The Creators: From Night City

Page 296

Matilda stared at the several large cats that walked upright and reached up to her chest, her mouth agape in astonishment. She stammered, pointing at the tabby-striped feline and exclaiming, "Cat... cat people?!"

"Rude Meow!" The tabby feline had already learned English during its time on the job. When it heard the other person say that about it, it immediately reached out and released one of the High Knight Agent's feet, letting it hit the deck with a 'thud'. Then, it put its hands on its hips and started arguing with Matilda.

"I'm an Felyne, not a cat person. I have a name, meow, call me Tiger."

"Huh? Huh?" Matilda was even more surprised that the other person could speak.

The lark lay on the ground, her attention focused on Jiang Bing and the spatial rift beside him.

The existence of Palico can also be explained by biotechnology; after all, various biotechnology companies have conducted similar experiments with Furious.

Although this unethical biotechnology is explicitly banned internationally, it still has its place among a number of wealthy individuals with unique sexual interests and remains popular in niche circles. Song Zhaomei's identity is somewhat well-known.

However, she simply couldn't explain the spatial rift beside Jiang Bing, given her knowledge and understanding.

This is either a unified theory of quantum gravity or a complete mastery of hyperspace topology. With the limited knowledge of a lark, I simply cannot imagine that there is such a formidable force in this world.

Her surprise continued until Jiang Bing squatted down in front of her.

To be honest, the lark isn't particularly good-looking. She has a typical square face typical of Asians, and her face is covered with small heat dissipation grooves. There are also two large prosthetic seams under her eye sockets, making her look like a highly realistic silicone doll.

Given her modification rate, she can indeed be considered a true cyborg.

"Nightingale, Song Zhaomei, nice to meet you." Jiang Bing greeted Song Zhaomei, who was stubbornly writhing on the ground like a dead dog, in a friendly manner.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Looking at this mysterious person she had met once at the dance hall, she felt only curiosity and helplessness.

Mr. Jiang, a craftsman who works out of pure interest, now understands to some extent why the Mirror Master has such a wicked sense of humor. It's simply because it brings him so much joy.

Chapter 589 The Rapidly Changing State of Lemoine

He flicked a golden flame at Song Zhaomei, who was writhing back and forth like a maggot, and it spread instantly throughout her body as if doused with gasoline before gradually disappearing.

"Just to be on the safe side, you'd better get some sleep first."

At that moment, Jiang Bing's voice seemed to come from beyond the heavens, ethereal and elusive. She mustered her last bit of strength but could only barely lift her arm. Finally, the Palico that came to carry her grabbed her and carried her to the spider web stretcher that was also decorated with Monster Hunter features.

At some point, a few scattered golden flames quietly ignited on her head panel. These flames spread rapidly, like a spider web or a crack, until they covered her entire head panel.

Before the system was shut down and darkness descended completely, Song Zhaomei opened her eyes one last time with immense willpower. All she saw was Matilda being led into the spatial rift by the triplets, and golden flames spreading from the mysterious man's feet, rapidly engulfing the entire cabin like a wildfire and spreading across the entire spaceship.

Then, she could no longer hold on, closed her heavy eyes, and the long-lost darkness and tranquility descended.

........................

The dimension numbered HXXD-G09251 (Red Dead Redemption).

"Mom, I'm full." Four-year-old John Marston wiped his slightly greasy lips with the sleeve of his new clothes and jumped off the table.

Abigail was packing her work clothes and dust cap for the job.

“Jack, remember to come back before dinner, you hear me? Don’t make me search all over the mountains for you again.”

"Okay, Mom. I'm going to explore the big house with Hailey today."

Compared to his time in Van der Linde, where he was well-fed, warmly dressed, and well-fed, John Marston Jr. was impeccably dressed, had a rosy complexion, and looked like he had gained weight.

"Take your water bottle." Abigail, as a mother, poured cool boiled water into Jack's special children's water bottle and handed it to her son.

Drinking boiled water is a hygiene rule that [Anti-Entropy] has been forcibly implementing during this period. Abigail doesn't know the reason behind it, but she understands that it must be good for her health.

Little Jack took the water bottle, slung it over his shoulder, and galloped out of the house like a wild donkey that had broken free of its reins.

