Psychics don't die from gunfire

Chapter 833 How can we know it's not me?
Zenoya Edith's expression remained calm, as if she hadn't heard those words, but a subtle change involuntarily appeared deep within her eyes.

If the previous defeat in the swordsmanship contest was merely like throwing a pebble into a lake, causing only a few ripples that were fleeting and could be quickly recovered from, then the words spoken by that bird that was not human were no less than a boulder thrown into the lake, causing a deafening roar.

During her time being housed here, she consulted a lot of materials and gained a general understanding of the New Order Federation. It was a country far more prosperous than any country in her memory. It did not have a king, but rather, like the Thousand Seas Alliance, it was an alliance with multiple rulers.

—And at the core of this behemoth is what is known as the "Federal Supreme Executive Council"!
It's no wonder Zenoya Edith was so emotional. After all, she had become the chief knight of the "Shattered Oracle" legion through years of battles and was well-known both at home and abroad. However, in front of the kings who ruled the country, she was still a nobody.

The kings support the entire "Shattered Oracle" legion. If they were angered, a mere month or two's supply and wages would likely be enough to force the legion to surrender and apologize. As for martial arts, no matter how skilled one's swordsmanship, even if one could kill ten men, could one possibly defeat a hundred?

Zenoya Edith considered herself to be quite skilled in martial arts. She had once single-handedly defeated seven fully armored soldiers without any protective gear and with only a sword. However, she was also covered in wounds and severely injured after that battle.

But now, a ruler who controls the New Order Federation and whose power is probably a hundred times greater than all the kings combined has appeared right in front of him!

So young!
How powerful must his father have been, and how young he must have died!
"Sigh, there's no need to exaggerate like that."

Song Shi chuckled and said leisurely, "Although I was given the position of Supreme Executive Committee member, I don't have any specific duties; it's just a sinecure."

A sinecure. The textile machine thought that the other party had indeed not taken on a specific position, but this also meant that he was qualified to intervene in matters in any field.

"That's how it is right now."

Song Shi took the tablet handed to him by the textile machine. It contained a briefing on "Digital Life." He scanned it quickly, reading ten lines at a glance.

"The federal government is inclined to accept you, and my attitude is similar. The Science Ethics Committee will establish a special department for digital life, which will be fully responsible for your general training and subsequent supervision. Uh, they just set up a special department for clones, and now they've set up a new one. They really have plenty of manpower."

"In short, I have no problem with you guys—provided you follow the rules, of course." Song Shi casually put the tablet aside. "Also..."

"I want an answer to a question."

Suddenly, someone spoke. It was a thin and weak boy, but the tone of his voice vaguely suggested an old man with white hair.

“I’ve lived long enough. Don’t get me wrong, my beliefs don’t allow suicide, and I have no such thoughts.” The “young man” pointed to the light, fuzzy tuft of beard on his chin: “But this child has a long time ahead of him, and that shouldn’t be taken up by a decaying old man like me.”

"Could you remove me from this body?" he said slowly. "I wish to return it to its rightful owner."

This question was obviously extremely important. Regardless of their previous expressions, the "digital beings" in the room became more serious at this moment, looking at Song Shi and waiting for his answer.

"Even if it means death?"

Song Shi sighed in regret.

“Then die.” The other person shook their head: “Death is not terrible; a wretched, shameful existence is the most unbearable end.” “That’s a pity, you won’t die anytime soon.” The sigh was fleeting, and Song Shi tapped the table with his index finger, laughing: “Well, separating consciousness... there are some technical problems for now, so you’ll have to wait a while. It would work if it were psionic energy, but the [consensus] that can achieve this is currently unavailable, so you’ll still have to wait.”

Because of excessive immersion in surreal films and virtual games, leading to role-playing becoming ingrained in the mind, resulting in memory disorder, personality overlap, and an inability to distinguish reality, the Corporate Alliance sees quite a few patients every year—this is considered one of the classic types of cyberpsychosis.

Judging from the surface symptoms alone, these "digital lives" are no different from the real thing. If Zenoya Edith were to walk down a street in the Corporate Alliance and claim to be the chief knight of the "Broken Oracle" legion, passersby would immediately be running away while calling the police.

Who knows what this person's worldview is like? Murderers aren't punished? What if they suddenly went crazy and started attacking people in the street? Who would pay for their medical bills? Damn it, if someone is attacked by a mentally ill person, the insurance company will definitely not honor its obligations!

For this reason, surgical treatments for this type of cyberpsychosis are now quite sophisticated, and while they may not be foolproof, they are certainly easy to perform.

After one course of treatment, the illness was cured, but I was immediately brought back to reality.

But “digital life” is different.

The former is a person whose consciousness is covered by memories and other random things, so they mistakenly believe they are another person. The latter, on the other hand, is a real case of multiple consciousnesses crammed into the same brain. Especially since this is a purely accidental situation, without involving external media such as memory chips, it makes the doctors quite difficult to handle and they don't know where to start.

There are few precedents to follow and many technical challenges.

Fortunately, the New Order Federation inherited the legacy of Emerald Pharmaceuticals. The relevant departments have been working overtime, and the consciousness separation surgery has overcome several difficulties. According to a more optimistic estimate, they will be able to deliver an excellent result within six months at the latest.

At that time, the New Order Federation will provide white prototypes of clones for the "digital life" to transfer consciousness.

"That would be for the best." A look of relief appeared on Kongming's face, but then, as if remembering something, he clasped his hands together, lowered his eyes, and his tone became blank: "Zhuangzi dreamt he was a butterfly; how can you know I am not myself?"

"Benefactor Song," he hesitated for a long time before finally speaking, "If you were suddenly told one day that everything you had experienced was a lie, what would you do?"

"Um"

Song Shi thought for a moment, then looked directly into Kongming's eyes: "I once met someone whose experience was somewhat similar to yours."

“This benefactor,” Kongming asked earnestly, “how did he do it?”

"What is there to fear about the future? There are still things yet to be discovered."

After saying that, Song Shi patted the other person on the shoulder, then walked out of the shelter without looking back.

(End of this chapter)