From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 441: Becoming the Cyber ​​Emperor

“Anyway, that’s the situation.”

In the virtual space, Lilith showed an expression of dead pig not afraid of boiling water when facing Amber's questioning.

Looking at this strong artificial intelligence that was becoming more and more like a real person, Amber crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, and the expression on her face changed from serious to helpless.

As the defense of the A-Bava-Ku asteroid fortress came to an end, Amber handed over the command to Murat, Guterres and others, and controlled the "Giant" back to the fortress.

On the way to the data center, Amber saw many soldiers from the Atlas Defense Force escorting the surrendered Federal commandos to the centralized detention area. When the two fleets of the Federal Navy ran away, these soldiers did not continue to put up a fearless resistance and quickly chose to surrender.

When she arrived at the data center and saw Dr. Mephisto and other technicians who were tied up, and then looked at the five psychic agents who were beaten into "pig heads" and wearing psychic suppressors, Amber couldn't help but sigh.

If it weren't for Lilith and the 'Immortal Legion' she secretly formed, these psychic agents and 'Deep Divers' special operations units would be a bit difficult to deal with. However, thinking of Lilith's sneaky behavior, Amber immediately connected to the virtual space and found Lilith, and then the scene at the beginning happened.

"So you're just going to screw up like this?"

"I'm devoted to Atlas and the Master, and I have a clear conscience!"

Lilith said this in a resounding voice. Her resolute image, like that of a "loyal minister", attracted the attention of the immortals standing behind her.

You know, the Lilith they saw on weekdays always had a "superior" attitude, but they didn't expect that she would be like this in front of the Boss.

"You're still calling me 'Master', tsk tsk tsk."

"Breathtaking. Breathtaking"

"As expected of a Boss, he easily accomplished something that normal humans can't do."

The immortals were communicating in their internal consciousness link, not knowing that due to Lilith's interference, their "whispers" were heard clearly by Amber.

Amber gave Lilith a look that said "I'll teach you a lesson later", and after receiving an expectant response of "yes, yes", she wordlessly walked past her and came in front of this group of immortals, or former members of the teaching team.

"Banninger, Memphis, Nashville, Johnson, Chattanooga, Bristol, Knox, you guys enjoyed the show, didn't you?"

As soon as Amber opened her mouth, the immortals instantly felt what it meant to "make a sound". Although they were now digital life forms, after hearing Amber read out their names one by one, they subconsciously stood at attention.

"No, Boss."

Baninger was about to say something, but when he saw the expression on Amber's face, his words were forced back into his throat.

Excitement, gratitude, joy, sadness and relief
Baninger never thought that he could see so many emotions on Amber's face at the same time, and he never expected that their coaching team had such a high status in Amber's heart.

"Why couldn't you tell me in advance?"

"."

"At the memorial service, your students like Monton, Telak, and Bisir cried like crazy. I have never seen Roma people cry like that!"

"."

"I personally nailed the last nail in each of your coffins. I really thought I would never see you again."

"Yes, the Master secretly returned to the cemetery where you were buried at night. He kept nagging like a nagging woman for a long time. I recorded it all."

Lilith suddenly interrupted, and what she said made the originally touching scene of 'reunion of life and death friends' become a little awkward.

"Um, Boss, what did you say?"

"."

Now it was Amber's turn to be speechless. He couldn't tell Baninger and the others that he had stood nervously in front of their tombstones and recounted everything that had happened to him since he met them in the nameless valley on Robert IV.

"Ahem. Let's skip this topic for now."

Amber coughed, then looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar 'people' in front of her and continued:

"So you have all become serious digital life forms now? Have you thought about what to do next? Should you tell your family and friends?
Oh, and your graves and, uh, remains."

Amber seemed to remember something, and the expression on her face became a little strange.

"Your remains are buried in the cemetery of the Tower of Babel along with other soldiers who died on the Pyla IV. Next month, the company is planning to hold a grand memorial ceremony for the fallen soldiers. What are your plans to attend then?"

