2077: V really knows how awesome he is

"Damn it, you're a fucking love-struck idiot!" Vera roared. "You'd risk your life for a lover? When did V become so sentimental?!"

Michiko was taken aback: "Huh, in your world, is this the kind of relationship I have with V? That's different from what we have here."

Vera glared at her: "Shut up!"

V looked at Vera: "I know this decision was impulsive, so you don't need to come with me. Go back."

"I'll tell you what's going on!" Vera gave V a vicious middle finger, and then, not satisfied, gave her another: "I'm not going to abandon you! She's just one V, but we're two Vs, we'll crush her and that'll be the end of it!"

V's lips curled slightly: "Yeah, just crush her and that'll be it."

Michiko smiled without saying a word. She had anticipated this situation, which was why she spoke the truth. As for why, it was probably because V had always been a loyal and devoted person—except, of course, for the V on their side.

“Tell me about her.” V looked at Michiko: “Since it’s so dangerous, we can’t fight a battle unprepared.”

"Yes, I will introduce you to all his information and materials."

Vera suddenly interrupted, "Wait a minute, this is the second time you've said 'him,' it can't be a slip of the tongue, could it be that the V in this world is a man?"

Michiko nodded: "Yes."

"This works?"

"It's just a matter of timing."

"Do female Vs like women, while male Vs like men?"

"No, male V still prefers women."

Vera looked at V with disdain: "No matter what you become, you'll always be a nectar fetishist!"

V retorted angrily, "What's wrong with liking Naiko? Besides, aren't you the same way?!"

"Oh, right, hahaha!" Vera scratched her head and laughed awkwardly.

Michiko fell silent. She suddenly began to doubt her plan. Could bringing these two goofballs really save the world?

"Why are you stuck?" Vera patted the monitor when Michiko didn't speak for a while. "Say your lines."

"Ah, sorry." Michiko snapped out of her daze and recounted the information about the male V one by one.

"After Miss Vera's death, people were plunged into grief, and the pace of technological progress slowed by 7 percentage points. Just when AI judged that human society had entered a period of development bottleneck, a genius was born."

"His name is Vincent. Even among the new humans like those in cyberpunk, he is the most outstanding. He learned all the knowledge that humanity has had since its birth in just seven months, and at the age of thirteen, he became the third chairman of the Human Federation with his absolutely outstanding performance. AI calculated that humanity would usher in a second great era, and people were delighted at the birth of another outstanding leader. But at this time, a chance encounter allowed Vincent to come into contact with V's genetic sample stored in the Supreme Memorial Hall. Perhaps out of respect for his predecessors, or perhaps simply out of a pursuit of power, Vincent became madly obsessed with everything about V."

“He began to study V’s gene fragments continuously. At first, people didn’t pay attention, and Vincent’s research was in accordance with safety regulations. It wasn’t until he got older that people noticed his appearance was becoming more and more like V’s back then, and they realized something was wrong.”

"AI asked him questions, but he used incredible network control to remove AI from its management. Only then did people realize that he had modified himself using V's genes as a template, turning the original Vincent into another V."

“Even in our world, this is a serious violation of ethics. Humanity demanded that Vincent resign immediately and accept punishment, but Vincent already possessed V's power. He easily controlled the network and used unmanned machines to launch a bloody crackdown on the rebels. More than 200 million people died in that upheaval.”

"After gaining absolute military power, Vincent became even more insane. He restored dictatorship and restarted oppression and exploitation. But this time, what he wanted was not resources and wealth, but knowledge."

“Whether it’s a human or an AI, knowledge must be provided to him regularly. From brand-new theories in quantum physics to simple recipes for crispy pancakes, Vincent welcomes any knowledge that comes his way. If knowledge cannot be provided on time, the AI ​​will be destroyed, and humanity will lose all its supplies.”

"In the early years, countless super AIs were destroyed, and tens of thousands of people starved and died of disease every day, simply because they could not provide effective knowledge. The entire human society was plunged into unprecedented darkness. Ironically, this oppressive rule also led to an explosive leap forward for humanity in the next three hundred years, expanding to 19 star systems at an astonishing speed. This was because new environments could bring new knowledge, and people could only keep expanding and expanding to meet the high 'knowledge tax' every year."

Vera suddenly realized, "No wonder that guy was surprised about how prostitutes pay taxes. Turns out, new positions aren't considered knowledge."

“No, new positions count as knowledge,” Michiko said. “But people have already explored the mating process to its fullest extent. After recording more than 9,700 positions, people have completely abandoned this field.”

Vera was speechless for a moment: "...I don't believe it unless you show me the more than nine thousand sexual positions."

"Stop fooling around, we're talking about serious matters." V patted Vera on the head. Although she was also quite curious about the more than nine thousand sexual positions, she held back.

