Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 158 Arasaka Prince Rei (Tenth Update)

Johnny Silverhand was somewhat familiar with him, but this Arasaka Kei, the son of Arasaka Saburo, the heir who died in the Arasaka Tower nuclear bombing in 2023, was also here?
This certainly piqued Chen Yu's interest even more.

Did Roger return his digital soul to Arasaka back then? This might explain why she was able to escape unscathed afterward.

Compared to Johnny Silverhand, Chen Yu was more curious about this former prince of Arakasaka.

Perhaps it was because the part of his consciousness that he had placed in the sacred vessel carried more of his emotions and desire for exploration as a "human" that Chen Yu decided to talk to him rather than simply look through his data files.

He mobilized a portion of his vast computing power, like injecting energy, to activate the point of light representing Arasaka Kei, enabling his digital soul to begin simulating normal thought and communication activities.

As the light swirled, a holographic image of a well-dressed, serious-looking middle-aged man with a typical Japanese aristocratic air appeared in the data space in front of Chen Yu.

His eyes were initially somewhat blank, but they quickly regained their sharpness and composure, as if he had a clear understanding of his situation.

"You are not one of Arasaka's people." Arasaka Kei's digital soul spoke, his voice steady, with a restraint honed through rigorous training, "Your form of existence... is very peculiar."

I sensed a power far beyond the data processing protocols of this era. Who are you? Why have you intruded into the sacred land of Arasaka?

Chen Yu's virtual avatar looked at him calmly: "A passerby, a researcher. You don't seem surprised by your situation, Mr. Arasaka Kei."

Arasaka nodded slightly, maintaining his composure: "My memory is stuck on that night in 2023... when I was attacked by that rock 'n' roll thug and that traitor with a Soul Killer."

After that... my consciousness existed in this void. Intermittently, sometimes awakened, sometimes sealed away.

Arasaka… my family placed me here. I understand my state: a digital ghost, an… asset.

His tone didn't carry much anger or sadness; it was more like he was stating an objective fact. This calmness even made Chen Yu feel that it was somewhat inhuman.

"Why did they wake you up?" Chen Yu asked.

"Testing." Arasaka Kei answered without hesitation, "A new project based on Soul Killer technology—the Relic chip."

My father, Saburo Arasaka, dedicated his life to using it to 'download' selected digital souls and securely house them within a brand new, vibrant body.

He paused slightly, and a faint, almost self-mocking ripple seemed to pass across his calm, expressionless face.

"What he pursues is far more than a simple backup of consciousness, but a true digital rebirth and immortality of consciousness."

And I, as his bloodline, a ready-made digital sample highly correlated with him on both genetic and cognitive levels, naturally became the...primary test subject for verifying the feasibility of this theory.

Chen Yu certainly knew about the Relic chip.

After acquiring the technology of Ultra Cunningham fifty years ago, Saburo Arasaka has been dedicated to it, aiming for digital immortality so that Arasaka's rule can continue forever.

Uploaded by Soul Killer and downloaded by Relic, while there is debate on philosophical and mystical levels about whether it is the same "soul," the boundaries do become blurred when memories and personality are perfectly replicated.

“Digital immortality…a very interesting technological path,” Chen Yu commented, his tone devoid of praise or criticism. “But in our view, it is not the optimal solution and has a clear risk of single point of failure.”

He thought of the sages in the Cult of Mechanics who had successfully transferred their consciousness into mechanical vessels, achieving another form of "immortality," though their existence depended on specific equipment. Arasaka looked at Chen Yu: "'Us'? It seems you represent an unknown force. Your technological level... is awe-inspiring. So, what is your purpose? To obtain Arasaka's data? Or... these imprisoned souls?"

“Yes, all of them,” Chen Yu said frankly. “Knowledge has its value, whether it’s about the past or about…the possible future. As for these digital souls, they are valuable research samples that record the various states of human consciousness during the digitization process.”

“Samples…” Arasaka Kei repeated the word, his face unreadable. “A cold assessment, but perhaps… it’s the truth. In this data prison, time loses its meaning, leaving only endless waiting and exploitation. So, researcher, what do you intend to do with us 'samples'?”

“Copy, analyze, and archive,” Chen Yu replied. “Your original data will be securely transferred. As for whether you will be ‘activated’ in the future, that depends on research needs.”

After a long silence, Arasaka Kei finally said slowly, "At least, this is better than being imprisoned forever in Arasaka's server, waiting to be used by my father as a tool to realize his ambitions, or being completely deleted in some system cleanup. I accept this fate."

Chen Yu nodded and said no more.

He continued his work, copying and packaging all the data within the divine palanquin, including every soul in the digital prison, and transmitting it back to the abandoned town via a stable data stream.

The entire process was efficient and thorough, with no single byte omitted.

After completing all this, Chen Yu's consciousness withdrew from the divine carriage.

He issued his final orders over the Mann squad's communications channel: "Data acquisition complete. Execute the cleanup protocol to completely destroy the Divine Messenger server array, then withdraw along the predetermined route."
-
Upon receiving the order, Mann's squad immediately took action.

Rebecca and Pila placed the remaining explosives on critical nodes of the server cluster.

Mann then used a plasma cannon to focus on damaging the core interface and supporting structure.

A violent explosion came from deep underground in Arasaka Tower, shaking the entire building.

Flames and thick smoke billowed from the windows in the middle of the tower, turning the internal data center into a sea of ​​fire. The Shinko, Arakawa's most important data core in North America, was completely physically destroyed.

Mann's squad fought their way back along the planned retreat route.

Without unified command and a core objective, the Arasaka security forces were even less able to stop their advance.

They rushed out of the burning Arasaka Tower, boarded the waiting vehicles, and disappeared into the neon lights and shadows of Night City amidst the chaotic sirens and media helicopters.

Inside the abandoned town workshop, Chen Yu watched as the data transmission progress bar reached 100%, and then cut off the monitoring connection with the Aragaka Tower area.

His crimson optical lens turned toward the internal data storage unit, where now a vast amount of information obtained from the divine carriage and the digital soul of an era are stored.

A highly efficient harvest.

As he thought about it, his attention returned to the console, where Bartmouth's neural architecture model once again occupied most of his computing power.

The interlude in Arasaka has ended; now, it's time to continue analyzing another "legacy" of this world.

(End of this chapter)