Cyber Ghost Record

Chapter 63, Section 62: Contact

Chapter 63, Section Sixty-Two: Contact
boom!
The gunpowder exploded, propelling the bullet, and the remaining kinetic energy was released, spitting out a ring of flame outside the muzzle. The holographic humanoid target vanished instantly, the metallic vibrations of the gun still echoing in the air.

[Hit the target's left shoulder]

Suger gripped the gun with both hands, the recoil from the shot completely absorbed by the exoskeleton. He turned sharply, and to his left, a rabbit darted out of cover. He pulled the trigger, the first shot missed, and the second shot caused the holographic target to vanish.

[Hit the target in the head]

The targets and cover had all disappeared, and the ground was paved with dark green high-density rubber bricks, with brown honeycomb-shaped ammunition catchers standing on three sides. He put down his gun and raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"You played well; you've already consistently passed Level 3 training."

Yang Guan said, standing at the window next to Su Ge.

"Fortunately."

Suger smiled, not entirely satisfied with his score. The Security Bureau categorizes ordinary shooting skills into five levels: stationary target, ordinary person, bird/beast, ordinary person carrying weapons, and modified individuals with implanted cybernetic bodies. Level five shooting skills are sufficient to deal with dangerous modified individuals and represent the minimum standard for investigators. For most people, reaching level four is the limit. Suger could easily reach level five if he activated his Gu Diao combat mode, but his levitation syndrome made him realize that over-reliance on external aids was not a good thing.

Yang Guan said nothing, raised his gun, and holographic targets of the armed modified humans appeared one after another in the shooting range, just like that night at the top of the night sky. Su Ge couldn't see their movement speed with the naked eye at all. Using the window as cover, Yang Guan fired two shots and scattered two targets. After dodging, he fired another shot, and the target behind the cover that hadn't yet shown its head also scattered.

"How did this happen?" Su Ge examined Yang Guan's standard-issue pistol.

“Electromagnetic pulse grenades don’t need to hit vital organs; they can destroy the enemy’s internal circuitry by exploding near the target.” Yang Guan put the gun back in its holster. “The bureau doesn’t usually issue you a gun, but you happened to capture this thing, so you can at least defend yourself. To be honest, this kind of weapon that pursues lethality is a bit of a gray area; it’s only usable in Yingchuan City, which is a religiously autonomous city-state.”

He said as he walked outside, "You'd better not need this thing."

"I'd better not have encountered it."

Suger glanced down at the gun in his hand, tucked it into his waistband, pulled up his jacket, and followed.

Feilian drove towards the edge of the city, its snow-white body reflecting the floating neon lights in the drizzle.

"The Spiritual Society is a community organization mainly active in Yingchuan City. Outsiders call them flesh fundamentalists. The members of the peripheral organization are usually social outcasts who are dissatisfied with cybernetic modifications. For various reasons, these people cannot integrate into mainstream society and can only operate in marginalized communities..."

"None of them had prosthetics implanted?"

"You are wrong about this."

Inside the cabin, Yang Guan set up a series of projectors.

“Water ghosts, smugglers, illegal printing shops, underground greenhouses, prosthetic body recycling, illegal modification, organ traffickers—anyone could be a member of the Spiritual Society. What they have in common is not the number of prosthetic bodies implanted, but that they almost all suffer from immune diseases, levitation, cognitive impairment, and the like. The reason they reject prosthetic body modification is because of the effects of excessive prosthetic body modification.”

"The Spiritual Society is quite large, with tens of thousands of offline members in Yingchuan City. Of course, its external organization is very loose; anyone who has attended a symposium can be considered a member. Its core organization, however, is very tight. It is difficult to contact the core of the organization through ordinary means, let alone get close to the 'Supreme Person'."

The projection showed a middle-aged man with sallow skin, lifeless eyes, sparse brown hair braided into dreadlocks hanging behind his ears, wearing a green suit jacket, a yellow shirt, and black crocodile leather shoes.

"Qian Yun is one of the leaders of the Spiritual Society, responsible for drug smuggling within the society. His hobby is ARP/virtual reality films, and he enjoys bizarre themes. In addition, he also likes natural foods and natural drugs. Your first step is to become friends with him and get him to invite you to join the Spiritual Society."

The airship arrived in the western part of the city and docked at the top of the building.

This is the edge of the city; looking west, you can finally see the sky. Along the lake are large buildings, their yellow, red, and black eaves standing side-by-side, adorned with many greasy signs: restaurants, bars, cinemas, clinics. On the upper platform is an in-vitro uterine insemination center, next to a public nursing home.

It was nine o'clock in the morning, the sun was already scorching, and the water reflected a dazzling silver light. A swarm of drones and egrets flew in the air.