"So what exactly is Vincent's fervent pursuit of knowledge for?"

“I don’t know, it’s always been a mystery,” Michiko replied. “Among the knowledge handed over, there were many that were capable of changing the times, but Vincent seemed to be only learning and never put any of the knowledge into practice. This also led to the fact that after V Calendar 723, the technological level of human society not only did not improve, but actually declined to a certain extent. Some people think that Vincent is secretly plotting a big conspiracy, while others think that he has gone mad because of genetic modification and only remembers to collect knowledge, but does not remember why he collects it.”

"It was undoubtedly unfortunate to face such a ruler, but even more unfortunate was that after hundreds of years, people had become accustomed to this misfortune. In the following thousand years, people gradually took it for granted that they should hand over their knowledge. New knowledge became the most solid hard currency in the social system. A single technological chip could even trigger a small war. People craved knowledge, worshipped knowledge, and knowledge did indeed represent wealth, status, and power. Thus, Vincent, who possessed the most knowledge, became a god-like figure in the eyes of the people."

"People began to worship him madly, regarding him as a spiritual idol and a life goal. Most people became Vincent's henchmen, expanding his territory and seeking new knowledge in new star systems. However, this crazy space travel brought about a serious problem."

V immediately realized: "White Frost."

“That’s right, it’s White Frost.” Michiko sighed softly, “The calamity that originally befell the Witcher world has descended upon Earth. You must be wondering why Night City is so cold, right? That’s because 93% of Earth is now completely frozen, and Night City is one of the few cities that is still habitable.”

"Where do the others live?"

"Most of them are on Mars, and a small portion are in other star systems."

"What about the moon?"

"The moon has long been swallowed by frost and completely frozen, and it was abandoned 332 years ago. In fact, not only the moon, but the entire solar system has been swallowed by frost, but Vincent has not taken any measures. He probably intends to abandon the humans here, after all, the solar system can no longer provide him with new knowledge."

V frowned: "That's why you formed a resistance army, wanting to overthrow his rule."

"White frost is only one of the reasons. In fact, the resistance was established a long time ago. You would never guess who the first leader was."

"Since you put it that way, then I really have to ask, who was the first leader...?"

Michiko smiled slightly and said a name: "Johnny Silverhand."

"That's the kind of thing a rock 'n' roll kid would do." V smiled wryly. "But wasn't he turned into a chip? How can he still form a resistance army?"

"He wasn't turned into a chip. Didn't you go back to 2013 and rescue Ultraman for him? Arasaka didn't get the complete version of Soul Killer, so he had no reason to go and nuke Arasaka Tower. In fact, after 2013, he was waiting for V to appear as you instructed, and he did establish the Human Federation with V. But after the AI ​​took over society, he retired with Ultraman. Until Vincent appeared out of nowhere and stole V's genes, he wanted to seek justice for his old friend, so he formed the resistance army."

"Good heavens, these two parts are connected. So the previous 2013 was also in this world? This can't be explained by coincidence." V felt that there was something he didn't know about.

Michiko nodded: "We thought so at first, but after so many years of investigation, we found that it was indeed a coincidence. Vincent did not do anything, and you had no reason to do so either. It can only be said that it was all fate, unless there was some advanced unknown force that we cannot understand deliberately arranged it this way."

“I have a general understanding of the situation, so you used this time travel to bring Vera and me here so that we could defeat this Vincent?” V asked.

"That's right. The White Frost is imminent. If humanity wants to survive, it must travel to other star systems. But Vincent has banned interstellar travel. Only by defeating him can people survive."

"But he is the strongest person in your world. Even if your technological development has been stagnant for many years, his prosthetic body is still hundreds of years more advanced than ours. Do you really think we can defeat him?"

"Of course you can't now, but don't worry. If history is correct, you two should have already replaced your nano prosthetics. With just a simple upgrade, you can make up for the gap in prosthetics."

"That simple?"

"Actually, it's not that simple. Unauthorized cybernetic upgrades are a serious crime, but since we're the resistance, breaking the law is just commonplace for us."

"Alright, let's upgrade then. After all, my original goal was to go to the future to acquire technology. Oh, and please make a copy of your medical technology for me as well."

"Of course, you want to treat Mr. Xu Zhong, right? I've already made preparations."

"You're as thoughtful as ever, Michiko. What else have you prepared?"

"A combat coach."

Do you think we still need to learn martial arts?

"Of course, this is a very necessary step, so please take it seriously."

"Alright, let's learn then. Who's the coach?"

"Adam Hammer".

"Who?"

"That is, the Adam Hammer you think he is. He is actually a genetic clone of Mr. Hammer. To distinguish him, his name here is Adam Hammer."

