2077: V really knows how awesome he is

"Yes!"

Just as everyone was about to take action, the conference room door was pushed open from the outside.

They were familiar faces from the internet surveillance team, a male and a female duo, K and J, who walked in.

"It's me again, President V. The Cyber ​​Police have received a report that a riot has broken out among wandering AIs in Night City. In accordance with international law, the Cyber ​​Police will be taking over the network in Night City, regardless of whether it is for civilian or military use. Your cooperation is appreciated!"

V's face remained as still as water: "What if I don't cooperate?"

The male internet monitor, K, said coldly, "Then Night City will become a legitimate target for attacks by various countries."

V's eyes narrowed, and the male internet monitor took a step back in fright.

Female internet monitor J, steeling herself, sent a message to V: "K's prosthetic eye is connected to the internet monitoring headquarters. Your every move will be shown to dignitaries from various countries. President V, please don't act rashly. Let's stabilize the situation first, and then proceed slowly. K and I both trust you!"

V glanced at the female internet monitor unexpectedly and realized that his 5 million yuan investment hadn't been wasted.

"Okay, I'll cooperate with the investigation. I hope the internet monitoring department can find out the truth as soon as possible and give the world and Night City an explanation!"

Chapter 81 Full Repayment

"Fuck your mother!"

Inside the CEO's office, the usually composed male internet monitor spoke eloquently.

V pointed to his eyes and looked at the female internet monitor, J.

The latter quickly replied, "The visual synchronization software is only turned on during formal negotiations; that's the rule. It's currently turned off."

Upon hearing this, V dropped the pretense and immediately said to the male internet monitor, "Whenever you're having sex, I'll join in!"

Everyone in the conference room was at a loss for words, clearly seeing that these two were genuinely furious.

Everyone understands why V is angry, but everyone is completely baffled as to why K, who is in charge of internet monitoring, is so furious.

The female internet monitor awkwardly explained, "The cooperation with President V and Night City was entirely facilitated by K. K was promoted after the previous film sold well, but now that Night City has been embroiled in this scandal, K will naturally be implicated as well. To be honest, some people in the internet monitoring department have already started to make trouble. We are here this time to 'redeem ourselves'."

Now everyone understood. Although the internet monitoring agencies were united in their opposition to outsiders, they were not a monolithic entity internally.

Everyone has their own way of thinking. Among internet regulators, there are moderates like male internet regulators who advocate cooperation, and naturally there are also cold-blooded types who consider themselves superior.

Even if they are working towards the same goal, it doesn't prevent them from killing each other before achieving their goal.

Human conflict has existed since the dawn of humanity and will likely only cease when humanity becomes extinct.

After hurling a few curses, the male internet monitor gradually calmed down.

He told V, "Jefferson Perales had already made contact with the internet regulators, which is why we were able to get here so quickly. I don't know how he convinced the higher-ups, but the internet regulators are serious this time."

V raised an eyebrow: "What, does the internet censors want to wipe out Night City?"

“Not quite,” the male internet monitor said helplessly. “With the establishment of the Great Firewall, humanity has regained its safety, but there’s an old saying in the East: ‘When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away.’ This safety has also caused the authority of the internet monitors to gradually wane. Major companies have begun to outwardly comply but inwardly defy them, and governments around the world have also learned to say one thing and mean another. The idea of ​​the internet monitors’ higher-ups is to use Night City as a target, to make an example of them, to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, so that internet monitoring can regain its top position!”

Sasha looked at him incredulously: "Are you kidding me? Night City has V!"

"It's precisely because of V that Night City was chosen. V's reputation is at its zenith; defeating V is equivalent to defeating everyone—that's probably what those idiots up there are thinking." The male internet monitor looked utterly exhausted. He had witnessed firsthand the great battle between V and the roving AI, and he had also discovered that the Black Wall seemed ineffective against V. He had written all of this down in his report, but the higher-ups stubbornly insisted on the theory that "the Black Wall is the best," and even spouted nonsense like, "If the Black Wall is ineffective against V, then we should eliminate V even more!"

So, you're only happy when you force humanity to betray you, instead of trying to win them over, bribe them, or befriend them?

A bunch of stupid pigs sitting in the office daydreaming, they've been high and mighty for too long, and have become so deformed that they've even lost their normal logical thinking!

When the internet monitoring team held a meeting and announced a "strict investigation" of Night City, the male internet monitor was speechless with surprise; when he heard that the higher-ups wanted him to go on the front lines, he was completely stunned.

Holy crap, you want me to tell V that the network surveillance is going to take over Night City's network?

Everyone knows Night City is V's lifeline. If I dare say that, V will kill me on the spot!

But seeing the unquestionable attitude of the higher-ups, the male internet monitor knew he had no choice.

As a rising moderate within the internet censorship system, he had long been a thorn in the side of the veteran ruthless faction. Now that he had the right opportunity, those people probably wanted to kill him even more than V did.

No, I need to protect myself.

After thinking for a moment, the male internet inspector decided to bring the female internet inspector along.

Female internet monitor J: I'm so damn grateful to you!

