Volume 4: The Last Day Chapter 25 People in Night City said Gotham was too chaotic, and everyone laughed.
In a windowless room in Osborne Tower, Dr. Arnim Zola, who had just been extracted from the separation chip by Mason with the help of Judy and placed in a physically isolated data sandbox, was a little "drowsy".
This sounds incredible.
After all, he was forced to transform his life form into a "data creature" because of cancer a long time ago, but unfortunately, due to the insufficient level of technology at the time, he was unable to complete the complete digitization.
This regret continued until he became a member of the Conquerors of the "superior organization", and only then did he truly complete the "data ascension" with the help of more advanced technology.
This was once Dr. Zora's pride.
But at present, his "data ascension" obviously still has serious flaws, otherwise it would be impossible for him to be so easily bound by a subroutine of a data life in 2077.
I don't know what means those bastard traitors used to make a data consciousness body like him not only feel "weak" but also have an indescribable "sense of crisis".
It was as if his long-lost senses were forced back, making him feel the "fear" once again.
He tried to crack the data sandbox, but unfortunately, the continuously self-encrypting data framework did not allow him to break in from the inside.
"No need to try. This data sandbox was once part of the 'Black Wall', a giant firewall used to protect civilization, which gathered the world's top wisdom.
It is impossible to break it and escape in your current form unless you can complete your self-upgrade within 3 hours, at least three times.
So, I would ask you, how are you thinking about it?"
Mason's voice rang out from outside the "data sandbox", which made Dr. Zora's heart move.
Then his data sensed a video signal, he quickly integrated into it and then projected his own "data avatar" on an equally isolated monitor.
A large amount of green data streams danced to shape a round face with coquettish little round glasses, and even the bald hairstyle was simulated as perfectly as possible.
And through the camera, he saw the young man in front of him placing the tray in his hand in front of him.
On top was a burger, a piece of beef and a glass of wine.
"Eat something... Um, I forgot, you can't eat in your current state."
Mason pulled up a chair and sat opposite him, probably making a bad joke, then picked up the knife and fork, cut the beef and put a piece to his mouth.
He tasted the food prepared by the chef of Osborne Tower and expressed regret about the cooking skills, but did not complain.
Mason hurriedly filled his stomach while speaking to Dr. Zora, who was silent on the screen in front of him:
"You will be sent to the real owner soon, and we probably won't see each other again for a long time. So if you have anything to say to me, hurry up, Dr. Zola."
"I dare to say it, do you dare to believe it?"
Arnim Zola, a bastard in every sense of the word, always exudes a disgusting villain vibe. He stares at the beef in Mason's hand and nitpicks:
"You overcooked the meat and used the wrong olive oil. You should have squeezed some fresh lemon on it before serving. But the barbecue sauce is pretty good."
"Oh, you're an expert."
Mason grinned, cut the beef with his knife and fork, and said:
"It's a pity that I didn't make it myself. Alas, if you were still able to eat, I would add a potion that would make you tell the truth. Unfortunately, this method cannot be used now.
But it doesn't matter.
You may not feel it, but a special line of code has been added to your data that will prevent you from choosing "No" to any of the questions I ask."
"You mean Veritaserum? You're using that on a data object?"
Dr. Zora didn't care.
He laughed out loud in an electronic voice without any emotion, and then sarcastically said:
"I don't believe in this kind of shit at all. After I was digitized, I no longer have any weaknesses that can be exploited. My digitization was done by a genius who created a gem of wisdom in his brain.
Although I am not a top-level data life, it is not that easy for you to trick me into telling you something. You are a young but cunning idiot who is just as stupid as an old bastard...
Depend on!"
Dr. Zora cursed under his breath.
Obviously, he accidentally said what was in his mind.
"You see, the 'Cyber Serum' I asked my friends to write is indeed very effective."
Mason was delighted.
While continuing to cut the steak, he said:
"Don't worry, this line of code is harmless to your data architecture, and it will only take effect for half an hour before it self-destructs under the counterattack of your firewall. You can't say how dangerous it is.
So the first question is, is your world destroyed?"
"It was destroyed. It was more than three years ago, during the second impact."
The cunning conqueror, who had realized that he had no escape, had nothing to hide on this question. He said:
"Our place is very powerful, it is said to be a Beyond Grade A world, but who made us unlucky? We actually encountered it head-on during the second impact...
Well, I can’t tell you that. It’s encrypted information.
