Cyber ​​Ghost Record

Chapter 18: Dream
"What do you mean by saying that men and women can make love just by looking at each other?" he asked.

"That's the idea." She looked into the distance, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"I'm already watching you."

"Then look more closely." She met his gaze, every eyelash bathed in the light.

His heart was racing.

Suddenly she leaned closer, bringing with her the fresh scent of pears. Her titanium-white hair swayed by her temples, and he could almost clearly see the moist lines of her lips as she spoke.

His mouth was dry, so he hugged her.

The two breaths collided and merged into one.

His heart was pounding, his mind was blank, and all his thoughts were occupied by his senses—those white hairs, those eyes like duckweed, the sound of breathing, the soft humming, the fragrance of pears.

His hands groped around haphazardly, and after the soft, warm touch came a chill.

He suddenly became more lucid, and in his daze, he saw her body reflected in the distant neon lights, radiating a cold, hard metallic sheen.

……

Suger woke up from his dream and stared blankly at the ceiling.

The room was very dark, and the time on the wall was 9:43 a.m.

He stared blankly for more than ten seconds, the scene in his dream fading away as quickly as if it had been formatted, leaving only a lingering headache.

Yesterday's mental and physical exhaustion led to a ten-hour sleep.

He opened the curtains, letting the dim light illuminate the room. Seeing the exoskeleton still lying safely on the table, he breathed a sigh of relief. He walked barefoot to the bathroom, quickly took a shower, and threw his clothes and sheets into the closet. The closet was integrated with the dry cleaning machine; an hour later, when he opened it, the clothes would be hung in the closet, looking neat and tidy again.

On the edge of the table, the breathing light of the monocular vision device next to the exoskeleton flashed rhythmically.

Su Ge put on his glasses and saw Shen Ke's message, an appointment for their next business deal—tonight at 8 PM, at the 12th entrance of Quanjin South Station on the vacuum rail transit system. Besides the address and time, there were no other words.

Suger's dream from last night resurfaced in his mind.

He took a deep breath, lowered his gaze, took a bag of rations from the refrigerator inside the wall, and put it on a plate.

After taking a couple of bites, he sent another message to Shen Ke via the web browser.

The dumplings last night were delicious, where did you buy them?

Shen Ke replied quickly, with both voice and text appearing simultaneously:
It's right on Jinggui Street, very close, but you'd better not go there.

No delivery available?

【without.】

"Only people who can't have brain-computer interfaces eat these things, and they don't have the right to operate them," she added.

【understood. 】

Suger didn't ask any more questions. He finished his rations and sent another message:
Where are we going tonight?

This time, Shen Ke replied after more than ten seconds, with a concise eight-word reply:
Success is achieved through secrecy, while failure is ruined through leaks.

……

Suger put away the plates, still feeling a bit restless inside.

He put on the exoskeleton, looked at himself in the mirror, and at the same time, tried to re-establish a connection with the Gu Diao.

The connection was established the moment his intention was made.

His brain quickly began to heat up, and his headache worsened.

He tried to relax, not seeking to fully activate the Gu Diao's performance. Gradually, the headache and fever subsided to a tolerable level. His vision showed that his head temperature was stable at 39.8 degrees Celsius, giving him a dizzy, feverish feeling. At the same time, the environmental information received by the Gu Diao's sensors was also being transmitted to him, just as he was experiencing it himself.

He saw light and color invisible to humans, and the monotonous, dimly lit room transformed into something else, with electromagnetic waves transmitting electricity and signals enveloping the entire city in a twilight-like glow.

The matte black exoskeleton clung tightly to his body, emitting a purple glow. The superhydrophobic coating, like extremely long feathers, adhered closely to the liquid crystal elastomer and skeleton, and the operation of countless micro-motors sounded like a croaking cry ready to be unleashed.

He could clearly distinguish the distinct layers of mixed scents in the air: the indescribable fragrance of heather, shower gel, and rations.

And a pear scent—Shen Ke's ever-present dopamine blocker.

Su Ge was taken aback. Had she come in?

He suspected it was a remnant of a dream, but then he saw the hunting jacket draped over the chair, which dispelled his doubts.

Turning to the side, he saw five nerve interfaces on the back of the Gu Diao that connected to the neck, chest, waist, sacrum, and tailbone. Another part extended from its tip, close to the back of its head; these were nerve interfaces that invaded the cerebellum or connected to the brain-computer interface.

Under normal circumstances, the Gu Diao uses these interfaces to convert the information it perceives and the data it analyzes into neural signals, which are then transmitted to the wearer.

Similarly, the wearer can only convey their intentions and commands to the Gu Diao through this channel, and use it as if it were their own arm.

Suger did not connect to these interfaces, so theoretically he could only utilize a very small portion of the Gu Diao's capabilities, but he established a wireless connection with the Gu Diao solely through his thoughts.

This is his ability at work, like some kind of telekinetic power that excels at connection and control.

Socrates tentatively defines it as telekinesis, but he doesn't consider it a superpower.

He was more inclined to believe that there was something yet to be discovered in his brain. After he fainted yesterday, both Shen Ke and Doctor Hei defined his symptoms as an immune response, which reinforced this suspicion.

However, rather than speculating about its origins, the most pressing need for Suger is to become familiar with it and figure out how to use it better.

This is his only trump card.

Since it can connect to the gray-haired man's thoughts and the Gu Diao, there's no reason why it can't connect to other things.

First, learn about the mind anchor and establish initial contact with the security bureau. If there's still some energy left, try to expand your mental power.

He manipulated the tables, chairs, and bedside tables to retract into the wall, and began his routine exercise in the unobstructed space. He adjusted the Gu Diao's movement aids to merely offset the burden it brought.

His vision showed that he was using cloud computing power, but he did not sever the telekinetic connection.

Compared to yesterday's rate of 5,000 yuan in two minutes, he now consumes 0.87 yuan per second, about twenty times less. He needs to try to familiarize himself with telekinesis and improve his control under this state.

Su Ge used small dumbbells for strength training. Under the Gu Diao's perception, the state of each muscle and the peak contraction time were accurately transmitted to his mind.

[From now on, ten minutes of this every day will not only exercise your body but also strengthen your mental focus.]

[Ten minutes, approximately 80 cents per second.]

A rough number popped into Suger's mind—just over five hundred—and he immediately dismissed the idea.

Okay, five minutes.

Suger felt a renewed sense of urgency. He had gained a basic understanding of how to use telekinesis and had successfully accessed gray channels, but the funding gap was visibly widening, and he could only sit and wait until his savings were depleted.

Unless he also profits through illegal activities.

He pictured the gray-haired man and his accomplices, the black doctor, the nurse, and the biotech company.

You have received a new message.

A flashing sign in the corner of his vision brought Suger back to his senses; he realized he had been daydreaming for quite a while, holding the small dumbbell.

The message was sent by Yang Guan, using a personal account, not by a security bureau investigator.

If you have time, come over around 11 AM at this address. There are now answers to some questions you had before.

(End of this chapter)