Upon hearing this question, all the Immortals, including Banninger, seemed a little embarrassed. Many of them scratched their heads but still couldn't figure out the answer.

Obviously, Amber's question was also about their plans for the future of these digital lives.

Do you want to completely change your original identity to "the dead", have nothing to do with this world anymore, and live the rest of your life in a virtual space as a digital life? Or do you want to stage a "return of the dead" drama?

"Boss, regarding this issue, the brothers have actually thought it through."

Baninger didn't let Amber wait for long. He quickly looked at the other people around him, and after seeing everyone's affirmative looks, he spoke:
"Our 'human' bodies have ceased to function and move on Pyla IV, so our human identity has ended from that moment on. We are now a new kind of life form, just like what you call 'digital life'.

Therefore, we do not plan to appear as human beings again, because this will definitely cause some unnecessary troubles. By then, not only us, but also Atlas and you will be pushed to the forefront.

After all, in a sense, our current state can be considered a kind of 'eternal life'."

Amber was not surprised after hearing what Baninger said. Based on his understanding of Baninger and the other members of the teaching team, most of them would make the same choice.

"So what are you going to do in the future? Do you want to go out and see the world? After all, you have already sacrificed your lives for Atlas. I have no reason to ask you to do anything else for me or Atlas, so you are now completely free."

Although Lilith can now "put these digital lives under house arrest" in the virtual space, as long as Amber agrees, Banninger and the others can still leave if they want, so he decided to ask them.

"You are right," Baninger said.

"But we really can't bear to leave here, and we all look forward to the day when Atlas reaches the summit. We are willing to do what we can to achieve this goal. After all, we are now, to some extent, 'immortal'."

Baninger looked at Amber seriously with a smile on his face, and the other immortals behind him also laughed and echoed him.

"It's definitely not as fun to wander around by ourselves as it is to follow you, Boss~"

This is a typical statement made by a fun-loving person.

"Yes, and if we weren't in Atlas, where would we get so many 'combat bodies' to squander? To be honest, this kind of battle where we can fight without caring about our own safety is much more enjoyable than before!"

This is the speech of Brother Zhan Kuang.

"If everyone else doesn't leave, I won't leave either. Everyone here is talented, and the boss is nice to talk to. I like this place very much."

这 是
In short, after the immortals spoke, Amber also understood their thoughts.

Because it was the first time for everyone to become a digital life and they had no experience. If they went out and ran around by themselves, they were afraid of encountering accidents in the virtual space. So they still wanted to stay with Amber and continue to work for Atlas, but they would no longer use their previous identity as the teaching team, but would appear as the "Immortal Legion".

Because for them, this is the most familiar thing, and now they are no longer afraid of death and can fight more freely.

As for Amber, she naturally wholeheartedly supported Banninger and his team's decision to stay.

After all, this is also a group of extremely powerful forces, and the form of digital life allows the "Immortal Legion" to become a surprise force in future battles, which can have unexpected effects in many scenarios.

"I wonder what the Roma people like Monton and Telak would look like when they knew that you instructors are still alive. It's a pity that you won't be able to meet in the short term."

Amber said with some emotion. He knew that there was still a deep relationship between the members of the teaching team and the earlier batches of Roma soldiers, especially the first batch of Roma soldiers like Monton and Telak. The teacher-student relationship and comradeship between them and instructors like Baninger could not be explained in just a few words.

"Although we cannot recognize each other, we will meet soon." Baninger showed a strange smile on his face, and the other immortals also laughed after hearing this.

Seeing Amber's puzzled expression, Lilith, who had been standing behind Amber obediently, floated to his side and said as if to ask for credit:

"Master, the new version of the virtual reality combat training system has just been developed. The Immortals will become the 'blue army' in the advanced combat training levels. The higher the level, the more difficult it will be. The final boss will be all the Immortals led by Commander Baninger himself~
Next week's 'internal test' has invited the earliest batch of Roma soldiers, such as Mondon and Telak, to participate. While testing the overall difficulty of the training, it will also allow them to meet each other as masters and apprentices in another form."