The female internet monitor knew that going to Night City was a life-or-death situation, but as K's personal disciple, the two of them were already in the same boat.

If the male internet monitor is beaten to death, then even if she stays in the internet monitor, she will be quickly removed, and she will not fare well either.

So the two of them put their heads together and that's how the whole thing happened.

The male internet monitor spoke official language normally, while the female internet monitor sent messages privately, mainly employing a strategy of feigning one thing while secretly doing another. Fortunately, she wasn't immediately censored by V.

After listening to the whole story, V basically understood.

After all, as long as the Great Firewall is functioning properly, it's impossible for roving AI to invade the human world on a large scale. If it's just one or two roving AIs, V can handle it on its own, and the internet regulators know that V can handle it on its own. V also knows that the internet regulators know that V can handle it, so there's no need for such a big fuss and a huge uproar.

But now it seems that the cyber surveillance doesn't care whether there are any AI roaming around Night City. They just want to use this incident to expand their influence. To put it bluntly, it's still a power struggle among humans.

We can't subdue Night City with force, and we can't subdue Night City with gentleness either. Now we'll use righteousness to pressure Night City.

We in Night City just want to live a peaceful life, why does everyone have to come and kick us while we're down?

Okay, you can step on it, but you'll lose that foot.

V's mind raced, and a grand plan gradually took shape.

The male internet monitor thought V was anxious about how to deal with the internet monitor's attack, so he said apologetically, "V, I can try to delay as much as possible in terms of procedures, but the pressure from above is also very high. How to clear Night City's name is up to you."

"Suspicion? There's no suspicion in Night City at all, what's there to clear?" V snapped back to reality and scoffed.

The male internet monitor earnestly advised, "I know you're angry, but don't get angry first. This matter needs to be taken seriously; you can't let your emotions get the better of you."

"I didn't. I'm just stating an objective fact. Night City is innocent, and so am I. Who said I colluded with the roving AI?"

"The internet monitoring department has issued a relevant announcement. Although it has not been finalized yet, the implication is the same."

"Internet surveillance is nothing!" V slammed his hand on the table. "Internet surveillance has been declining for a long time, you said it yourself! But Night City is at its zenith, I destroyed it with my own hands!"

"The international community values ​​credibility, and one or two victories cannot change that."

"Come on, let's not beat around the bush. The international community doesn't care about credibility; it only cares about interests." V sneered, "Night City and I can give the international community a lot, but what can Internet Surveillance give it? Don't forget, the international community has long been disgusted by your theft and sale of intelligence and your monopoly of the internet. They've only turned a blind eye to you because of the Black Wall!"

This was a direct hit to the snake's vital spot, and cold sweat immediately streamed down the male internet monitor's forehead.

"W-what do you want to do?"

V remained silent.

The male internet monitor became even more nervous and quickly said, "V, don't do anything reckless. The internet monitors have always been protecting all of humanity!"

"Am I not human? Aren't the eight million people of Night City human?" V questioned. "When the internet censors were preparing to use us as stepping stones, were they also protecting humanity?"

The male internet monitor was speechless.

The female internet monitor quickly tried to salvage the situation, saying, "This was just a wrong decision made by a small number of people; most of the people in the internet monitoring team are good."

The male internet monitor had never realized his apprentice was so eloquent, and nodded repeatedly.

V also looked at J in surprise and found that this female internet monitor, who seemed fiery, actually had some clever ideas in mind.

The female internet monitor felt uneasy under V's gaze, thinking, "Is this guy going to beat me to death on the spot?" She could only manage a forced, ingratiating smile.

But the smile was so unsightly that V found it an eyesore and asked, "How about you become the head of internet monitoring?"

"What?" J was stunned, thinking there was something wrong with his hearing module.

V nodded: "If you agree, then it's decided."

"Huh?" The female internet monitor was still stunned. What did she agree to? What decision did she make?

The male internet monitor snapped out of his daze and, seeing that the female internet monitor was still looking on in confusion and about to ask more questions, quickly covered her mouth.

My foolish apprentice, this is all the help I can give you. When you become successful in the future, be sure to remember to give me a raise!

V has already started a group chat.

Although the large screen only displays human silhouettes with "sound only" written on them, the names below are household names.

Xu Shiming of Kangtao, Lucas Harford of military technology, and other bigwigs such as the head of biotechnology, the head of the European Space Agency, the head of the European Bank, the head of Petrochemical, the head of Su Petrochemical, and the head of Zeta Technology gathered here, like gods descending. Although they did not reveal their true faces, their invisible pressure made ordinary people not dare to even breathe.

"What the hell? It's the middle of the night here!" Xu Shiming complained.

The European Space Agency, mindful of V's heavy responsibility in undertaking ecosystem research, reciprocated by saying, "President V is not someone who doesn't know what's important; her use of emergency contact authority must mean something important."

"It's just that the cyber surveillance is targeting Night City. President V can just go over there and throw the head of the cyber surveillance off the tower, and that'll be the end of it," Lucas Harford of Military Technology said seemingly jokingly, but everyone knew he wasn't kidding.

