Ten thousand I am across the heavens

Blue City quickly reached an agreement with David, who was working with them, and thus the lease agreement was finalized. They expect to earn around 200 yuan per day, which, while not enough to repay the loan, will significantly alleviate their financial pressure.

However, Lan Cheng was well aware that to succeed in this business, he needed to improve his hacking skills. Arasaka Academy taught computer technology, but in this era of brain-computer interfaces, hackers were no longer limited to typing code on a keyboard. Neural connections were a much more efficient method of hacking, and a large part of their classes focused on hacking. He could use this opportunity to brush up on his knowledge, in case someone else implanted viruses in his devices.

Today's lesson began after they put on their glasses. Lan Cheng could only understand part of what the teacher was explaining. After all, although he had mastered some computer skills, it was only a temporary training he had acquired to become a commander, and he could hardly be considered an expert. In addition, the computer languages ​​of the two worlds were bound to be quite different.

So during class breaks, he flipped to the front of the video files that were essentially textbooks and started learning about the internet, computers, and information technology from the beginning.

He then learned that this world was set about 70 years ago. It was not much different from the real Earth, and even used the same Gregorian calendar.

It should be the year 2075 AD now, and technology has become much more advanced than at the beginning of the 21st century. However, some serious problems have emerged in the field of network technology.

The problem originated in the early 21st century, an era that gave birth to a truly genius programmer whose talent, perhaps unmatched for decades to come, remains unparalleled. In that era of booming internet development and information technology permeating every aspect of people's lives, he was a top-tier software engineer. However, a series of unexpected events led to this super genius's descent into darkness, resulting in the creation and release of a powerful, self-evolving artificial intelligence virus that quickly overwhelmed the internet.

Humanity subsequently waged numerous battles against artificial intelligence on the internet, suffering crushing defeats each time. Ultimately, through unknown means, a pact was reached with one of the most powerful AIs, creating a virtual black wall that isolated humanity from other AI systems. This created a sanctuary within the internet, where human internet technology remained unaffected by AI. However, outside this black wall, the isolated AI relentlessly attacked human hackers. This problem remains unsolved to this day; in fact, the AI ​​outside the black wall continues to evolve, even surpassing current human capabilities in certain technological areas. Stealing AI technology from outside this black wall often translates into acquiring an unimaginable fortune.

However, almost no one can accomplish such a task. Human thought processes cannot match those of artificial intelligence. An ordinary human programmer would need to immerse themselves in ice water and use a large brain-computer interface on the back of their head to fully integrate their mind into the online world in order to unleash their full potential. This also means that if they are attacked, even by a simple virus, the effects will be felt and could potentially endanger their lives.

Ordinary programmers attempting to reach the outside world in this manner would almost certainly be killed instantly. Numerous attempts have ended in the deaths of programmers. Consequently, exploration plans beyond the Great Firewall have made little progress to date.

The textbooks also solemnly warn them: If you encounter the "black wall," do not attempt to break through it. That is extremely dangerous. Even without using the brain-computer interface with the highest information exchange rate in the back of the brain to connect to the network, rashly touching the world outside the "black wall" could still cause serious psychological damage to the programmer.

Blue City's economy and the bizarre history of the world's internet development have shown it, but it also clearly understands the power of artificial intelligence. He's still far from becoming a qualified programmer, and naturally, he can't possibly venture beyond the Great Firewall.

As for why the internet wasn't rebuilt, it's easy to understand. The sunk costs were simply too high. No matter how powerful artificial intelligence becomes, it ultimately relies on hardware. If, when the internet was first compromised, a decisive action had been taken—formatting all network-connected devices and shutting down the internet for a period—even the most advanced AI would have been rendered useless without the necessary hardware. This would have been tantamount to destroying the network world and rebuilding it. AI, which depends on the network for survival, couldn't have survived such a blow, and the impact on humanity at that time would undoubtedly have been enormous. The global economy would have collapsed as the internet age regressed. The resulting disasters, wars, and other unpredictable consequences would have been dire.

Thus, humanity has had no choice but to temporarily compromise with artificial intelligence. But as time marches on, the scale of the internet is also snowballing, growing larger and larger.

Even knowing the enormous hidden dangers, destroying the internet is undoubtedly out of the question now. We were reluctant to do it when we didn't have so many other systems; now, it's even more impossible to wipe out the entire internet to eliminate artificial intelligence. Leaving aside the advanced technology AI possesses, just consider the catastrophic consequences of shutting down the internet in this era. It's impossible to rebuild after stopping the internet. Today's programmers can only patch up the mess left by their predecessors. This time bomb will explode sooner or later, but everyone firmly believes that the time of explosion is still far off and has little to do with them.

After reviewing the historical overview, Lan Cheng focused his attention on the technical aspects. When he was focused on learning, his learning speed was extremely fast. Although he couldn't reliably unlock his genetic potential in safe conditions, his concentration was still far superior to that of ordinary people. If he wanted to, his learning speed was several times that of a normal person.

So, using only a short amount of his spare time, he had already grasped most of the basic knowledge. He could understand most of what the teacher said afterward. However, he still needed to study a lot more before becoming a top-notch hacker.