Because of the nature of his father John Marston's work, his family moved from the industrial area of ​​Pipe Rough to the Calica Plantation in Lemoine, across the river from St. Denis.

This also separated him from the friends he had finally met, but fortunately, he quickly found playmates of similar age in his local area.

The other party had just moved in as well, and the two children quickly started playing together.

The land that originally belonged to the Gray family has long since been taken over by [Anti-Entropy]. The large tracts of farmland that were originally used to grow tobacco have been razed to the ground and turned into construction sites with dust flying everywhere.

Located on the northern Gulf Coast, adjacent to the Lanáchzi River and San Denis, its excellent maritime location made it impossible for it to be wasted on tobacco cultivation. Instead, it was destined to become the "magic city" of the late 19th century, a place that relied on the sea and radiated globally.

To this end, the engineering department of [Anti-Entropy], a group of former railway workers, built several wide, high bridges across the Lanáchzi River, allowing five carriages to pass side by side, firmly connecting this land with Saint Denis, making them inseparable.

Further on, the entire Lodz region will become a new mega port city.

Of course, little Jack, who was only 4 years old, didn't understand or care about these things. He happily ran out of the employee family compound inside [Anti-Entropy].

He ran past the guards holding the Copperhead, protecting the jumbled kettle, past the transformed tobacco fields, past horse-drawn carriages and tractors, workers and farmers, fully armed police and cowboys allowed to carry guns, and past rangers on horseback and motorcycles maintaining order.

He ran from the gravel road onto the open field, and then from the open field onto a wide, brand-new asphalt road that still seemed to exude the smell of asphalt.

Along the sidewalk, Jack wiggled his short legs, running past rows of straight poplar trees on both sides of the road, past newly transplanted shrubs and novel metal streetlights.

Little Jack wasn't curious at all about the plants that were everywhere in the wilderness, but he was fascinated by the cast-iron metal lampposts.

He felt that there was no need to spend a lot of manpower and resources to transplant the trees from the wild; as long as these lampposts were there, the road would be beautiful.

He certainly didn't understand that this would provide a large number of jobs, supporting Qing Dynasty laborers who were not highly educated but desperately needed stable employment to calm their minds.

However, he didn't care about any of that.

He simply walked along the road, accompanied by passersby, until he reached the south side of the Black Swamp next to Saint Denis. Then he turned west from the north and followed the straight and wide road, soon arriving at the bustling north entrance of Saint Denis.

All sorts of people gather here.

Workers, farmers, miners, artists, self-proclaimed artists, artisans, small workshop owners, engineers, administrators, guards, merchants, cowherds, and the fully armed and imposing [Anti-Entropy] guards formed a massive flow of people, entering and leaving Saint Denis, which was occupied by [Anti-Entropy].

Thanks to the efficient rule of [Anti-Entropy] and its seemingly endless demand for labor, coupled with the generous salaries and benefits offered by [Anti-Entropy], a large number of laborers from all over the world, from New Austin in the west to Biloxi in the east, have been drawn to the region, except for the capitalists who are reluctant to leave.

In particular, after the army of [Anti-Entropy] swept through the entire Mississippi state in half a week and then gently knocked on Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines in Mobile Bay, Alabama, with 'peace,' the whole United States suddenly became as quiet as if it had been silenced, and there were no more roadblocks to block the movement of people.

Even the people at Mobile Naval Station began to evacuate at a rapid pace.

This may be the true manifestation of 'free trade'.

Unaware of the thrilling war and power struggles unfolding in other states, Jack quickly weaved through the crowd and soon found his playmate, Hailey Garcia, on the riverbank north of Saint Denis.

Hailey has completely changed since Jiang Bing first dug her out of the dilapidated house on the Coronado Farm.

Chapter 590 Cyber ​​Parkinson's

This change is not only physical, but also more reflected in one's mental state.

A stable living environment, Gloria's love, and the care of her other friends all helped her return to the innocence and carefree spirit of a child.

“Here, Jack,” Hayley was a head taller than little Jack, but thankfully that didn’t hinder the friendship between the two children.

The two soon met up by the river.

