After Transmigrating into the Cyber Game, I Defeated the Boss and Successfully Rose to the Top Chapter 118: Artificial Souls - Part 45

“… What do you think about this?”

“What can I think? It’s clearly not right.”

A woman clad in a white protective suit crouched on the railway tracks, ticulously collecting samples.

The red liquid flowing along the rails had mostly dried up, but small remnants still clung to them. With tweezers, she cautiously picked up fragnts of the red substance and placed them into glass tubes. Then, using cotton swabs, she collected more samples and preserved them similarly in containers.

She carefully stored the samples in a tal case alongside her, sighed, and stood up.

The railway track was completely sealed off, surrounded by nurous ard individuals dressed in black combat suits, indicating stringent vigilance.

“This doesn’t resemble blood; oxidized blood wouldn’t retain such a vivid red color… After so many years as a forensic examiner, I have enough expertise to recognize this,” said the woman in the protective suit.

“Then what exactly is it?” Her colleague, also wearing a protective suit, displayed a look of existential doubt. “They said soone died, but there’s nobody visible, only this massive amount of reddish substance resembling blood…”

The blood-red liquid nearly covered the entire stretch of railway tracks, extending from the train tunnel far, far away. She could imagine the grueso scene… The train must have collided with sothing, causing that object to be torn apart under its crushing weight.

She had dealt with nurous corpses before, and the most horrifying case involved a truck driver who hit soone on a major road. As a result, the victim’s body got caught under the vehicle and was dragged for tens of kiloters until the truck was finally stopped. At that point, both the underside of the truck and the road were covered with shattered flesh and blood.

However, encountering today’s situation was her first ti.

Blood-red liquid was everywhere, yet there were no bodies or traces of flesh. She couldn’t even be certain if this red fluid was indeed blood.

They proceeded along the railway blockade to investigate further, with police dogs sniffing around the tracks. Strangely, the usually obedient police dogs appeared unusually agitated, showing signs of losing control despite their trainers’ commands. The handlers struggled to restrain them. One relatively mild-tempered police dog trembled fearfully, clinging close to its human handler without daring to move, as if it had encountered a natural predator.

Whenever they discovered patches of blood-red liquid, the police dogs would erupt into frenzied barking, distinctly different from their usual alert calls.

As they reached the train tunnel during their search, the police dogs found remnants of black clothing. The garnts were torn beyond recognition by the train wheels and scattered across various locations. Oddly enough, although soaked in the blood-like liquid, no one could be found.

There was blood and remnants of clothing, but no bodies.

“Could it have dissolved sohow? Those reddish liquid…”

“It’s possible. Let’s take samples back to the laboratory for thorough analysis.”

“This isn’t normal; it’s like sothing straight out of a horror novel. What exactly happened on this train segnt?”

“The train has already stopped at the station. They’ll inspect the compartnts there, and we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Just then, one of the police dogs that had been sniffing around suddenly went berserk. It broke free from its collar, barking wildly and attacking nearby dogs, which instantly turned frenzied as well. Without any warning, the three police dogs investigating near the railway tracks engaged in a life-or-death struggle, their fur stained red by flowing blood.

As people were about to separate the dogs, the canines abruptly shifted their targets, baring their teeth and indiscriminately attacking humans.

Unable to control the situation, they were forced to fatally shoot the police dogs.

Three piercing gunshots echoed through the mountainous area, sending chills down the spines of those responsible for securing the scene and conducting investigations.

“What happened?!” The woman who had just finished collecting samples kneeled down to examine the police dog’s body.

“Its nose touched that red liquid, and after licking it, it suddenly went berserk…” explained the handler with a stiff expression.

It seed as if events were indeed taking a turn reminiscent of a horror novel.

***

Carrying his small suitcase, He Kangshi looked at the unfamiliar city before him and sent a ssage to the black snake, “I always feel… like I’m being targeted.”

In a dazed state, He Kangshi continued, “So passengers were taken for statents, questioning what had happened. So got out after just three minutes, while I was questioned for twenty minutes… When we disembarked from the train, each of us had to individually scan our faces with a machine before being allowed to proceed… As I left, I glanced back and it seed the train station was sealed off, with a large group of people carrying disinfection equipnt entering…”

Black Snake replied, “It’s normal.”

“How is this normal? It’s too excessive!” exclaid He Kangshi.

“Given such significant events, attracting attention from relevant authorities is expected. It would be abnormal if they didn’t take notice, especially since your identity has been thoroughly exposed. You’re undoubtedly a person of keen interest now.”

Frightened, He Kangshi asked, “Will I be treated like a lab rat?”

“You’ll likely be observed, but it’s uncertain what asures they might take against you.”

“I’m scared now. Could they take away while I’m asleep at night?”

The black snake seed sowhat exasperated and paused before replying, “You’re a law-abiding citizen. If they intended to take you, they would have done so already.”

Considering this, He Kangshi felt reassured. “True… I feel calr now. Suppose… just suppose, if soone really cos to take away, what would you do, oh great one?”

Black Snake replied, “If their intentions are benevolent, it will be your choice to decide.”

After a long silence, He Kangshi murmured, “I suddenly have an urge to call you ‘Dad’ or ‘Mom.'”

Taken aback, the black snake retorted, “…Don’t crack such jokes.”

