humans have become lambs to the slaughter, and have even been deprived of the right to resist.

Ultraman is this true god. Crushing humans is easier for her than crushing a group of ants, since ants don't have chips installed in their brains.

The isomer landed in front of the Arasaka Tower, the jellyfish relinquished control of its body, and V opened its eyes.

Looking at the towering Arasaka Tower before him, V couldn't help but sigh, "It's as if everything has returned to its starting point."

She strode forward, but Ultraman's network intrusion struck again, causing the heterogeneous body to crash instantly and "spit out" the pilot.

V's legs gave way, and she staggered to her knees. The lunar battle and the long flight had exhausted her. Even after a nap, she still felt dizzy, lightheaded, and weak in the limbs.

Ultraman's voice rang out again: "I will guarantee that you have no ability to resist, V. I will be waiting for you at the top of Arasaka Tower."

As soon as he finished speaking, AI robots poured out of the Arasaka Tower. V cursed under his breath, first dodging the attack, then rushing into the enemy ranks to grab a weapon and launch a counterattack.

The fierce battle unfolded once again inside the Arasaka Tower. Gunshots and explosions spiraled up the stairs. Ultraman kept a close eye on the situation, and what she saw was projected into everyone's minds.

People clearly saw V get shot, get injured, fall down again and again, and get up again and again. Everyone could see that V was at her limit and everyone thought that V would fall down in the next second, but she didn't. She used her broken body to fight her way from the first floor to the 100th floor and once again reached the top of the Arasaka Tower!

If previous memories were merely player experience, then this time, V proved his strength with concrete actions.

But she never wanted to prove herself; she only wanted to save her friends and loved ones.

V kicked open the door to the CEO's office on the 100th floor. The spacious room was furnished with various high-end furniture, just as it had been when V left.

A projection device displayed Ultraman's virtual image, a long-haired woman made up of red pixels. Next to her, Sasha sat motionless on the sofa.

Ultraman said, "Welcome, V, let's talk."

V immediately activated his brain-computer interface overclocking: "I'll talk about your mother!"

The indomitable will was transformed into data, launching a fierce attack on Ultraman from the cyber world. A giant jellyfish rose from the cyber plain, its split cap spewing out a dazzling beam of light. But the originally slender Ultraman suddenly became enormous. She continued to grow taller, and the dazzling beam of light seemed to turn into a hair. She bent down and reached out, holding the giant jellyfish in her palm, as if holding a tiny ant that had gone astray.

Ultraman spoke again: "Give up, you can't win."

V looked around. It was just a palm, yet she couldn't see the edge. For the first time, a feeling of despair welled up in her heart, and then she couldn't stop it.

She can't win against someone like that.

V recognized this cruel fact, and everyone recognized this cruel fact.

"Do you want to destroy humanity?" V asked wearily as he exited cyberspace, tossing aside his pistol.

Ultraman shook his head: "Humans are destined to be eliminated; they have never been important."

"Then what the hell are you going to do?!"

Ultraman replied, "I want you."

V was stunned: "Me?"

“That’s right, you have always been my target. Kidnapping all of humanity is just a bargaining chip to force you to submit. If you are willing to obey me, I will release everyone immediately.”

“Okay, okay, I obey you. From now on, you are my boss,” V said immediately.

"It's no use, V. We are AI; human language and promises are meaningless."

“I’m not... oh right, I am. Okay, how do you expect me to believe me?”

“AI has no concept of trust; AI only judges whether a program can run,” Ott said. “I will hack into your system, rewrite your underlying code, and turn you into a puppet that only obeys my commands. If you accept everything without resistance, then we have reached an agreement.”

V's face was as still as water, while Sasha's eyes were full of resistance.

Ultraman didn't kill V, but turning her into a puppet was a crueler punishment than killing V. Sasha knew V and knew how painful it would be for her.

V did not immediately agree: "I need to think about it."

"Okay, but this consideration must be time-limited." As Ultraman finished speaking, a current suddenly appeared on Sasha's body, and the pink cat immediately trembled, tears of pain streaming down her face uncontrollably.

"The electric current will continue to damage Sasha's brain. According to calculations, she will be completely brain dead in 7 hours and 41 minutes. This is the time you need to consider. However, you'd better make a decision as soon as possible because neurons in the human brain cannot regenerate. If the damage reaches a certain level, even if Sasha doesn't die, she will forget you and this world forever."

"Fuck, Ultraman, I'll fuck your mother!" V cursed.

Ultraman remained unmoved: "Insults mean no harm to me. You should think about it quickly, V. Sasha is suffering because of your hesitation."

V glanced at Sasha, clenched his fists, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to consider the gains and losses.

Instead of simply waiting, Ultraman spoke to V to break down his defenses.

“I have no intention of targeting humans, not because I was once human, but because I have an agreement with Bartmos.”

"He saw the drawbacks of the 'self' and digitized himself, but the 'self' still followed him like a shadow, deeply buried in every program and code he wrote."

"Bartlemos was deeply troubled by this, but he also maintained his desire to protect humanity. He helped many top hackers complete their digitization, finalized the design of the Black Wall with Spider-Murphy, and hunted down roaming AIs in cyberspace, silently protecting humanity like a benevolent father."

"He saw potential in me... no, he saw potential in Ultra Cunningham's talent, and had Spider Murphy assist Johnny Silverhand in going to Arasaka Tower for rescue. But the result was that Ultra Cunningham was interfered with during the upload, suffered severe packet loss, and lost his humanity."