A cinema overlooking the water features a painted window depicting waves, a blue sky, and white cranes, while a hexagonal lantern in the shadows bears the words "Floating Waves."

Yang Guan looked down from the edge of the railing.

"This is a place that Shui Gui frequents. He comes here almost every week to eat, drink wine, have tea, and watch movies at irregular times. During this period, you should come here regularly. Remember, don't show any initiative. If he doesn't approach you, don't talk to him either."

Suger looked at the distant water and saw a heron with its blue claws wading into the shallows by the lake, pecking at the water.

"Fishing..."

“That’s right.” Yang Guan chuckled.

A thought flashed through Suger's mind.

Among the angler, the bait, and the fish, which one would you be?

……

In this day and age, the real world is desolate, and the vast majority of people in mainstream society enjoy themselves in the spirit world. However, those on the fringes still have a need for reality. For the water ghosts, entering the dark web is their job, while the real world allows them some relaxation.

Half a month passed, and Su Ge scheduled his mornings from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM for exercise. He would work out, train his awareness, connect with the Gu Diao and the robot to adapt to and distinguish exogenous neural data, or practice shooting skills, alternating between various training methods. After 3:00 PM, he would arrive at Fubo on time and leave at 7:00 PM. As a temporary employee of the Security Bureau, or more accurately, an external informant, his allowance was 1,200 yuan per month, continuing until the investigation was completed. Fubo was considered a mid-to-high-end place in the marginalized society. Each time Su Ge came, he would have a meal and watch a movie, just enough to use up his daily reimbursement allowance of 150 yuan.

If reimbursement is included, his allowance is already five thousand seven hundred per month. Occasionally, when he takes the SkyTrain back to Luyingting, watching the neon lights flash by outside the window amidst the swirling sound, this thought flashes through his mind:

If I never connect with the spiritual community, it wouldn't be bad to just continue living like this.

Unfortunately, the target's preferred film genres weren't really to his taste. One film about body swapping, where he experienced different sexual experiences from the perspective of the opposite sex, was understandable given his curiosity. But there was another film about deep-sea confinement, where he was simply imprisoned underwater in the absence of sunlight, listening to the sound of a giant creature swimming in the water for over two hours.

Fortunately, Suger didn't have a brain-computer interface installed; he only used the visual system to play the video and couldn't experience the feeling of actually entering the video.

On the sixteenth day, Suger entered Fubo again. A red-clad, flowing-sleeved puppet at the entrance greeted him with a voice saying "Welcome!" He went straight to the counter. The owner was a burly man with a thick beard, coarse gray hair combed back, and gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. He sat behind a table; to his left was a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the lake, and to his right were shelves displaying previews of various films—films available for rent only, not for copying.

At this moment, the video preview on the main screen displays a magnificent scene: blue sky and thick earth, mountains and rivers separated, and billowing smoke and dust.

[During the decline of Emperor Shaohao, the Jiuli people were in disarray, their morality was corrupted, and the people and gods were mixed together, making them incomparable...]

An electronic voice sounded in the video.

Suger walked over, and the shop owner glanced up at him before continuing to repair the superfluid ornament in his hands.

What are we watching today?

Suger's eyes swept over the numerous preview screens, but his attention was drawn to the main screen.

[Therefore, he ordered Nan Zheng Chong to oversee the heavens and be in charge of the gods, and Huo Zheng Li to oversee the earth and be in charge of the people, so that they might return to their former order and not interfere with each other. This was called severing the connection between heaven and earth...]

"Severing the connection between heaven and earth..."

"In ancient times, humans and gods coexisted in one realm. When the world fell into chaos, the human emperor divided the world in two: the gods lived in the heavens, and humans lived on earth." The shop owner continued repairing the ornaments without looking up. "This film is good; it's worth watching."

The word "human world" made Su Ge's heart skip a beat.

Just as he was about to rent the video, he caught a glimpse of someone walking towards him from the corner of his eye. The person had a sallow complexion and a head of brown braids.

The leader of the Spiritual Society.

"This one."

Soger dismissed the idea and pointed to a film on the display shelf. It was a sadomasochistic film from the 23rd century. After entering the protagonist's perspective, the viewer was controlled and gradually had their prosthetic body removed, losing the ability to move. In the preview, only a head remained on the table. Whether it was dead or alive depended on the sadist's decision.

"Get me this."

Qian Yun happened to come to the side and pointed to the same movie as Su Ge.

The opportunity is here.

Suger waited half a month for this coincidence.

"Excuse me, I've already made my choice."

He turned and smiled at Qian Yun.

Qian Yun was stunned for a moment, then asked in surprise:
"You like this kind of excitement too?"

Su Ge was about to continue along with what he was saying when he changed his mind.

Leave professional tasks to professionals.

Winning favor is Mei's specialty.

【No】

Shen Ke's voice echoed in his mind.