The night before the promotion

Chapter 97 The Man in the Wall

How to describe it?

The chaotic and distorted senses were like an inverted iron barrel on top of his head, and the incoming artillery fire was like a heavy hammer hitting the barrel. The deafening sound repeatedly stirred and overlapped together, like rippling waves, completely engulfing Zhou Si's hearing and dragging him into the dark seabed.

Logically speaking, a sound of this decibel is enough to pierce Zhou Si's eardrum and completely paralyze his hearing. It sounds cruel, but it is actually good news for Zhou Si now. By losing his hearing, he has reduced the channels for absorbing information, thereby reducing the thinking pressure on his brain.

Unfortunately, all the senses Zhou Si acquired were simulated by electrical signals, bypassing the physiological hearing system and connecting directly to the cerebral cortex.

Even though the decibel level has exceeded the limit of human tolerance, Zhou Si will still suffer from it unless the part of his brain that processes hearing is completely necrotic.

Zhou Si had no way to escape and could only continue to endure.

In the expanding and burning fireball, the sword dancer's remains were revealed in the flames. The thrusters on his back were still working normally, spitting out flames like wings of light, pushing the sword dancer away from the battlefield quickly like a cannonball, and then slamming heavily into the wall on one side before slowing down and stopping.

After a fierce battle, Zhou Si successfully destroyed John and von Neumann, but he himself was also on the verge of his limit. In his vision, abstract and chaotic things became more and more numerous, like a virus invasion. Everything that was once familiar in Zhou Si's eyes was quickly fading away.

The whole world is like a rendered 3D model. The ground has lost its "texture" and "light and shadow" and has become a pure black or gray color. Dots and lines can be vaguely seen. The standing walls seem to have melted, changing from a solid solid to a liquid state, like flowing cement, flowing freely...

The roar of artillery fire came again. Zhou Si moved his feet with difficulty. The flames of the explosion fell around him, creating one sea of ​​fire after another.

"Be rational... Be rational..."

Zhou Si kept instructing himself as the sword dancer rushed towards the corridor on the other side to distance himself from the enemy.

The bombardment just now ruthlessly destroyed the sword dancer's right arm, and the shattering sword carried by his right arm was also destroyed. The twisted metal fragments and cables were hanging, like bones and tendons that were not completely broken.

Zhou Si has successfully destroyed two armed incarnations. As for the remaining two, he just needs to deal with them slowly and delay time.

"Zhou Si! I successfully located the coordinates of one of them!"

Ruan Linrui shouted happily in the channel, she is indeed a genius hacker. Despite the heavy interference from the enemy hackers, Ruan Linrui still followed the clues and found the other party's location.

“The inspectors are on their way.”

Dong Yuan's voice sounded, cold and rational, like a ruthless announcer.

Zhou Si did not join in the celebration. His battle was far from over. In the layered visual system, a striking red light was following him and getting closer and closer.

The roar of artillery fire rang out again, like approaching thunder.

"Warning! Warning!"

The early warning system roared. Under normal circumstances, its intelligent assistance system would automatically help Zhou Si take evasive actions, but under the influence of the catalyst virus, all systems tended to collapse and were no longer trustworthy.

Zhou Si had no choice but to clumsily control the sword dancer, trying his best to turn sideways. Then a dazzling line of fire rushed past the sword dancer and set off a new round of explosions at the end of the corridor.

The corridor in front of him began to distort, just like the ground he had seen before. Zhou Si could not understand its "material" and "light and shadow". It was like a game sandbox that was still under testing, with all unnecessary elements removed and only a pure white model left.

"Is this Doctor Zhou?"

The voice came from far away, and even though it had been distorted and interfered to a certain extent, Zhou Si could still clearly identify the owner of the voice.

"Huo Daochuan..."

The sword dancer turned his head, and with the help of the illusion, Zhou Si saw Turing in armor striding towards him.

To be honest, this scene was somewhat absurd. The characters in the history textbook really appeared in front of Zhou Si. He picked up his knife and sword and launched a war of redemption against his own creation - technology.

For a moment, Zhou Si felt that he could understand what Huo Daochuan did.

It's crazy.

"You seem to be in a lot of pain. Are you fighting information overload and cognitive sickness?"

