2077: V really knows how awesome he is

Gant Odim lit another cigarette, the flame of the lighter frozen in place. He flicked the ash, which drifted down, then froze in mid-air for a second, hanging helplessly.

"How are you going to explain this scientifically?"

Gant Odim leaned back tactically in his chair: "Science is just one way for humans to understand the world, and it can never represent everything. It should be constantly refreshed and rebuilt amidst various conjectures and doubts, gradually improving and becoming more and more perfect and accurate. But instead, humans have treated it as a god to worship, establishing a superstition called science, which is really a pity."

"call!"

V regained her freedom. She first shrank back on the sofa in fear, then curiously reached out to touch the water and fire that had been fixed in place.

She looked up at Gant Odim: "How did you do that... no, are you really a higher-dimensional demon?"

“I never lie,” Gant Odim said proudly, then hesitated for a moment before adding, “except when signing contracts.” He hesitated again before adding, “and also when selling mirrors.”

"And when playing Gwent."

"When picking up girls at a bar."

"When seeking investment."

"When advertising."

"Taking advantage of children to get their parents to come and spend money."

"When they sell old goods from many years ago as new goods this month."

“Alright, alright,” V interrupted Gant Odim. “I know how honest you are.”

Gant Odim was overjoyed: "Then do you believe I'm here to help you break free from the cycle?"

“I believe you, but there’s one last question,” V asked. “Why did you help me?”

“Uh…” Gant Odim hesitated slightly: “Because I have a kind heart.”

"I understand, you've offended me."

"Damn, so perceptive?" Gant Odim exclaimed in surprise.

“It’s simple,” V explained. “I was arrested for time travel while you weren’t. To use the Night City template, I’m a gang leader who gets involved in all the big cases, while you’re just a street urchin who does petty theft. That’s why the NCPD is too lazy to arrest you.”

"Now that the gang leader is in jail, there are only two kinds of people who would want to save him: one, his underlings, but judging from your behavior, that's definitely not the case; two, some lowlife who can't beat the gang leader but has offended him, because he'll want to use this rescue opportunity to improve their relationship. Obviously, you're that lowlife. Considering the risks involved, the fact that you've offended me is probably no small matter."

Gant Odim muttered under his breath, "Could it be that you're just too vengeful?"

"What did you say?"

"Ah, it's nothing, it's nothing." Gant Odim took out two more chips: "Let's insert the chips first, red or blue, let's choose one."

"Wait a minute, let's get to the bottom of this first."

"Haven't you figured everything out yet?"

“Not yet!” V glanced at Gant Odim: “I was imprisoned as soon as I traveled through time, but you’re free. Either your time travel isn’t as advanced as mine, or you have some kind of immunity when it comes to time travel… Oh, I get it, you’re actually from the other side of time, right? Like an NCPD cop, you have certain privileges and can contact criminals, which is why you had the opportunity to ‘save’ me!”

Gant Odim was practically kneeling in disbelief: "You actually figured that out? You haven't regained your memories and are just messing with me, have you?"

“No.” V shook his head.

"How could you be right about everything without it?"

"The college offers an elective course in intelligence analysis, and I got a perfect score."

Gant Odim exclaimed in surprise, "You were already preparing to join the Arasaka Counterintelligence Department, so you took intelligence analysis as an elective course early on."

"No, I enrolled in all the elective courses at school and got full marks on them all."

Gant Odim was truly humbled this time, bowing down to the academic genius.

"The Lord of Time asked me to pass on a message to you... oh no, let's choose the chip instead."

“I choose the red chip,” V said.

Gant Odim looked up: "Are you sure?"

"Of course, since I know I am a prisoner, I should pursue freedom."

“Heh, sounds like V’s answer.” Gant Odim handed over the red chip.

"Thanks." V took the chip. "After this, our grudges are settled."

As soon as she finished speaking, she inserted the red chip into her neural slot. Her eyes flashed blue, her face suddenly changed, and she immediately pulled out the chip and slammed it to the ground.

