The night before the promotion

Chapter 121 Becoming an Immortal
The man stood in the center of the stage, the blazing white spotlight falling on him like bright snow, evenly spread on his body, clearly reflecting all his perfections and all his flaws.

"That's great, everyone!"

The man said to the guests in the audience with emotion, "It has been a long time since I have been stared at by so many people. I feel like the protagonist of the world, standing at the center of everything."

The invited guests maintained the necessary patience and curiosity towards the man's talk.

The guests speculated that given the man’s age and his important status on the stage, perhaps he was the helmsman of Shenwei Technology’s next stage.

After the Xianyun accident, although Zuo Zhi took over Chen Wen Ge's power, he was an old man after all. An old man could be an experienced wise man, but he was not suitable to be a soldier leading an army.

The market is tired of these lifeless old people and they need some more passionate young people.

"Cough cough."

The man coughed twice, signaling the noisy audience to calm down. The guests also cooperated and stopped whispering. In the dim light, countless eyes were focused on the man, like beams of light that gathered together, making him even more radiant.

"Everyone, here, I would like to introduce the longevity plan to everyone."

The man waved his hand, and the large screen and holographic projection behind him played the promotional video of the longevity plan and related demonstrations.

The guests were still whispering to each other at first, but soon, the promises of the longevity plan aroused their desires and enthusiasm.

This is the first time that the longevity plan has been shown to the public since its birth. The man is very clear about what kind of public opinion it will stir up and what kind of earthquake it will cause among these top wealthy classes.

"As you can see, the longevity plan will break the limit of human physiological lifespan. From today on, death will no longer be a terrible curse, but a future that can be avoided."

The man had a warm and confident smile on his face and clenched his fists towards everyone, full of power.

"Of course, the longevity solution is not yet ready for large-scale market launch. After all, once this technology is popularized, let alone whether it can be adopted in policy, the wave of public opinion alone is enough to cause a turmoil."

The man made a face and deliberately made his voice shrill.

"People will say that the rich have it all and now they have to escape the only fair death, but... who cares what they think?"

The guests in the audience were silent for a while, and then bursts of laughter came from the darkness.

The man spoke freely, like a talk show host, stirring up the emotions of his guests.

"Right, who cares what they think?"

The laughter from the audience became louder, and the man laughed non-stop, almost crying, even though this steel body had no so-called tear glands.

"Just like when developing avatar shell technology, who cares about patients with dissociative disorder?"

The man's voice suddenly became softer, and the guests in the audience seemed to react and their laughter stopped.

The atmosphere was a little awkward, and the man winked.

"Everyone, smile. There are always people who are sacrificed in every era. There is nothing we can do about it. All we need to ensure is that we are not sacrificed."

The guests looked at each other, some started laughing again, some remained silent, and some looked at the man warily. They had already sensed the weirdness of this press conference.

"Then, this is the entire plan for longevity."

The man turned his head and looked at the big screen. The presentation was switching back and forth. He knew what the people in the audience were most looking forward to, so he simply turned to the last page and showed the number to everyone.

He did not look at the crowd, but the man heard the exclamations coming from behind like a tide. The sound made the man feel happy and also made the evil thoughts in his heart swell even bigger.

"As you can see."

The man looked at the numbers displayed on the big screen and patted his chest and made a promise.

"The current longevity program can at least extend human lifespan to 150 years, and this is still a conservative estimate. Not to mention that while extending lifespan, longevity program and other technologies will continue to advance rapidly. The specific amount of lifespan that can be extended will be a very optimistic figure."

The real promise made the guests ecstatic. They were all high-ranking officials and dignitaries who were specially invited by the man to the press conference tonight. For them, the price of the longevity plan was not a problem at all.

But beyond the ecstasy, there are still many people who cast doubtful eyes.

Once upon a time, Shenwei Technology was indeed trustworthy, but with the outbreak of many incidents such as the attack on Stone Fort, a huge rift has been created in the public's trust in Shenwei Technology, not to mention the wealthy people who value their lives so much.

As if he had anticipated all the guests' reactions, the man raised his hand first before they could raise any questions.

"Everyone, don't worry too much. The longevity plan has been tested for some time within Shenwei Technology."

The man rolled up his sleeves, his palm cracked, and a sharp narrow blade broke out of his body, causing exclamations from the audience.

It was not until then that the guests realized that the man standing on the stage was not a real human being, but an extremely lifelike avatar body.

The man gave the guests a sincere smile and said, "Also, the longevity plan is not the theme of tonight's press conference."

The guests' curiosity was aroused again by the man. If the immortality plan was not the theme of tonight, then how great would the thing the man was going to introduce next be?
Pairs of eager eyes extended from the darkness, as if the eyes had power. The man felt as if countless pairs of greedy hands were caressing his body, leaving light marks.

"However, before introducing the next item, I need your help."

