Cyber ​​Ghost Record

Chapter 86, Part 85: Negotiation
Su Ge walked through the corridor and switched on the emergency backup power in the darkness. Using the dim light, he reached the door of the electromagnetic shielding room. The switch door slowly opened. The room was spacious, the cold-rolled steel walls reflecting the white light. Shen Ke's backup machine was no longer here; to ensure the proper functioning of her neural network, it had been moved to its original location, room 101 of the Tzu Chi Building.

Suger entered the shielded room, the brighter light stinging the blisters on his lips. He went to the southwest corner of the room and looked at the shielding box on the table. The yellow electromagnetic radiation markings on the five-millimeter-thick aluminum plate looked alarming. The magical artifact that sealed the positions of forty demons and monsters was in this box. This was his most shameful "evidence of crime," and if he could, he would have preferred to keep it buried here forever, but now he had to take it out.

He fiddled with the mechanical combination lock on the box, his palms sweating. Images flashed through his mind—he was holding the Void Realm Mandala, surrounded by the Security Bureau's white hovercars and drones. He had a premonition that these images would eventually come true, just as the backups of these demons would eventually awaken one by one.

"This guy is much more dangerous than the 'Painted Skin' guy," Shen Ke said. "The 'Painted Skin' guy is good at forging identities, but this guy can kill people using neural data."

“We need to find that backup before the security bureau does.” The box clicked open, and Soger said, “I can’t think of any other way.”

“This isn’t a good method, but it’s definitely the fastest one,” Shen Ke said.

Suger picked up the Void Realm Mandala, and under the light, it shimmered with vibrant colors. This was an integrated optical chip that required brain-computer interface activation, and Suger's ability directly replaced the brain-computer interface to connect with it.

Suger sat down at the table, took a deep breath, and stared at the chip.

The next moment, his consciousness entered it. He saw the virtual world in the chip again, that mandala altar. It was as if his soul had left his body, passing through the fiery and windy hells. The information from the magical artifact flooded his mind, and in an instant, he found his target in the mandala guarded by the white elephant and lion in the western part of the void realm—a shadow floating on the third altar of the mandala. Its image was blurry, and like Shen Ke's status, it was also a three-dimensional data structure.

“It can kill people using neural data.” Su Ge observed, then asked Shen Ke, “If I connect to its consciousness, will my life be in danger?”

"It's hard to say." Shen Ke shook her head noncommittally. "You can think of a bit as an access key. Besides that, a bit usually stores a small amount of important data and basic neural network structures. A bit can make simple responses, but that's all. Very few people would implant a virus program into their bit. The function of a key is to open a door. Even if you sharpen it, you can't use it as a knife."

Sug felt a little relieved and tried to use his consciousness to contact the shadow on the altar.

He immediately received some messages. These messages weren't in text form; he directly sensed the other party's emotions and desires. This was a common communication method used by digital beings. If translated into text, these messages contained gratitude, probing into Suger's identity, and requests to leave. Suger was uncomfortable with this form of communication. He looked at Shen Ke: "Can you talk to them for me?"

Shen Ke raised her chin, signaling Su Ge to continue. Su Ge said, "Tell him that since I rescued him, I will let him go. But now the situation has changed. His backup has woken up, and the Security Bureau has found him..." As he spoke, he saw Shen Ke frown and look strange. "What's wrong?"

"This isn't negotiation, it's charity," Shen Ke said, pursing her lips. "I'll do it."

Her figure appeared below the altar, facing the blurry figure.

Less than half a second later, she told Suger, "The bottom line of the ransom he's willing to pay is probably a little over two hundred thousand. He can't afford any more than that. After he was arrested, almost all of his assets were confiscated by the security bureau."

"Ransom?" Su Ge finally understood Shen Ke's intention, and he frowned.

"What's wrong? Are you planning to just let him go?" Shen Ke asked.

“That’s not what I meant.” Suger shook his head. “I can’t release him yet. It would be best if he cooperated with me to dispose of his backup. When the time is right, I will set him free.” “When will that be the right time?”

“When I can ensure my safety and make sure he won’t reveal my identity.”

Shen Ke glanced at Su Ge but said nothing, as if his silence indicated that his goal was difficult to achieve.

"First, delete his backups. Once we confirm that the security agency hasn't found any other backups, we'll immediately give him a new lease on life," she said. "That's what I told him."

Shen Ke's words made Su Ge realize his problem. The skill of negotiation lies in concealing one's own purpose, while using rhetoric to present the other party's interests as the starting point. But he didn't consider demons and monsters as his own kind, and naturally, he lacked the empathy to consider the other party's feelings.

“Then I’ll leave it to you,” Suger said.

Shen Ke communicated with the shadow again, and a second later she said, "His attitude is very firm. If he can't be free, he would rather let his backup be completely free. However, we have the same goal at the moment. He wants to erase his backup even more than we do. He has agreed to take us to his first backup."

"That's great." Suger breathed a sigh of relief.

“I must warn you, his backup is more dangerous than his original self,” Shen Ke said. “Most backups of multi-evil entities have retaliatory mechanisms set up. Once activated, they will retaliate against society, launch terrorist attacks, or…”

"And you? You too?" Su Ge frowned.

“My backup will cause economic losses.” Shen Ke remained unmoved by Su Ge’s questioning. “Unfortunately, my abilities are not strong enough. If I could cause economic turmoil in the entire society, then even if I committed all kinds of evil, the Security Bureau would not dare to arrest me. On the contrary, they would have to protect me.”

She looked at Suger, "When these guys' backups were causing trouble outside, do you feel you also bear some responsibility? If you're only considering your own safety, as long as you can evade the security bureau, there's no reason you can't evade those backups. But you insist on getting involved in this matter, which has brought risks. It can only be said that your 'conscience' might ultimately harm you."

"If you were me, what would you do?" Su Ge and Shen Ke looked at each other.

“If it were me, I would never attempt a prison break,” Shen Ke shook her head. “There are no ‘ifs’ in this world.”

Suger paused for a moment, then his consciousness left the void. He sat down at the table and put the magical artifact back into the shielding box.

"If I became as completely rational as you say, then I would no longer be human."

(End of this chapter)