Great, we're doomed now!

How many people does Ye Shou need to kill to eliminate this kind of logic?

This is not a problem that can be solved by force... Of course, if we were to conduct a global brainwashing campaign and imprint their minds with a steel mark, that would indeed solve the problem at its root, and Ye Shou has that ability.

—But to call this "salvation" would be too self-deceptive.

Therefore, Ye Shou never wanted to concern himself with this world. He told himself that each time he came, he was just selecting talents and taking those who were worth taking away to better places. That was enough.

Those people are already trying to break free; they could climb out on their own with just one hand.

Give hope to those who want to get back on their feet; as for the rest...

Why does Ye Shou, who has always held this view, want to return to Cyberpunk now?

"I'm sorry..." Ye Shou tenderly stroked Carmilla's hair, then gently lifted her head and used a soft pillow instead of his lap.

He stepped out of the room and saw Liuli standing at the corner of the stairs: "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"No, I just came up too... Lucy is ready."

"Then let's begin." Ye Shou nodded.

He walked over and led Liuli downstairs, but the maid couldn't help but ask, "Why go through all this trouble? If we want to control this world, we have easier options."

"for example?"

"This is a world where capitalism has reached its extreme. So all we need to do is turn Leviathan companies in fields such as healthcare, military, education, food, and energy into our puppets."

The method is simple: if you feel that economic means are slow to take effect, you can also physically remove the upper levels and replace them with 'living beings' under my control.

In this way, changing the world becomes very simple.

"Yes, this is undoubtedly the fastest way. In fact, I also plan to implement this strategy in the second phase after the first phase is completed."

However, as you know, Liuli, the sheer momentum of a company of this size cannot be stopped by any powerful figure. I might be able to create short-term happiness through ruthless means, but that would only be based on my personal power… The most important thing is to change the public's fundamental perception, even if that takes a long time.”

"As expected of Lord Ye Shou... But won't this take up too much of his energy and affect TPC?"

"And that's why we must complete the 'first phase'—it will greatly improve our efficiency."

Ye Shou led Liuli downstairs, taking one last look at the bloated city immersed in neon lights. His eyes still held a hint of annoyance, but also a sense of relief.

Why now?

Because he sensed that he didn't have much time left!

The final battle between light and darkness could come at any time, and before that, he must elevate himself to perfection. This refers not only to strength but also to mindset.

Isn't my own aversion and rejection of Cyberpunk a kind of fear and cowardice that I can't face?

He knew perfectly well that becoming like this was not the choice of most people; ordinary people were simply swept into this quagmire, and even covered in mud... they still had the right to be redeemed!

In the past, he protected Earth, where TPC was located. It was a beautiful world, and people looked forward to its future.

Now, he is going to change this world-class factory dominated by capital and take back the future that rightfully belongs to humanity but has been taken away!

After they were taken away, the room became quiet, with only the faint sound of engines from the distant street and the occasional siren.

...Carmilla slowly opened her eyes, a hint of sadness flashing across her face:

He clearly had something to do... Why did he have to hide it from her... Liuli could have gone with him!

Where did the problem lie? Was she not gentle enough? Not smart enough? Not understanding enough...?

No, no matter how you look at it, the Dark Queen has the upper hand in these aspects... Could it be the clothing?

Yes, maid outfits... According to information gathered online, men do indeed like maids...

"Try it next time!"

-

Several rows of cold fluorescent tubes were embedded in the basement ceiling, and there was a faint smell of ozone in the air. Various pipes emerged from the openings in the walls, some as thick as an arm and others as thin as ordinary wires, winding along the floor and ceiling and converging in the center of the room, eventually all connecting to a huge cabin.

The pod looked like an enlarged version of a circular game pod, with no extra decorations on its surface, except for a faint ring of blue indicator lights that slowly flickered along the edge of the pod.

The hatch was open, revealing a liner that conformed to the curves of the human body, its surface covered with countless tiny sensors that gleamed with a damp, dim light under the illumination.

Lucy stood on the side of the cabin, half of her body peeking out from among a bunch of pipes. Today, she had tied her silver hair into a high ponytail, and rolled up her sleeves above her elbows, revealing two slender but strong forearms. A data cable was plugged into the prosthetic interface on her right hand, the other end of which was connected to the debugging panel on the side of the cabin. Various codes and waveforms were jumping around, and the reflected light kept flashing on her face, making the faint worry in her eyes particularly clear.

“Let me come in with you,” she said without looking up. “Besides, when it comes to infiltrating the old network, no one here is more experienced than me.”

Ye Shou was changing clothes next to the cabin. Hearing Lucy's words, he didn't stop what he was doing, but he still shook his head.

“This has nothing to do with experience or skills.” He tightened the drawstring of his cuff, turned around and looked at Lucy. “Even the most skilled hacker can’t do what I’m trying to do. How far I can go… it all depends on how lucky I am.”

"Using the time acceleration technology left behind by Akihiko Kayaba to forcibly enhance the brain's cognitive processing power, and forcefully enter the deep web amidst countless viruses and firewalls left over from ancient times?"

What's needed isn't technology, but a brain that can withstand being thrown into a doomsday volcano!

He raised his eyes, his gaze passing over the cabin and landing on Ye Shou's face.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end she just looked back at the panel, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"The parameters are stable, you can go in now."

Ye Shou walked to the front of the cabin, supported himself on the edge of the cabin, and rolled over to lie down inside.

Squeak~ Squeak~ Squeak~

The memory foam padding began to expand slightly upon contact with his body temperature, adjusting its shape to conform to his spine and the back of his head. The ambient light inside the capsule automatically switched to a dark red, and several thin beams of light swept across his head and sides to confirm his body's location.

