2077: V really knows how awesome he is

The protagonist in the story who was initially abusive immediately turned from anger to joy.

The two went out together, and V called a Delaman car. After getting in, the car took off, which surprised Vera: "Old Delaman is using a hovercar to pick up passengers?!"

V didn't answer. Instead, Delaman's bald image appeared on the screen behind the front seat, smiling as he said, "Hello, sir or madam, thank you for your recognition of our company. Delaman Taxi Company has always kept pace with the times and strives to meet the various needs of passengers. We not only offer aircar rental services, but also spaceship rental services. If you don't like the crowded space buses, you can also choose Delaman Space Shuttle, which can take you from single-person shuttles to small airships that can accommodate a family of six, to large ships for company team building. Delaman has it all. People-oriented is our consistent principle, and efficient service is our lifelong philosophy. Choose Delaman, and leave your troubles at the door."

Vera gave a thumbs up: "Awesome!"

The Delaman air taxis drove fast and steadily, as fast as the ever-evolving technology of humankind, and as steady as the peaceful and prosperous lives of the people.

V and Vera got out of the car in the parking lot at the entrance of the afterlife, and Vera recognized the place at a glance.

"Didn't you say it's 2157 now? Why is it still running in the next life?"

V replied, "Because I invested in it."

Vera was speechless for a moment: "How much money do you actually have?"

V countered with, "Will you remember how many slices of bread you've eaten in your lifetime?"

Damn, you big dog.

Vera cursed inwardly again before saying, "I want to order the most expensive drinks later."

V said nonchalantly, "Whatever you want."

The afterlife in 2157 was not much different: noisy music, bustling crowds, and handsome men and beautiful women gathered together, living a life of debauchery.

"Hey, it still tastes just like before!" Vera felt right at home in the afterlife. She opened her arms, took a deep breath of the polluted air, and exclaimed, "This is the heart of Night City! I can almost hear it beating!"

"It jumps every day, and you're only hearing it today?"

“Hey, I was almost dead before, wasn’t I?” Vera chuckled, sat down at the bar and said to the bartender, “A tequila, please.”

V sat down next to her and added, "We want the Dionysus."

Vera nodded approvingly: "It seems we're alike when it comes to drinking."

The bartender poured two glasses of wine, and the two Vs raised their glasses at the same time, clinked them together, and drank them down in one gulp.

"Haha, cool!"

Villaja exhaled a breath of alcohol and said to the bartender, "Give me a pack of cigarettes."

V was slightly surprised: "You smoke?"

"What street hustler doesn't smoke?" Vera took the cigarette from the bartender and said with a smile, "Do you know what the saying is?"

"Appreciate further details."

"Smoke is power, alcohol is bounce; master these two, and you'll be invincible!" Vera said, then patted his pockets before realizing he'd changed his clothes. He could only ask the bartender, cigarette dangling from his lips, "Brother, got a light?"

The bartender smiled slightly, snapped his fingers, and a flame appeared at his fingertips, precisely and swiftly lighting Vera's cigarette.

"Holy crap, that was awesome! How did you do that?" Vera asked excitedly.

The bartender was taken aback: "Isn't that something everyone can do?"

V waved his hand: "Ignore her, she's from the countryside."

The bartender glanced at Vera's face, which was exactly like V's, and wisely kept quiet.

Then Vera made another discovery. She pointed to the old woman in the yellow dress passing by in the corridor and exclaimed in surprise, "Holy crap, is that Roger?! She's still alive! If it really is 2157, then that means she's over 150 years old?"

V asked curiously, "What's the problem?"

“Of course there’s a problem.” Vera exclaimed in surprise, “Saburo Arasaka was only a little over 150 years old when he died, but he was the boss of Arasaka and had countless technological resources. How could Rogge, a mere middleman, have the power to live for so long?”

“The average human lifespan is now around 600 years,” V casually remarked, revealing a piece of news that shocked Vera.

"600 years old?! How did they manage that?"

