"Ptooey!"
Johnny Silverhand, who had refused to leave and was then beaten into a daze by the Cybernetic Apostles, was now firmly held by two Cybernetic Apostles by his arms and thrown out of Xiao's laboratory like trash.
"Get lost! The next time you dare to show your face here, I'll beat you every time I see you!"
One of the Cybernetic Apostles even added a kick, threatening him viciously.
"Damn it, that son of a bitch is untrustworthy!"
Johnny spat out a knocked-out tooth, took a swig of alcohol, and then cursed before staggering away.
Judging by the scale and civilization level of the Mechanicus, there should be a dedicated homeless shelter nearby… right?
After all, even a chaotic and mixed-up garbage dump like Night City has homeless shelters.
However, Johnny Silverhand was unaware of this.
He didn't realize that while the Mechanicus possessed advanced technology, its relatively high moral index was merely a superficial phenomenon.
In reality, the Mechanicus held a very unfriendly attitude toward the homeless.
Not only would they not offer any help, but they would even arrest these homeless individuals and send them to forced labor reform areas, making them engage in low-wage compensated labor reform.
The Haitian natives who once occupied Pacifica suffered deeply under this policy.
Who knows how many Haitian natives were sent to plantations because of it, and they often received a small whip for being lazy every few days.
It's imaginable that if Johnny really chose to become homeless,
he would likely be caught by those ruthless Cybernetic Apostles before the next day and then forcibly sent to a plantation to undergo so-called "reformation."
…
…
After properly arranging for Panam Palmer to take care of V, Xiao confidently left the laboratory and entered the underground quiet room, preparing to begin his Cyber Cultivation at the Nascent Soul Stage.
According to Xiao's concept, the Nascent Soul is a solid outer shell for the soul, capable of providing effective protection for it.
And the Relic chip just so happened to contain this technology.
The purpose of this technology in protecting the soul is also very simple: to prevent one's own consciousness from being devoured by the original consciousness of the body during soul possession.
This also indirectly proves that the Relic chip's soul possession technology is almost 100% successful, without any risks.
Xiao was preparing to use this technology as the core to create his own Data Nascent Soul.
He aimed to create an energy mecha that could not only protect his own soul but also continuously nourish and grow it.
At the same time, the design basis of the Nascent Soul must also be built upon his own soul as the foundation.
The Nascent Soul Stage is a crucial stage in Cyber Cultivation that connects Qi and Spirit.
Therefore, the Nascent Soul must lay a solid foundation for the Spirit Transformation Realm, which is a realm of pure soul cultivation.
As Xiao thought, countless streams of Cyber Aura surged into his pineal gland.
The pineal gland is located at the center of the human forehead, also classified as the upper dantian of the human body.
In Taoism, it is also called the Purple Mansion and is the dwelling place of the soul.
And Xiao was preparing to place his own soul here.
Under the weaving of Cyber Aura, Xiao's pineal gland was continuously transformed, quickly becoming a cybernetic implant with memory-scanning capabilities.
Gentle microwave energy was slowly released by the implant, continuously scanning the neural data in the brain and performing virtual soul replication based on Xiao's cognitive abilities.
After a series of complex and precise operations, this data was finally successfully replicated into a data container in the quantum supercomputer's memory host, which was the most basic framework for carrying the Nascent Soul.
This process is actually the so-called soul-to-AI process, and it was also Alt's original intention in developing Soulkiller.
Originally, Soulkiller was created for the sole purpose of developing soul-to-AI technology,
but with corporate intervention, it transformed into a terrifying weapon capable of instantly extracting an individual's soul by anchoring it in cyberspace.
However, Xiao's purpose in constructing Soulkiller within himself was not to obliterate his own soul.
Therefore, the next step was the most crucial and important part.
Xiao began to meticulously scan his own memories, then copy and upload them one by one into the virtual container.
His goal was to make this container another completely independent "self."
This step was undoubtedly an extremely long and arduous process,
because it required precise separation, packaging, and compression of all his memories, and finally filling them into the virtual container.
Every segment of memory had to be processed accurately without the slightest error,
otherwise, when the soul truly entered, it could lead to the container being unable to perfectly accommodate itself, or even result in memory confusion and mental fragmentation.
However, the entire process was not difficult; it only required enough patience and meticulousness, and there were no technical barriers or difficult challenges.
This process didn't even cause any pain; instead, it felt more like enjoying a soothing brain massage while leisurely watching one's own life memoirs.
Xiao's memories began to emerge uncontrollably, tracing back his past from the moment before he was even born.
During this memory input process, the emotions and five sensory perceptions he had experienced would also be stored in that virtual container along with the memories.
It was somewhat similar to recording a braindance, but much longer, as it aimed to completely record a person's entire life experiences.
In this process, Xiao seemed to return to his infancy.
He could even clearly feel the warmth of being immersed in amniotic fluid when his consciousness first awakened in his previous life, as well as the earnest teachings from his parents in the outside world.
Those memories, long forgotten by his brain, were still quietly preserved by his soul and body.
He could freely dispatch and mobilize his memories, observing everything in his memories frame by frame, discovering previously overlooked details.
Xiao's consciousness involuntarily immersed itself in these memories.
Many embarrassing social experiences he had deliberately forgotten resurfaced, and the dead memories began to launch a fierce attack on Xiao's body and mind.
Fortunately, Xiao's will was strong enough that even those memories that made him cringe, he still chose to accept and integrate into the Data Nascent Soul.
However, countless viewings of his past self still planted a hint of a desire to go home in Xiao's heart.
But as soon as this obsession formed, Xiao used his powerful willpower and spiritual energy to cut it down, eradicating it without a trace.
Some things can be thought about, but they cannot be allowed to become an obsession.
One must learn to pick up and let go.
This also made Xiao realize one thing:
cultivation was never that simple.
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon! Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSim