Qiwei was already tired of chatting with this mysterious Mr. A — kind-hearted? Bullshit!
In this Night City?
Showing kindness to a sex doll like her?
What a joke! What kind of living Buddha is this?
Qiwei thought this A was full of nonsense, and without hesitation decided to disconnect from the network.
But then, Qiwei discovered something that terrified her.
She...couldn't disconnect.
[A: My goodwill treated as donkey's liver and lungs, but that's normal, I'd think it's unreliable too.
I'll leave you a contact; really think it over before reaching out to me for help. If you think kindness doesn't cut it... 50,000 Euros then, give me 50,000 Euros as your redemption fee.
This should align better with your values, right?
But I guess you're definitely cursing me in your heart, so I decided to beat you up along the network cable, to make you understand that in the cyber world, Brother A will always be your Brother A.]
Then, Qiwei found her brain-computer interface stuffed with a heap of data, and a very angry-looking penguin appeared in her retina, giving her a middle-finger emoji fiercely.
Then Qiwei felt her brain go blank, a sharp pain came, but it was gone as fast as it came, making her cry out subconsciously, then it vanished without a trace.
The data used to impact her brain also began to disappear rapidly, leaving only an angry-looking pixel penguin standing in the lower right of her retina.
"I..." Qiwei almost swore out loud but stopped herself short, thinking the program left in her mind might have a monitoring function, and hurriedly held back.
She frantically started to disconnect from the internet manually, first cutting off the Network Access Vault she bought secretly, and then disconnecting her brain-computer interface, but even so, the penguin still appeared in the corner of her retina.
Just that the penguin looked a lot more dazed.
In a panic, Qiwei quickly plugged her data cable into the computer beside her, using the computer's self-check program to start extracting the program out of the brain-computer interface.
Unexpectedly, this program wasn't some stubborn virus, and she transferred it very smoothly.
Qiwei instinctively wanted to delete the program, but after hesitating for a moment, she opted to check the program code first.
Communication software?
Qiwei first determined the software's purpose — indeed just an ordinary-looking encrypted communication software.
Then, she began to analyze the code, so she saw, after the first line of code in the penguin program, a deliberately left comment.
'In this world where kindness is deemed hypocritical, only interest remains eternal, I still believe that justice will eventually triumph over evil, and the Fire Seed will eventually ignite a prairie flame.
Do you still have the courage to believe that there is goodness, justice, and hope in this world?
Call my name with your true heart, I will prove to you, hope still exists — A.'
Really... so arrogant!
Qiwei's breathing became heavy, on the one hand, thinking that this A really appeared to be lofty, just and kind... Ha, in this city, those words can only be found in children's fairytale books.
Who does he think he is, the Cyber God capable of changing human destiny?
On the other hand...
She hesitated, unable to muster the determination to delete the program.
Qiwei unplugged, pacing in her narrow resting room, unable to decide for a long time until a somewhat rude male voice rang from outside her room.
"Qiwei! Come out and meet the client, I'm telling you, your reviews from last month were terrible, if this month it's still so bad, don't expect to get a penny!"
Qiwei's footsteps suddenly halted, she paused in silence, then gritted her teeth, returned to the computer, went online, and reactivated the penguin program.
[Qiwei: I don't know who you are, and I don't know how much of what you said is true.
But...50,000 Euros, I agree, but I don't have that much money on hand, as long as you can get me out, I promise to deliver it to you in installments within six months!
I'm sincerely pleading with you — this time, it's genuine!
I'm begging you, please, help me out! The sooner, the better! A!]
"You bitch, how much longer are you going to dawdle? The client's still waiting for you!"
The harsh knocking on the door made Qiwei clench her teeth, but in the communications program shaped like a penguin, she didn't see any reply.
Qiwei stood there stunned, then chuckled self-mockingly after a while.
She picked up the Network Access Vault again, plugged it into the back of her head, took a deep breath, and held the sex doll chip she made, to separate memory and perception, in her hand, before opening the door.
At the door, the fierce bodyguard was glaring at her with wide eyes.
"Qiwei, you really need a lesson..."
The bodyguard's words abruptly froze.
His eyes widened slightly, and then his whole body began to twitch violently, making Qiwei instinctively step back two steps, then, sparks began to burst from the burly bodyguard's head.
In Qiwei's perspective, the small penguin transformed into an avatar of a hooded, blurred man.
A seemingly youthful, calm male voice reached her ears.
"I heard your plea, so, I came.
Didn't you just say... the sooner the better, huh?"