Cyber ​​Ghost Record

Chapter 38: Invasion
Suger entered the visiting room, where the scene in the adjacent cell was displayed on the screen.

The gray-white cell contained only a bed and no other furnishings. All visual and audio information was transmitted to the outside world through a single, tightly monitored channel.

Shen Ke sat against the wall, a dopamine receptor antagonist still between her fingers—the Security Bureau had provided her with this medication, which she usually used, taking into account her special circumstances.

At this moment, an interrogation was taking place in the cell. On the black screen in front of Shen Ke, there was a half-body image of the interrogator sitting behind a silver-gray square table. He was a short-haired black man in a blue shirt, with his hands on the table and his fingers interlaced.

She glanced at him lazily.

"I do not accept purification rituals."

“That’s not up to you,” the interrogator said.

“I’ll say it again.” Shen Ke flicked the filter, letting the ash fall to the ground. “If the Security Bureau doesn’t release me within three days, I will destroy all backup addresses. And these backups will automatically activate within a week, causing at least 200 million in computing power loss to the Spirit Realm within three weeks.”

“Doing this won’t do you any good.” The interrogator sighed. “First of all, you know yourself that even if your backups come back to life, they are not you, but you will be held responsible for all their illegal activities. Secondly, these backups don’t know that you have been secretly arrested by the security agency. Even if you self-destruct, the security agency is confident that they can restore the data and find your backup address. By then, you won’t have a chance to make amends.”

"Yeah."

Shen Ke lowered her eyes, biting her filter, unmoved.

The interrogator paused for two seconds before deciding to end the conversation. This was the twenty-third such conversation, and the situation remained unchanged.

He ended the call, and the image in front of Shen Ke disappeared, leaving only the cold wall made of iron-nickel alloy.

In the visiting room, the screen in front of Suger no longer displayed the prison cell, but instead showed a half-body image of the interrogator.

"Hello, Mr. Su, please have a seat."

"Hello."

A maglev chair floated up behind Suger. He looked back, sat down, and then sat down.

“You saw what happened just now,” the interrogator said. “She was completely uncooperative.”

“Um, can I help?” Suger asked.

The interrogator nodded.

“It’s definitely worth a try. After investigation, we found that you are the most special case among all the targets she has contacted.”

"What do you mean?"

"The suspect is a typical enchantress. I don't know if you've ever heard of 'foxes transforming into humans', Mr. Su? Before an enchantress identifies a target, she will collect data on the victim and, based on the victim's aesthetics, preferences, and personal experiences, transform herself into an image that the victim cannot refuse. Only then will she approach the victim."

The interrogator on the screen looked at Suger.

“Mei never reveals her true form, but this time she approached you in her true form, and even made you fixate on her true form. This is abnormal behavior.”

"Why?" Sog asked first, afraid that the interrogator would ask him the same question.

The interrogator shook his head, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Actually, the suspect's situation is rather special. She once tried to upload her consciousness, but she only uploaded part of her personality. She also retained another part of the biological human's personality, so she also retained the biological human's cognitive patterns and emotional mechanisms."

"What do you mean?"

"She may have special feelings for you, which is why she behaved strangely when she was with you. If that's the case, maybe you can get her to lower her guard and cooperate with the security bureau. You saw what happened just now; she kept refusing to cooperate. If this continues, she could cause great harm to society."

“I’ll try my best…” Su Ge hesitated for a moment, “What will the Security Bureau do with her if she doesn’t cooperate?”

An image flashed through his mind: a black cat pacing by the pool, saying in a shrill voice, "If she doesn't seize the opportunity soon, she'll be eaten by Li Lou."

"It depends on the outcome of the purification ritual. She is still a suspect, and a conviction can only be made after the ritual. The best outcome would be if the purification ritual is successful, allowing her to return to society as a normal person. Of course, this also requires her active cooperation."

"What if the purification ritual fails?"

"If the purification ritual fails, we'll have to look at her threat level assessment report. If her threat level isn't high, she'll probably be imprisoned in the Spirit Realm and sentenced to four or five hundred years in prison."

"Uh, four or five hundred years?"

“The time scale in the spirit realm is different from that in reality.” The interrogator smiled. “She was imprisoned in the spirit realm for hundreds of years, which, when projected onto the real world, might only amount to a few months or years.” Sug suddenly felt terrified. This was a prison of time. If he had to be imprisoned in the virtual world for hundreds of years, he might prefer the death penalty.

"If the threat level is high..."

"Then perhaps the only option is to brute-force her core data," the interrogator said. "That's the last resort."

The data she deciphered may ultimately end up inside Li Lou's stomach.

"You wouldn't want to see this outcome either, Mr. Su."

Suger didn't answer, instinctively remaining silent.

“That’s quite normal.” The interrogator smiled. “Everyone who has ever been in contact with Mei will develop feelings for her to some extent. And even if her original form wasn’t further beautified according to your aesthetics and preferences, she is still a rare beauty. Okay, go and talk to her. Your visit will begin in two minutes and last for ten minutes. The visit instructions have been sent to your view.”

Um. "

Suger nodded.

The interrogator's bust disappeared. He sat in the maglev chair reading the instructions, but his attention was constantly on the time. The time he and the black cat agreed on for the intrusion was 10:32:8:32 AM. There were still 5 minutes left.

Two more minutes passed, and the screen switched to a view of the prison cell, as if it had become a highly transparent glass wall.

Shen Ke, who was behind the wall, looked over. She raised an eyebrow, and after a moment of surprise, she said calmly, "You've come."

"Hmm." Sug looked at her and asked, "Are you alright?"

Shen Ke glanced at him, then turned her head away. "You'll know if it's good or not once you stay here for a few days."

Before coming, Suger had already envisioned how to conduct the conversation during the visit.

He had many questions, but under the surveillance of the security agency, he had to let the conversation proceed naturally while avoiding revealing his intention to evade the issues.

This awkward atmosphere is perfect for stalling for time.

He paused for a few seconds and said, "That night I didn't want to send you to the Security Bureau. I actually hoped you could pass the Security Bureau's test."

Shen Ke said indifferently, "Then I should thank you."

She was clearly a little angry, and Suger wasn't sure if she was acting or if she was genuinely upset.

"Why did you approach me?" he asked. "Am I your target?"

After asking the question, Su Ge recalled Shen Ke's gun-wielding gesture. He wanted to know the answer, but he was also worried that Shen Ke would actually answer.

Shen Ke merely glanced at him, a cold smile playing on her lips, before turning her head away and lighting a cigarette.

Su Ge's heart raced; Shen Ke's reaction told him that she was also pretending.

She was still helping him cover up his secret.

What was she thinking?

Is this her distress signal, and does she also hope that I can get her out of here?
Suger had no time to think; it was time to go, and it was 10:32.

He wasn't wearing the Gu Diao armor, so he could only rely on his own reflexes to time things.

Humans rely on myelin sheaths to transmit nerve impulses, and their maximum reaction time is no more than 100 milliseconds. The moment the stopwatch jumped to 8, he activated the Void Realm Mandala.

In an instant, the magical artifact automatically connected to the security bureau's internal network.

Meanwhile, in Yingchuan City, where reality has been augmented, the White-Robed Guanyin continues to sprinkle nectar on her lotus platform, but the building housing the Security Bureau is suddenly shrouded in darkness.

I was still writing too slowly. I spent too much time brainstorming the later stages of the story.

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(End of this chapter)