Anyway, we were unlucky enough to run into their headquarters. We fought very hard, but SHIELD and HYDRA put aside their differences and joined forces.
But in just one week we were crushed . I know what you want to ask, Mason.
I've tried everything.
The Infinity Gauntlet, the Tesseract, and even Venture summoned the Living Tribunal, but to no avail."
Dr. Zola projected onto the screen many experimental images stored in it, including a scene in which Captain America, holding the Infinity Gauntlet, tried to "push open" another world with the help of a group of people.
Mason even witnessed the horrific scene in which the five Infinity Stones shattered on the spot due to the enormous pressure.
Dr. Zora said faintly, as if speaking in a voice-over:
"There's a cosmic law at work here, and these artifacts of great power are weakened by it. And when they realized they couldn't defeat us fast enough, the bastards summoned Galactus.
A strange star swallower.
The monster with the purple helmet was completely unreasonable. The moment it appeared, it swallowed up our world in one gulp and killed most of the counter-attackers.
The rest were incorporated.
I guess if you continue on this path, you will soon meet my former companions. I am not trying to scare you. But I am indeed the weakest among the conquerors. "
"I guessed it."
Mason recorded all the images projected by Dr. Zola. He didn't seem to be frightened at all. He picked up the burger and took a big bite. Then he picked up the red wine next to him and shook it, and asked:
"Is the zombie Superman Bizarro that you used as your 'body' the 'toy' they gave you as a reward?"
"No, it's not."
When this matter was mentioned, Dr. Zora immediately proudly created a "smiley face" on the screen, and his electronic voice became several degrees higher, saying:
"That's my 'trophy'! The unfortunate creature that Red Skull and I captured when they sent conquerors to attack our world.
To fight them, Red Skull and I transferred my consciousness into the mind of that brainless idiot Superman.
We have built a tireless war machine.
The combination of his body and my wisdom allowed me to destroy the vanguard of ten Cleaner Legions in a single day. However, it was a disaster that could not be prevented by force alone.
My failure was not due to any lack of wisdom, but simply to bad luck. "
"Then you must know how to make blue kryptonite?"
Mason took a sip of red wine and said slowly:
"Please share it with me, so that before I send you over as a prisoner, I can consider replacing your body with a customized automatic robot. This way, you won't have to suffer the pain of 'prison'.
You don't have any soul curses on you, so no matter how many you have, it won't trigger a backlash. Just think of it as making your prison life more comfortable.
Why not? "
"Blue Kryptonite I do! They used that stuff to make that dumbass Superman smart, I analyzed it and reversed its spectrum so it could put Bizarro into a weakened state."
Dr. Zora did not hesitate too much. He projected his bald face on the screen and bargained:
"I can give you the method of making it, and even the method of converting disposable kryptonite, but I have one condition! Let me meet the data life that defeated me again!
That Otto!
Ott Cunningham, I want to see her again.
Not just a subroutine, I want to enter her data field and interview her! She can take my datafication to the next level, and I will become perfect because of it. "
Mason did not immediately agree to this request.
He glanced at the undisguised desire on Dr. Zora's face, which was composed of data streams on the screen in front of him, and took out a small communicator and said to the other side:
"Judy, did you hear his request? Please ask your super AI for me..."
"No, she is not an AI. She is a perfect data life, a holy existence like the Data Goddess, you ignorant idiot."
Before Judy could say anything, Dr. Zora became excited. He cursed Mason for his inaccurate choice of words and shouted:
"Don't use a lowly being like AI to humiliate the goddess I'm seeing!"
"Well……"
Mason looked at Dr. Zora in front of him with a strange look in his eyes. He said to Judy, who was trying to hold back her laughter, in a strange tone:
"By the way, tell Ms. Ultra that she has a new data licker..."
"This has happened before, Mason. Don't worry. This is not unimaginable Ultra's fascination with imperfect data life is truly amazing."
Judy laughed and responded:
"The connection request has been uploaded, and Ott has agreed. She will open a special thread for Lord Zora in the Osborne Tower core database in an hour."
"Shua"
The moment he got permission, a large document popped up on the screen in front of Mason. They were all research papers on blue kryptonite and disposable kryptonite, and also came with specific production methods and video processes.
Mason spent a few minutes looking over all of this stuff. His sixth sense from his Isu bloodline made him extremely receptive to new knowledge.
These complicated and tedious knowledge were quickly memorized in Mason's mind, just waiting for the right time to put it into practice.
