2077: V really knows how awesome he is

V fell silent, as if it really was a possibility.

After all, in the eyes of most people, Riot is just a larger version of a wandering AI, and a larger version of a wandering AI... is still a wandering AI.

Those Israeli bastards probably thought they had gotten a King, but little did they know that their King was actually a Joker.

V rubbed his temples: "Bomb Israel back to the Stone Age."

"Huh, aren't we going to destroy it?" Meredith Stock was a little surprised. After all, the Supreme Council was large and could run away, so they couldn't use weapons of mass destruction. Israel was such a small place, a sitting duck. How many nuclear bombs could they take if they were allowed to eat freely?

"No rush, I have a use for that roaming AI."

"What use is that thing?"

"Didn't the Black Wall collapse? I'm planning to create a new version, and I can use this roaming AI as a whetstone."

Meredith Stock's expression tightened, knowing this was the most important matter, since Ultraman was only seriously injured, not dead.

"Do we have test personnel? If needed, New America can mobilize some."

“No need.” V smiled. “We have 700 million prisoners.”

Soon, 13 nuclear bombs rained down from the sky, each decorated with hearts and angels. They helped Israel demolish old buildings, optimize its population structure, and remove industrial pollution, allowing them to return to a green and natural primitive society.

Most of the Israelis died, and those who survived were barely clinging to life. They cried out in despair amidst the ruins, denouncing God's injustice and questioning why their kind people were always subjected to such suffering.

The Israeli government was also taken aback and quickly issued a statement, citing the Bible to prove that it had only reclaimed its territory, not invaded, and had no intention of further expansion, hoping that General Xu would not misunderstand.

Xu Ling was so angry she laughed, and she directly took out the imperial edicts from various Chinese dynasties that had conferred titles upon East Asian countries.

That's a fictional myth, but mine is a real historical document, clearly stating in black and white which countries bowed down to our Celestial Empire. So, according to you, I can also go and reclaim my own territory?

Before Israel could even respond, Southeast Asian countries reacted angrily, accusing Israel of using the sword of the previous dynasty to punish officials of the current one, calling it pure sophistry and arguing that everything should be based on modern territorial boundaries, and that the so-called "Saint X" was a joke!

The international community has also issued condemnations, partly because they are genuinely disgusted by that nation, and partly because China has a book called the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

You use mythology to claim territory, and China can do the same. The *Classic of Mountains and Seas* says, "Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king." Now, the continents are being ravaged by the Supreme Council, and only China remains stable. If Xu Ling uses the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* to seize territory, who can stop her? The Chinese are all unification fanatics; such a scenario is not impossible.

Therefore, this door must never be opened.

Surprisingly, there are actually some people who want to open this door.

It's not Israel, it's Japan.

Japan was overrun by an AI army and then ravaged by nuclear weapons, leaving only one in ten of its citizens alive. But even that one in ten was still millions of people.

These people are neglected and unloved, and the international community itself is in grave danger, unable to care for them. Since AI withdrew, thanks to Comto rebuilding its Japanese branch, providing these refugees with basic living and medical supplies, maintaining social order, and ensuring stability, these millions of people have managed to survive, albeit with difficulty.

But their royal family was gone, their government was gone, and they were all lost and confused, unable to see the future. Suddenly, they heard about Israel's miraculous actions. They first cursed those shameless idiots, and then suddenly remembered a fact—we Japanese were also once venerated by the Celestial Empire, and Queen Himiko even submitted to Cao Cao. Therefore, we Japanese are not Japanese at all; we Japanese are actually Chinese!

Like a ray of light piercing the darkness, the Japanese refugees instantly understood and immediately began searching for the investiture documents from that time. Those documents were originally kept as antiques by the Japanese Imperial Family, and since the Imperial Family no longer possessed them, they had naturally long since turned to dust.

Even so, the Japanese refugees were not discouraged. If the real thing is gone, then we'll make a fake one!

So a group of Japanese people used ancient papermaking techniques and handmade ink, and finally managed to produce a document that was almost identical to the one shown on the internet. They then found a sixteen-year-old girl who claimed to be a descendant of Himiko, and presented her with both hands to the Japanese branch of Kangtao, saying that their daughter, who had been separated from her country for many years, was returning home and hoped that her motherland would take her in.

The head of Kangtao's Japanese branch was completely stunned. Looking down at the refugees holding up signs and shouting "Japan has been an inseparable part of China since ancient times" made him even more stunned. He felt that the scene in front of him was even more surreal than the fact that President V was an AI.

He couldn't make such a big decision on his own. First, he settled the young girl who was "a descendant of Himiko," and then he sent the investiture document to Xu Ling in Europe by express mail.

Xu Ling had been busy making animal feed lately, and every Chinese general understands the principle of "an army marches on its stomach." But when she saw the investiture document, she was completely taken aback.

First, I didn't expect anyone to actually bring up these scraps of paper; second, there were even typos in the document.

"Damn, these documents must have been forged by those Japanese bastards!"