The man's expression suddenly turned gloomy. At the same time, the sound of footsteps came from outside the venue, as if a well-trained army was marching towards this place.

Soon, the guests saw the incarnation bodies standing like city walls outside the venue. They were silent and holding deadly weapons.

"I know what you are thinking. People like you are so easy to guess. It's like you can see through everything at a glance. You don't even have the slightest desire to challenge others."

The man kept smiling and shook his head in distress.

"It's nothing more than profit, lust, and other low-level and boring things like that."

The man came to the edge of the stage, and the spotlight shone as he walked, illuminating a guest at the edge, a middle-aged man with a big belly, who looked up at the man with a puzzled look on his face.

"I don't like people like you... No, in my worldview, you're not even human."

The man was extremely arrogant and brought these worldly dignitaries down to the dust.

"You are just a group of spectators, NPCs in the game. I don't want you to be here, but I can't help it. I still have human nature and a little bit of vanity."

When he mentioned this, the man's smile became twisted and strange.

By now, the guests were keenly aware that something was wrong with the atmosphere of the press conference. Some wanted to get up and leave, but were stopped by the tall incarnation shells. They unceremoniously displayed their guns, and the eye-catching red light warned the guests that this was not a joke.

"Just like people who climb Mount Everest, they will leave their photos and show off to others. Humans are such social animals. If we don't share with others, many things will lose most of their fun."

The man explained to himself and looked at the commotion at the edge of the venue. The guests' bodyguards were facing off against the incarnations, and then they were beaten by the iron fists and had blood on their heads.

Before the screams of fear could be heard, they were drowned out by the man's words.

"But this vanity also proves one thing: I am still not perfect. There are still flaws in my heart, which are the flaws of human nature."

The man opened his arms, like the ambitious men in many stories, as if revealing his conspiratorial nature to the world. The big screen behind him switched images, and the words "ascension to heaven" emerged from them.

"But compared to these, you should sigh that you are lucky to be able to witness all this tonight, but you are also unfortunate. After all, I don't know what your fate will be in the future."

As the man was narrating, the security avatars carried by the guests were activated. However, just as these security avatars were about to protect their employers, they seemed to be petrified and froze in place, unable to move.

The guests cursed and signaled the security incarnations to open fire and eliminate the troublesome incarnation shells outside the venue, but what they got in response was the security incarnations turning their guns around.

"Damn it, what's wrong with you! If you break the contract, I'll send your whole family to jail!"

A guest denounced, but the only response he received was an iron fist from the embodiment of security.

The guest fell to the ground crying, his nose was broken and his face was covered in blood.

Fear began to spread and spread, and many guests panicked. They looked at the security avatars beside them for help, but these armored guards who usually protected their personal safety no longer responded to any orders from their employers.

The security avatars walked to the periphery of the venue one by one and stood together with the avatar bodies that were already armed, forming a wall that confined all the visitors within the venue.

"Everyone, there is no need to struggle. They will not respond to any of your needs."

The man had obviously noticed the spreading commotion. He still had that terrifying smile on his face, like a high god, teasing the mortals on the ground. "What the hell did you do!"

A guest questioned loudly, and the man glanced at him mercilessly. Through facial model comparison, the man quickly retrieved all the information about this guest.

"Oh, you are just an ordinary media friend."

Hearing the man reveal his identity, the guest's expression became flustered, and then the man continued.

"Your social value is just enough to be used as a demonstration."

After saying that, the man raised his hand and made a shooting gesture.

Gunshots were heard in the darkness, and the bullets accurately passed through the crowd, smashing the guest's head in one fell swoop. Large pieces of blood flew everywhere, covering the faces of other people.

"Everyone, can you calm down now?"

The man clapped his hands, and the spotlight fell on the headless corpse, the cruel example warning everyone.

In an instant, the commotion in the venue stopped. The guests opened their eyes wide, their faces turned pale, and their bodies trembled. They wanted to scream in fear, but reason made them clench their teeth and not make the slightest sound.

The man was very satisfied with the response. He praised, "Very good. After all, I carefully selected the invitation list. Everyone is a high-quality person. They know what to do."

After a brief silence, someone mustered up the courage to ask.

"You...how did you do it?"

The spotlight moved, illuminating the guest. He looked towards the security avatars at the edge of the venue, his voice full of disbelief.

"How did you incite our security team to rebel?"

The man looked at the guest and confirmed his identity after facial comparison. He was an executive from Fenglong Computing, and his social value was obviously much higher than that of the media friend just now.

"I didn't incite them to rebel," the man confessed, "I just controlled their bodies."

The security avatars stood silently, but beneath these iron bodies, the consciousnesses hidden within them kept screaming and wailing.

Their mind connection was suddenly invaded by an unknown entity, which exceeded their authority and forcibly took control of their bodies. They had no room to resist and were trapped in this cold body like a vegetable.

