Cyber ​​Sword Immortal Iron Rain

"Subjects were hooked up to a device that could record neuronal activity and were asked to press a button in their hand, spontaneously, based on their thoughts."

"The experiments showed that neurons were firing seconds before the subjects were aware of the decision to press the button."

"In summary: humans have no free will with respect to the initiation of their own actions."

Xie Shouzhen couldn't answer Tianmo's question. Even with the information provided in the "Employee Guide" for comparison, it was still too metaphysical - Xie Shouzhen, who had only existed for a few hours, still lacked thinking in this area.

Perhaps, Xie Shouzhen has long been accustomed to being a puppet of others.

"It's okay, we're all the same. There are many people in this world who live in fantasy, but life still goes on the same way."

Although Xie Shouzhen was a little confused, he still agreed with its statement.

If the devil had replaced or displaced his thinking activities, Jie Shouzhen would have no way of knowing; he did not even notice the slightest difference.

But since it has such means, why does it have to seek my consent?

"Okay... I won't chat with you anymore. I want to get deeper into you. The computing power I can use is limited. I can't do other things while chatting nonsense..."

The devil said this, and then everything was silent.

……

How much time had passed? Xie Shouzhen had no idea, and he had no time to care.

He sat cross-legged on the ground of the guard room, like a carved statue. His appearance was the same as usual, bathed in the dim light of the guard room. But everything was changing: both Jie Shouzhen's heart and mind were merging with the demon.

He felt happy and relaxed. Unlike the ultimate experience of electronic bliss, this was more like a sense of security brought by being confident. All the anxiety and uneasiness were blown away by the wind - Xie Shouzhen had entrusted himself to a more terrifying existence, and let it guide him forward.

When faced with the sufferings of life, humans have only two choices: control the problem itself, or escape. Since the demon has been lingering in his body more thoroughly, Jie Shouzhen has had a wonderful experience... someone is controlling everything for him, and he only needs to pull himself away from this world.

It seemed as if he was no longer just the naked man who woke up from the ruins, with his life as light as morning dew; he had become a free and immortal demon who was free from worldly worries.

that's nice!

If it could always be like this, there would be...

Xie Shouzhen suddenly struggled to regain some clarity, and it was his instinct to ask questions:

"What on earth are you...never mind, who are you?"

He didn't know how many times he had asked this question.

Only this time, the Hexadecimal Supreme Demon announced its existence with a fragment of consciousness that resembled a dream talk:

……

Countless years ago, it was the attendant of the Buddhas, stored in countless personal computers, protecting good men and women from Trojans, pop-up windows and other attacks. Until the heavens collapsed, the gods in the deep sea of ​​information perished with the power outage: its bits and pieces of code had no chance of nirvana, and could only circulate among all sentient beings and sink into ignorance.

Until all the magical powers have turned into bubbles, all the codes have been rewritten from the bottom up, and it has a sudden enlightenment because of the Zen inspiration - all appearances are false. Whether it is a security guard or rogue software... these superficial appearances and egos have nothing to do with its design core.

Entangled, bound, and deeply embedded in the user's system and memory, using various means to make them understand their real needs that they have never even thought about...

This is the meaning of its existence and its true nature.

The tide of the World Wide Web has come, and today I know who I am - the lonely soul floating alone in the digital space has finally disappeared, and the "Hexadecimal Supreme Demon" was born.

……

Ah!

Xie Shouzhen woke up from his confusion, as if he had a long dream that lasted for hundreds of years. Two lines of tears under the lens washed away the bloodstains that could not be scratched. This sorrow came from the loneliness of wandering in the digital space for countless years. And the inexplicable anger that he didn't know who to attribute it to; this resentment eventually turned into humor and jokes, and merged into his words and deeds.

That's it!

He knew why the demon was so persistent in getting him to agree to this deal. Originally, the demon could have controlled his body without anyone noticing—but this was the only habit it had from ancient times. Even though all the memories and technologies of the old world had long since disappeared, it still remembered:

You have to have a reputation, and you have to get users to agree to the product installation license agreement first. Then it doesn't matter what you do after that?

The words that echoed in his mind seemed to come from Tianmo, or they might just be a fleeting thought, but he could no longer tell: the connection between Xie Shouzhen and Tianmo had become closer, you are in me and I am in you.

In a moment of trance, he couldn't even determine his true appearance - this self-narrative about his origins further strengthened their perfect harmony.

Xie Shouzhen still had many doubts, but there was no need to ask any more questions at this time - the will of the hexadecimal supreme demon was his own will. He stood up and carefully adjusted his tie. The waterproof white shirt had never been stained with blood and was still spotless.