"Next is a personal question that I'm very curious about. How many Arnim Zora are there among you?"
"That's a lot."
This question made Dr. Zora frown, and he said with a disgusted tone:
"There are three in the Cleaner Corps alone. The other two are in charge of the communication security between the corps in different worlds. The others are doing hard labor in the laboratories in various worlds of the Research Sequence. Finally, there is a lucky guy who has not been attacked by cancer and is conducting some experiments in the Fox Nest.
Although I am reluctant to admit it, that lucky guy is indeed the smartest and most mysterious of all the Arnim Zora. The last time I fought with Zora No. 3, I heard him brag that Zora No. 0 was serving Tony Stark No. 0. "
"Among so many Dr. Zora, why are you the only one assigned to the frontline combat unit as cannon fodder?"
Mason asked maliciously:
“Are you not smart enough to participate in research decisions?”
"I'm definitely smarter than you!"
Dr. Arnim Zola made a very human look of contempt on the screen and said in a long voice:
"So I know what you're trying to do. Don't try it, Mason. I might betray you, but not through your cheap attempts to sow discord.
I'll tell you the truth.
In fact, I am not used to some of the behaviors of the Cleaners. Although I am Hydra, what I hope for is not chaotic and disorderly darkness. What we worship is an order under the power.
But for now, if you traitors are an option, I would rather die and decompose the deep data myself than put my trust in you.
Those bastards at least knew what they wanted and were working on it, but you… you haven’t even gotten started yet.”
"You may not believe it, but I really didn't intend to convince you to join us."
Mason picked up the red wine and brought it to his mouth. He said seriously:
“After all, even I’m not sure where I am right now. You may not know this, but the order given to me by my immediate superior is to kill you.
He told me to leave no one alive.
But you're still alive, you know what I mean?"
"Are you expecting me to thank you?"
The captured Data Conqueror sneered and said:
"I feel like I can control my thoughts now, but the code you set up has crashed, and now you can't make me speak my true thoughts, Mason.
And it's always you who's asking questions, which makes me very uncomfortable.
So let me ask one.”
He looked at Mason and said:
"How much do you know about the 'Impact' incident? Don't hide anything. Tell me everything. If you don't tell me enough details, I can help you fill in the gaps.
There is no need to worry about this. Even the most stubborn and cold-blooded guys in our organization are doing their best to find ways to fight it.
From this perspective, we can even cooperate, provided that you demonstrate your value.”
"interesting."
Mason cut a piece of beef and put it in his mouth.
He thought about it and told all the information he knew. Dr. Zora shook his head repeatedly. He was very disappointed and said:
"They are all worthless scraps, but considering that you have only joined the Star Club for more than a month, it is indeed very good that you know so much at this stage."
"What about your supplement?"
Mason asked, and Dr. Zora laughed evilly and said:
"I'm a villain, young man. Do you think I'll tell you what you want to know so easily? Stop daydreaming! This conversation ends here. I'll save my computing power to deal with the superheroes in your world.
I will find a way to turn them against me, huhuhu, and I will be rewarded for it."
"Whatever you want."
Mason reached out and touched the switch on the monitor. He said:
"We're about to meet the goddess, you'd better clean yourself up. With your bald head, you look like a perverted uncle. Be careful not to scare Ms. Ultra."
After that, he turned off the switch and locked Dr. Zora back into the closed sandbox. Then, Judy's voice sounded in the communicator, saying:
"Don't worry, Mason. The moment he sees Ott, all his data will be dug out. All the information you want to know will be obtained."
"I'm not worried about that."
Mason shook his head and said:
"I need to borrow the high-energy laser equipment in your laboratory, Judy. I need to make a blue kryptonite right now, or the unfortunate person I captured will die.
It's a shame that you're being forced to leave Gotham just when you might have just gotten to know it."
"Nothing to regret."
Judy snorted and said:
“It was fun for the first few days, but then it went downhill, especially after my car was stolen two days , and I finally remembered how bad it was to live in Night City.
Gotham does look a lot like Night City.
The problem is that they are too similar... do you know what I mean?
You have too many cyber-psychopaths there, so you should give V some time to go to Gotham.
He would definitely have a lot in common with a 'veteran cyber psychopath' like Batman. Actually, Osborne Tower is not bad either, it's quiet and there aren't that many people disturbing you.
I plan to build a long-term laboratory here. Do you want to invest?
I can give you some usage rights.”