"Gene technology. I bought the Herbal Trial recipe from the Witcher world, reverse-engineered the relevant technology from it, and then applied it to greatly increase human lifespan..."

“Wait a minute.” Vera interrupted V: “What do you mean by ‘The Witcher World’?”

"It's another world, or planet, about tens of thousands of light-years away from Earth."

"Hundreds of thousands of light-years?! How did you get there?"

"A leap, what else?"

Vera shuddered repeatedly, as if dozens of vibrating eggs were stuck in her crotch, the vibrations numbing her: "You guys have even mastered warp technology?"

“Yes,” V said matter-of-factly, “Didn’t I tell you?”

Vera was certain: "You never told me that."

“Really?” V shrugged and picked up his glass. “Then I’ll punish myself with a drink.”

Vera was about to ask about the jump in detail when she saw a familiar figure walk into the afterlife.

With a bear-like physique and a bun hairstyle, this is exactly...

"Jack!!!"

Vera suddenly stood up and rushed forward to hug his good brother.

"Thank goodness, you're still alive! This is fucking amazing!!!" Vera truly shed tears.

Jack, a little embarrassed, said to Vera, who was hugging him, "Cheka, I like your enthusiasm, but I have to say you've mistaken me for someone else. Jack is my dad."

Vera: "..."

“Let me introduce you,” V said, suppressing a laugh. “This is Matteo Wells, son of Jack and Misty, and the chief disciple of Triss, the Minister of Non-Science.”

Matteo looked at Vera, then at V: "What's going on, Chairman V? How come she looks exactly like you? Is she an android double you created?"

“No.” V put his arm around Vera’s neck and said with a smile, “This is my long-lost younger sister.”

Vera: "..."

Chapter 145 Giant Treasure Chest

"Why am I the younger sister?" Vera asked, dissatisfied.

V was also very understanding: "How about you be my daughter? I don't mind."

“I mind!” Vera exclaimed angrily. “I mean, why can’t I be the older sister?”

V couldn't help but laugh: "I'm 103 years old this year, and you're 23. Why don't you think you can be the older sister?"

Vera retorted, "So what if I'm older?"

“Of course it’s amazing.” V spoke the truth: “I’ve always known how awesome I am.”

“Narcissist.” Vera snorted, abandoning the topic of her sisters and changing the subject.

"Since he had a son named Matteo, does that mean Jack is really still alive?"

V opened his palm and displayed a holographic photograph. In the photograph, a burly man wearing glasses and a blue work uniform was holding a certificate in his hand, smiling kindly at the camera, looking like an ordinary middle-aged man who would go fishing on the weekend.

Vera asked curiously, "Who's this idiot?"

V answered, "Jack."

Vera exclaimed in shock, "What happened to Jack?"

"Because he is now the most outstanding mechanical engineer in Arasaka 2077, his glasses are actually rangefinders, and his blue work clothes are made of high-polymer nanomaterials, which can resist various injuries such as electric shock, corrosion and collision during construction. This is standard work equipment, and he should wear it like this."

"Jack? Mechanical engineer?" How are these two words connected?

“A little bit of talent, plus persistent hard work,” V laughed. “Jack has always liked tinkering with those metal lumps, barbell plates and engines. Remember that secondhand Nazaré he bought? He modified it himself.”

“Yes, yes, he added an extra exhaust pipe.” Vera recalled the past and finally felt at peace. Although her good friend Jack was completely different from the one she remembered, as long as he was still alive, that was enough.

"Would you like me to arrange a meeting between you and Jack?" V asked. She understood Vera's feelings for Jack because she felt the same way herself.

Vera thought for a moment and shook her head: "Forget it, it's better for him and Misty to live a good life. I, a jinx, won't disturb their normal life."

V was a little surprised by this answer; she hadn't expected Vera to have the same idea as her.

So are they the same person? If so, why do they have different names and backgrounds? If not, why did they make the same choices?

