Chapter 123: The Bystander
"Mr. Li Ang, I accept your onboarding task."
Bartimus, after a moment of contemplation, immediately set his sights on the transcendent AI "Duchess" in the Russian network sector.
The Duchess's personality resembled that of an innocent little girl, one who enjoyed bustling places filled with people, occasionally even venturing into other network sectors. Based on the Duchess's exposed personality weaknesses, Bartimus deduced that locating the entry point to this transcendent AI would be much easier than finding Europa.
After all, an AI like Europa, near omniscient and omnipotent, had only ever crossed paths with Bartimus—the God of Hackers—once. Even during that rare encounter, the dialogue between the two lasted less than three sentences. Bartimus's understanding of Europa was, therefore, extremely limited.
After weighing the options, the transcendent AI Duchess in the Russian network sector was undoubtedly a more feasible target than the others.
Soon after Li Ang and Bartimus finalized their collaboration, Miriam finally received her own cooperation plan.
What Miriam desired most was the valuable data possessed by those wandering AIs. As for controlling the thoughts of company employees? The more, the better. If large-scale control of employee thoughts wasn't feasible, targeting key members of the company's backbone would suffice.
Of course, the premise was that the method used to control employee thoughts had to be clean and thorough, avoiding symptoms like those seen in Congressman Jefferson.
"Ms. Miriam, I have no intention of prying into your deal with the wandering AIs for bodily possession. But if you require such services, our LA Company can provide you with the best convenience."
Before Miriam could savor her happiness for two seconds, Li Ang's next words immediately dampened her spirits.
"However, the number of surgeries to restore wandering AIs to human bodies is extremely limited. For now, I'm offering you a quota of 10 people, at a surgical cost of 10 million euros per person."
"I hope you choose carefully and don't back out halfway."
"Of course, if you think this price is too high, you can always approach Mr. Blue Eyes or Arasaka Corporation. But I'd wager their prices wouldn't be much different from ours."
Li Ang dared to propose such a hefty price because he precisely targeted Night Corporation's pain points. Mr. Blue Eyes's AI brainwashing technology was subpar, leaving significant side effects. Meanwhile, Arasaka's Soulkiller technology could achieve similar possession functionalities, but their fees wouldn't be much cheaper than Li Ang's offer.
In comparison, the only flaw in LA Company's services might be their price. But for Miriam, if it guaranteed perfect thought control, the cost was worth it!
After much deliberation, Miriam Knight nodded, agreeing to Li Ang's proposal. "Alright, Mr. Li Ang. I'll finalize the candidates as soon as possible. After that, it'll be up to your LA Company!"
Spending 100 million euros for 10 absolutely loyal company executives and acquiring top-secret information from other companies? Miriam still considered this deal worthwhile.
As Li Ang and Miriam formally established their partnership, shaking hands in agreement, V, who had remained silent throughout, found his emotions conflicted and tumultuous.
This ruthless manipulation of human souls for profit resembled a feast in hell, where demons like Li Ang and Miriam devoured human flesh and blood from their plates.
And as a mere bystander, V felt utterly powerless.
"Johnny, what's your take on all this?"
V had grown accustomed to consulting Johnny Silverhand's perspective on certain events. Facing such helpless situations alone was an increasingly difficult feeling for him to bear.
"Hah! What's there to think? This world is utterly screwed. Locking Night Corp employees' souls into the matrix is still better than letting Miriam mess around."
Johnny Silverhand's holographic figure flickered between Li Ang and Miriam, his black sunglasses reflecting his usual rebellious demeanor. He sneered, his tone laced with sarcasm.
"Look at Congressman Jefferson's increasingly haggard face. I'm honestly worried he might drop dead on his way to work one day. When the coroner examines his brain, all they'd find would be a string of nonsensical AI data."
"And then? The autopsy report would conclude 'death by sudden cardiac arrest,' and that would be it. Meanwhile, Miriam would continue persecuting her employees without missing a beat."
Having long seen through the corporate world's filth, Johnny's tone was indifferent but tinged with helplessness.
"V, I've tried challenging the system these corporations built, but I failed. Everything I did amounted to nothing more than an insignificant itch to them."
"The Arasaka Tower was destroyed, yet it was rebuilt bigger and higher in less than three months. The only thing I can do now is watch LA Company go toe-to-toe with these corporations."
"At least you can see that LA treats its employees in Watson like actual human beings. Changing the status quo requires more than personal effort."
"..."
Just as V was about to continue conversing with Johnny, the negotiations between Li Ang, Night Corporation, and Bartimus were officially concluded. With the deal sealed, everyone began to retreat to their respective posts.
For now, Li Ang couldn't interfere in Night Corporation's internal affairs, such as their use of AI to control employee thoughts. The only thing he could do was provide these employees who entered the matrix with the best possible life scenarios.
When LA Company eventually perfected its cloning technology, Li Ang could then offer those trapped in the matrix a chance to return to being human.
However, Li Ang was willing to bet that over 80% of these individuals would choose to stay in the matrix. After all, in this cyberpunk world, being human was truly painful. Returning to a life of drudgery as someone else's pawn might genuinely be worse than staying in the matrix and contributing to the servers.
"V, looks like you haven't been idle during my absence from the company. Getting yourself tangled up in this mess, huh? Quite the job you picked."
Li Ang teased as he walked out of Night Corporation's headquarters, glancing at V, who trailed close behind.
Embarrassed by Li Ang's remark, V scratched his head awkwardly. What started as a simple side gig to earn some extra cash had spiraled into a corporate scandal far beyond his expectations.
Had he known things would get this convoluted and troublesome, he would've just taken a simpler job dealing with gang members. Those tasks, at worst, involved dealing with a few low-level thugs—not this suffocating mess.
"Mr. Li Ang, what will happen to Congressman Jefferson? Will he also be sent into the matrix?" V, unable to suppress his curiosity, asked.
To be honest, V thought Jefferson was a decent man. But in Night City, decent people rarely met good ends.
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