Vera looked at V: "Your naming skills are on par with yours."

V was so angry she almost choked, but then Michiko said, "This name was actually given by Miss Vera."

Vera: "Huh?"

V instantly calmed down: "Haha, you're not even as good as me!"

Chapter 182 Training

Defeat Vincent, obtain access to the spaceport, initiate space travel, and let the Resistance lead humanity to other star systems to escape the Frost.

This is V's new commission.

She and Vera underwent prosthetic upgrades together, bridging the technological gap. The reason why hundreds of years of technological iteration could be completed in the time it takes to say a sentence is entirely due to the unique nature of bio-based AI.

Unlike mechanical AI, which is at its peak from the moment it's manufactured, biological AI can adjust its structure at any time according to its needs. It doesn't need to make major changes to replace parts or add components. It can complete the upgrade process simply through the continuous iteration of nanorobots. Its evolution speed is far greater than that of mechanical AI. This is why Ultraman was so wary of biological AI back then.

The upgrade process was quite simple. Adam Hammer had them lie on medical beds, plugged two data cables into their neural interfaces, and then just kept clicking "next" until a progress bar appeared. Various new blueprints and codes from the upgrade software were automatically uploaded, and the newly formed nanobots automatically formed new structures according to the new blueprints and ran the new code and executable programs.

The progress bar was about to move, and Vera, unable to sit still, refrained from asking Adam Hammer, "Did I really name you?"

“No.” Adam Hammer stared at the screen without looking up: “It was Vera, the second president of the Human Federation, who named me, not you.”

“I think you’re implying something!” Vera grinned.

“I do.” Adam Hammer, though not a man of many words, became surprisingly eloquent when discussing “Vera”: “Lady Vera was brave, powerful, and omnipotent. Even when plagued by illness, she still spread kindness to everyone. In contrast, you are vulgar, ordinary, unambitious, and lack any drive. I simply cannot imagine that you are the same person as Lady Vera!”

Vera touched her face shyly: "You don't need to praise me like that."

Adam Hammer: "..."

Even though he was a cyborg, he still felt an urge to curse Vera for being so shameless.

Fortunately, the progress bar was now full, and he got back to work. After exiting and closing the upgrade program, he unplugged the data cable between the two of them and said, "All done."

"That's it?" Vera stretched her arms and legs. "I don't feel any difference."

V explained: "At this point, only the code and blueprints have been uploaded; iterative iterations of the nanocluster will take some time."

"So we're just going to wait like this?"

V looked at Adam Hammer: "I think our combat coach has already made arrangements."

Adam Hammer nodded: "Come with me."

The three of them arrived at a huge, empty room. Judging from the various traces around, it seemed that more than one battle had taken place here.

"This was originally a sedimentation tank in the sewers, but as the white frost invaded, the liquid water basically disappeared, and the sewers became a refuge for the rebels. This sedimentation tank was also cleared out and became a training ground for the soldiers," Adam Hammer explained the scene.

"Why is the training ground so deserted?" Vera looked at the empty sedimentation tank. "There's not a single person training. Have all the rebels gone on missions?"

"No."

"What about them?"

“They’re all dead,” Adam Hammer said in a steady voice. “I am the only remaining fighter in the resistance.”

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t know.” Vera scratched her head.

“It wasn’t you who killed those people, so you don’t need to apologize.” Adam Hammer didn’t show much emotion.

V, however, noticed another problem: "Since you're the only remaining fighter in the resistance, why didn't Vincent wipe you out completely?"

"He deliberately kept us here."

"why?"

"Because the act of 'resistance' will also provide him with knowledge."

"What knowledge?"

"Knowledge of suppressing resistance."

V and Vera exchanged a glance and smiled bitterly: "What an extremely oppressive world."

"This is precisely why we resist it."

"So Vincent always knew about the resistance?"

"Yes, he should know about your existence by now."

Vera was taken aback: "Is this alright? To plot something right under their noses?"

“No problem, Vincent welcomes all challengers, because combat can also bring him knowledge.”

V's expression turned grave: "He sounds like a seasoned veteran?"

“You’re overthinking it. Although Vincent welcomes all challengers, he hasn’t fought anyone in almost 1,400 years because no one dares to throw a punch at him, a god.”

"Where are the rebels?"

"He will deploy unmanned war machines to suppress the rebellion. After all, the role of the resistance is to give him knowledge of 'suppressing resistance,' not knowledge of 'combat.'"

“Sounds promising.” Vera said, resting her chin on her hand. “Someone who hasn’t fought in over 1400 years should be rusty by now.”

"That's true, but you can't defeat him with your current strength."

"Didn't we upgrade our cybernetic bodies?"

"It's not just about prosthetics; you're missing something else."

"what?"