Great, we're doomed now!

Upon hearing Ye Shou's question, Kayaba Akihiko retorted without hesitation: "I was already conducting research on artificial intelligence. SAO has an intelligent engine that can autonomously debug and iterate [Cardinal]."

All games that use [Seed] as their base template can obtain permissions through this engine with only minor modifications... but connecting to the global cyberspace requires unimaginable computing power.

"You will have—almost unlimited resources."

Ye Shou didn't elaborate, but instead brought up another matter: "In a few days, when you can move around freely again, come with me to see someone."

He'll probably invite you to join an organization called the 'World Peace Alliance.' You don't need to worry about much; just agree, and I'll handle the rest."

"World peace?" Kayaba Akihiko frowned. "You... I don't understand, what exactly do you want to do?"

"Heh~" Ye Shou turned around arrogantly, without answering the question.

In reality, he was loudly complaining in his mind:

How am I supposed to answer that question?

To earn Destiny Coins? To accumulate Tech Points? To acquire a stake in TPC?

Am I supposed to say—

Oh dear, the Super Nautilus is about to rise from the sea!

"Great, we're doomed now!"

Where can you find a tycoon like me who has the world in his heart?!

Chapter 34: Back to Cyberpunk

Afterwards, Ye Shou arranged for Kayaba Akihiko to stay at a sanatorium, while he himself went to a long-established hot spring inn. Ruri had booked the entire inn in advance, and no unauthorized personnel would be allowed to enter for the next two days, except for the inn staff and the security team from the Kuze Group.

"For the next 24 hours, do not let anyone come in and disturb my meditation."

"Just like before, I understand."

Liuli sat with her head bowed, then respectfully withdrew, quickly walking away and closing the wooden doors on both sides of the room.

As the naturally textured doors closed completely, the room instantly dimmed, with sunlight streaming in through the thin paper windows, creating a serene and tranquil atmosphere reminiscent of dusk.

Liuli's voice came from outside the door:

"From now on, no one is allowed to enter or leave this hotel, and no one other than me is allowed to approach this quiet room."

"Yes!"

Security personnel methodically began setting up both visible and hidden sentries, turning the courtyard and the quiet room in the middle into a makeshift military restricted area.

After giving her orders, the maid took one last look at the quiet room and then voluntarily left the courtyard.

She would come twice a day, in the evening and at noon the following day, to "await" her master's orders outside the quiet room, but in reality she would not have any conversation with anyone inside; it was just a facade.

About two or three months ago, Kuseyoshi developed a strange hobby—Zen meditation.

Although he doesn't retreat into seclusion for months like Buddhist masters, Ye Shou would also isolate himself in a quiet room for an entire day without communicating with the outside world, and nothing could disturb him.

Liuli knew there might be something fishy going on, but she believed that Ye Shou must have his reasons for doing this, so she never tested him. She simply cooperated with him obediently and never made a mistake.

In the past, Ye Shou would have chosen to stay at home during such times, but now that his parents had returned from abroad with a guest, it was not very convenient to stay at home. So he booked a hot spring hotel and made sure to inform his parents in advance.

"call……"

Sitting on the futon, wisps of smoke rising from the incense burner filled the room with a soothing fragrance, while a bowl of clear water on the table rippled gently, its surface calm and undisturbed.

Ye Shou gradually calmed down, putting all distracting thoughts behind him.

Everything is ready, and there is nothing to worry about!

Ye Shou closed his eyes, and an image of a golden hourglass about to run out of sand appeared in his mind.

Suddenly, the glittering sand stopped falling and floated in mid-air. The entire hourglass faded rapidly, like an old photograph, turning into a black and white image.

The next moment, the hourglass pattern gradually disappeared, and a beautiful pocket watch was outlined in the darkness with silver-white strokes.

The moment it appears in its entirety, its three parallel pointers begin to jump—

hum!

A silvery-white radiance enveloped Ye Shou's entire body from the inside out, and the dazzling scene kept rotating, like countless miniature versions of the stars in the heavens.

Strangely, despite the beautiful scene, not a single shadow was cast on the clear water in the bowl, as if it were all a fleeting illusion.

Sa!

The silver light rapidly converged, finally condensing into a single point and disappearing completely, while Ye Shou's figure vanished from the room without a trace.

-

Tick-tock... tick-tock... tick-tock...

The hands of the silver pocket watch ticked steadily, precious time passing by second by second, without ever pausing or looking back.

This pocket watch calculates the time cycle within the other world. Once its hour hand completes forty revolutions, Ye Shou's twenty-day trial card will expire, and he will need to renew it if he wants to stay here any longer—unnecessarily, Ye Shou is reluctant to spend his precious Destiny Coins on such a place.

Generally speaking, there's nothing that can't be done in twenty days, after all, this is a worldview that's "fast-paced" in every sense.

*Pfft! Whoosh!*

A wave of humid heat swept over his body, and an unpleasant feeling arose spontaneously. When Ye Shou opened his eyes, his entire field of vision was filled with billowing steam.

The source was the water tower pipes overhead. Whether it was hit by a stray bullet or was old and in disrepair, hot steam of unknown toxicity was constantly spewing out from a large hole.

Ye Shou covered his mouth and nose, held his breath, and quickly walked away from under the water tower. He came to the edge of the platform and looked down. A city that was sleeping... no, anesthetized in the colorful neon lights, surrounded by countless metallic glitters, was reflected on Ye Shou's retina.

This is the rooftop of an old building, about ten stories high. It's impossible to see the whole city from there. Even just one corner is filled with bloatedness, decay, and chaos. Buildings of varying heights are haphazardly crammed together, which doesn't look like a modern metropolis at all.

