Ten thousand I am across the heavens

Norege didn't doubt Mughal's motives. He wasn't the only one making similar requests. Others reborn into the real world had also made demands, more or less, to ensure they had a foothold in the real world. Otherwise, after finally returning to reality, they would end up like they were before their death. Because men and women lack skills in the real world, they would eventually become insolvent and live in poverty, ultimately dying back into the data world. Or even completely vanishing into nothingness was also possible.

Don't be fooled by their robotic bodies; theoretically, they don't need to eat, only charging to meet their physiological needs. However, robot maintenance is still incredibly expensive, even more so than human maintenance. The human body can repair itself after wear and tear. While its self-healing ability isn't particularly exaggerated, it's far superior to that of machines. Current technology in the material world hasn't advanced to the point of freely using nanomachines. Therefore, machines lack self-healing capabilities. Wear and tear requires replacement parts. Even if most of these robots use standard models, and cheap replacement parts can be purchased in bulk from standard parts factories, the cumulative cost over the years is still substantial. Furthermore, their mental state is unstable, requiring occasional food or entertainment to prevent a complete mental breakdown. This adds another layer of expense. All things considered, the total cost might exceed their expenses during their lifetime. Therefore, if they don't find a way to leverage their connections outside the Black Wall to secure their survival, they might soon have to return to their deaths. The system of slavery in the virtual world was something they themselves had established. They knew all too well what would happen if they died penniless at this point. There would truly be no hope of recovery.

After Mughal obtained the people he needed, he didn't immediately choose to acknowledge his daughter. Although he desperately wanted to reveal his true identity to Mona, he forcibly restrained himself, knowing he was likely still under surveillance. It was best not to reveal that he had a daughter; his current state of having no relatives was rare and advantageous, the most manageable state, and the most suitable for venturing out penniless.

To make a show of it, and also to ensure he had enough funds to support himself in the future, he chose to first provide these people with pre-job training. To put it nicely, it was pre-job training; to put it bluntly, it was essentially the training of slaves.

This process is extremely brutal in slave camps; nearly 5% of people don't survive it and suffer a mental breakdown at this stage, resulting in their elimination. This is why he offers a 9% discount when buying untrained individuals.

The training process involves directly inputting various mental signals representing different sensations. Commands are given to the slaves. Executing commands results in the input of mental signals related to pleasure. Disobeying commands results in the input of mental signals representing pain. These individuals have no brains; all their senses are generated electronically. As long as the corresponding signals are input, any sensation can be simulated.

It is entirely possible to simulate unimaginable pain that exceeds the limits. Most slaves, after experiencing this pain of disobeying orders once or twice, would never dare to disobey again for the rest of their lives. Because even if they were to die from exhaustion, they would never want to experience that kind of pain again.

It is precisely because the mental stimulation is so intense that those whose mental state is not stable enough will be eliminated at this stage. If one's mental state is unstable, such intense stimulation could potentially drive them to madness.

The Mughal now possesses a physical body in the real world, and theoretically, he's capable of inflicting the same pain on those he's purchased. All it takes is inputting a piece of code. But he's certainly reluctant. He's eager to get his daughter back, fearing she'll endure that inhumane torture.

Almost all abilities require at least one painful experience beyond their limits, averaging around two. And this kind of pain, once experienced, is enough to leave a lifelong scar; he himself had experienced it, so he knew it very well. He absolutely did not want to experience that level of pain a second time, and even less did he want his daughter to experience it again.

Even if he wanted to appear gentle, he couldn't appear too weak at this moment. Because, apart from his daughter, he genuinely intended to use these people as employees. Even if not as slaves, he needed to make them work hard and realize their value. A reward and punishment system needed to be established. Otherwise, if these people couldn't earn money for him, he wouldn't even be able to earn enough to survive by struggling in the real world, let alone find his former partner and resurrect his daughter.

In the virtual hall he had constructed, several virtual personalities were crammed together, spaced apart, none daring to get too close, yet none daring to stray too far. They dared not speak loudly. A silent and oppressive atmosphere enveloped them. No one knew why they had been singled out. But past experiences told them that this often meant something worse. They had experienced this before, when their minds remained alive even after losing their physical bodies in the real world. As characters in the virtual world, they were chosen by the powerful to be used and manipulated as slaves. And those singled out often endured even more inhumane torture.

Just as they fell silent, a projection wearing a black mask appeared in front of them, in the virtual room.

"Hello, nice to meet you. You can call me General Manager Mo. I'm the one who bought you all. I don't like beating around the bush, so I'll get straight to the point: I bought you to make money for me. If you don't work hard and make money for me, I don't need to say anything. You are all people who have lost their physical bodies and whose brains are dead in the real world; your senses are completely at my mercy."

You will feel exactly what I make you feel, like right now. I want you to feel an itch on the soles of your feet.