A sinister laugh sounded, and Turing asked in confusion, "Why not indulge in it and enjoy it all?"

"Becoming a lunatic like you guys?"

Zhou Si retorted, and the sword dancer straightened his body, even though he still looked shaky.

"Crazy? No, we are...becoming immortals!"

Turing opened the hatch on his shoulders, revealing two heavy machine guns. Roaring armor-piercing shells rushed towards him. In this narrow and straight corridor, the sword dancer had no place to hide.

The sword dancer turned around immediately, the power system reached its peak, the thrusters spewed out several tongues of fire, and the rubber tires of his feet rubbed at high speed, making a shrill scream.

Some things can't be avoided.

Zhou Si understood this from the beginning. No matter how fast the sword dancer is, it cannot be faster than a bullet. No matter how hard humans try, they cannot surpass the speed of light and cannot escape the cage of the light cone.

Maybe there really is such a thing as destiny in this world, and everything is already predetermined!
The sword dancer rushed out of the corridor, followed by a rain of bullets, like a flock of dancing crows.

The nozzle of the thruster was hit by an armor-piercing bullet, and after flashing rapidly for a while, it completely shut down. The sword dancer's speed immediately slowed down a lot, and he stumbled to the other side, even losing his balance and falling to the ground with sparks.

Zhou Si fell to the ground exhausted, his disordered senses still echoing in his mind. Every minute and every second became extremely long, as if he was in an endless hell.

"call……"

He exhaled long, and the Sword Dancer's cooling system increased its power, blowing gusts of hot air that scorched the ground.

When the sword dancer stood up again, Zhou Si found himself under the magnificent data tree. Countless cables were entangled with each other, twisted into branches and intertwined, with roots digging deep into the ground, tied to server clusters immersed in coolant.

Under the dual influence of information overload and cognitive impairment, the images in Zhou Si's eyes gradually became distorted, and he saw the true meaning of... data.

Countless texts, pictures, videos, characters and other information that can be understood by humans all appeared on the dense cables. They seemed to be swept into the tide and surged together.

The scene is really beautiful, as if someone had knocked over a bucket of paint, and it was all colorful.

"Dr. Zhou!"

The shouts rang out again, and Turing and Charles walked out of the corridor and confronted the sword dancer under the data tree.

This time Turing did not initiate an attack, but stood quietly in place, looking up at the magnificent data tree with Zhou Si.

Zhou Si was not sure what the data tree looked like in the eyes of Turing and Charles... Maybe they could see similar pictures, or maybe they could see completely different pictures.

Never mind. There's no need to think about this.

The slightly relaxed nerves tensed up again. Zhou Si glared at Turing and Charles, and even the sword dancer took a fighting stance, even though it only had one arm left and the weapons it carried were mostly gone.

"They have already invaded the Data Tree." Zhou Si reminded calmly in the channel. Logically, neither of them should be here. The Data Tree was blocked and protected by several gates, but with the invasion of the enemy hackers, the other side successfully lifted all the defenses of the stone fortress, leaving the closed gate unobstructed.

After this incident, many people will definitely be held responsible. Some will lose their jobs, and others will face imprisonment, but these are not things left for Zhou Si to think about.

Zhou Si must be more cautious in the next battle. Once the aftermath of the war affects the data tree, all previous efforts will be wasted.

However, this also proves one thing indirectly.

Zhou Si asked, "Isn't your goal to destroy the high wall system?"

If the purpose of Huo Daochuan and others was to destroy the high wall system, then the first moment they entered this place, they could open fire at the data tree, cut the cables, burn the servers, and turn this place into ruins.

But they did not do so. Instead, they admired the magnificent creations here with Zhou Si.

"Destroy? Destruction is a very meaningless thing."

Turing started speaking. Listening to the familiar voice, Zhou Si was sure that Turing was Huo Daochuan.

"Even if you destroy it, the wall will be rebuilt again... If you don't change things fundamentally, this will continue to happen in a tiring cycle."

There was a hint of madness in the slightly distorted voice, and Zhou Si was not sure if it was caused by his own hallucination.

Just listen to Turing continue.

"So, we need to change all this at a deeper and more fundamental level."

Zhou Si vaguely guessed their purpose, "You want to inject the virus into the high wall system. You don't intend to destroy it, but paralyze it."