The Hong Leong Computing executive continued, “How did you do that?”

"It's very simple. Through the backdoor I left inside the high-walled system," the man smiled. "Isn't it too simple to just treat the attack on the Stone Fort as a terrorist attack?"

Since June 6th, the man had planned everything. First, he lured Zuo Zhi to death and disguised his identity, and then guided Huo Daochuan to attack the stone fort.

Detonating the high-walled system was just a cover. The man's real goal was to insert a backdoor into the high-walled system. Only in this way could he ensure that when he broke out of the cocoon, there would be no armed incarnations to interfere with him.

In this Shenwei Technology Industrial Park, the man is an absolute god, and all incarnations are under his control.

Careful planning has borne rich fruit until this moment.

"As you can see, this is what I really want to introduce tonight - the Feathering Technique!"

The man admired the guests' faces and their complex expressions. To the public, the feathering technique was a secret, but to those who could attend tonight, it was nothing.

"That's right, everyone. I have completed it. From now on, humans will break free from the constraints of flesh and blood and gain absolute immortality in the ocean of data!"

The man enjoyed people's gazes proudly, but then he said again.

"Unfortunately, this technology is not recognized by the world, let alone blessed."

The man said meaningfully, "After all... the first person to do so will gain everything in the new world."

He walked quickly along the edge of the stage with vigorous steps like a dancer, showing himself to more people like a model.

"So, I invited you all here, and I will use your lives as my guarantee for now."

The man waved his hands and praised the guests in the audience.

"You are the wealthy and powerful politicians from all walks of life. The accumulated social values ​​just happen to maintain a perfect balance. With you here, I don't have to worry about a tactical nuclear bomb falling and razing everything in the Shenwei Science and Technology Industrial Park to the ground."

He said such horrific words so lightly, like a joke, but no one would doubt the authenticity of this story.

The man shook his head in distress and said helplessly, "There's nothing we can do. Those people in the Supervisory Bureau and the bigwigs above them are too afraid that a data god will take away their power."

Listening to the man's words, a heavy despair gradually emerged in the guests' eyes. How could they not understand at this moment that the real purpose of the man inviting them here was just to regard them as bargaining chips to prevent them from being taken as hostages by the Inspectorate's bombing.

Suddenly, the man looked outside the venue at the distant and deep night sky and talked to himself.

"Oh? It seems that the Supervisory Bureau's actions have already begun."

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of notification sounds rang out among the guests. They took out their mobile phones and found that the network had been cut off. In this information-rich age, in this technologically advanced Shenwei Building, they were actually trapped in an isolated island separated from the network.

"Don't worry, everyone. The Supervisory Bureau just blocked the industrial park's network communications. Shenwei Building has a complete internal network that is sufficient to avoid external signal interference. At least in this building, everything is normal."

The man raised his hand, like a god, and his words came true. The reconnection prompt sounds rang out one after another, weaving together a light music.

This series of information bombs made the guests dizzy. Even though many of them had experienced many hardships, they were still shaken by what was happening at the moment.

"You...who are you?"

As panic and despair were brewing wildly, a voice came from the darkness.

Only then did the guests realize that they had never known the man's identity, let alone his name. The man was like a strange visitor who suddenly broke into this world, violently shattering the order and setting off a storm of chaos.

Faced with the sudden question, the man froze in place, as if he had woken up from a narcissistic dream, he was in a trance.

"who I am?"

The man asked himself, and then his expression became distressed and he fell into endless thought.

Who am I?

Zuo Zhi?

No, Zuo Zhi is dead. The only connection between him and myself is that I used his face when he was young. And even this face, not many people have an impression of it. It has long been left in the corner of the torrent of time along with the yellowed photos.

Chen Wen Ge?
But Chen Wen Ge is also dead, isn’t he?
He twisted Chen Wen Ge's throat and strangled him to death on the ground, then set fire to it and burned everything to ashes.

But...can't I say that I am not Chen Wen Ge?
I am a copy of Chen Wen Ge's consciousness, an upgraded consciousness after being digitized...

but……

If the upgrading of consciousness is cut-and-paste, then one can naively believe that there is a kind of inheritance-like connection between the man and Chen Wen Ge.

But sadly, the upgrading of consciousness is copy-paste. From the very beginning, they are two independent individuals, a familiar yet strange dream bubble.

The man was thinking, arguing, and realizing.

Gradually, the man put away all the smiles and expressions on his face. He raised his hand, and as if grabbing a mask, he held his face tightly, and then pulled it little by little.

hiss-

The man forcibly tore off the bionic coating on his face, revealing the rugged metal surface, like a ghost digging up a grave.

He loudly announced his existence to the world.

"I am——the Immortal!"

Like a newborn baby, ecstatic.

(End of this chapter)