"Where are we going today, Hailey?" Little Jack unscrewed the water bottle his mother had prepared, gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, and soothed his parched throat from running all the way.

“You’ve always wanted to go to that island to play, to see your Uncle Arthur, right? I asked Mrs. Martinez, and we can take you there today. Your Uncle Arthur is there too,” Hailey said, pointing to the island in the river to the west.

"I'd like to introduce you to a new friend of mine. She has trouble walking, but she always wants to go out. Mrs. Martinez asked me to take her out in a stroller to get some sun when I have time."

The island is not small, but it is isolated on a large river, surrounded by surging water. Without a boat, it can be described as a dead end.

This place was originally the site of the Kasika Prison, which was used to detain criminals, but now it is connected by a long bridge.

The prisoners in the island's prison had long been taken over by [Anti-Entropy]. Some were sent to farm, some to mine, and some to do manual labor. Those who committed heinous crimes were shot dead. In any case, they wouldn't be allowed to freeload in prison.

As a result, the entire flat island, along with the buildings on it, was left empty.

Due to its excellent location, surrounded by water on all sides, adjacent to Saint Denis but not as crowded, with a less complex environment, a wide defensive field of vision, and unique terrain that provides good natural secrecy, this place was designated as the [Anti-Entropy] military secret zone, a branch camp of the Black King's Apostles, specifically for storing confidential matters for the Black King's Apostles to garrison.

For some reason, Gloria's administrative team has also moved here, so this is also Hayley's current residence.

The two then stepped onto the bridge.

Strictly speaking, bridge construction is a very meticulous and time-consuming task, but it is also one of the most lucrative jobs.

"Golden Bridge, Silver Road, Diamond Cave, a copper building that has remained unchanged for a thousand years"—this catchy saying that has been circulating in the architectural world says it all.

However, this bridge is completely unrelated to any of the above.

It adopted the most popular mold casting method in 2076, which greatly shortened the entire construction cycle and eliminated a lot of useless steps.

In addition, the steel structure design that dazzled the indigenous people of the time made the bridge construction quick and easy, and also attracted the attention of pedestrians on both sides of the river.

However, the sentry posts at the bridgehead and the two rows of fully armed soldiers blocked everyone's prying eyes. Even employees of [Anti-Entropy] with insufficient security levels could hardly pass through the sentry checkpoints, let alone ordinary people.

With the approval of Chief Supervisor Gloria, Hayley easily led Jack through the checkpoint and sped across the empty bridge.

Their destination was the island's sanatorium.

The entire island is divided into four parts. The largest part occupies the left half, which is the military camp of the Black King's apostles. The second largest part, the ruins of Kasika Prison, has become the administrative office area of ​​[Anti-Entropy]. After all, office staff need a desk and chair, as well as a ceiling to block out the scorching sun.

The sanatorium the two children were going to was located on the third largest island.

This sanatorium, or rather the sanatorium under the medical department, is clearly a newly built structure. After all, in 1899, when the West was dominated by wood and stone structures, it was rare to see a complete reinforced concrete building elsewhere.

Hayley led the way, urging Jack to hurry up, but he was already completely captivated by the fully armored 'Black King Apostles' lined up in the distance.

No man can resist mechs, excavators, Gundams, and full sets of movable mechanical armor.

Even after they entered the sanatorium, into the large garden filled with flowers, greenery, and lush grass, a place of tranquility and peace, Jack couldn't stop thinking about everything he had just seen.

This sanatorium is mainly used for the recuperation and observation of the injured treated by the medical department. The main target groups are the promoted and transformed employees of [Anti-Entropy], as well as important patients who are of strategic value.

For example, Hailey's new friend.

The lark lay diagonally in its wheelchair, its head tilted to the side, staring blankly at a few small birds on a branch at the other end of the lawn, like a patient with partial paralysis.

Those were several blue robins, which are very common in the area. They are found in North America and Central America and are very numerous. They are yellow and blue in color and are a common species in the area.

But the lark watched intently, observing them frolicking and playing on the branches before soaring through the sky, a hint of envy in her eyes.

"Ms. Song, we're here." Hailey, dragging Jack along with Gloria's mission, rushed over, startling a flock of birds.