"The 'Big Bird Spinning Price List,' what the hell is this?!" V grabbed Gant O'Dim by the collar: "Are you kidding me?!"

"No, no, no, I really don't!"

"Why is there something in that chip...wait?" V suddenly froze as she spoke, because she suddenly remembered the scene when she arrived, the storage room, and the process of reviving "herself".

“You remember now?” Gant Odim said with a smile, “The contents of the chip aren’t important; what’s important is the chip itself. It’s a biochip, made up of countless nanobots. Their addition can greatly enhance your computing power and awaken your ‘true self’ faster. Speaking of which, the security robots in 2171 are too powerful. I only stole two chips, and they chased me for three blocks, and I even lost a shoe…”

V ignored the higher-dimensional demon's ramblings. She did indeed wake up, and her deep and surface consciousness re-merged, allowing her to remember everything that had happened from the time she arrived until now.

“But what about before?” V asked, frowning. “Why did I come into this world? How did I become a program? Why can’t I remember anything?”

“I am a demon, not a god, and even if a god came, it wouldn’t help. After all, gods are also governed by time.” Gant Odim said, spreading his hands. “Your memories were taken away by time. This is the price of time travel, just like I have to abide by the contract if I want to travel through time. These are the basic rules of the universe, so there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“But didn’t you say you were here to help me break free from the loop? Without my past memories, I have no idea how to break free from the loop. Isn’t this a waste of time?” V asked.

“You were originally supposed to ‘awaken’ in 2076, but now you’ve been able to do it five years earlier. Isn’t that helping you?” Gant Odim handed over another chip: “Here, take this blue chip too. It’s also a biochip with a nanobot content of up to 98%. It will be good for you if you eat it.”

"Damn, are both chips the same?"

"Of course! It wasn't easy for me to come all this way. Do you think I'd just go back doing nothing after you choose a blue chip?"

"Then why did you put two chips, red and blue ones? That's like taking off your pants to fart!"

"Just kidding. I recently watched a movie at a different time and I've become a big fan of Keanu Reeves."

"Keanu what? Who's that?"

“A minor celebrity, somewhat similar to Johnny Silverhand over here.”

V pictured a scruffy, bearded man in his mind. His lips twitched, and he took the chip, inserting it into his neural slot. Intelligence +1.

"So, have you remembered where your memory chip is?" Gant Odim asked expectantly.

V was taken aback: "What memory chip?"

"It's the memory chip that stores your memories. You are a prototype of a bio-based AI, and your thinking pattern is different from ordinary people, so you back up your memories in a biochip. As long as you insert the chip to download and update, you can restore your memories!"

V was initially dazed, then suddenly realized, and slapped his palm, saying, "Yes, yes, I remember now, I did have a biochip with me when I first came to this world!"

"That's it!" Gant Odim exclaimed excitedly. "Countless cycles have finally come to an end. Quick, insert that chip into your brain!"

“Uh…” V said awkwardly, “This might be a little difficult.”

"why?"

"Because in order to complete the intrusion, I disassembled that chip into nanobots to enhance its computing power."

Gant Odim's mouth dropped open: "Decomposed?"

V nodded: "It's broken down."

After a few seconds of silence, the high-dimensional demon roared in fury: "You actually dismantled something so important! You're reckless!!!"

V's ears hurt from being yelled at: "I didn't know it was so important at the time, and I didn't have enough computing power to complete the intrusion without disassembling the chip."

"What do we do now? How are you going to recover your memories without the memory chip?" The high-dimensional demon was a little overwhelmed and shouted.

V tentatively asked, "How about we think of other ways?"

"I can't think of anything! I guess I'll just have to wait to die!"

"Don't give up so quickly, try a little harder."

"Please, I'm just an ordinary high-dimensional demon. I'm helpless against the basic rules of the universe. Otherwise, how could I have left behind so many stories of being humiliated?" Gant Odim said helplessly. "Anyway, this cycle is definitely hopeless. Next time, next time I'll definitely come earlier."

