"You madman, do you know how many innocent people will die if you do this?"
Johnny Silverhand stared at Xiao with wide, terrified eyes.
Xiao's true purpose, from the very beginning, was to unify all of human civilization.
The plan Xiao proposed was a complete and utter open conspiracy; his actions were simply a means of self-aggrandizement by nurturing a threat.
By squeezing the living space of the Old Net AIs, he forced them into fierce battles with humans to compete for more survival resources.
Once the AI war broke out, all humans worldwide would inevitably be affected by the rogue AIs.
At that time, the only safe place globally, untouched by AI attacks, would be the Cyber Dimension created by Xiao.
Then, even for their own safety, humans would be forced to accept Huanyu Group's network control.
This way, Xiao could easily use the mad AIs to achieve the unification and takeover of the global network.
One must know that in the cyber world, controlling the network means controlling the world, which is why Bartmoss was bestowed the name of a god by all beings.
"Even if it means sacrificing more lives, I will not hesitate!
As long as the first Great Unification is completed, the concept of Great Unification will be deeply rooted in the heart of every human being.
Even if I die, a new Human Emperor will complete this grand feat.
The Emperor will lead humanity to break free from the shackles of Earth and advance among the stars, until we rule the universe!"
Xiao spoke with passionate fervor.
"You insane ambitionist, your actions will only lead to the demise of at least eighty percent of humanity under the AI's attacks!"
"Mandated by Heaven, may you live long and prosper!"
"Johnny, no Chinese man can resist the charm of these eight characters!"
"If I cannot achieve Great Unification, then all my previous efforts will become worthless!"
Xiao spread his arms as if to embrace the entire world.
At this moment, the black sun in the sky seemed to respond to Xiao's words, continuously releasing endless dark light.
The stronger gravity caused the entire cyberspace to twist and deform; countless AIs fleeing in all directions gathered into a massive data blob, which was mercilessly swallowed by the black sun amidst their tragic screams.
As the black sun released even greater power, humanity's last line of defense in the cyberpunk world—the Blackwall—began to vibrate violently and developed countless massive cracks.
Billions of data streams spewed out from these cracks, converging and merging with each other.
Finally, they formed shimmering rogue AIs in the sky, like a pack of ferocious beasts, baring their fangs and claws as they lunged toward the black sun in the sky, attempting to stop its attack.
However, as soon as these rogue AIs approached the black sun, they met with utter destruction.
The immense gravity and mass contained within the black sun acted like a terrifying millstone, mercilessly crushing these rogue AIs into their most primitive data forms, then swallowing them completely.
After a hearty meal, the black sun in the sky seemed satisfied, quickly dimming down, and its gravitational pull weakened accordingly.
This greatly surprised Johnny; the Blackwall had actually used the sacrifice of these rogue AIs to successfully slow down the black sun's devouring of cyberspace.
However, this approach was tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst, because the loss of that portion of rogue AIs had already left permanent cracks in the Blackwall.
To repair these cracks, more soul data would be needed as replenishment; it is well known that the Blackwall itself is a massive AI aggregate.
It is a wall between humans and AI, and also a true fence-sitter; it not only consumes AIs but also humans.
Any existence that violates the law, whether AI or human, will be consumed by the Blackwall.
But if the Blackwall suffers irreparable damage and there is no AI to consume, it can only choose to target humans.
Thus, hackers all over the world inexplicably became victims.
They had no idea what role they played in this war, nor did they understand which network regulations they had violated.
They were eliminated by the Blackwall, and their souls and wills were completely devoured by the Blackwall.
"Stop, Xiao! Even the most corrupt order is better than the arrival of chaos!
Don't start a war; many, many innocent people will die!"
Johnny looked at the hackers who were still being consumed by the Blackwall in ignorant confusion, his heart filled with pain and unbearable sorrow, and he pleaded bitterly with Xiao.
"Johnny, although you cannot stop my actions, you have the ability to prevent the outbreak of the AI war.
Help me find Alt, Bartmoss, and Spider Murphy.
With their strength, if they can join forces with me, neither the powerful Old Net AIs nor the terrifying Blackwall are anything more than mere paper tigers, easily defeated, minimizing human losses!"
Xiao spoke again, offering Johnny a suggestion and adding:
"Now, here comes the trolley problem, Johnny Silverhand. Will you help me eliminate all AIs for the greater good of humanity, or choose your old friends and sit idly by as AIs wage war on humanity?"
Xiao's devil-like whisper made Johnny feel an unprecedented fear and tremor.
He roared at Xiao in a fit of rage:
"Damn you, you demon, don't you have nightmares when you sleep at night?"
"How would I know? Anyway, I can't see who died."
However, Xiao's self-deceiving explanation completely plunged Johnny into despair, his heart becoming as silent as dead ash.
"Alt~~"
Johnny covered his face and suddenly shouted loudly.
Johnny's voice was very faint in cyberspace, barely traveling far.
However, Alt still clearly felt his cry and responded.
"Johnny~"
Accompanying Alt's response, her mountain-like massive data stream, like a surging torrent, rapidly emerged from the depths of cyberspace and appeared before them.
A colossal female data stream stood like a statue before them, countless data encodings constantly flickering across her body, giving an incredibly shocking feeling.
"You cannot stay here!"
Alt's voice was gentle and calm, but there was no emotion in her tone, as cold as a machine.
"Alt Cunningham~"
Looking at the mountain-like massive data stream, even Xiao couldn't help but feel a little shocked.
It was hard to imagine how many rogue AIs Alt had to consume to evolve to such a powerful state.
One must know that for AI data, size is a manifestation of power; the current Alt can truly be called the true god of the cyber world.
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