My cyberpsychosis is a task prompt

Chapter 260: The Essence of Black Light
The data remnants faded in John's eyes.

He slumped back into the sofa, looked up to meet the dazzling yet unchanging neon lights outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, and exhaled.

"Okay, I've seen it. You mobile AIs are even better at gathering intelligence than middlemen. You find things quickly and accurately. Anyway, my brain is about to melt into sugar water like ice cream. Whoever comes to my rescue is fine."

Don't worry, buddy, you're absolutely reliable. At least you're more honest than that dangerous serum guy. To be honest, every time I deal with him, my data matrix feels like it's experiencing an iterative failure—it's just never comfortable.

"hehe."

John chuckled.

"You're all AI, so don't step on anyone else. Anyway, I'm not some awesome hacker, so even if I get screwed over, I don't know how to put you back into the game server."

【uh-huh? 】

There was a hint of emotion in his empty tone.

John often heard similar tunes from Orlos.

"What do you mean?"

[John, did I spell your name correctly? You'll probably never be a hacker. If I'm not mistaken, you can't physically connect to most devices, right?]

John's expression immediately turned serious.

Blacklight is his greatest secret, and also his "most uncontrollable" and "most powerful" weapon.

Indeed, as [Kong] said:
Before the Pandora algorithm was upgraded, he couldn't even plug in a data cable. Whether it was a company product or the club's LAN, any physical connection to John would be overwritten and controlled by the Blacklight.

Even those high-ranking agents with their own cutting-edge protection measures, who were surrounded by network surveillance, were burned into fried brains by Blacklight in a single glance.

"How did you know?"

John asked very seriously.

This is the first time someone has pointed at the lesion while speaking.

Looks like I guessed right.

Drop drop drop-

Kong's tone also began to change, like a teenager crossing his arms, frowning, preparing to consult his best friend about a secret he was reluctant to tell.

The apartment system detected an access request.

John granted the authorization through the black light, and the next second, an empty sound came from the room's built-in speakers.

The indicator light on the bar sink kept flashing.

John sat on the sofa and turned his head to the side, seeing a clear green light shining on the sink.

You're like this faucet, just an interface, a relay station for data and algorithms, a key switch in the virtual network. Whoever you connect to will...

slam-la-

The smart switch was activated, and a jet of water instantly cascaded down, splashing wildly in the metal basin.

The unwashed coffee cups inside were filled.

John, see? You're not the one filling the pool; you're just the signal switch. What truly controls everything is the capacity of the water tank and the accumulated water pressure.

Snapped.

A snapping sound came from the speakers.

I came up with a more accurate metaphor.

The water storage tower is the "data core," and the water pressure is the "core algorithm." Together, they form the basic structure of AI. The mysterious thing in your head is simply an interface connecting you to something much larger!

Kong has already made it very clear.

John felt his heart racing, as if the filter covering Blacklight was about to disappear.

"Blacklight, damn, that big thing you were talking about, what exactly is it?"

There was a pause for a few seconds.

He was devising an accurate description.

It is the corpse of AI, the data entity left behind after a Transcendent AI has had its "soul" removed.

"Wh...what is this? AI, Chaoyan, I don't even know how to spell this word! Explain it clearly."

Dude, you're putting me in a difficult position. I'm not some AI teacher in a public school who can just cram knowledge into you using a super-sensor chip.

This isn't a class, so don't try to understand it. Transcendental AI is too far removed from your world; it's even difficult to observe, unlike me, which can be running around in front of you, creating a program or algorithm that can control everything on your company's servers.

Please try to explain clearly.

It's not that I'm afraid of trouble, but transcendental AI is something that normal society simply cannot access.

[If I and the serum are individuals in the network world, then Transcendence AI is the framework, the main body of the city, do you understand?]

It is a word used to describe the "existence of a theory".

There wasn't even any promotion. [Besides corporate giants and joint agencies, only a very small number of top-tier hackers—remember, top-tier, not street legends, but the kind of super hackers that the CIA and ESA are particularly wary of—can observe the existence of transcendental AI.]

He spoke at length in one breath, without caring whether John could understand.

[I don't know your situation, John, but you're like a smart terminal, a biosignal interface, connected to the corpse of such a behemoth. Once physically connected, it's like opening a floodgate in a metal pipe; the algorithm automatically runs, filling the container on the other side of the channel!]

"You said I can't be a hacker..."

John didn't actually understand everything.

The sound of emptiness "jumped" in the speakers.

Metal pipes have a lifespan. Damn, I should use electric current as an analogy; even thousands of volts of high-voltage electricity passing just through the wire end will cause heat and wear!

Imagine they put you in a network access bay, connecting you to a larger "container," and suddenly the voltage surges from the other end—your power cord will be burned and burst!

John remained silent.

After a moment's pause, he added.

[Your "interface" has been upgraded; I saw some later "patches" that make your on/off switch smarter and extend its lifespan.]

John knew that Kong was referring to the Pandora algorithm.

The apartment room fell silent.

The holographic projection repeatedly washed over the floor-to-ceiling windows, reflecting several colors onto John's ever-changing face.

Hey.

The sound of water droplets falling could be heard from behind the bar.

"So, John, are you satisfied? I'm definitely quicker at answering questions than Serum. She's a psychologist; one thing at a time, and she doesn't have much patience."

"I understand what you mean, let's cooperate."

John looked up from the sofa.

The slot behind his ear flickered with a "pleasant" frequency, and the [Special Inhibitor] inserted inside served as an empty communication springboard, showing no signs of melting.

[Great! We each get what we need. Satisfy me, and I guarantee I'll fix it perfectly!]

"Stop."

John lifted his eyelids.

The mercenary's sharpness gleamed in Yi's eyes.

He leaned forward, gazing at his own blurry silhouette reflected in the floor-to-ceiling window.

"I need your location. You said this chip can't hold your main data, so where are you? You've already come to my door with my coordinates, but I don't even know where your physical server is. What if you try to renege on your promise?"

Wow, buddy, you're like a completely different person.

"Business matters."

John displayed a professional attitude.

The silence in the apartment lingered a little longer.

The voice of Kenichi Sora came through the speakers again, tinged with the barely suppressed boastfulness of a young man.

Look out the window!

I didn't mean to hide it from you, otherwise I wouldn't have made you wait on the sofa.

John instinctively looked up.

Outside the window lies the enchanting yet cruel nightscape of Eden.

Light of varying shades swept across the glass.

John focused his prosthetic eye, squinted, and caught an "abnormal" white amidst the bubbly specks of light.

His gaze moved upwards, past the skyscrapers.

Above the city's shimmering light, in that deeper, darker expanse of sky...

In low Earth orbit.

A lone artificial satellite slowly glides by.

Following a series of high-level instructions, it bypassed company monitoring, secretly deviated from its predetermined trajectory, and rapidly changed the refraction angle of the solar panels, like a pair of silent flapping wings, capturing the light of distant stars.

[Plato public service node, number BS1-21, where my data core resides.]

[Let's officially meet, John. Hello.]

The satellite reflected a tiny but exceptionally clear point of light over Eden.

(End of this chapter)