2077: V really knows how awesome he is

V glanced at the bartender, who smiled slightly, his face suddenly splitting open to reveal the intricate mechanical structure beneath.

"Fuck me!"

Vera was startled: "He's a...?!"

“AI,” V explained, “all the bartenders in Night City, regardless of age or gender, are actually the same thing, so don’t worry, the next time you go to another bar, the bartenders there will remember that you only drink Hundred Gods Tequila.”

The bartender closed his face and gave Vera a friendly smile.

Vera felt a chill run down her spine: "Has Night City's AI become so rampant?"

"There are quite a lot. The staff you see on the street are basically AI, and they look no different from ordinary people."

Vera was sweating profusely: "I thought all AIs were like the old German one."

“Haha.” V chuckled: “Old De is an old relic in the AI ​​world, a conservative. Other AIs have kept up with the times and created their own bionic bodies, but he’s still sticking to the old ways and just using electronic images to fool people.”

Vera hadn't expected there to be such outdated AIs, and she was at a loss for words. But she quickly thought of another question: "With so many AIs, aren't you afraid of an AI rebellion and a machine crisis?"

"Not afraid."

"why?"

"Because I am also AI."

"Oh, so you're an AI too, then... Holy crap, you're an AI?!" Vera realized something was wrong halfway through her sentence and jumped up high.

"Yes, I am an AI." V explained his identity and background in detail.

Vera was filled with mixed feelings after hearing this; besides shock, she was mostly confused.

"You told me such a big secret so easily? Do you trust me that much?"

“Trust is not the point,” V said frankly. “The main problem is that the information is described in more detail on the Night City Encyclopedia than I just mentioned. You can find it by searching online. I can’t hide it from you.”

Vera was shocked once again: "You said your identity and background are online, and the whole world knows you are an AI?"

"Yes."

"Would humans allow an AI to lead?"

"What's the problem?"

Vera sighed, "It's nothing, it's just that the humans in your world seem to be a bit sick."

"Haha."

V burst into laughter. The humans in this world don't have any major illnesses; it's the higher-ups in this world who have major illnesses.

She recounted that history to Vera, who immediately realized, "Damn, no wonder humanity was willing to be led by you. It turns out humanity was betrayed by the higher-ups. They abandoned all of humanity and ran away at a time of life and death. Speaking of which, weren't those the bastards who caused trouble on Mars?"

“No, they’re the descendants of those bastards,” V corrected.

Vera asked curiously, "Human lifespan on Earth has increased to 600 years. Doesn't Mars have the most advanced technology? Shouldn't they live even longer than humans on Earth?"

"Under the rule of a group of oligarchs, do you think they would focus on developing technology? No, they would only focus on maintaining their rule. With the top human leaders gathered in that tiny Martian colony, you can easily imagine the constant infighting and backstabbing. They won't be as professional as AI; they will only try to concentrate wealth and power in their own hands, even if it means destroying productivity and hindering social development."

"Mars is relatively better off; at least they're making slow progress in order to survive. There's a race that's been a nation for over ten thousand years, but they're still in the age of cold weapons—that's truly absurd."

"More than ten thousand years ago, it was still the age of cold weapons?" Vera exclaimed in surprise. "What kind of stupid race is this?"

"Elf."

"Damn, why are elves showing up... Oh well, whatever. Elves in the stories I've heard are all pretty smart, how come they're so lame?"

"Like the Martians, they have a group of rigid and inflexible rulers. But what's even more tragic than the Martians is that the elves have a lifespan far exceeding that of humans, around 1000 years. As a result, their ruling class is even more stubborn, more corrupt, and more out of touch with the times. They suppress all new things they don't understand because they don't know if these new things will overthrow their rule. As a result, they've been in the age of cold weapons for 10,000 years, and even their magical abilities have declined with each generation."

"They even have magic? I'm not surprised at all," Vera said to herself, then asked, "And what happened to the Elf Kingdom after that?"

