Cyber ​​Ghost Record

Chapter 28: Freezing
A large-scale operation to apprehend Lu Yingting was carried out, yet it went completely unnoticed. The next morning, Yingchuan City remained desolate and silent.

The neon signs were shrouded in a damp mist, and the intermittent holographic advertisements sounded like off-key, nonsensical lines from a play.

It was already eight o'clock in the morning. In the interrogation room of the Security Bureau, Su Ge sat behind a monotonous long, silver-gray table. Most of his physiological information was being monitored by instruments, and the questioning about his contact with Shen Ke was nearing its end.

"So, it was Shen Ke who took the initiative to contact you on the morning of July 10th, acting as an intermediary for you, which led you to purchase this retired military exoskeleton."

Bai Miao was in charge of the interrogation. She could organize the clues completely in a fraction of a millisecond, and any contradictions in motivation were exposed in front of the brain-computer interface. However, in this case, Su Ge was the victim and a hibernating person without a brain-computer interface. For his interrogation, the Security Bureau did not activate the thought monitoring system, nor did it need to mobilize Li Lou's computing power.

“Yes, I don’t know what the problem is,” Sugar emphasized. “I just want a decent exoskeleton to keep my life safe.”

"Yes, this exoskeleton can't be sold through official channels, but it only works in normal mode and is indeed not a contraband. You were kidnapped half a month ago, and your actions out of self-preservation are understandable. However, this is still an unsafe transaction."

"I see."

"Besides, how do you explain your purchase of the anchoring agent from Shen Ke? Yang Guan from the Third Group of Extraordinary Abilities has clearly informed you of the relevant information about the consciousness anchor. As a natural person with logical reasoning ability, I believe you already knew that this was an illegal act before the transaction."

"I can't tell."

"Regardless of your subjective intentions, your actions have violated the law. However, given your lack of understanding of modern society and the fact that your actions were taken under the influence of magic, the Security Bureau has decided not to pursue your illegal activities."

Bai Miao's words relieved Su Ge, but she immediately added, "At the same time, for these reasons, in order to protect your personal property and safety, the Security Bureau has decided to impose a level-two judicial freeze on your account."

"Freeze my account?" Soger frowned. "I don't need that kind of protection."

"This will not affect your normal life, it's just a restriction. During the freeze period, you will not be able to make any sensitive purchases, transfers, or other such transactions. Of course, this will not affect your daily life."

“Is this mandatory?” Soger asked.

"It's not mandatory, but you currently lack the ability to protect your property."

Her words gave Suger a sense of familiarity from two centuries ago.

"When will the restrictions be lifted? Are there any standards?"

"As long as you refrain from engaging in risky transactions, the freeze level will be reduced from Level 2 to Level 1 after two weeks. After that, your account will be restored to normal after another four weeks."

Suger's heart sank; he had no time to wait for the account to be unlocked.

In the two transactions introduced by Shen Ke, he incurred almost no trial-and-error costs, yet nearly half of his savings were wiped out. Now that the channels are cut off, what should he do next? Even if his remaining biological tissues are still valuable and some institutions are willing to lend him money, the account restrictions will make it extremely difficult for him to move an inch.

“I want to shorten the freeze period,” he said. “I played a key role in this arrest.”

"These are two separate matters." The brain-computer interface brought a smile to Bai Miao's facial muscles. "There's a separate treatment for your contribution. After analysis, capturing this demon saved at least 3.48 million yuan in computing power losses over the next two years. It was discovered by the feather you were carrying, and you also played a crucial role as bait during last night's capture. Therefore, you can receive 3.6% of the economic benefits generated by this operation, which is a reward of 125,000 yuan."

Shen Ke's perfect disguise and the scene of that consciousness anchor were nothing compared to the power of "charm" that the 3.8 million yuan sum made Su Ge realize. He only received less than 4% of the bonus, yet he got 125,000 yuan, which was enough for him to pay off his loan and keep his body.

"How is she now?" Suger asked.

“She is under tight control, so you don’t need to worry about retaliation,” Bai Miao said. “She’s currently being held at the police station, and will be transferred to Luye Garden before the next purification ritual begins,” Yang Guan replied this time.

“May I…” Socrates asked tentatively, “May I visit?”

He hadn't held out much hope, but Bai Miao nodded.

"You can apply if you want, but you must ensure that your purpose for visiting is not for revenge or to vent your emotions. The purpose of purification is to eliminate evil and preserve good. If the visit can evoke feelings of guilt, remorse, and emotion in her, it will help to further awaken her good personality."

Su Ge submitted a visitation request. Shen Ke's gesture of firing a gun made him uneasy, and her last look made him feel a strange sense of guilt.

He didn't know if this was a side effect of the anchoring of consciousness.

Before he left the interrogation room, Yang Guan patted him on the shoulder.

"Your situation should be handled on a case-by-case basis. Normally, you used an anchoring agent to quickly create a consciousness anchor, but your consciousness control is not up to par, so you should not be able to handle abnormal cases. But you don't actually have a brain-computer interface, and data contamination will not affect your personality or cognition. For you, the consciousness anchor is indeed just a simple key and trigger. In addition, you have performed meritorious service this time, so your application for temporary employment should be approved with an 80% chance."

"Can't that hibernator's reply tell me more specific information?"

"What's the rush? You'll probably be able to meet in a few days," Yang Guan chuckled.

Shen Ke's arrest meant Su Ge lost a channel, but it opened a door for the Security Bureau.

Su Ge felt a mix of joy and worry. Shen Ke knew his secret, which meant that he might soon be on the opposite side of the Security Bureau.

Fate is like a diode; with each flip, one side is opened while the other is blocked.

He seemed destined to walk alone between light and darkness, just as he always walked at the boundary of chaos wearing a monocular vision.

……

"He's really lucky. That spectral creature was close to him for so long, but it barely caused him any damage and even gave him a bonus." Bai Miao's voice reached Yang Guan's ears. "I can't believe he's a hibernator."

"The first time is luck, but the second time is uncertain."

Yang Guanxin pictured Su Ge wearing an exoskeleton.

"Who cares? The credit for this case goes mainly to you. If it weren't for the feather you gave Suger, we wouldn't have been able to locate her so easily. Now that you've caught a ghoul, you can finally breathe a sigh of relief. However, I don't think you need to dwell on the hibernator anymore. Your performance evaluation is almost at its lowest level."

A sigh came from Bai Miao.

"I suggest you install a brain-computer interface to stop the biological brain from interfering with your judgment. If you fail your performance review next week, you may have to leave the company."

"We'll see," Yang Guan smiled. "It's not like I haven't achieved anything. Look, I caught a demon, didn't I?"

(End of this chapter)