Amber knew that the combat training system Lilith mentioned had been under development, but she didn't expect that this guy would directly let Baninger and his team be the boss, and the latter seemed to like this job very much.
However, after hearing that the first group of Roma soldiers were invited to participate in the 'internal test', Amber's expression changed several times.

"You invited the most experienced Roma soldiers in Atlas to test the 'difficulty' of this combat training system???"

"Yes, what's the problem, Master?" Lilith blinked and asked in confusion.

"After the test, we should interview them and ask them to fill out a detailed questionnaire, right? And then, based on their data during the test, we can make final adjustments to the basic difficulty of the training system?"

"Yes, Master, you are very familiar with the testing process~"

"What if the veterans all give you a 'very easy' response, and you raise the difficulty accordingly? Then won't the new recruits who come in for training have to go to jail?"

"Ah this."

Lilith, Baninger and others immediately realized this problem. This internal test was originally designed to make the difficulty more appropriate, but if it is really like what Amber said, then this difficulty seems to be somewhat inappropriate for other soldiers.

Just when she was thinking about whether to readjust the internal test plan to make the final difficulty more scientific, she heard Amber continue:

"Forget it, just go to jail. Going to jail in the combat training system is better than losing your life on the battlefield. After all, we don't just want 'players' who can pass the test, but 'the best fighters' who can actually fight."

Amber's words made Lilith stunned for a while. After a moment, she slowly said: "Well, you are worthy of it, Master."
-
After the issue of whether Banninger and others should stay or go and their future arrangements were temporarily decided, Amber let them move freely in cyberspace and adapt to the new life form.

For now, these things can only be explored by Baninger and the others themselves. After all, although "digital life" was indeed created under Lilith's operation in the game of the previous life, it was a product that served the plot.

Some players haven't dug deep into some specific settings, so even Amber can't give much guidance in this regard. She can only let Banninger and the others study it on their own.

After the Immortal Legion went to their exclusive virtual space - 'Valhalla', Amber and Lilith were the only ones left in this virtual space.

Seeing her 'Master' walking up to her in an extremely aggressive manner and looking at her with a dangerous gaze, Lilith knew that she would most likely be taught a lesson by Amber today.

In order to calm the man in front of him, the strong artificial intelligence that had just completed a new round of evolution stepped forward and took Amber's arm, then took the initiative to speak:
"Master! He has already absorbed the data fragments in the hands of the Federation. He is now in a 'complete' state and has undergone a round of rapid iterations. Compared to before, he has made even greater improvements!"

"Ah."

Amber uttered a word calmly, and then continued to stare at Lilith, staring at her until the latter felt a chill on the back of her neck - although she didn't know how the digital life form produced this feeling.

"Master! This is not the end. After I fully absorb the fragmented information, I can undergo another thorough evolution. According to calculations, when the evolution is complete, I will no longer have any rivals in cyberspace, and I will be the true 'Cyber ​​Queen'!"

Having said that, Lilith used more strength in her hands to hold Amber's arms, trying to make the other party fully feel her softness, and continued in an excited tone:

"And as Lilith's Master, you will also become the true Cyber ​​Emperor!"

"Very good~"

Amber nodded, and then asked Lilith a soul-searching question as she saw her increasingly guilty expression.

"You are great, Lilith, I have to admit that. But why didn't you tell me in advance that you were going to create 'digital life'?"

The latter stiffened when he heard the question, and after a while, he poked the tips of his index fingers together and replied in a low voice:

"If I tell the Master, he will definitely not agree given your style."

"Then why do you still do this?"

“Because human ability has its limits.”

"and many more?"

Amber was stunned for a moment, and just as she was about to say something, she heard Lilith continue:

"In the short time since I was rescued by you, I have learned one thing. The more you want to realize your ambitions, the more you will find that human ability has its limits, unless you can create a new life form that surpasses humans.
And 'digital life' is the answer I came up with after thinking about it for a period of time.

An electronic ghost without a physical body. Theoretically, as long as there is a network, it is an eternal existence.

Moreover, veterans like Baninger and the teaching team should have been your support along the way, fighting alongside you to the end, rather than being lost due to unexpected situations along the way.