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone felt as if their soles were being scratched relentlessly by countless fingers. The itching was so intense that they couldn't stand up. One by one, they fell to the ground, laughing until tears streamed down their faces, while still scratching their feet, trying to relieve the indescribable itch.

But all these actions were in vain; no one was actually tickling their feet. The sensation seemed to arise out of nowhere. Naturally, there was no way to stop it, and the sensation only finally ceased when they were laughing so hard they couldn't breathe. But what followed was a feeling of stifling heat. Even though the ambient temperature hadn't risen, they felt a stifling heat inexplicably, and even taking off their clothes didn't alleviate the feeling of stifling heat in the slightest.

The various sensations, repeated several times, made it clear to everyone that all their senses had been completely manipulated. Itching and stuffiness were tolerable for them. But if these sensations could be simulated, then other, more extreme sensations could likely be simulated as well.

"I think you've already realized that I can simulate any feeling you can imagine, or even those you can't. More painful, more exaggerated feelings, I can simulate them too. Those could even leave you with lifelong psychological trauma. However, I am merciful. As long as you don't disobey my orders, I won't punish you unjustly."

However, in order to give you a deep impression of the consequences of disobeying orders, he paused deliberately at this point.

Immediately afterwards, a screen appeared on the wall of the room, showing countless people restrained in mechanical chairs. Then, a surge of electricity was injected, followed by images of intense, agonizing struggles.

It instantly threw them into a daze. Struggling, trembling, and letting out heart-wrenching screams, the sight alone sent chills down the spines of everyone present. The girl hiding in the corner had tears streaming down her face. They all instinctively thought of it. To make them clearly understand the punishment for disobeying orders, their master might buy them off, possibly letting them experience that feeling firsthand, deepening the impression.

The more timid ones were already wailing in terror. Just imagining that feeling, and then experiencing it firsthand, made them unable to control their emotions.

"To leave a deeper impression on you, for the next hour, you will stay here and watch as these people being punished scream in agony."

After he finished speaking, everyone was stunned for a moment. Then they all breathed a sigh of relief. A sense of inexplicable gratitude even welled up deep in their hearts.

The owner who bought them seemed rather merciful. Instead of making them experience extreme pain directly to save trouble, they simply let them watch how those who were punished would fare, hoping it would teach them a lesson.

Even just watching these people being punished sent chills down their spines. Seeing those tough guys who had shouted and cursed, claiming they would never beg for mercy, only to be punished to the point of tears and kneeling in pleas for forgiveness, completely devoid of their initial bravado, none of them harbored any hope of escaping punishment.

At first, some people thought that such extreme pain might be bearable. But after witnessing it more, they realized that it was beyond the power of human will to resist. Even the toughest man couldn't endure such pain that exceeded the limits of human perception and endurance.

Seeing the fear on everyone's faces, Mughal couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache beneath his mask. He looked at his daughter, who was huddled in the corner, trembling with fear.

The scene was still too horrific for a child his age, but he had to treat them both the same. Otherwise, they would face an even more terrifying future.

He designed this process to minimize the suffering of each employee. After an hour, although everyone was terrified, the actual torment they endured was minimal. The itching and stuffiness were far from real pain; at most, they were uncomfortable. But after going through this process, it essentially subdued these people, at least in the short term, suppressing everyone's rebellious spirit.

As for what he'll do next, he'll assign tasks to each of these people. He'll ask them what they did while they were alive, and then assign tasks based on their strengths. This detailed task allocation, compared to simply sending tasks to AI as a question-and-answer robot, can maximize profits. This is also how they might recoup their costs after outsourcing to them.

Only by enabling these individuals to create greater value than artificial intelligence can they recoup their investment in a relatively short period.

To determine these individuals' strengths, he would proactively inquire about their life stories and the most memorable events in their lives. This would allow him to develop appropriate career plans for them.

When it came time to question his daughter, he was the most nervous one. Fortunately, the process had been repeated several times, and he methodically asked questions, recorded the information, and checked the social media accounts these people had used. He skimmed through their posts to verify their claims. His daughter's account of her life experiences was largely true; most of it was what she remembered. He then used this time to look through his daughter's social media posts made after his death.

Seeing the girl's disheartened posts after his death filled him with immense heartache. He was especially saddened by one post published around the New Year.

It was an image of a girl waving an electronic firework in the streets of downtown. The caption read: "Today I set off an electronic firework that my dad made for me. He made me 16 before he passed away, so it can still be set off for another 15 years."

A seemingly ordinary post clenched his heart. He realized then that he hadn't left behind much for his family to remember him by. He imagined his daughter carefully taking out a firework every year, lighting it, as if he were beside her. Like the little match girl, imagining her own reflection in the flickering flame. A lump formed in his throat, as if something was choking him.

[To be continued]

Please add this to your favorites and vote for it! (End of Chapter)