There are too many questions. Time is like a cunning little girl. V thought that lifting the other person's skirt would allow her to reach their stomach in one step, but she found that there was a layer of safety shorts under the skirt. She could only see the outline, but could not push it in.

Forget it, we've already waited 80 years, what's a few more days? Vera's appearance has pointed the way for the Astraea Project, and they will eventually get the answer.

Seeing Vera looking somewhat melancholy, V, now relieved, suggested, "Shall we have another drink?"

“Yes, let’s have another drink. A good drink can wash away all worries.” Vera quickly felt relieved and generously told V, “This one’s on me.”

V did not refuse.

But the bartender refused.

Because Vera couldn't pay the bill.

"What do you mean you can't pay? I transferred money to you in Euros!"

The bartender replied, "The euro was abolished more than 50 years ago."

"The euro is void?!" Vera exclaimed in surprise. "Would the European Central Bank agree to this?"

"Disagree, so the European Bank was also dissolved."

Vera gasped: "The European Bank dissolved? Who did it?!"

The bartender glanced at V, who remained calm.

Vera was dumbfounded.

"You took down Bank Europe?" she asked. "You have this kind of business talent? Oh right, you're different from me, you're a corporate dog. Tell me, what kind of business strategy did you use to defeat that financial giant, Bank Europe?"

V chuckled: "I used a nuclear bomb."

Vera: "...Huh?"

"Don't you know what a nuclear bomb is? It's round, cute, and it'll feel really warm when you drop it..."

"Of course I know what a nuclear bomb is. I just don't understand how you came up with the idea of ​​using nuclear bombs to wage a business war?"

V shrugs: "Because I have nuclear weapons."

"European banks also have it!"

"I threw it away earlier than they did."

Vera was speechless.

She never expected such a simple and unpretentious business battle, and she certainly never expected such a simple and unpretentious war.

This V in front of me claims to have unified the Earth. Could it be true?

Vera was starting to believe it a little.

"If the euro were to become obsolete, what currency would we use now?"

"CPP, abbreviated as PP".

"What the hell is this?"

“Computing power points,” V explained. “AI is now ubiquitous, replacing humans in all walks of life. For most humans, the only job they can find is to rent out their brains to provide computing power. We have a scientific algorithm that can accurately record the computing power points provided by each person. These points are equivalent to currency, having liquidity but no longer having financial characteristics. They cannot be speculated on or hoarded, and they will neither appreciate nor depreciate. Their purpose is to measure a person’s contribution to society as a whole and to be used to purchase various goods.”

Vera was stunned: "Bitcoin?"

"You can understand it that way. But strictly speaking, Bitcoin is not a computing power product but a financial product. It's a scheme created by capital to fleece investors, and it's fundamentally different from P2P lending."

Vera didn't understand at all: "What do you mean?"

"This means that Bitcoin itself has limited value, and capital is merely exploiting its scarcity as a unit of computing power to manipulate the market. Given the right timing, capital could even use cow dung to replace Bitcoin, for example, pricing dry cow dung, wet cow dung, and cow dung that is neither dry nor wet. If handled properly, cow dung could trigger a new wave of investment frenzy, just like Bitcoin. Perhaps someone would even establish ranches to raise cattle specifically for producing cow dung. But the reality is that even if a pound of cow dung is speculated to a sky-high price of 1 euros, that's just a financial attribute and doesn't have any real value."

Are the PP points different?

"Of course they are different. PP points can be directly utilized by AI to optimize and iterate themselves, thereby continuously expanding productivity and producing more resources to meet social needs. Every PP point is a manifestation of material wealth, and there is no fraud involved."

“Oh.” Vera crossed her arms and nodded repeatedly. “I completely understand.”

V could tell she didn't understand at all, but you can't expect too much from a street kid.

Vera glanced at the bartender: "Can he earn points working here too?"

V shook his head: "Of course not. PP points are a manifestation of computing power, but bartending cannot generate computing power."

"Then how does he make a living?"

"It's also a PP point, but it's not for production; it's for consumption."