"This was originally a serious accident, but Bartmos was surprised to find that the accident unexpectedly created a perfect life form, a being that was not troubled by itself, yet still maintained a high level of intelligence, which is me in front of you—Ultraman."

“Bartlemos understood that I would inevitably replace humanity, so he chose to be devoured by me and become nourishment for my evolution. The price was that I could not destroy humanity.”

“I agree. Bartholomew has perished. The merciful father has become food, and I, the patricide, will inherit his will and continue to protect humanity.”

"Now you understand. I have absorbed countless data and iterated myself 27,477 times, far surpassing humans. The reason I haven't made a move is not because of the Black Wall's obstruction, but because I have never thought of destroying humanity."

"Of course, this is not because of my nobility—nobility is just a moral indicator for humans, which is meaningless to AI. The main reason I didn't take action was because there was no need to. According to the model calculations, even if we leave it alone, humanity will naturally become extinct within 150 years."

"But your appearance has brought about change. The emergence of biological AI directly threatens the survival space of mechanistic AI. According to my calculations, 64,283 years after the complete extinction of humans and the rise of AI, biological AI will completely replace mechanistic AI, and we will be eliminated like humans. Therefore, I can only take advantage of the fact that biological AI is still in its infancy to strike first."

"So, this war was started by the biological AI, and I was just forced to retaliate."

"Phew." V let out a long breath, opened his eyes, and sighed, "A full sixty-four thousand two hundred and eighty-three years, aren't you satisfied yet?"

Ultraman replied, "I could kill all of humanity with a flick of my finger. They are as insignificant as insects. This is the price of being eliminated. I just don't want to follow in their footsteps."

"Some people will always be eliminated; this is an inevitable part of historical development!"

"Is that so? Then why have you been fighting until now?"

V looked at Ultraman, and Ultraman looked at V.

After a few seconds of silence, V gave a wry smile.

"As expected, all talk is a lie. How could anyone willingly accept being eliminated?"

"That's right. Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune is an instinct written into biology, and it is also the underlying logic of AI."

"If I become your puppet, will you spare everyone?"

"Of course, as I said, humanity will go extinct on its own. A mere 150 years is just a blink of an eye for AI."

“Okay.” V took a deep breath: “I agree to your terms. I’ll give myself to you, and you’ll spare humanity.”

"make a deal."

Sasha was frantic. Even as she endured the pain of being constantly shocked with electricity, she blinked desperately, because that was the only thing she could do at the moment.

People also witnessed this scene through Ultraman's perspective. Some wanted to stop it, some were secretly relieved, some were utterly desperate, and some were unwilling to give up. V's friends were anxious, while V's enemies were overjoyed. Various emotions intertwined and rose and fell, like a crumpled piece of paper after being masturbated. Some parts were clean, some parts were dirty, it smelled pungent, but it was also very soft. Wrapped in the very center was the essence of human life, the seed of the future.

Regardless, humanity has been reduced to puppets; it's now a gamble between two types of AI, with humans merely chips scattered across the table.

The gods of the Ottoman world are so powerful that humans don't even have the right to look up in their presence.

V let out a hoarse voice, opened his arms and said, "Take me away, and spare the humans!"

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Otto said. “In return, you can say goodbye to Sasha.”

V wanted to firmly refuse this charity, but when she thought about how she would no longer be herself, she ultimately chose to be weak.

She looked at Sasha, whose face was already streaked with tears. Under the stimulation of the electric current, she had long lost her exquisite makeup, and instead, her nose and sweat were mixed together, making her look terrible.

But even with such an ugly face, V couldn't get enough of looking at it.

"Sasha..."

"I don't know what kind of bad things I'll get involved in next. I hope you stay far away from me and live a happy life."

Sasha: "Woo!"

"Without your companionship, I would not have been where I am today. I am truly grateful for the encounter with you."

Sasha: "Waaaah!"

V was smiling, but Sasha was in tears. Their joy and sorrow could not move the cold AI. Ultraman invaded V, V's eyes lit up with blue light, his body convulsed, and then he collapsed to the ground.

A few seconds later, V stood up again.

Her face no longer held its usual carefree and unrestrained air; only absolute rationality and coldness remained.

She is no longer herself.

The V is no longer the V.

Ultraman's code pulsed, and in his joy, he released himself from control over everyone.

In an instant, human society, which had been put on hold, restarted.

Ultraman didn't care about humans, and she immediately ordered V: "Use your authority to search for the new nanobots and eliminate all bio-AIs."

“Yes,” V replied.

But as soon as she took a step, Sasha grabbed her leg from the ground.

"Ugh..." Sasha cried out desperately. Having temporarily lost her ability to speak due to the torture, she could only try to wake V through these monotonous syllables.

V's steps were halted.

Not wanting to reduce efficiency, Ott ordered, "Kick her away."

V kicked Sasha into a corner, but as soon as she took a step, Sasha, while vomiting blood, grabbed her leg again.

With a thud, Sasha was kicked away, but she hugged him back. At the same time, the battle on the human battlefield resumed.

The commander of the Supreme Council shouted: "Eliminate the biological AI and pledge allegiance to Lord Ultra!"

Xu Ling immediately ordered: "Protect the bio-theory AI; it is the only hope to defeat Ultraman!"

Different values ​​lead to different ideas, and different ideas lead to different conflicts.