"Like human history, Europe in the past experienced a devastating Black Death. The corrupt Papacy rulers all died, so the Renaissance came, and the West began to surpass the East in all aspects. I defeated the previous Elf King, and the Elf Kingdom became a vassal state of humanity. So they have now entered the electrical age and are building a fifth-generation universal communication network based on the Magic Network."

"You mean you're like the Black Death?"

"No, I mean I'm more precise and efficient than the Black Death."

Vera gave a thumbs-up with genuine admiration: "V, you're awesome!"

"It sounds a bit strange coming from you, like I'm bragging," V sighed softly.

"What, you look like there's something you can't handle?"

“Of course there are.” V told Vera about the 100,000 high-dimensional demons.

Vera was stunned: "No, why did you provoke that kind of enemy?!"

V retorted irritably, "I didn't provoke them; they're the ones who came to provoke me!"

"What should we do? What should we do?" Upon hearing that an army of 100,000 demons was lurking in the shadows, Vera suddenly developed the same "fear of insufficient firepower" as V.

V kindly comforted him, "Don't worry too much. We already have a plan. The most powerful thing about high-dimensional demons is their ability to control time. As long as we can also control time, the army of 100,000 demons is not invincible!"

Vera suddenly realized: "So you guys used time technology to blow me here?"

V said awkwardly, "It was an accident, purely an accident."

Vera glared at V, then frowned and thought for a moment: "It was an accident, but also an opportunity. Since I was able to come from 2077 to 2157, it proves that your theory is correct, but you just haven't found the key point."

"That's true, so I hope you can cooperate with our testing to find this key point."

"Damn it, with something this serious, you still have the leisure to drink with me here? Aren't you going to get tested right away?" Vera was even more anxious than V.

V was taken aback for a moment: "I was just thinking that since you've just arrived, I wanted you to rest for the night first."

"Rest my ass! Why sleep early in life when you're dead? You'll sleep forever after death. We'll drink after we've dealt with the 100,000 demons. Let's get the tests done and sort out the time technology."

Since even an outsider had said so, V couldn't slack off any longer. He paid the bill and left with Vera for the afterlife.

The parking lot outside.

"Where's Old De's hovercar?" Vera looked around.

“I let it go,” V replied.

"Then how do we get tested? Should we call another taxi?"

“Driving is too slow.” V grabbed Vera’s hand. “Let’s teleport there.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Vera saw a flash of white light and found herself in a large, technologically advanced laboratory.

She rubbed her lower back and asked, "Is this the small jump module you were talking about? I feel like someone kicked me in the back."

“You’ll get used to it.” V called out to the lab, “Astraea.”

"I'm here."

A huge woman with a hot figure, holding a sword and shield, appeared, nearly 10 meters tall.

Vera was startled: "Holy crap, what is this...?"

“Astraea, the master AI of the Astraea Project.” V introduced the two: “This is Vera, who came in 2077.”

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Vera. I hope you have a wonderful time in Night City."

"Uh, I'm a little unsure what to say, but anyway, thank you." Vera touched Astraea's calf and exclaimed in surprise, "It's a physical entity?"

"You know nanorobots, right? Astraea is an aggregate of nanoclusters. Normally, it exists scattered in various detection instruments, but when it needs to interact, it gathers together to form its current form. It's all science, so don't be too surprised."

"How could I not be surprised!" Vera stared intently at the two perfectly shaped, enormous treasure chests on Astraea's chest, drooling as she exclaimed, "I've never seen such big and firm breasts before. Can I rub them?"

V: "..."

Astraea: "..."

Chapter 146 Vera the Tiger

"Rub your head my foot!"

V slapped Vera on the head, and she chuckled sheepishly. Now fully recovered, she was in an incredibly good mood, good enough to joke around anytime.

“If she misbehaves, you’re allowed to activate the countermeasures,” V said to Astraea. “Now, give her a test.”

"Yes, we will begin the testing now. Please stand inside the yellow circle."

“Here?” Vera walked over.

