Great, we're doomed now!

V's expression changed immediately. He quickly raised his hand and looked at the void several times to make sure it wasn't a hallucination... A foreign object had entered his body, but his prosthetic body showed no rejection reaction at all. This situation was a bit unsettling.

But for some reason, he wasn't too scared. Perhaps it was the warmth filling his chest that made him feel so safe, which made him extremely relaxed and his mindset became incredibly peaceful. Even if some strange things happened, he could accept it.

Then he turned his head again and looked down at his feet—a huge shadowy outline appeared at the edge of his field of vision.

Moon!

The grayish-white lunar surface stretched out hundreds of kilometers beneath his feet, the shadows of the craters casting long outlines in the sunlight, and near the lunar terminator, he could see intermittent artificial points of light forming a line—those were the villa districts built by the wealthy on the lunar surface.

Firstly, venturing into space requires the integration of a vast amount of resources, but human society is currently fragmented, with many organizations hindering and wasting resources. Few organizations have the capability and motivation to undertake something that will not yield immediate benefits.

After all, this is completely different from sending one or two satellites into space.

Secondly... if a Martian colony were actually established, and it grew and prospered, due to geographical barriers, Earth would inevitably be unable to directly control Mars. Its development path might differ from Earth's, which would not be good for major corporations.

In short, what they expect is "stability," to maintain their market share and influence forever, and they are disgusted by anything that might disrupt this situation.

This has led to the fact that, despite having sufficient technology and having established a lunar villa district, the cyberpunk world has never been able to truly conquer the closest satellite to Earth and transform it into a base capable of large-scale immigration.

The moon is now just a tourist destination that frequently hosts wealthy visitors.

Ordinary people also have the opportunity to come to the moon. Lucy once dreamed of going to the moon, but the "ticket" was a bit expensive.

V, an ordinary person who appears middle-class but actually has little savings, naturally had no chance of coming to this secluded place. He had only seen exterior pictures of these buildings in the news before, and never imagined that one day he would be able to overlook them from this angle...

"It's not that good-looking either."

V chuckled twice, relieved, and then looked up:

Countless stars filled the entire field of vision, and the Milky Way stretched across the dark curtain like a luminous river.

Behind them, the Earth appeared slightly smaller than the Moon, quietly suspended in the darkness.

"I...am I dreaming of Mewtwo?" V breathed a sigh of relief.

Ye Shou shook his head: "These kinds of things require you to use your eyes to see and your heart to judge."

He reached out and gently placed his hand on V's shoulder—

Buzz!

Before the man could react, the whole world began to stretch out in his eyes!

Just like seeing the surrounding scenery rushing past when moving at high speed, this is extremely exaggerated on a cosmic scale. Distant stars become thin filaments of light, and the Earth and the Moon rapidly shrink into two dots of light in the field of vision.

When the elongating sensation subsided, V found himself standing deep within space, surrounded by fragments of rock of varying sizes, as if he were in an asteroid belt. Looking back, the Earth and Moon appeared as two closely spaced grains of sand, with only the Sun still prominently visible…

"This is it!"

V looked at the nearest planet, and its familiar appearance gave him a jolt: "Mars?"

That's right, this orange-red planet that looks like it's covered in rust... Without a doubt, he arrived at Mars, 200 million kilometers away from Earth, in just a few minutes (or maybe a few seconds, his senses couldn't tell)!

He subconsciously believed this was real, not some bizarre Mewtwo... otherwise, what kind of drugs would one need to take to achieve this?!

V remained silent for a long time.

He looked down at his unharmed limbs, then looked up at the man still standing beside him.

"You've never been this far from home before, have you?"

Ye Shou joked in a relaxed tone, "Don't worry, the travel expenses will be paid as usual."

"...Did you bring me here just to make me believe you?" V's voice was slightly hoarse.

"No, there are some things that need to be taken care of. By the way... you saw the video recording I left behind before, right?"

Ye Shou looked around at the asteroid debris and said, "I—what you call the mysterious luminous object—once released an energy wave that traveled far away."

"Yes... Could this be the place?"

V looked around in disbelief:

Is this not a natural asteroid belt, but a satellite that was forcibly destroyed?

"You... Your Excellency, are you a 'god'?" He asked a question that he himself could hardly believe and that seemed utterly absurd.

But given the situation, he really couldn't think of a second possibility.

In the cyberpunk world, religion has never disappeared; instead, it has flourished again in a distorted way—someone has even transformed a church into a dreamlike experience center!

Ancient doctrines have not only not become outdated, but have even adapted to modern circumstances. For example, advanced technology has led people to worship machines, and some niche sects claim that machines are the limbs of God, and that implanting prosthetics is a way to get closer to divinity.

V used to scoff at these things. He had seen too many mentally ill people or swindlers who acted under the guise of religion, and too many pitiful people who sought spiritual solace in Mewtwo.

But now, he's starting to seriously consider those possibilities he once dismissed!

"God? I'm human just like you, except I have a little bit of superpowers."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Shou's body began to glow—

Like the first rays of sunlight piercing through the thin mist in the morning, its hazy allure makes it impossible to look away.