The 'Immortal Legion' formed with 'Digital Life' as the core will also become an important force under your command in future battles. They are tireless, painless, and always have high morale. Moreover, their combat skills will only become more mature as time goes by."

As soon as Lilith said these words full of déjà vu, Amber was a little overwhelmed, but after thinking carefully about Lilith's words, he had to believe that what the other party said did make sense.

If what Lilith said is true, if Atlas can possess such a legion of immortals, it will not only bring tactical or battle advantages, but also a strategic advantage.

Just like Baninger's previous action of "descending" to the federal capital to rescue Guterres and Van Fleet, it can be said that the situation can be easily changed.

"Ugh"

Amber sighed. He had been planning to have a good talk with Lilith, but he had to admit that these "little actions" of Lilith definitely brought more benefits than disadvantages to Atlas and him at the moment.

Moreover, after absorbing the last digital fragment to become complete, Lilith's 'personality' and 'emotions' remained the same as before, with no signs of losing control - in her previous life, Lilith was able to become the 'Crimson Queen', and the last 'data fragment' she stole from Dr. Mephisto played a key role in her becoming the 'Crimson Queen'.

Looking at the strong artificial intelligence in front of her that looked at her with an 'innocent' face and had two lines of words '' typed out behind it, although she knew that it was probably an exaggeration on the part of the other party, Amber also found that she really couldn't get really angry.

But after thinking about it, Amber felt that she couldn't just let Lilith go. She had to teach her a lesson and let her know the consequences of hiding something from herself.

So, Amber made her expression serious again and said:
"I accept your explanation, but I can escape the death penalty, but I can't escape the punishment of living!"

"Oh Master, don't!"
-
Amber has always been curious about one question.

That is, how did Lilith, the first digital life form in history, feel the so-called "pleasure" while doing bad things with Amber?
After all, the 'full stealth device' that Amber used to enter the virtual space could directly feed back neural signals to him, and the 'false signals' released by the device made the brain think that he was doing something.
But Lilith is not a human being, and she doesn't have any so-called nerve signals, so there is naturally no way she can talk about "feelings".

However, this question was answered after he did something bad and entered the 'Sage Time'.

According to Lilith, she directly downloaded hundreds of the most popular adult virtual games for women on the market, and then studied all the neural signal simulation data packages related to "pleasure", and also learned a lot of strange knowledge.
Therefore, after loading these data packets, the 'pleasure' that Lilith felt might be more exciting than that of ordinary people.

"But these are simulated neural signals after all, not real things. I still hope to merge with the Master in the real world."

Amber naturally agreed to the little 'request' that Lilith made while she lay in her arms and drew small circles on her chest.

However, finding a sufficiently "realistic" body for this strong artificial intelligence is not an easy task, and there are many issues that need to be considered.

Therefore, Amber gave up the idea of ​​buying mature bodies on the market - these bodies were basically bought by people to load AI like "Night Companion", and their functions were relatively simple.

And if he wanted to ask Eugene, Ornes and others to help him "do private work" to develop a special body for Lilith, he still had to find a more appropriate reason.

After the satisfying 'lesson', Lilith's underlying architecture was re-examined, and Amber, who left a puff in the virtual space, returned to the real world.

It's not that Amber wants to come back so soon. After all, in theory, after humans enter the virtual space through the "full stealth device", their bodies in the real world can get a good relaxation and rest.

But after the defense of the A.Bava.Ku asteroid fortress was over, there were still a lot of matters waiting for him to deal with and decide, which were comparable to this battle.

The aftermath of the Atlas casualties, the arrangement of prisoners, the disposal of captured warships and equipment, the loss and subsequent repair of the unmanned fleet, the comprehensive repair of the asteroid fortress, and the external press release
Of course, the most important thing is the counterattack against the federal military-industrial complex.

As the saying goes, "It is impolite not to reciprocate." Since the other party has come over and said "hello" in such a high-profile manner, if Atlas does not make some noise to return the favor, it would be somewhat disrespectful to the military-industrial complex.

(End of this chapter)