V was also a little numb. She tried to calm herself down and asked, "You've looped it so many times. What happened to me the first few times?"

“You didn’t believe me at all the previous times.”

V was shocked: "So this is your first time succeeding?"

Gant Odim retorted, "Who told you to be so paranoid!"

You're blaming me for this?!

V was so angry she wanted to curse, but she didn't know who to curse at. Curse herself? She wasn't stupid.

"Well, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now. I've booked a private room at Big Bird's Club."

Gaunt Odim tried to slip away, but V grabbed him.

"Don't leave! Help me think of something!"

"I really have no choice."

"Any method will do, as long as you help me. Whether it succeeds or not, our past grievances will be wiped clean!"

"Come on, if you don't succeed, you'll just be stuck in the same cycle again. What's the point of your promises now!"

"Alright, then I'll have Ootori cancel your reserved private room in the name of the Arasaka Counterintelligence Department."

Gant Odim trembled: "Don't... don't think you can threaten me like this. We high-dimensional demons are invincible, neither swayed by power nor corrupted by wealth. Mere humans, don't even think about it..."

V continued, "And let the big bird spin around and put you on a permanent blacklist."

The high-dimensional demon teleported back to his seat, slammed his fist on the table, and shouted, "It's too early to give up now, V! With me here, I'll definitely help you regain your memories!"

V: "..."

Higher-dimensional demons?

They're nowhere near as good as us capitalists!

The two sat down again. One advantage that the high-dimensional demon had over capitalists was that it would actually keep its promises.

Gant O'Dim seriously put his mind to work: "You broke down the biochip into nanorobots, so your memories should also be distributed on these nanorobots. Can't you extract them?"

V retorted irritably, "If you break down Hamlet into 26 letters, can you still understand it? If you break down your clothes into basic fibers, can you still wear them? If you break down the 'Big Bird Spinning Top' into a pile of fat and bits of meat, can you still fuck it?"

"Stop, stop, stop, I get it, please stop talking." Gant O'Dim looked pale. "Then, is it possible to synthesize the nanobots back into a memory chip?"

"No, I've already turned the nanobots into a virtual sandbox world."

"Then let's tear down the sandbox world. It's virtual anyway, getting our memories back is the most important thing."

V paused, then realized and said, "That's right!"

Gant Odim exclaimed with delight, "This method works?"

"Absolutely not."

The dramatic ups and downs nearly strained the high-dimensional demon's back, and he angrily retorted, "Useless, what are you talking about!"

"What I mean is that I can retrieve my memories in the virtual world!"

Gant Odim: "???"

"I can't explain it to you, wait for me a moment."

V's eyes flashed blue, and she spaced out for a moment. Then she snapped out of it and reached out to Gant O'Dim, saying, "Can I borrow your tablet?"

The higher-dimensional demon handed over the tablet, and V pulled out his personal connection cable to upload an .XML file to the tablet.

Gant Odim glanced at it and realized it was a novel titled "2077: V Really Knows How Awesome He Is."

"As expected of a world you created; the name is absolutely awful."

V said in a huff, "Is that the point? The point is that this novel records my story, and I can use it to regain my memories."

"Oh, is that so?" Gant Odim exclaimed in surprise. He immediately opened the novel, only to find that there was only a title and the rest of the text was blank.

"Why is there nothing here?"

"Because this reading app doesn't support downloads outside of the app!"

Gant Odim, sweating profusely, said, "The anti-piracy measures are pretty good. Why don't you go watch it in the simulated world first, and I'll protect your body for you."

“No, I can’t watch it.” V said with a serious expression.

"why?"

"Because I don't have a phone number, I can't register as a member."

"Smack!" Gant Odim slapped his forehead hard. "This simulated world of yours is too realistic! What do we do now?!"

"Easy." V ​​smirked. "I'll go straight to the author's manuscript!"