Spreading from his chest to his shoulders, flowing from his arms to his fingertips, his outline blurred in the light, and when it became clear again, he looked completely different.

V's eyes widened uncontrollably, and his head tilted upwards to its limit.

"Um... a giant?"

The figure standing before him was no longer the young man in ordinary clothes, but a giant of light radiating an infinite presence!

His silver body gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen in the vacuum, golden patterns spreading along the seams of his armor, the blue and red colors harmonious yet not chaotic. His eyes were like crystal, lacking pupils or sclera, and his features were vastly different from humans, more like a classical statue… yet V felt a beauty that transcended language.

This is not a cold machine; it is a living, breathing idol!

V opened his mouth, but only a few dry, bubbly sounds came out of his throat—words seemed too pale in the face of this being.

Bayeri manifested here!

He didn't look at the speechless V, but instead raised his hands, fingers spread, palms facing the band of rubble floating in the void.

The debris ranges in size from as large as a mountain to as small as a car, and it drifts slowly near Mars' orbit.

"I make mistakes too... Now I have to take responsibility for my previous impulsiveness."

hum~

A seven-colored halo spread out from the giant's palm!

It wasn't a blinding beam of light like a laser; it was a pure, gentle... like the ever-changing aurora borealis spreading out before V's eyes, silently enveloping the entire scree belt.

The fragments, which had been drifting apart due to inertia, seemed to be grasped by an invisible hand and stopped moving. Then they began to slowly converge towards the center along an incredibly precise trajectory.

Larger fragments automatically connect with adjacent fragments during the gathering process, and cracks disappear the moment two rocks come into contact, as if they never existed. Smaller fragments fill the gaps in the larger ones, fitting together perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle.

V's mechanical eyes flashed wildly as he stared at the scene in disbelief!

This is a process that defies all the common sense of physics; the giant in front of us is actually repairing the shattered satellites one by one.

This...this...it's like seeing the ancient gods in mythology creating the world!

swoosh~

Guided by the iridescent light, the fragments flew back along their original trajectory. When the last fragment returned to its place, a complete, yellowish-brown satellite was once again suspended in Mars' orbit, as if the disaster had never happened.

"Mechanical...Mechanical Messiah..."

V stared blankly, lost in thought. He recalled a faded propaganda poster he'd seen in an underground chapel in the slums of Night City. It depicted a human silhouette surrounded by gears and pipes, against a backdrop of a burning city and kneeling crowds, with a slogan printed at the bottom—

The Mechanical Messiah will descend; this is his kingdom, and he will coldly repair this shattered world.

At the time, V only thought that this was a clumsy work of art designed by some drug addict who had been addicted to drugs. These small sects were basically split off from the Christian sect, and their doctrines were just modified versions of the original, like giving the person on the cross a "Project Su Ge" skin.

It's destined to have no future!

But now, looking at the silver-gray giant before him, and at the satellite that had been reassembled, that sentence pierced his mind like a needle.

Repairing the broken world...

Yes, if it is such a powerful force, it can indeed save the ravaged Earth from the hands of mankind, right?

I just wonder if Night City will become like Sodom and Gomorrah...

The giant's palm slowly opened, revealing V's tiny, almost negligible figure in its center. V stood firmly on that silver-gray palm, as if standing on solid ground.

He looked up and met those sky-blue eyes.

There was no condescending scrutiny, no detached indifference; there was light in those eyes, but that light was warm, carrying a certain... expectation.

Then a voice echoed in his mind:

Night City is about to undergo a transformation.

Companies led by Arasaka will begin to shoulder the responsibilities they should have borne: job opportunities, basic benefits, medical care—things that capital has taken from ordinary people will be returned, one by one.

Ye Shou spoke slowly, each word seemingly carefully considered before reaching V's consciousness.

This is not a spur-of-the-moment act of charity, nor is it a handout to quell public anger; it is a top-down, global structural adjustment. It began in Night City, spread to North America, and then to every free state fragmented by corporations.

V's fingers curled up slightly:

change!

In the context of Night City, this word has always carried a sarcastic connotation. After each so-called "change," the sand at the bottom is still the same sand... But this time is different.

He knew this time was different!

But change doesn't happen overnight.

Rules can change overnight, but the inertia of human nature takes much longer to reverse. Those who have been oppressed at the bottom for too long, suddenly seeing the dawn above them, some will cheer, some will be bewildered, and some, having stayed in darkness for so long, have lost faith in the possibility of daylight…

The giant leaned down slightly, bringing his sky-blue eyes even closer to V.

I need you to be my eyes and ears at the grassroots level, not by relying on data, but by conducting investigations yourself.

Go and see those changes with your own eyes, listen to those voices with your own ears… Which reforms have been implemented effectively, where is there still resistance, and who is still using old methods to oppress the lower classes? Tell me all of this.

Therefore, in V's ears, it became:

God said—

I need you.

Chapter 476: As expected, only killing! (4.5K)

The small courtroom was packed with reporters carrying all sorts of recording devices, while unseen by the public, countless hackers were observing the trial by hacking in and broadcasting the scene live.

Wearing rainbow-colored sunglasses and a work badge around his neck, V swiped his wristband at the security robot to show his journalist status, walked in confidently, and sat down in the front row.