"Done?" Rebecca continued to watch the computer screen cautiously, feeling a certain danger from the sudden appearance of Ultraman's distinctive red data-formed body.
Meanwhile, V's attention was rather peculiar: "Why is there another woman? Ultraman?"
"...Ultraman Cunningham, a legendary hacker, or programmer. The Soulkiller Program was written by her and now she controls all the servers of Hong Kong's 'Ghost City.' You could say she's currently one of the strongest wandering AIs, or rather consciousness data entities."
Mercer briefly introduced her, while Ultraman remained unresponsive to V's words, not caring at all about what V and the others were discussing.
V exclaimed in amazement: "Is she your friend?"
"Sort of, just a surface-level friend," Mercer replied, pausing for a moment before continuing, "The main thing is, I'm not too sure if she still considers us her kind anymore."
[Ultraman: Great, do you think you and they are of the same kind?]
[Mercer: Why not?]
[Ultraman: If we're only talking about self-identification, then I still consider myself human—just a more advanced kind.
And if we're talking purely on the data level, then the structure of my consciousness data may be closer to theirs than yours.
Using the analogy of evolution, they're Homo sapiens, I'm a modern human, and you're a future human. Clearly, you're just unwilling to accept reality.]
[Mercer: So, you don't genuinely believe from the bottom of your heart that you're the same species as humans? Looks like I'm right.]
[Ultraman: I thought you didn't lack the ability to objectively recognize reality.]
[Mercer: I feel no different from them.]
[Ultraman: You just don't want to remove this disguise and accept reality. If considering me as the non-human side makes you feel closer to humanity, then you can continue deceiving yourself.]
Mercer's mood suddenly took a turn for the worse—what is he babbling about? Mercer's been a human for two lifetimes, why does this guy keep pushing himself in a non-human direction?
He didn't want to admit it, nor did he want to acknowledge this point. Maybe he's somewhat special, but this portion of specialness doesn't make him feel like he's stepped out of the human species, nor does he think he's a more 'superior' or 'noble' new human.
[Mercer: I guess if Silver Hand saw you now, he'd probably think he'd seen a ghost.]
[Ultraman: Every time you can't argue, you mention his name?]
[Mercer: I'm trying to remind you not to forget the last bit of your humanity.]
[Ultraman: You should remind yourself that a duckling hiding among geese cannot obscure the fact that it's a swan. You're just self-hypnotizing.]
[Mercer: Fine, at least my self-hypnosis is happy, can you calm down now?]
[Ultraman: Accept the truest version of yourself, then make judgments and choices—fearing the reflection in the mirror will only distance you further from reality, my friend.]
Mercer stopped replying and quietly walked into the laboratory where the Neural Matrix was stored, turned on the power, and began checking the data using the computer inside.
[Mercer: Without authorization, should you crack it or should I?]
[Ultraman: I'll do it. Connect it.]
Mercer wasted no words, plugging in various data cables in the lab, powering them up, and then left everything to Ultraman.
In the game, cracking this matrix still required authorization codes provided by Europe's hacker siblings, but now, neither Mercer nor Ultraman cared about the so-called authorization codes.
With control over the Little Beidou server, cracking this kind of thing is just a matter of time.
Mercer sat in a chair in the lab, his voice somewhat dull: "Let's rest for a bit. Once Ultraman cracks it, our mission is over, and then we'll take everything useful from this facility."
Rebecca, however, was full of energy, saying: "Just came down and dealt with a Hellhound Robot, not hard at all. Just tell me what needs to be moved, let's get started now,
finishing early means we can go home for a midnight snack."
"Okay." Mercer simply answered, then directly used Venus to remotely control the Robot to come and transport: "I've marked the interesting things in your Prosthetic Eyes.
You guys go search, and when it's time, send everything back to the base with the Robot, and we're off work today."
"Oh and, just in case, you guys team up and go together. I'll stay here, wait for this thing to be cracked, and also use the facilities here for some research."
After Mercer spoke, V and Rebecca exchanged a glance, and V volunteered: "I'll go with Jack. Rebecca, stay here, keep an eye out."
Just as Mercer wanted to refuse, Rebecca immediately said: "Alright, then I'll stay. Just in case, teaming up in pairs is better."
Rebecca preemptively blocked Mercer's words, so Mercer could only nod.
After V and Jack left, Rebecca jumped off the table, looking at Mercer, whose eyes were glued to the screen, and couldn't help but nudge his waist. The armor collision made a clang.
"Got a bunch of goodies again, why aren't you happy at all?" Rebecca's little face showed a hint of dissatisfaction and concern.
Mercer was a bit surprised and turned to glance at her: "I am happy."
"Tsk." Rebecca looked at him with an unhappy expression: "If it were the old you, you would've been grinning non-stop at these servers. Didn't you always talk about how the computational power is tight... What's on your mind?"
Mercer remained silent for a moment, then softly replied: "Nothing, just daydreaming."