"Yes, look at those poor people inside the wall. They are protected by the high wall and live in false comfort. They are not aware of the hustle and bustle outside the wall. They are so disdainful of us who suffer from the disease of detachment and laugh at us for complaining without any reason."

Turing said angrily, "We want to paralyze the walls, let everyone inside the walls clearly see the hustle and bustle of the real world, and let them live in the fear of our lives."

Suddenly, his voice became gentle, like an executioner's final words of comfort to a prisoner before chopping off his head.

“Only when they are in the same hell as us can they truly empathize with us.”

Zhou Si shook his head in disappointment. "What do you think you are, revolutionaries?"

"I know that we are not, from the beginning to the end, just a group of terrorists."

Turing said dejectedly, "What a pity! I also want to be a revolutionary, but I don't know how to do it. Doctor Zhou, this is the only extreme method I can think of."

"But you are different."

Turing said proudly, "Doctor Zhou, you can become a true revolutionary. After we make everyone feel the horror of this Lishi disease, you will return to people's attention as an expert on Lishi disease. You can fight for more rights for us and restore our reputation!"

"Come on, Dr. Zhou, join us."

Turing's mental state was obviously out of control. "You don't need to do anything. Just stand there and wait for us to finish everything... No one will blame you."

Zhou Si said nothing. He actually wanted to empathize with Huo Daochuan and try to understand his ideas, but Zhou Si couldn't do it. Facing the dual influence of information overload and cognitive disorder, it was extremely difficult for him to stay awake.

Besides, even if he could empathize with her, to some extent, Zhou Si was indeed a sentimental person, but that didn't mean he would be indecisive.

The sword dancer took a step forward, and this time its pace was steady. Zhou Si had slowly found the feeling. Although it was a little late, it was indeed a good enough start.

He understood what Zhou Si meant and murmured, "What a pity."

Turing raised his left arm, on which was mounted a heavy artillery with several hydraulic pipes roughly exposed, maintaining the stability and connection of the gun body. The heavy backpack was responsible for automatic loading. His other right arm carried a physical chainsaw sword similar to the Shattering Sword, which was the weapon Turing intended to use to cut open the gate.

Charles took a step forward. He was carrying some light weapons. Although his mobility was not as good as that of the Sword Dancer, it was not much inferior.

The sword dancer only had one arm left. Zhou Si checked the weapon on his left arm. It was a heavy impact nail. When released at close range, it could chisel through the enemy's armor with its terrifying kinetic energy and sharp nail head.

In other words, as long as Zhou Si gets close enough and aims at the correct position, the impact spikes, like the shattering sword, can destroy the armed incarnation with one blow.

But the problem arises here. With Zhou Si's current state, how can he get close to the enemy? What's more, they still have two.

When the battle was about to break out, Dong Yuan's voice rang out again.

"Doctor Zhou! Delay time. The inspector has arrived at the target location."

At the same time, Charles also shouted in the channel, "Turing! I was discovered by them!"

Before immersing himself in the dream pool, Charles carefully designed his residence and prepared many early warning systems. Obviously, the arrival of the inspectors triggered all of this.

Turing instructed, "Find a way to leave!"

"Time is running out."

Charles said as he charged forward, firing all the weapons he carried, pouring his fury upon the sword dancer.

he yelled.

"For everyone!"

……

The inspectors kicked open the rusty iron door, and the stench of fermented domestic garbage hit them in the face. Before they could cover their noses to investigate, they saw Charles lying in a capsule-shaped dream pool at the other end of the room.

"We found him! Disconnect him now!"

An inspector took command, holding up the electromagnetic rifle, aiming at Charles' head, ready to pull the trigger and smash his head at any time. Several other inspectors stepped forward and tried to break Charles's telepathic connection.

They succeeded. The moment they roughly dragged Charles out of the dream pool, Charles was disconnected from the armed avatar.

Charles opened his confused eyes and looked at the fully armed inspectors. Suddenly, a happy smile broke out on his sick face.

"For everyone."

Charles repeated at last.

A boiling flame rose from under the dream pool, and then the expanding flames engulfed Charles and all the inspectors present.

A loud explosion resounded in a corner of the city, and thick black smoke rose up like a tower connecting the sky.

(End of this chapter)