Cyber ​​Ghost Record

Chapter 43: The Ascension Method

The backup machine's pale blue indicator light began to change brightness. Its circuitry operated in a superconducting environment, without a cooling system to generate noise. In the darkness, almost only Suger's heavy breathing could be heard.

A few seconds later, a screen on the right side of the backup machine lit up.

Shen Ke's white-haired, green-eyed face reappeared, her temperament changed, her eyes were indifferent, and her pink and white eyeliner gradually deepened from the lower eyelid to the corner of her eye, outlining an upward-sweeping eye tail, making her look somewhat bewitching.

“I’m sorry,” Soger said, “I have to do this for safety reasons.”

Shen Ke remained silent for a while, then looked at Su Ge.

Why use this method?

She emphasized the word "this kind" because she knew Suger wouldn't let her go easily. She was just puzzled as to why he would choose an abandoned electromagnetic shielding room to imprison her; the method was too outdated.

"It's not necessary to go to all this trouble just to lock me up."

“Trouble is meant to reduce trouble,” Suger said.

"Tell me, why did you approach me?" He made a shooting gesture with his right hand, pointing to his chin. "What does this gesture mean?"

"Larson is one of my meat machines."

Shen Ke used a term that hibernators could understand—"meat machine".

In the 21st century, it refers to a bot machine remotely controlled by a hacker, while in modern times it is sometimes called "Shanxin" or "Chang," and in the security bureau it can be called "Yuyi Shi."

“I saw the video of his death. On the night of June 23, at the zenith of the night, you manipulated him to shoot himself.”

"So?" Soger lowered his hand. "You came to me hoping to salvage your losses?"

"To recover the losses..."

Shen Ke scoffed.

"I only used a little of his computing power; his private affairs have nothing to do with me."

"So what is your purpose?" Soger asked.

“Because you are an ascendant,” Shen Ke said.

“An Ascended One…” Sog met her gaze and shook his head. “I am not.”

“Of course, you’re not an ordinary ascendant, so Li Lou couldn’t see through your identity.” Her gaze swept over Su Ge’s entire body. “But now you don’t need to act anymore.”

"Believe it or not, I just woke up from hibernation not long ago." Su Ge stopped pretending to be a digital life form in front of Shen Ke. He suddenly felt very relaxed when he said this. It felt better to tell the truth than to lie.

Countless pixels flickered in Shen Ke's emerald green eyes.

Socrates is full of contradictions. On the one hand, he has godlike abilities, but he is ignorant of many common sense things.

However, these contradictions are not entirely conflicting; in some cases, they can coexist reasonably.

"If what you're saying is true, then you may have lost your memory because of a problem with your ascension."

she guessed.

"It's also possible that you are a reincarnation of Buddha."

"An incarnation of Buddha?"

"Legend has it that gods and Buddhas sometimes reincarnate in different forms to cultivate and ascend to higher realms in order to undergo tribulations, save sentient beings, and attain a higher status. You may be in this situation. Although you have forgotten your previous life, your supernatural powers are still there."

Suger could roughly understand the existence of digital gods and Buddhas, and could also connect the so-called reincarnation with concepts such as system initialization, iteration, and update.

But to say that he is the reincarnation of some Buddha or Bodhisattva is too absurd.

He prefers to believe that his abilities come from the organization.

Are there any other possibilities?

“There are too many possibilities,” Shen Ke said. “No matter what, you have supernatural powers; you’re not an ordinary person.”

"What do you want from me?"

“I want to achieve ascension,” she said.

Sug recalled the words of the nun from the Vidyadhara Temple. According to the information she revealed, gods, Buddhas, and demons are all digital beings, the only difference being their values.

Shen Ke has become a digital life form.

"Didn't you already upload your consciousness? Why do you need to ascend again?" he asked. Shen Ke was silent for a moment.

"Do you remember Lord Chengyang?"

"Ah."

"He also uploaded his consciousness. Do you think he successfully ascended?"

“You’re different from him, aren’t you?” Su Ge looked Shen Ke up and down. “You seem to be fine.”

“Well, it ‘looks’ like it.” She shrugged.

Su Ge felt that Shen Ke looked different than before, and he quickly discovered the difference—the cigarette-based dopamine inhibitor she had been using was gone.

That was a drug to suppress hallucinations and personality splits, but now that she's out of her body, she no longer needs it.

"The ascension methods circulating on the dark web are all unorthodox and unorthodox. Whether you can see through them or not, they will all have some problems," she added quietly.

"Are there different ways to ascend?" Sog asked.

“Of course.” Shen Ke paused. “A lot.”

"for example?"

"For example, the wireless power network is controlled by the Thunder God, who is also Indra, Indra, and Zeus. In addition to the power grid, the weather nanobots that control the climate are also under his control. The major and minor deities under his command are all ascended beings of the same system, and their status lies in manipulating thunder, lightning, and weather."

Socrates gained a deeper understanding of the gods and ascension of this era.

He noticed that the meaning of "position" mentioned by Shen Ke had changed from his previous understanding. It was no longer just a key to determine a unique identity, but also a right to manipulate and mobilize resources.

"Then what's your method of ascension...?"

“The ascension methods on the dark web are all unsystematic.” Shen Ke slowly shook his head. “I approached you because I thought you might be able to help me, but it seems you are the one who needs help.”

“You really helped me a lot,” Suger said.

For him, the help provided by the Hongshan Medical Association was almost like pushing him into a fire pit; Shen Ke was the first person to guide him to adapt to the times.

"So how long do you plan to keep me locked up here?"

"I can't let you go right now."

Shen Ke was Su Ge's guide and the object of his affections. But he still couldn't forget Yang Guan's warning—Mei was most skilled at bewitching people's hearts; she had once invaded the brains of more than a thousand people.

"Are you trying to satisfy some fetish this way?" Her playful expression was ambiguous, whether it was seduction or mockery. "Then why don't you bring all the prosthetics I've prepared?"

The word "prosthetic body" reminded Su Ge of the room where Shen Ke stored backups.

Some bizarre and grotesque images appeared: countless naked bodies crammed together, lewd and terrifying, making him feel nauseous.

He banished those images from his mind.

"I have a few more questions to ask."

"Just ask."

"Is there any difference between gods and Buddhas and ordinary ascended beings?"

"Of course there are. Putting aside the difference in rank, the methods of ascension also vary. I've heard that perfect ascension can transfer all the quantum state information of the human body to the spiritual realm without loss. As for ordinary ascension methods, well, that's hard to explain."

"What would gods and Buddhas need thought data for?"

"You mean the power of incense offerings and prayers?"

Shen Ke lowered her eyes; as someone who had once counted sand, she was well-qualified to speak on this issue.

"That is the key to further ascension, related to the method that allows them to truly transcend to the other side, but only they themselves know exactly what it is for."

Su Ge digested the information in Shen Ke's words.

The concept of "rank" refers to the different levels of access that digital beings have to access resources.

Ascension has different levels, and perhaps digital life exists in different forms at different levels.

The statement that they have not yet "truly transcended the other shore" is quite intriguing, and it may indicate that they have not yet evolved to a perfect state.

(End of this chapter)