"Good afternoon, Hailey." The lark had been in this sanatorium for several weeks. Apart from cooperating with experiments and treatments, she rarely communicated with people. This made her not expect that the person she would truly get to know here would be a child.

Excluding her attending physician, every single one of those people looked at her as if she were a lab rat.

“This is Jack, he lives nearby, he’s a good new friend of mine,” Hailey introduced him.

Jack, however, focused his attention on the Lark's exposed mechanical limbs outside its hospital gown.

Children always ask questions.

"Madam, what do you do?" Jack peered curiously at the Lark's cold, technologically advanced mechanical body, his words brimming with barely suppressed curiosity.

"I," the lark weakly raised her left arm, wanting to greet the other person, but her arm trembled uncontrollably, like someone who had suffered a stroke for ten years.

During this period, the 'brain dialysis' treatment performed on her by the [Anti-Entropy] medical department reduced her synchronization rate with her consciousness and prosthetic body to the lowest level. She was shaking uncontrollably, as if she had severe Parkinson's disease. It was difficult for her to even lift her hand, let alone walk.

Removing the black wall from her brain's neural network is undoubtedly a relatively long process. After all, the black wall's long-term electronic information invasion has deeply instilled various electrical signals into her neurons, permanently altering the neuronal structure of her brain and deeply binding it to the existing clusters of conceptual, memory, and emotional neurons in her brain.

Chapter 591 Visitation Request

To be honest, this gradual process of hijacking and reconstructing human brain functions based on neuroplasticity and information pollution, this AI using the inherent mechanisms of the hacker's brain to passively invade it with information, guiding its subconscious towards the mechanical possession of AI logic, or in other words, cyber will hijacking, is a very cutting-edge and highly scientific research case.

That's why the lark is so important.

Her importance is also reflected in her brain, which has been severely altered by the Black Wall. This brain can not only advance the aforementioned research, but also offer a glimpse into the true nature of the Black Wall, the most mysterious entity in the cyber world.

This is why Aurora and Eleanor both value her so highly.

“I work here, Jack,” Song Zhaomei greeted him calmly. “As for my job, it mainly involves being researched.”

Without the life-or-death crisis and the urgency of being followed by the New America agents like a dog chasing a rabbit, Nightingale's personality calmed down considerably, and she even had the mind to crack jokes.

Unfortunately, neither of the two children could understand her corny jokes.

As usual, Hayley pushed the lark out the door, with little Jack following closely behind.

They first circled around Island Three, admiring the bustling crowds and vibrant construction of Saint Denis on the opposite shore, before crossing a smooth metal bridge to Island Two, where Kasika Prison was located.

Gloria called out to Hayley, asking her to bring the lark to her so she could discuss something.

Most of the city walls that originally belonged to the prison have been demolished, and several modern buildings are under construction. These will be the offices of the [Anti-Entropy] administration for a long time to come, and also the permanent residence of the Grand Administrator of Gloria.

“I know the internal credit point data statistics for last month haven’t come out yet, and the overall expenditure report is still incomplete. But the matter of the year-end bonus for all employees in 2076 cannot be delayed. Your department must complete the risk assessment of the exchange of this year-end bonus for the armory and existing material reserves within the next two days. There absolutely cannot be any shortage of materials.” Gloria was extremely busy. Although she no longer needed to handle most of the trivial matters, the enormous workload of overseeing the overall situation and coordinating everything still left her overwhelmed.

In particular, her boss, Boss Jiang, suddenly decided to hold a company year-end celebration as the new year of 2076 in the cyber world approached, and even had the audacious idea of ​​giving all employees an extra year-end bonus.

Year-end bonus—such a pleasant word, yet Gloria couldn't help but twitch her face upon hearing it.

Just coordinating the personnel structure and salary expenditures of dozens of departments across multiple worlds of [Anti-Entropy] was already giving her a huge headache, not to mention that year-end bonuses would definitely be distributed based on a combination of the employee's local world currency and [Anti-Entropy] credits.

This involves adjusting the salary standards for those stationed in 'Heimli', since 'Heimli' does not recognize euros or US dollars, and precious metal physical currencies are also useless; only credit points are recognized.