What is it like to deep dive into Cyberspace, also known as the Net?
First, there is a sense of emptiness.
You lose awareness of your heartbeat, can no longer hear sound transmission, and have no sense of touch, taste, or smell.
But once your consciousness is fully uploaded, all these senses return to your body in a unique way.
First comes vision.
As the surrounding deep darkness begins to shimmer with blue light waves, countless blue codes form blocks that spread out like rising and falling buildings.
Looking up into the distance, a wall composed of red lasers, as if descended from the heavens, isolates everything from afar, dividing the entire Net into two halves.
Between these laser beams, only endless darkness can be seen, and the legendary Old Net exists within that boundless darkness.
Mercer turned his head and could only see a majestic Japanese-style megacity.
To be more precise, it was an ancient Japanese fortress city, resembling the structure of Azuchi Castle, with the Arasaka Corporation logo engraved on the highest building.
This was the form of the firewall constructed by the guardian AI using the server.
Just as he was observing Cyberspace, a massive blue data stream projected from the enormous ancient city.
Mercer hesitated for a moment but did not move. Sure enough, the blue data stream, after rushing toward him, transformed into a giant suit of armor made of blue data, enveloping his entire body.
The data before Mercer's eyes condensed into a mirror, allowing him to observe his own form. Or more accurately, he was initiating a self-check program.
In Cyberspace, however, the operation of all data and programs is transformed into something more intuitively perceptible to humans.
The Mercer in the mirror looked somewhat handsome. The massive blue armor attached to him resembled a Gundam protecting him, or more accurately, Mercer felt it was a bit like Susanoo from Naruto.
After the blue data stream aggregated, it took the form of a samurai armor shell, with him positioned at the forehead of the samurai, looking down upon this Cyberspace from a commanding height.
His own virtual avatar appeared rather ordinary, just a blue human silhouette, vaguely revealing his facial features, and it felt like he wasn't even wearing clothes.
This meant he essentially had no weapons or defenses in the Net.
After a moment of thought, Mercer attempted to use the server's computational power to dress himself up.
Without violating any rules, the immense computational power provided by the server allowed him to instantly alter his virtual avatar's appearance.
First, a smiling mask appeared on his face. This mask was actually a simple sensor module, helping him more accurately perceive the surrounding data streams.
Next, he donned a trench coat identical to that of Dante, the protagonist of Devil May Cry. This was a self-constructed ICE.
He also now held two guns in his hands, which were simple viruses.
One gun was black, representing pure virus attacks. The bullets it fired were equivalent to sending violent viruses capable of destroying programs. One was white, loaded with programs for pure data attacks. Its bullets could combine with computing power to inflict massive amounts of self-replicating low-level malicious programs on enemies.
Similar to a DOS attack, a hit could slow down their operational speed.
But in reality...
It looked cool, but this kind of thing could only deal with netrunners in Cyberspace. If you hoped to use this thing against an AI,
it was nearly impossible.
Unless there was a server with terrifying computing power backing it up, or someone developed an even more powerful program.
Mercer's expression grew somewhat solemn.
After personally experiencing the blue data stream flowing through him, he could now accurately assess the server's current computing power. It also gave him a preliminary sense of the strength of this newly relocated "little guardian AI."
To be honest, if Lucy and her group were here, they probably wouldn't stand a chance of escaping alive.
Because this level of computing power combined with an AI was simply not something ordinary netrunners could contend with.
To launch an attack against someone inside the Arasaka corporation using server computing power, one first needed to obtain permission to freely use that computing power. And to achieve that, one had to first breach the server's defensive AI.
If the original defense was like a cold, mechanical castle with only sporadic guards on patrol, where patience could eventually reveal vulnerabilities,
then the server ICE now loaded with an AI was like the entire castle transforming into a giant warrior possessing cold, murderous intelligence.
Though it still appeared as a castle now, Mercer knew well this was only because the AI hadn't been activated yet.