The documents were forged, but the desire to return was genuine.

Xu Ling was also in a dilemma, so she simply ordered an expedited service and sent the investiture document to Night City.

V held the investiture document and looked at it carefully for a long time, nodding and humming in agreement, as if she was deep in thought. Sasha rolled her eyes and whispered to her, "You're holding it upside down."

"Ahem." V blushed slightly. She knew a few Chinese characters, but who could recognize ancient Chinese characters? Even automatic translation software needed to download a 7-euro update package to recognize them. It was perfectly normal for her to take them upside down.

"I have no objection. Let Xu Ling decide for herself."

So the ball was passed back to Xu Ling, and the young star general spent the whole night thinking while chewing on a protein bar before finally making a decision.

China recognizes the authenticity and legality of the investiture documents, and Japan will become a province of Japan, returning to the motherland.

The news sent Japanese refugees into a frenzy of joy. They sang and danced to celebrate their return, shouting in their newly learned Chinese:

"I am Chinese! I am Chinese!"

Well, the person who taught him Chinese also had an accent.

The receiving work was naturally handled by subordinates, and the first batch of official aid supplies was ready to be sent to Japan as soon as possible.

"General, is this alright?" the guard asked awkwardly.

Xu Ling retorted, "What's wrong with that?"

"That's the Japanese!"

"It's true that it's Japan, but that's still 37.8 square kilometers! If I didn't want such a huge piece of land offered to me, I would be ashamed before my ancestors!"

"They're all ungrateful wretches!"

"There are plenty of alien races that have gone from being ungrateful wretches to being treated like guard dogs. Otherwise, how do you think our many ethnic groups came to be?" Xu Ling said confidently. "How can we expand our territory and conquer the world if we're afraid of this and that? If we can feed the ungrateful wretches well, we'll feed them; if not, we'll beat them. It's that simple. As long as we remain strong, even if the ungrateful wretches pretend to submit, they'll have to pretend to be obedient for the rest of their lives!"

"What if they take this opportunity to rise to power?"

"What do we do?" Xu Ling glared at the guard: "We have over a billion, they only have a few million. This is enough to make them rise to power. A bunch of useless idiots shouldn't wait for them to make a move. They might as well buy a block of tofu and smash their heads against it!"

And so, Japan returned to China. Ambitious people jumped around in a frenzy, but in the end, they only benefited others.

V, always eager for drama, even used this incident to mock Michiko Arasaka, only to be silenced by her reply, "I'm an American citizen."

Finally, V flew into a rage, picked up Michiko, and carried her into the bedroom, where sobbing and pleas for mercy echoed throughout the entire night.

The next day, V went to the laboratory feeling refreshed and discussed his plan with Nakamura Kayo.

"Using nanorobots as vaccines, allowing them to integrate with the human brain, and leveraging their built-in networks to defend against the intrusion of roving AI?" Nakamura Kayo was taken aback: "How did you come up with this idea?"

V pointed to his forehead: "Because that's just how I am."

Nakamura Kayo suddenly realized.

V's identity is already widely known. She is a super AI created using V's thought model and reinjected into V's body in the form of a nanobot cluster. The nanobot cluster fully integrates with V's brain and gradually transforms other organs of the body through blood. The seemingly atrophied nervous system is actually a transformation process, just like how building a new building requires demolishing the old one first.

After thinking about it carefully for a while, Nakamura Kayo nodded: "It should be feasible, but of course, I still need to conduct actual verification."

"Test, test as much as you want, test without restraint." V patted his chief scientist: "700 million prisoners, we can have as many lab rats as we need."

Nakamura Kayo didn't mince words and immediately asked for 3000 people.

As a resident of Night City, Nakamura Kayo is indeed kind, but she hasn't lost her ruthlessness.

In her view, using those beasts on the Supreme Council as guinea pigs was simply giving them face. They should be grateful to her for giving them a chance to atone for their sins. And she herself was doing a great job by personally dissecting these beasts' bodies, opening their heads, dismantling them into parts, and kneading and manipulating them one by one without caring about the dirt or the stench!

So Nakamura Kayo proudly began her work. The first batch of mice arrived quickly, but they were used up in just two days.

V: "Everyone is very enthusiastic about their work."

The second batch of mice increased in number to a full 5000, but they were used up in just two days.

V: "..."

The third batch of mice was increased in number, totaling 8000, and they were still used up in two days.

V couldn't stand it anymore and went to the lab to criticize Nakamura Kayo.

"You're really reckless! You used up 8000 mice in just two days. What if you overwork yourself? From now on, you can't use more than 3000 a day!"

Nakamura Kayo was deeply grateful and wished she could repay V's kindness with her life.

Through her tireless efforts, she finally succeeded in creating the first experimental subject 17 days later.

This experimental subject had essentially been turned into an idiot. He was connected to the Israeli network and immediately attacked by the roving AIs kept by the other side. After holding out for 1 minute and 03 seconds, he was finally defeated and his brain was burned.

