Cyber ​​Ghost Record

Chapter 78, Section 77: Pain/Pursuit
The moment Su Ge stepped into the venue, he had a strange feeling, as if he had stepped into Jiang Ning's memories:
People dressed in the same clothes walk around under the same dim lights.

He walked through the crowd, smelling sweat and metal.

Long tables were set up in the meeting place, with plates of food on them. The gathering had been going on for some time, and some people were eating at the tables.

This scene is common in buffets, but since arriving in this era, this is the first time Suger has seen so much natural food. He found a seat, and the person next to him was carrying a plate with a thick layer of batter from bitten fried chicken. He examined the desserts in the display case; the cream on the triangle cakes was a dull gray, like plaster putty. His recently awakened appetite vanished, but he still picked up a piece of cake, scooped out half a spoonful, and carefully put it in his mouth.

A strong, monotonous sweetness filled his mouth, while the dry, hard cake base made his throat feel dry and choked.

Shen Ke looked at his furrowed brows, "It doesn't taste good?"

Suger pursed his lips, the remaining cream feeling like a layer of wax on his mouth. "In the past, a restaurant like this wouldn't last more than half a month."

"We're already pretty good with these," Shen Ke said.

Suger knew she was telling the truth. Nowadays, cooking skills are not about controlling the heat and the proportions of seasonings and ingredients, but about manipulating neural data. Of course, brain-computer interfaces can instantly turn someone who has never lifted a finger into a professional chef in the traditional sense, but this chef would still have to face a near-unsolvable problem: even though the variety of food in the virtual world is already vast, agricultural products in reality are becoming increasingly monotonous.

“At least it’s better than ‘rations’,” Sog said, recalling the mushy stuff.

"You probably don't like the taste."

A man approached, his voice deep and resonant, his physique robust, his shoulders broad and prominent like small hills. A tiger mask covered his face, a mixture of yellow and white. This animal was formerly known as the Amur tiger or Siberian tiger, but now it is more commonly called the mountain tiger.

"I'm not used to the food," Su Ge said truthfully, while glancing at the "Mountain Lord" who had struck up a conversation with him, secretly pondering how to inquire about Jiangning without revealing his destination.

“That’s normal, because these are all the real thing.” Shan Jun laughed, speaking with the pride of someone who had been there before: “The truth is hard to hear, and real food is hard to eat, but they are all real.” He deliberately emphasized the last word “real,” his voice carrying a mysterious and devout quality, as if he had already discerned some kind of true essence.

Suger didn't approve of men's words; even in this era, he had eaten a decent meal of dumplings. But he intended to get closer to men from the past.

"How to say?"

His humble demeanor during his inquiry satisfied the mountain king's vanity. The mountain king sized up Suger and said, "You must be very dependent on virtual food. You eat rations in reality, but your brain makes you feel like you're eating delicacies."

Suger hesitated for a moment, realizing that telling the truth wouldn't be the answer the other party wanted. His hesitation didn't escape Shan Jun's notice, and Shan Jun chuckled, "Telling the truth isn't shameful. I used to do that too, and I even had neural circuits installed so I could sense nine different tastes."

"Yes, I am a little dependent on it."

The mountain king looked at Suger as if he were looking at a lost lamb. "The real thing is addictive. It does taste bad, but you're not eating the flavor. Only when you actually eat, when you eat real food, are you clear-headed. Only then can you know what is real, including yourself." As he spoke, he patted Suger's shoulder, then paused. The sensor in his palm told him that he had touched a flesh-and-blood body.

“I’ve learned a lot,” said Suger.

Shan Jun withdrew his hand, glanced at Su Ge suspiciously, and coughed lightly.

"You'll understand later."

Blue light and shadow appeared beneath the dome of the venue.

A voice rang out, deep and gentle, yet incredibly penetrating, its gender indistinguishable. "Everyone."

A hazy holographic projection appeared in mid-air, clearly the organizer of the gathering.

"Is this the perfect man?" Sog asked in a low voice.

Shan Jun glanced at the projection and shook his head almost imperceptibly. His gesture was unclear—whether it was a reply or a signal for Su Ge to remain silent. Su Ge stopped speaking, put down his plate, and listened along with all the other attendees.

"I saw many familiar faces, both familiar and unfamiliar, because new changes have occurred in you. It seems that you are gradually coming to know your true selves. In addition, I also saw many completely unfamiliar masks; many new people have come this time."

"Of course, there are many new people at each gathering. It is fate that we will all come here sooner or later. What drives us here is 'pain,' the pain that no one can avoid. Those who come here have already recognized their own pain. Perhaps some of you have something to say about this pain."

After the blue figure finished speaking, someone raised their hand.

The lights in the hall focused on the man, making him the center of everyone's attention. The speaker removed his robe and began to recount how he went from a normal person who underwent prosthetic implants for job competition to now having less than half of his body remaining. He could no longer sleep, suffered from phantom limb pain in all five arms, and often mistook his legs for wheels.

Then the voice came from a woman who worked in an underground sex doll factory. A sudden neurocognitive disorder caused her to mistake her colleague for a product, so she dislocated the colleague's arm and skillfully stuffed beautiful blonde synthetic fibers all over her scalp.

Next is an employee of a shady pharmaceutical company who needs to constantly monitor his immune level. The treatment costs are making it impossible for him to make ends meet, and his debts are piling up.

One by one, the attendees spoke under the lights.

The blue figure finally continued narrating:

“Suffering takes many forms, and at first it is often mistaken for a blessing. We live in a cage of a dozen square meters, yet we mistakenly believe that we are living in a mansion. The food we eat is no more refined than the pig swill of the past, yet we are as satisfied as if we had eaten delicacies. We enjoy false entertainment, and then suffer from various immune diseases and are driven insane by phagocytosis. Most of us have lost a normal life, or rather, the ability to live as a normal person.”

"It was this pain that drove us here."

"But we are by no means slaves to suffering. Everyone's suffering is different, but our pursuits are completely the same."

The figure paused for a few seconds.

"Facts, Truth, Reality"

As he uttered those three words, multiple languages ​​resounded together, their humming sound like the electrification of a lighthouse, piercing through all the fog and illusions.

The moment the word "truth" reached his ears, Suger thought of the purpose of his hibernation. The blue figure's words made him realize that the Spirit Society and the organization's ideologies were somewhat similar.

His heart was racing, just like everyone else in the room.

"In short," the blue figure said, "what we pursue is freedom, freedom of body and soul."

(End of this chapter)