In the dark carriage, Zhou Xing was alone.
No, strictly speaking, there is still the voice in his head.
"Listen, boy, there's not much time." The old voice spoke quickly, "There is a third-level nerve scanner in this carriage, and they will scan your whole body in five minutes at most." Once they find me, we're both doomed. "
"Who are you?" Zhou Xing asked consciously.
"It doesn't matter who I am, what matters is, do you want to live?"
"I want to."
"Very good. Now, do as I say. The voice instructed, "Close your eyes and feel the position of the chip on the back of your head." "
Zhou Xingzhao did it.
In his perception, the second-hand brain-computer chip was like a faint blue light, embedded in his nervous system.
"Now, imagine that your consciousness is a needle, slowly piercing into that blue light."
Zhou Xing concentrated and tried to "probe" his consciousness into the chip.
At first, he felt nothing, nothing but nothingness. But gradually, he felt ... some kind of existence.
It was an extremely complex maze of countless data streams. In the center of the maze, there was a pitch-black mass that wriggled like a living creature.
That is... Rabid dog?
"See?" The voice asked.
"I saw it."
"That's your lifeline. Now, slowly, touch it. "
Zhou Xing's consciousness carefully approached the dark being.
At the moment when he was about to touch -
[Alert: Unknown consciousness intrusion detected! ] ]
[Initiating the quarantine procedure...
A dazzling red light suddenly lit up in the carriage!
"Oh no! They found something unusual!" The voice cursed, "There's no time to take your time! Boy, bite it directly!" "
"What?"
"I said, bite it! Like a beast, bite it! Devour it! "
Zhou Xing gritted his teeth, and his consciousness suddenly pounced on the dark being.
The moment of contact, an indescribable sharp pain swept through his body!
It felt like someone had put his brain in a meat grinder, and it was like thousands of ants gnawing at his nerves. But at the same time, a violent force began to flow through him.
[Unknown Data Flow Access ...]
[Neural restructuring begins...
[Hashrate level: undefined...
[Permissions: Undefined...
The door of the carriage suddenly opened.
Two technicians in white coats stand at the door, holding a nerve scanner in their hands.
"The target has abnormal nerve fluctuations," one of them looked at the instrument, frowning, "like some kind of ... Virus infection? "
"Whether it's a virus or something, scan it first." The other person raised the scanner and aimed it at Zhou Xing's head.
Just as the scanner was about to start-
Zhou Xing opened his eyes.
Those eyes are no longer human eyes.
The pupils were scarlet, like two burning flames. The whites of the eyes were covered with fine, black lines like circuit boards.
"What ..." technicians were frightened and took a step back.
Zhou Xing didn't give them time to react.
His body bounced like a cheetah and punched the man on the left in the jaw. The sound of bones shattering was clearly audible, and the man flew out of the carriage and fell heavily to the ground.
The man on the right was just about to press the alarm button, but Zhou Xing had already grabbed his throat.
"Don't move." Zhou Xing's voice was hoarse like a human, "Otherwise, I'll crush your neck." "
The man turned pale with fright and nodded repeatedly.
Zhou Xing pushed him out of the carriage, then jumped out of the black van.
Outside, there was chaos.
Zhao Mingxuan's aircraft was taking off, and it was obvious that the prince was ready to leave. In the square, those people at the bottom who were suppressed and defeated by computing power were being cleared, and the drones of the medical team were hovering in the air.
No one noticed that a "experimental material" had escaped.
Zhou Xing blended into the crowd, lowered his head, and quickly moved in the direction of the slum.
"Boy, good job." The voice in his head sounded again, with a bit of approval, "You are more decisive than I thought." "
"Less nonsense." Zhou Xing responded consciously as he walked, "Who are you? What exactly is in that chip?" "
"My name is ... Forget it, the name doesn't matter. You can call me 'old ghost.'" The voice said, "As for that chip...
"That's not an ordinary second-hand product. That was the 'legacy' left by the national L0 computing power architect twenty years ago. "
"And I am the remaining consciousness of that architect."
Zhou Xing's footsteps paused.
L0 layer? Computing power architect?
That's a legendary existence! It is said that those who can access the L0 layer are the super elites who stand at the top of the entire social pyramid. Their computing power authority can even affect the operation of the entire country!
"Don't be surprised," the old ghost seemed to feel his shock, and said leisurely, "Twenty years ago, I was framed and my body was destroyed, so I could only upload my consciousness to this chip and wait for someone to destiny." "
"And you, Zhou Xing, are the destined person."
"Why me?" Zhou Xing asked.
"Because your physique is special." The old ghost said, "Your nervous system has an extraordinary affinity for the 'rabies virus'. "
"Rabies virus?"
"It's the black data I just let you devour. It is a taboo product of the original Internet, a ... that can devour computing power, reverse infection, and infinite evolution. Digital life. "
"Twenty years ago, I was involved in its creation. But now, it's sealed in this chip, and only you can wake it up. "
Zhou Xing was silent.
He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
Those hands were trembling slightly at the moment. Not because of fear, but because of ... Excited.
He could feel that the black power was still flowing in his body. It's like a hungry beast, craving more computing power, more ... devour.
"How can I control it?" He asked.
"Control?" The old ghost laughed, "Boy, rabid dogs are not used to control, they are used to ... controlled. "
"It's like a fierce horse, you are either thrown down by it and fall to death, or you ride it and gallop around the world."
"Now, you have a choice." The old ghost's voice became serious, "First, forget everything that happened today, dig out this chip and throw it away, continue to go back to be your bottom porter, and wait for death." "
"Second, follow me, go to the black market, and complete the final 'access' ceremony."
"After completion, you will gain power beyond ordinary people."
"But at the same time, you will also be the ... of this world. Aliens. "
Zhou Xing raised his head and looked into the distance.
There, in the direction of the slums. His sister was still waiting for him in the hospital bed, and the usury creditors were still waiting for him, and Zhao Mingxuan ... The chaebol prince who treated him as an ant was still waiting to turn him into experimental material.
Does he still have a choice?
"Take me to the black market." Zhou Xing said, his voice low and firm.
"I knew you would choose that." The old ghost smiled, "Let's go, boy." Let me see how far you can go on this path. "
As night falls, the neon lights begin to flash.
Zhou Xing's figure disappeared into the intricate lanes of the slums.
Behind him, an invisible net is slowly tightening.
(Chapter 3 End)