He stared at the dense array of sensors inside the hatch and sighed deeply.

hum!

...The hatch slowly closed, shutting out the last ray of light.

My consciousness felt as if it had been pulled out of my body by an invisible hand. The brief feeling of weightlessness lasted only a moment, followed by an overwhelming flood of light and information!

When he came to his senses, Ye Shou found himself floating in a pale white expanse.

There is no up or down, no near or far; everywhere you look, there are flowing fragments of data—changing video clips, generating official documents, and real-time fluctuating stock market figures. They fly and collide in the void like pieces of paper scattered by the wind, creating a silent yet deafening cacophony.

A palm-sized disc appeared beside his ear, and in its center, the image of Liuli appeared: "Get ready... time is about to slow down!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Shou felt his body suddenly sink—

He's falling!

It's not the feeling of speed from falling from a height, but rather a deeper, more profound force, like every bone in your body is being pulled downwards.

The surrounding light and shadow information was rushing upwards at high speed, and the spatial structure was also deforming... This kind of deep immersion already has the physical sensation of time slowing down, but when he superimposed Kayaba's Yaoguang technology, it became even more terrifying!

"Whoo~"

Ye Shou adjusted his posture, folded his arms like a swallow, and suddenly charged towards the bottom of Naraku!

"I 'saw' it... Is that a 'black wall'?"

"No one has ever been able to cross the [Black Wall], and once you do, the insane, out-of-control AI will come after you relentlessly to hunt you down!"

Chapter 470: Quickly Use Super Intelligence! (4K)

The Black Wall is a fearsome forbidden zone in this era, and many self-important hackers are eager to challenge this taboo. However, those top experts who have actually peered into the edge of the old network keep quiet about it unless absolutely necessary.

Its origins can be traced back to the end of the Fourth Corporate War, when military-grade AI was mass-produced and deployed into the global network at the height of the war, where they tore at each other, devoured each other, and evolved.

Originally, these things were like landmines, hidden in the network that would devour every unlucky person, while governments and businesses at least knew where their own landmines were buried.

However, humanity always seems to step into the same river twice, making the same old mistakes:

They naively believed that the weapons in their hands would only kill the enemy and not harm themselves.

Therefore, whether it is a company, a government, or even an individual (some super hackers), they will all have similar "deadly" arrangements.

The term "dead hand" is an invention from the Cold War.

The current understanding of "nuclear deterrence" is that it is based on mutual destruction to maintain balance. In the most extreme case, even if a country is completely destroyed by an enemy's first strike, the nuclear facilities hidden underground or the submarines in the deep sea can release vengeful lightning and drag them down to hell.

—And the Cold War went even further.

At that time, people's sense of crisis was unprecedented. They didn't even trust nuclear weapons, which were like a sword of Damocles hanging over humanity's head. They wanted to place a guillotine that would slowly close next to the bristles of that sword.

Simply put, the time bomb has been activated, but the countdown can be reset.

The "dead hand" mechanism resets communication every certain period of time. If there is no communication after this period, the nuclear missile will be placed on the launch pad, regardless of whether it is a work error or an electromagnetic barrier, even without orders!

In the Cyberpunk universe, numerous world wars have occurred, with various insane methods surpassing even those of the Cold War, and the so-called "dead hand" is a common occurrence.

A black swan event triggered the deadly hand of a super hacker... and this caused a chain reaction. Within just a few hours, the "internet shutdown" of major companies allowed the deadly hand to be activated one after another, corrupting and releasing runaway AI.

The data fortress was destroyed and torn apart by a self-aware virus. Some historical data was permanently lost, while others were randomly destroyed or tampered with. By the time emergency agreements between the government and giant corporations were implemented, the entire "destruction" process had ended, and the old network was gone forever.

Human civilization, though not completely erased, has become fragmented as a result.

Previously, no one realized that the seemingly vast and all-powerful global internet was actually so fragile!

At the most dangerous moment, "cyber surveillance" used data barriers to cut the entire old network out of human reach.

This barrier is the [Black Wall]!

Since then, the global network has ceased to exist, and multinational corporations have established their own closed local area networks, such as Night City, while the old network has become a forbidden zone.

It's worth noting that the "black wall" is not meant to protect humans from AI, but rather to make humans believe they are protected.

(In reality, the old internet has completely become the domain of AI, growing increasingly powerful like a breeding ground for venomous insects, and has already evolved into something that makes even giant corporations tremble... The "black wall" can't actually stop them.)

At this moment, Ye Shou's consciousness was suspended in front of this high wall.

—It’s called a “wall” but it’s actually a data barrier that’s hard to describe in words.

The reason why it actually appears as "black matter" in Ye Shou's eyes is that virtual technology has made it more concrete according to Ye Shou's understanding.

Looking down from above, in the pale data space, there was an absolutely black area stretching to the horizon.

It's as if someone used a black blade to cut a slit in reality. On the other side is not nothingness, but something too vast to be perceived... The black wall itself has no thickness, but it has a gravitational pull that draws everything inward. Just staring at it gives one the illusion of being slowly sucked in.

This is probably the "gravity" created by the sheer volume of data.

Even though it's a world where the rules of physics don't apply at all, it can still be explained using real-world phenomena—Ye Shou found it quite interesting.

Perhaps it wasn't Kayaba Akihiko's virtual technology at work... but rather his powerful mental strength that automatically made the correction?

Anyway, this isn't how a regular hacker would perform a breach.

"Begin... Whew!"

As the black wall drew closer, layers upon layers of rolling, intertwining, and colliding character rings began to emerge on its surface.