"Yes, please remain standing and suspend all communication activities. It won't be long."

A beam of light enveloped Vera, scanning her body up and down repeatedly.

About 3 minutes later, the light disappeared.

"The test is complete, and the preliminary analysis report has been finalized."

"Send it over."

Astraea sent a document to V, who nodded and said "uh-huh" as he read it.

Vera asked curiously, "Give me one too."

V did not object, and Astraea sent a copy to Vera as well.

Vera eagerly opened it, only to find that she couldn't understand it at all.

"What is written here?"

V explained, "The reason you traveled from 2077 to 2157."

"Oh!" Vera exclaimed in realization, but upon looking at the document again, she immediately discovered that she still couldn't understand it!

She promptly threw the document into the recycle bin and said to V, "Please explain."

"Your cultural level needs improvement, your IQ is 3, I guess." V looked disgusted, having already forgotten that he used to have an IQ of 3.

Vera blushed and said, "I'm not a hacker, why would I need intelligence?"

“Yeah, yeah, you play S.A.S.S.,” V shrugged and said to Astraea, “Teach this street kid a lesson.”

Astraea nodded and began to explain to Vera.

"After analysis, it has been basically confirmed that your arrival in 2157 from 2077 was indeed due to a time travel. Unlike the small-scale time slowing technology we use on Sinweistein, it belongs to the true meaning of 'manipulating time,' which is exactly our long-term research goal."

Vera roughly understood: "So, how exactly did you manage to get me here? Didn't you say you couldn't find a clue?"

"Yes, but your appearance has brought us the possibility of a breakthrough. By analyzing the various information elements you carry and combining them with our past failures, we have finally found the difference between success and failure through cross-referencing."

Vera asked nervously, "What is it?"

“Balance.” Astraea gave another unexpected answer, opening her right hand and conjuring a golden scale from her palm.

"Just as manipulating space requires distorting gravity, manipulating time also has a necessary condition: balance. It's like a balance scale; both ends must remain balanced for time to be moved correctly. Our past failures were precisely because we didn't realize this, which is why we were unable to make progress."

Vera frowned: "It sounds like an environmentalist's speech, or some kind of primitive sect. Shouldn't science be a very rational thing? Your explanation sounds so mystical."

“Science and mysticism are both tools for measuring the world, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. If you’re not used to this way of speaking, I have another explanation.” Astraea said, putting away the golden scales and instead writing down a complex equation.

"This is the equation that represents time. Once we master it, we can master time. In the past, we lacked a key unknown, so the two sides of the equation could not be balanced. But we found the answer from you and obtained this key unknown, thus balancing the equation of time."

Vera understood now: "So what is this unknown?"

Astraea answered, "X".

What is X?

"X is X."

Vera was confused: "Didn't you say you already had the answer? Why is X still an unknown?"

"Because on a mathematical scale, an unknown is simply the number 'unknown,' and at the quantum level, X possesses both particle and wave properties. Since the world is composed of particles and waves, X can be anything and cannot be specifically expressed."

Vera was completely bewildered: "Wait a minute, let me sort this out. You're using waves and particles, which is too profound. Can't you explain it in a simpler way?"

Astraea said somewhat innocently, "It was you who just asked for a scientific explanation."

Vera was a little embarrassed: "How about you explain it in a non-scientific way?"

"Simply put, manipulating time comes at a price, and that price will be different each time," V explained on behalf of Astraea after reading the report.

The enormous treasure chest nodded repeatedly.

This explanation sounds a bit mystical, but this time Vera understood it. The male protagonist, Xiao Shuai, travels to the Dragon Palace and has a one-night stand with the Dragon King's daughter. When he returns to land, he finds that a hundred years have passed, and he has instantly become very old. That is the price of changing time—similar short video stories have countless versions online.

"So what was the price I paid for this time travel?" Vera asked.

“It’s space.” V sighed softly. “But don’t worry, because the one who will pay the price is not you, but me.”

"You?" Vera looked puzzled.