These bigwigs were quite surprised when they heard the news, wondering where the internet censors got the courage to provoke V. Everyone respects the Great Firewall, so they give the internet censors face, but the internet censors are really just administrators of the Great Firewall. To paraphrase Xu Shiming, Zhou Cang has been holding onto his Green Dragon Crescent Blade for too long and thinks he's Guan Yu. Isn't that just plain brain-dead?

The gods couldn't help but laugh, and the group chat was instantly filled with a joyful atmosphere.

V chuckled twice, then said between laughs, "I'm planning to kill the internet censors."

The gods were laughing just now, but they're not laughing anymore.

"That's not a good idea. Internet censorship is somewhat useful. If we kill them off, who will maintain the Great Firewall?"

V explained, "Even if Arasaka falls, there's still Arasaka 2077."

Now the gods understood: "You want to change the head of the internet censors and change the rules? Have you found a candidate yet?"

“I’ve got it, this is him.” V pulled J in front of the camera.

The female internet monitor was so scared she almost cried. She didn't know how things had developed to this point. All she knew was that she was definitely not cut out to be the head of the internet monitoring department.

The poor female internet monitor was about to say "I really can't do it," but the gods unanimously approved, nodding and saying she was "the perfect candidate."

"Huh?" J was stunned again. The male internet monitor quickly pulled her back to reality, because whether or not she could become the head of the internet monitors was none of her business.

The gods continued their discussion.

"What are President V's plans?"

"It's very simple. The internet surveillance team launched an attack on Night City, making a huge fuss about it. If it turns out that nothing of the sort was ever done, then the person who started it will definitely have to take the blame for a bad decision and resign. That would be perfectly reasonable."

"That sounds good, but the question is, does Night City actually have any AI roaming around?"

"Yes," V said bluntly, "Delaman is one. What, don't you all have any roaming AIs under your jurisdiction?"

The answer is naturally no.

As Drumman said, the establishment of the Black Wall trapped many roving AIs on the human side. Those that were aggressive were eliminated in the first place, and those that survived were the moderate AIs.

These roving AIs have little interest in humans, or, as Delaman suggests, believe that humanity will self-destruct and are too lazy to intervene. Some disguise themselves as ordinary intelligent software, such as the Delaman vehicle navigation system; others establish their own bases and cyber data fortresses, such as Busan. The human leadership knows that the city is jointly controlled by multiple roving AIs, but because the human military still physically controls the city, they have been using the urban legend-like term "ghost town" to cover up the truth and mislead the public.

Another well-known example is the "Pure Land" on the internet, which is said to be an incredibly beautiful digital space where people who connect to it can feel true peace and tranquility. However, it is actually an experimental field created by biotechnology and a wandering AI, mainly for the purpose of studying the human soul.

There is also an AI-controlled tavern in Antarctica, supposedly for observing penguins. Because it has been harmless and has provided a lot of help for Antarctic development, the higher-ups have turned a blind eye.

While roaming AI is certainly dangerous, its power far surpasses that of humans. Whether we admit it or not, humanity has long been inseparable from AI; with AI, we achieve twice the results with half the effort, and without AI, we achieve half the results with twice the effort.

Having finally encountered a harmless and friendly AI, of course one should try to win it over and cooperate with it. Only an idiot would try to wipe it out and force neutrals into becoming opponents.

Therefore, most major companies have had some contact with the roving AIs on the human side, and some even have cooperative relationships. They don't care too much when they hear that Drumman is a roving AI; what they value more is V's attitude.

If everyone is colluding with the roving AI, then of course everyone is a good buddy, a true buddy!

Let's work together to monitor the internet?

Do it!

"Then it's settled." Xu Shiming concluded, "Once Night City is exonerated, we'll all chime in and give the internet police a makeover."

No one objected; after all, the internet censorship problem has been a long-standing issue.

"Thank you all for your support." V then reminded everyone, "But while we're cracking down on internet censorship, the Great Firewall must not be touched."

The gods fell silent. To put it bluntly, their real purpose in implementing internet surveillance was to access the technology on the other side of the Great Firewall.

V naturally understood and immediately analyzed, "Don't let small things cause you to lose sight of the bigger picture. Our goal is to fly out of the solar system and begin space colonization. This technology was just starting out in the old era and might not be as advanced as ours. Most importantly, everyone's salvage skills are uneven, and it's very likely that one group will have a successful salvage operation while another group will come up empty-handed. People are not concerned about scarcity but about inequality. Those who return empty-handed will naturally envy those who have succeeded. We are not children; we all have guns. The only outcome will be resorting to force, constant internal strife, and causing space colonization to once again become a pipe dream."

The European Space Agency (ESA) desperately wants this to happen: "Yes, yes, absolutely not!"

"So, what does President V mean?"

"If no one touches the black wall, no one will gain anything, and naturally there will be no unfairness."

"What if someone outwardly complies but inwardly disagrees?"

“It’s simple,” V said loudly. “As long as the evidence is conclusive, I will personally throw that person off the tower!”

In a single sentence, he convinced all the gods.