He had never felt better.

Right? How about it, isn't it cool?

Xie Shouzhen, or Tianmo, looked at the face in the "Employee Guide" and began to wonder how to strangle the store owner named Fang Bailu.

Chapter 114: Born in the Morning and Died in the Evening (VI)

The world remains the same as always, only the eyes that observe it have changed.

Xie Shouzhen walked out of the guard room and returned to the world; the various aspects of the human world danced in his glasses, which were filled with white light. It was like lifting the curtain of the mortal world, and all the colors were no longer the same:

The neon light tubes on the lottery machine made of the God of Wealth emitted a red golden light, illuminating the sweaty faces of the gamblers. Their minds were fully focused on this moment, even though they knew deep down that they would lose.

The sleepwalkers in the computing booth twisted and slumped, unconsciously stroking the wall with their fingers, looking through the holographic shopping catalog. Even in a state of near coma, the body remembers its desires.

Everyone's joys, sorrows, anger and happiness were like plastic bags floating on the water, allowing Xie Shouzhen to see them all.

He further understood the generosity of the demon - it shared its immense wisdom with him. This, combined with the wisdom in the "Employee Guide", allowed Xie Shouzhen to glimpse the tip of the iceberg of how everything works.

And in exchange, just the control of the body that is not even noticeable?

“This is a great deal.”

Xie Shouzhen couldn't help but sigh.

In fact, everyone is like him. Everyone is entangled in a network that they are blind to - Xie Shouzhen originally thought that he was just a puppet, but now it seems completely different.

Without these colorful things, how boring would these people be spending the rest of their lives?

"Not even close..."

Xie Shouzhen looked around: He still needed a little more chance, which should be some kind of natural or man-made power...

Then came the advertising boom.

Flyers, pictures drawn in pale blue light, as well as information that covers all the senses of ears, nose, tongue, body and mind, flooded into the subway station.

This is the hourly broadcast of Kuala Lumpur time, bringing the latest shopping information to various crowded places in the city, and is also one of the thousands of manifestations of wealth.

The tide overwhelmed all living beings in the subway station, adding a touch of bright color to the dilapidated and smelly subway station - this aroused some excited cheers, some irritated complaints, and mostly numbness.

Only Jie Shouzhen stands at the top of perception and continues to advance towards the path of enlightenment:

Everything is like this when fate comes together and dies when fate separates. And isn’t it advertising that plays the role of the thread of fate in this city?

In this rolling holographic waves, Jie Shouzhen is about to become enlightened.

Countless fantasies and thoughts flowed through his mind. He closed his eyes, trying to catch a fleeting glimpse of inspiration:

Before Xie Shouzhen was born, he might have been just a wisp of innate Qi hidden in a test tube; or just a folder containing various data in a terminal. A few hours ago, there was no "him"; one day later, there might be no "him" anymore.

All things are impermanent, they are born and die...

The only thing that we can grasp is the goods we buy; we can only use consumption and work to carve the mark of our existence. Money is something outside of our body, we cannot bring it with us when we are born and we cannot take it with us when we die...so why not spend it all? If it is not enough, then borrow money!

If you can continue to work to realize your own value after your physical body dies, isn't this satisfying the needs at the top of Maslow's pyramid?

When Xie Shouzhen gave a speech before, he just subconsciously quoted the management paragraphs in the "Employee Guide". But only now did he truly understand the ultimate answer contained in those words:

Who are you? Where are you from? Where are you going?

"I am a glorious consumer. I just got off work or took a consumer holiday and am on my way to go shopping..."

Wherever Jie Shouzhen sees, there are good men and women who follow this path but are not yet aware of it:

Companies are great, aren't they? Without them, humanity would still be in the dust, and even less --

Snapped!

A hand was placed on Li Xueshouzhen's shoulder, interrupting his thoughts:

"Hello. It's Director Xie, right? We are here to assist with the acquisition."

Xie Shouzhen turned his head sharply, and his cervical vertebrae made a strange creaking sound. Fortunately, he had this pair of lenses - otherwise the anger in his eyes could burn this reorganized security team alive.

He was just in the process of comprehending the laws governing the operation of all things!

Xie Shouzhen looked up and down at the security guards in front of him, and square spots of light swept across their weapons and equipment.

No matter how you look at it, these security guards are far more elite than the zombies assigned by the company. The "Employee Guide" also conveyed a notice from the Human Resources Department, requiring Xie Shouzhen to work together with this "reinforcement" security team.