Although it failed, it was still a successful breakthrough. Nakamura Kayo learned from the experience, summarized the shortcomings, and innovated. She conducted many more experiments and made great progress. The thirty-fourth experimental subject was able to withstand the invasion of the roving AI for more than seven minutes.

Everyone thought victory was just around the corner, but something completely unexpected happened.

As implantation technology becomes more sophisticated, test subjects will no longer have their brains damaged, and their physical condition will improve. The thirty-seventh test subject was a middle-aged woman who suddenly gained the ability to create flames out of thin air after undergoing a nano-implantation experiment.

Inside the completely enclosed laboratory, the woman was engulfed in flames. A fireball she casually threw had the power of a bottle of ordinary Molotov cocktail. She was extremely excited, her expression a mixture of piety and madness.

She kept throwing fireballs, claiming that she had received the grace of God and that the great Archbishop Lancelot had given her the power to fight against the heretics who were ravaging the world.

"I am the God of Fire, personally appointed by Lord Lancelot! You will all die, not one of you will escape!!!"

Then, with a loud "bang," Lord Vulcan was shot in the head and was dead beyond any doubt.

"You're a bit of a noob, you can't even stop a large-caliber sniper bullet accelerated by electromagnetic force." David, who was called in to save the day, curled his lip and put away his gun.

Nakamura Kayo dissected the body but found nothing unusual, unable to understand how this woman acquired her fire control ability.

She delegated the problem to other research groups and returned to her work on implanting nanorobots.

However, the experimental subjects later exhibited a more widespread phenomenon of "superpower awakening," including not only those who could control fire, but also those who could control earth and wind.

During this period, David killed 7 gods of fire, 3 gods of earth, and 12 gods of wind, becoming the human who killed the most gods.

"What kind of gods are they? Apart from some superpowers that are a bit underwhelming, they are still just mortals!" David firmly believed that anyone who couldn't stop the cat sniper rifle was not a god.

Indeed, the physical fitness of these experimental subjects did not improve, nor did they physiologically transcend the human realm. As for why they developed superpowers, Nakamura Kayo made a bold inference after combining all the data.

"It's because of the nanorobots. Fire control, soil control, and wind control come from three types of nanorobots that target different types of pollution. They have reached a certain number in nature and have a huge amount of network computing power. For some unknown reason, the test subjects were connected to this network. Based on their own assumptions, they inadvertently mobilized the corresponding nano-clusters, thus gaining a kind of superpower-like existence."

V asked, "Controlling wind and soil is one thing, but what about controlling fire? None of the three types of nanobots are related to fire."

"This is the capability of the new type of nanorobot, which generates hydrogen through the electrolysis of water to ignite a flame. That's the principle."

Oh, you can do that?

V, speechless for a moment, stretched out her hand and, according to this theory, activated the nanonetwork. With a "poof," a fireball condensed in her palm.

Damn, that's really true!

Kayo Nakamura exclaimed excitedly, "I knew I was right!"

"Can this function be turned off?" V asked, looking at the fireball in his palm.

Kayo Nakamura thought for a moment and shook her head: "As long as the nanonetwork is connected, this situation cannot be avoided."

"Just like how young people, once they learn to use the internet, can't help but download porn?"

"Well, that's not wrong."

“Alright.” V extinguished the flame. “Nano implantation is on hold. Let’s solve this problem first.”

"Yes."

V is trying to create a portable black wall, not to usher in an era of universal superpowers. Putting aside other things, she thinks a bunch of Homelanders will definitely pop up in Night City.

But after a month of research, there was still no progress in stopping people from watching pornography.

With science proving ineffective, V decides to turn to theology.

"Hi, Misty, are you in the store?"

"Hey V, want me to do a fortune telling for you?"

"I definitely need to have the divination done, but I have something even more important to discuss with you."

"What's more important?"

"I've decided to establish the Department of Paranormal Applications and Research and Development, and you will be the head of it."

Chapter 116 Misty's Third Prophecy

Misty's fortune-telling shop.

"The Supernatural Applications and Research Department?" Misty asked again, confirming, "Are you serious?"

"of course."

“Supernatural powers are indeed worth exploring, but Minister, forget it. I’m just a fortune teller on the street.”

“But your predictions were spot on.” V read aloud the divination from back then: “The crisis is spreading quietly through habitual compromise; the fall of the two represents the simultaneous collapse of the cognitive self and the social self; after the collapse of the old personality structure, the three selves struggle in the spiritual ruins, and the essence of the choice is to kill a version of oneself; the unfinished awakening will lead to a cycle of crisis, and the answer lies in the abyss where the clarion call has not yet arrived. —Your divination has all come true, and it is with these revelations that I was able to come up with a strategy to turn defeat into victory.”

Misty humbly replied, "This is not my doing; I am merely relaying to you what the Great Energy has told me."

“Yes, you’re most familiar with the Great Energy, which is why I’m asking you to be the minister. Or you could give me its phone number and I’ll personally invite it.”