“Find a place to stay. In this city, you can reside wherever you wish,” the black snake said.

As soon as He Kangshi read these words, a belated wave of joy enveloped him entirely, making his heart feel like it might leap out of his chest from sheer happiness.

“I’m safe now?!”

“What else did you expect?”

“Does the great master have any recomnded places? My savings are running low; most of my money went to Dad and Mom.”

“No recomndations. If you want cheaper options, avoid living in the city center.”

It was widely known that housing in the old city district was the most affordable, with rental prices increasing as one got closer to the city center. He Kangshi found rit in the black snake’s advice and, suitcase in hand, took the subway to the old city district. He strolled through several streets back and forth before quickly spotting a real estate agent.

Drawing upon his years of experience in finding accommodations, He Kangshi swiftly selected a one-bedroom apartnt. After reviewing the contract and confirming there were no issues, he promptly moved in with his luggage.

He didn’t dare sign a long-term lease, opting for a short-term agreent instead. The uncertainty of the future was too great; he might need to frequently change residences.

By the ti He Kangshi settled down, it was already evening.

18:01.

The orange-red skyline predictably revealed the mirage once more.

Standing on the balcony of his new apartnt, He Kangshi looked up at the sky and couldn’t help but murmur softly, “So this is how the city’s mirage appears…”

At the sa mont, Kui Xin also stood by her window, recording the latest manifestation of the mirage.

This instance of the mirage lasted exceptionally long. She held her phone steady for over ten minutes, her arms growing sore, until the illusion gradually faded away and disappeared from the horizon.

Kui Xin replayed the footage, ticulously counting the seconds, and her expression darkened. “Eleven minutes and fifty-eight seconds.”

Yesterday’s duration was 10 minutes and 30 seconds, and the day before that was 9 minutes and 26 seconds. Apart from the increasing ti, there didn’t seem to be any particular pattern.

During the previous cycle, the longest duration of the phantom’s appearance was less than one minute, approximately fifty seconds.

After the second return, however, there was a significant jump in the phantom’s display ti.

This was not a promising sign.

In the near future, would those phantoms permanently linger in the sky? Even more terrifyingly, could they manifest from illusion into reality, descending upon this world?

Kui Xin took a few steps back and collapsed onto her bed, feeling unprecedented exhaustion in her mind.

For several consecutive days, she had intensely utilized Data Manipulation, making it feel like her brain was about to explode. However, the results were rewarding—her Data Manipulation skills’ proficiency skyrocketed rapidly. She progressed from initially clumsy explorations to skillfully infiltrating various devices, intercepting, and altering data streams with ease.

Nevertheless, human limitations remained; computers can run continuously for 24 hours without shutting down, but human brains cannot. Computers can simultaneously process multiple commands, but achieving such multitasking with a human brain is extrely challenging.

While battling, Kui Xin simultaneously used Data Manipulation to evade surveillance, greatly hindering her performance. When conducting data manipulation, invading various ports required bypassing firewalls. So firewalls were easy to circumvent, while others posed more significant challenges.

For instance, infiltrating a ho computer’s firewall was akin to simply opening a drawer, whereas breaching the Pentagon’s firewall resembled cracking open a bank vault door.

Although it was possible to open a vault door, it would require considerable ti.

Data Manipulation is not infallible; the limitations of the human brain beco particularly evident when utilizing this ability.

Kui Xin had watched so science fiction movies, and although certain aspects depicted in them seed unrealistic, they sparked ideas for her.

She wondered if she could create an external chanical brain for herself.

Using smartphones and computers as data relay stations was inefficient; the processing speed and convenience were insufficient. These devices rely served as interdiaries, whereas an external brain would be like acquiring a second organ.

In the information age, smartphones have been humorously referred to as humans’ external brains, with nearly every aspect of life becoming dependent on them. Inspired by this concept, Kui Xin wanted to develop a specialized external brain for herself, assisting in handling various types of data.

In the Second World, people utilized prosthetic limbs to aid their daily lives; similarly, she could create a chanical brain. By connecting this chanical brain with her consciousness, it would take over data reception and processing tasks from her human brain. The operational pathways and computational formulas of a human brain are not well-suited for handling data information, but that’s no issue—the chanical brain can handle it! With a chanical brain, she could fully harness her Data Manipulation ability.

The only problem is that such chanical brain technology may only be possible in the Second World.

During the mission to escort He Kang, nurous unexpected situations occurred.

As the train approached its destination, Kui Xin imdiately jumped off using Shadow Shuttling, erasing all traces of her journey. She also dealt with the surveillance caras, leaving the satellites overhead as the sole potential vulnerability.

However, after the incident, Kui Xin investigated and found that the satellite passing above them at that ti was just an ordinary one, with a resolution of only 0.6 ters—significantly lower compared to the most advanced reconnaissance satellites’ 0.1-ter resolution. Satellites cannot record videos; they can only capture still images. It is likely that in the resulting photographs, both she and the black-robed figure will appear as blurry patches, making it impossible to discern facial features or clothing details.

They knew the train had been attacked and that soone had thwarted it, but they were unaware of who the attacker was, let alone who intervened to stop the assault.

Kui Xin remained safe.

She intended to stay hidden behind the scenes, observing everyone while gradually expanding her influence.

He Kangshi was the first person to join her, but he was rely the beginning; there would be many more to follow.