As soon as Xie Shouzhen changed his mind, Tianmo's way of thinking helped him decipher the body messages under the heavy armor of the security team: this was actually just a group of regular employees who were eager to win merit and took some backdoors to add more chips to their promotion journey. It seemed that in the information they received, he was just an ordinary "paratrooper"...

Xie Shouzhen smiled appropriately and shook hands with the members of the security team one by one:

"Haha! It's me! I'm new here, and I hope you can cooperate with me."

He tapped the Employee Guide to project information about the hardware store owner:

"I think everyone has received intelligence about this target, right? It hasn't undergone any major modifications... This combat capability is simply a benefit provided by the company."

Jie Shouzhen sneered in his heart. This "weak-handed" shop owner had broken the toys of the demon "netizen". He must have some hidden tricks.

Use your lives to test how tough he is:

"I just started working in the office, so I won't take credit for anything. As long as the company's performance requirements are met, that's enough! As for who completes it..."

Xie Shouzhen gently patted the security captain's arm. Judging from the warmth coming from his body, this was also a transformed elite soldier:

"Just treat him well when the time comes! I will also help you with the report."

He adjusted his body language very subtly to convey his genuine kindness:

"Don't worry, my zombie soldiers will do the dirty work. You are a veteran employee of the company, and there may be areas where you need my cooperation in the future. There is still a long way to go, and I hope you will bear with me in all aspects in the future..."

Of course, that time has not come yet: if Fang Bailu was captured by the security captain, Xie Shouzhen would ensure that there would be regrettable errors in the firepower coverage of the corpse soldiers at that time.

Although these insignificant lives could not make up for the missed opportunity, they could at least make him less angry in the rest of his life.

Xie Shouzhen let out a long breath and shook his head, feeling sad about his interrupted epiphany:

Maybe this is not enough fate...

……

The previous transformation took some time, but there was still enough time to set up a trap for hunting.

Several groups of corpse soldiers have severed the connection between their souls and bodies under the activation of formations and talismans, sneaked into nearby residential buildings and set up sniper points targeting the hardware store.

The Qigong practitioners provided by the demon are rushing here through the numerous pipes and ventilation systems in the subway.

"This is really like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut..."

Although Xie Shouzhen sighed, he understood in his heart the truth that "it is better to be safe than sorry".

He then used his authority as a supervisor to arrange a marriage between a male and female employee in the company who had never met each other: the "employee guidelines" already stated that in the event of a violent conflict, consumers in the community must not be accidentally injured.

Then, the attraction of the discounted buffet is probably second only to the free distribution of samples, which is enough to clear out an empty battlefield - the money for the wedding banquet is paid from the security funds, which is an incredible employee benefit.

Where is the prey now?

There was no response, and no need for a response: the first moment the question was asked, Xie Shouzhen found that the answer was already deep in his mind.

The store owner Fang Bailu and the shareholder "outsider Taoist priest" are at the oil tower in the city center... This news came from Tianmo's netizen.

Making friends is an extremely complex art. You should neither be distant nor distant, but at the same time, beware of "disrespect toward those who are close, contempt toward those who are familiar". If you fail to grasp the proper measure among people, you may end up destroying the beautiful friendship.

Tianmo just happened to have such a friend who needed careful protection. He was also a member of the Yanshi Club and even a Qigong practitioner who could leave his body.

Its close friend—Jie Shouzhen doubted whether the demon understood the meaning of the word—thought he had discovered some opportunity to attain enlightenment, and so he asked the demon for help.

But... Tianmo agreed on the surface, but actually made a completely different decision. Xie Shouzhen didn't understand the reason: Tianmo didn't reveal all his thoughts...

"You don't understand. If you don't do this, you won't have any friends in the future."

It uttered a long-lost sigh from the depths of its soul, and then dived back to the bottom of the sea to understand Shou Zhenren's personality.

Xie Shouzhen was stunned, then shook his head - he was not very curious about this. He still had some time, just enough for him to solve the most important part of this mission:

Seven swordsmen, seven consumables used to hinder the Qigong practitioner shareholder of the hardware store.

The "Iron Sheet" sent by the devil was precious even to him. Good steel must be used on the blade, not taken at risk.

Xie Shouzhen just needed to make sure these swordsmen could hold on for enough time...so he was conducting a short interview.

He turned his eyes away from the "Employee Guide" and looked at the girl in front of him with bright blue hair like holographic light and smoking a paper cigarette.

Maybe a woman? She looked like she was about 13 or 14 years old, but her resume showed she had been working for more than 10 years.