In contrast, his need for knowledge about computers was even more urgent.

When Lan Cheng woke up, he only remembered that his number was seventeen. He was in a female body when he woke up. In his perception, this body was probably only thirteen or fourteen years old. She was wearing a tight-fitting bodysuit that covered her whole body, which outlined the curves of the slightly developed girl's body in detail.

However, in this body's memory, the impression left by this haptic suit was mostly fear. In his memory, every time he wore this suit, he did not experience a scene more terrifying than a nightmare.

They were specially trained assassins, their sole purpose for survival being to enter the cyber world, breach the black wall, and travel to competitions dominated by artificial intelligence to steal its knowledge and technology. The danger of this was self-evident; the original owner of this body had perished in such a mission, which was why Lan Cheng had gained control of it. He looked to his side; on the small bed next to him lay a girl. Dressed similarly to himself, her short, silver-white hair barely concealed the terrifyingly large brain-computer interface at the back of her head. Though asleep, her tightly closed eyes trembled, and her body shook incessantly, as if she were dreaming of something horrifying.

Lan Cheng sighed, recalling the girl's identity. Her number was Seven, one of the few children who survived with her. This group of children underwent brutal training from a young age to unleash their potential and become top-tier hackers. All those who failed the training died, and even those who survived lived in constant fear, always at risk of dying on missions. Lan Cheng was probably one of the few pillars of support for Number Seven; they supported each other through countless missions and survived.

According to the memories left behind in this body, both of them encountered danger during this mission. If it weren't for the original owner of this body risking his life to send Girl No. 7 back into the Black Wall, both of them might have died at the hands of the artificial intelligence outside the wall.

The outcome of this was obvious: Number 17 died on the spot. If Lan Cheng hadn't taken over the body, she probably would have been dead. Even after he took over, the body had been in a coma until then, in order to cultivate the organization's mentality. If she didn't show any signs of waking up within a few days, she would be disposed of after losing her value.

No wonder Number 7 kept having nightmares. Lan Cheng dragged her tired body to her feet, sat down on the bed next to her, and gently stroked the other person's back, which gradually eased her furrowed brows.

But Lan Cheng found himself in a huge crisis. It wasn't that the organization that trained them had become heartless, forbidding the children from communicating with each other; rather, Lan Cheng had to continue a dangerous mission the next day, one that could cost him his life at any moment. His hacking skills were only rudimentary; inheriting the original body's memories didn't mean he'd inherited all its abilities. These children were among the most talented, selected from thousands, and had undergone brutal, hellish training. Although young, they were already top-tier hackers. Lan Cheng, having only inherited the original owner's memories, couldn't possibly master them in a short time. This meant that even if he survived today, he might die tomorrow.

The girl before him had become his lifeline. Even in the virtual world, mutual help was possible; she practically owed the original owner a life, and he would naturally try his best to repay her. This white-haired little girl was a formidable hacker, far surpassing any human in terms of artificial intelligence. She wouldn't be in such a sorry state, having narrowly escaped death multiple times.

Early in the morning, Lucy woke up groggily, alerted by her biological clock, and saw Number Seventeen, who was sleeping soundly and exhausted, hugging her in her arms on her bed. She remembered having a nightmare. But for some reason, the nightmare seemed to have faded away without her noticing.

Lucy excitedly hugged Number Seventeen and buried her head in her chest: "Anna! I'm so glad you're alright."

Lan Cheng was startled awake by the sudden movement. Hearing the other person's call, he remembered that they had privately chosen their own names, at least one name that made them feel like people, not tools. It was just a pity that only they themselves would accept the names they chose, and the staff here would still call them by their numbers.

"Ah... I almost died, but it's okay, I survived, right? At most, I might have suffered some brain damage."

Upon hearing this, Lucy cried even harder. He recalled the severe brain damage Anna had suffered, as seen in the medical report he had seen earlier. It was already a miracle she had woken up again; her ability to perform missions in the future was virtually impossible. Those who had lost their value would be eliminated. For tools like them, who didn't even have a human identity, being eliminated might be worse than death.

"It's okay, this time it's my turn to protect my sister!"

Lan Cheng pursed his lips, feeling quite embarrassed about taking advantage of the young girl's feelings, but he had no choice; he needed to buy himself some time to study in order to survive.

Not long after the two woke up, the door was pushed open, and two bottles of energy drinks that could quickly replenish their nutrition were brought in. This was their meal—simple, efficient, and able to quickly restore the body's energy reserves, much like adding machine oil to industrial products.

Fully armed soldiers escorted them to the server room. There, they saw a dozen or so other teenagers who had also been brought there. All of them were forced to sit in long, chair-like restraints, their bodies bound by wires connected to tight-fitting suits, and secured with strong leather straps to their limbs and torsos. This ensured that even in the face of excruciating pain, the data cables wouldn't come loose during their struggles. Much useful information was transmitted back via these young hackers when they were near death, or even after they had died. Often, simply unplugging the cables would have prevented their deaths, but they were forced to die to obtain the data.

Lan Cheng, naturally, could not escape the fate of being locked up there either. He had just descended and was probably about to face a life-or-death test.

[To be continued]

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