The air was thick with the stench of cheap distilled liquor and fresh engine oil, which effectively masked the putrid smell of blood and sewers. Ye Shou's nose twitched slightly as a familiar wave of nausea washed over him, bringing a touch of reality to his hazy state.

That's right, that's the taste! I'm back!

After observing his surroundings and confirming that it was the same place he had left from, Ye Shou followed his memory to a corner of the water tower scaffolding. He bent down and pulled out an oil paper package from the inconspicuous inside. Inside was an "outdated" miniature computer.

"It shows 8:15 PM on July 4th... Thirty-three days have passed, a little over one cycle, which is the same amount of time I spent in the main world."

Ye Shou nodded, confirming this pattern once again.

Even if he spends dozens of days in the cyberpunk world (let's call it a dungeon world), it only takes him a day and a night to return to the main world.

The amount of time he spends in the main world will be proportionally increased upon returning to the instance.

—The “system card” had no instruction manual, and Ye Shou figured out the rules little by little in this way.

Although he had chosen a safe location himself, Ye Shou still scouted the surroundings again to make sure everything was alright before opening the "zipper" and taking out the equipment from his personal space and putting it on.

Semi-overlay 3D glasses, portable brainwave receiver (neck), lightweight exoskeleton sensing suit (hands, forearms), shallow sea networking module...

They are all outdated, even "cyber antique" models, not only expensive but also far inferior in performance to currently popular prosthetic components. However, they have only one advantage—

Without the need for a brain-computer interface, electronic payments can be made by transmitting signals through a sensor module on the hand, and it can also log in to parts of the shallow web (public, human-accessible cyberspace).

—In this way, Ye Shou can barely disguise himself as a cyborg.

There's no way around it. In this worldview, pure flesh-and-blood humans are like rare animals. In a society where you could be shot by a mentally ill person just for looking at them for a second, if you don't want to provoke some monsters and demons, it's best to blend in with the masses.

drop!

Once fully equipped, Ye Shou connected to the minicomputer he had placed there. Immediately, a series of notification messages popped up on his glasses, all accumulated over the past month—a whopping thousands!

Ninety percent of them are useless spam ads and software pushes, which Ye Shou deeply hates but can't do anything about.

The equipment he bought is a true antique; it can't filter out modern push notification software, and there's no way to get rid of it even if you want to!

Fortunately, there was a categorization function. After deleting the spam messages, Ye Shou looked at his private email and quickly browsed through it.

"Gloria has seven points... Lucy has thirteen points... It doesn't seem like anything urgent, let's talk about it tomorrow."

Chapter 35: David, I'm here to see your mother.

"Oh, it's Mr. Kuze! It's been a long time!"

"Long time no see, boss lady."

"Well, it's been over a month since you last showed up, hasn't it? Where have you been?"

"I had to go out for a bit... Same as usual, get some mixed fruit jelly with apple and orange flavor."

"Okay, okay~ I'll still give you a 20% discount, hehe~"

"Then I shall accept it without hesitation."

"Not at all, thank you so much for what happened last time... Here, thank you for your patronage!"

-

Holding a bag of synthetic jelly containing absolutely no fruit but with a rather sweet taste, Ye Shou walked through the dark alley. At his feet were empty cans and crumpled pieces of paper, and homeless people wriggling in the corners... Perhaps it shouldn't be called that, as these people had lived here longer than him and were genuine natives.

Night City, a fictional city in Cyberpunk 2077, is chaotic yet passionate, where human desires and ambitions intertwine, giving birth to legends, or what might be called "romantic tragedies."

At the time Ye Shou arrived, a certain "famous V" had not yet arrived in Night City (or perhaps had not yet gone solo), which means before the main story began, and he did not directly enter the game's plot.

But strangely enough, he happened to meet certain characters, which started another story within the same world view. Since it took place a few years earlier than the main game, it could probably be called a prequel.

—Cyberpunk: The Edge Walker

Of course, regardless of the story, the underlying nature of Night City remains unchanged: it is still full of danger and temptation, a terrible world where opportunities and challenges coexist, and most people are struggling. To gain a foothold here and acquire what he desires, Ye Shou must adhere to the fundamental principle of caution.

In the Santo Domingo district, the buildings are connected by a network of narrow alleyways that lead to slums scattered throughout the city.

Gangs, drug dealers, casinos, sex clubs, underground banks... all sorts of people from all walks of life gather here; it's by no means a benevolent place.

Ye Shou's residence is located here, or more precisely, at the border between Santo Domingo and the Valley District, in an unlicensed clinic converted from an abandoned garage and basement of a building.

—That's right, Ye Shou is a "doctor". Perhaps it is because of the existence of Arasaka Company that Japanese culture has become popular. Many people see that he has an oriental appearance and call him doctor (sir) using the Japanese word "sensei".

Navigating the chaotic area with practiced ease, I arrived at the building. The massive, towering structure looked down upon everything like a mythical giant, while humanity could only eke out a living in the corners shrouded in its shadow.

Ye Shou took out an orange-flavored snack and casually tossed it to a homeless man leaning against the wall. The prosthetic arm, with its torn casing revealing a circuit board, automatically caught it and woke the homeless man from his sleep.

"……Um?"

drop!

The homeless man heard a notification sound; his electronic account showed a donation had been received. He quickly checked the amount, satisfied, stood up, gathered his belongings, and turned to leave.

I sat down against the wall of the building across the street.

"Don't forget to call me next time you have business like this."

The homeless man muttered something and then fell asleep again with his face pressed against the jelly. Just moving to a different place to sleep for a month and getting so much money was definitely a very profitable deal for him.