Once an attack was launched, the towering cyber-Arasaka ancient city behind them would instantly transform into a giant warrior, or countless warriors and monstrous data streams, launching devastating assaults against them.
As Mercer pondered, he stepped toward the Blackwall. In that moment, he had already preliminarily given up the idea of programming his way to defeat an AI of this strength.
Lacking computing power support, his options were either to develop a super virus himself and use it to directly destroy the AI,
or he could only rely on external forces. Conventional netrunning methods were completely impossible, at least for him now.
The former required absolute talent and a flash of inspiration, like the "Soulkiller" created by Alt.
Or the "R.A.B.I.D.S" virus created by the netrunner god Bartmoss, who single-handedly destroyed the entire Old Net and corrupted countless AIs.
As for the latter...
Mercer thought of the Blackwall.
In the Cyberpunk 2077 DLC Phantom Liberty, Songbird was called a human-shaped nuclear bomb precisely because she could launch attacks using the Blackwall.
If she could do it, Mercer felt he might be able to try it too... though utilizing the Blackwall was definitely not a good idea. While destroying the enemy, it would inevitably harm himself as well.
As he contemplated, Mercer took steps forward, approaching the Blackwall.
For some unknown reason, the closer he got to the Blackwall, an inexplicable fear grew in his heart.
What should have been a guardian deity for the vast majority of humanity felt, in his perception, like a terrifying monster coldly watching everything, selecting its prey.
This immense pressure even made him so nervous that his virtual avatar trembled slightly. Mercer took a deep breath, steadying his thoughts as he gently touched the Blackwall.
—--
The next moment, the scene before him seemed to warp and shrink as if abruptly rescaled. He felt an immense force pulling at him, and in the blink of an eye, he had traversed an immeasurable distance.
The experience was far from pleasant, it was like stumbling through a portal, his entire being compressed, spun, and tossed around hundreds of times in a washing machine before being unceremoniously spat out.
What greeted his vision was an endless expanse of darkness, where dangerous red data streams drifted aimlessly like mist, flickering ominously.
Mercer knew he had arrived in the Old Net.
As he glanced around, a sudden chill ran down his spine.
No, this wasn't the Old Net he was familiar with. It was somewhere deeper, far beyond.
Because, at this moment, he could no longer see or sense the Blackwall at all!
Countless blue data streams whirred rapidly.
[IP detected]
To his shock, Mercer found he couldn't even parse his own IP address. At the same time, perhaps triggered by his data presence, the red mist drifting in the distance began to coalesce. This signaled that something dangerous, previously idle or in default operation, had now activated, forming into a program!
Shit, shit, shit...
Before his curses could even manifest as sound waves in the Net, Mercer immediately began IP hopping without hesitation. He had to get back near the Blackwall, and fast!
Otherwise...
Even if he logged off immediately, he might leave his IP exposed to that unknown program. Who knew if it was an AI or some Old Net virus?
But it was futile.
His IP hopping was too slow.
Or perhaps, the program had already locked onto him the moment it detected him, using superior processing power to pin him down.
After several failed attempts, crimson chains suddenly materialized around his body. The blue armor provided by the Arasaka AI was instantly tightly bound by the chains.
Countless blue data streams shattered and scattered like crushed armor plates.
Well, I'm fucked.
Mercer rolled his eyes and stood still, crossing his arms.
Come on then, fuck it. Show yourself; let me see what you really are.
[Don't be afraid.]
[I'm here.]
[To help.]
A faint voice echoed in his ears, and then the red chains completely crushed his blue armor.
Not stopping there, the chains relentlessly devoured all the scattered blue data, converting it into red data, strengthening themselves before dissipating into the air.
Then, a massive figure of a red man appeared in the distance.
He flew over slowly, his movements seemingly sluggish, yet in reality, he had hopped through countless IP locations in an instant, finally standing before Mercer.
"You arrived slower than I expected, Han Yu, or should I say, Mercer."
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I'll release one or two bonus chapters tomorrow. I'm counting on you all to support the story.