The desert of the soul sounds rather romantic. It's a pity that normal users who use information filters, such as headsets or similar devices to access the internet, never encounter these areas.
Hayden, with Angela in her chibi-style dog-eared form, re-entered the StarNet, flying at the speed of thought into this wasteland, stopping beside a ruin of thought. Essentially, everything here was just textures and mental images. But it must be admitted that the possibility of communications being eavesdropped on was lower in the StarNet's wilderness.
That's why Alastor arranged to meet him here to talk again.
Judging from his online persona, this young student didn't look like a skilled hacker at all. Black hair, a simple black shirt and trousers, boots, two swords at his waist, and he was even a little shorter than Hayden. But Hayden knew he couldn't underestimate this man. And what had he just said?
To form a hacker group?
Even though Hayden thought this was ridiculous, he wasn't stupid enough not to be on guard.
However, Alastor wasn't as nervous as Hayden. He adjusted the data, sculpted two large stones next to the ruins to serve as chairs, and actually sat down first, gesturing to Hayden.
"I want to apologize for the video circulating online. When we first created that thing, we thought you were a mercenary spy hired by the Mitra Group."
Alastor spoke first.
"By the time I investigated further and began to suspect something was amiss, my people had already distributed the video. We will try our best to eliminate the trouble it has caused. I hope you can understand."
Hayden couldn't. But as the saying goes, you don't hit a smiling face. Since the other person has already bowed his head and apologized, given Hayden's personality, it would be difficult for him to continue grabbing his collar and slapping him in the face.
But Hayden couldn't help but frown: "You mean, you really are a leader in the [Bo Xun] hacker team?"
“Not ‘one’ leader.” Alastor shook his head. “I am the founder of the [Bo Xun] team. This anti-Mitra group hacking team was created by me two years ago after my parents’ consciousness was uploaded.”
However, Hayden didn't believe it for even a second: "That's impossible."
Two years ago, he was a freshman at Alastor University. How could a freshman, by gathering a group of students, possibly build a cyber terrorist organization capable of continuously launching hacking attacks against the Mitra Group and even gaining a notorious reputation?
Do you think you're some kind of one-in-a-billion genius, a super hacker that only appears once every hundred years?
Even if you really are a genius, where did you get the initial funding? A genius can't conjure up anything without money!
So Hayden scoffed, completely disbelieving: "Are you trying to say that the death of your parents unleashed boundless spiritual power, which is why you're able to fight against the Mithra Group?"
Alastor could tell Hayden didn't believe him, but he wasn't angry. Instead, he asked, "What's so strange about that? Didn't we all experience the evils of corporations during our university years after our parents passed away, which inspired our talents?"
“I am a top anti-corporate hacker, and you are the most powerful lone wolf mercenary in the individualistic new Seattle. We are not only not enemies, but we actually have the same enemy. We know better than anyone how evil corporations are.”
Admittedly, Hayden was indeed taken aback by him at that moment.
It's only been a few hours? How did this hacker manage to uncover Hayden's secrets so thoroughly?
Losing to others in information technology is a huge disadvantage, to the point that Hayden secretly lamented.
However,
"I do not understand what you mean."
Hayden still frowned as he spoke.
"What are you trying to achieve by saying all this? Inviting me to join you in causing trouble for the Mitra Group? I'm not tired of living yet. Besides, what hardships have you suffered at the hands of the company that you're trying to bring up the company's crimes with me?"
"You investigated my background, that's fine. I investigated yours too. You say your parents' passing made you realize the company's evil? You can still visit your parents online every day, and you're telling me this? Complaining about 'soul decay'?"
Soul decay is indeed a very unpleasant thing. The company's advertisements make "Blessed Pure Land" sound like it's like immortality, but after decades or even centuries of accumulation, the uploaded consciousness will eventually develop the disease, and no one knows the specific cause yet, so there is no cure.
That being said, most middle-class consumers are still willing to accept this artificial underworld technology. After all, complaining about soul decay is like complaining about Alzheimer's—it's just a bit... um?
Thinking about this, Hayden suddenly realized a strange key point: Weren't Alastor's parents' consciousness uploaded two years ago due to an engineering accident? How could they have developed psychic degeneration so quickly? This doesn't seem normal, does it?
It was at this moment that Alastor revealed a strange smile.
"Wizard, have you never considered this question?"
The student hacker asked softly, his voice still very calm.
"Both have lost their physical bodies, so why can a fully cybernetically modified human, who doesn't even have a brain, live normally for hundreds of years, while the consciousness uploaded to the [Pure Land of Blessings] suffers from soul decay?"
This is because the technology for uploading consciousness still has flaws.
Hayden wanted to say that, but something felt off.
"Let me put it this way, my wizard friend. If the Mithra Group really wanted to, they could absolutely use consciousness uploading technology to create an online utopia for everyone in the world. A truly immortal paradise."
Alastor's sorrow deepened.
"But they are unwilling. Because companies will not do anything that would harm their profits."
033: For profit
"My parents died two years ago in a field accident involving the Mitra Group."
In the wilderness of StarNet, Alastor sat on a stone bench, recounting his past to Hayden.
"Although they didn't die immediately in the accident, their injuries were too severe. They would need at least a level seven advanced regeneration arcane spell to save their lives, and their medical insurance doesn't cover such a high level of treatment. On the contrary, the company provides free consciousness uploads for lower-level employees—of course, they still have to pay the monthly fee afterwards."
"In the end, we had no choice but to upload their consciousness. However, because their brains were already damaged at the time, their memories and consciousness after the upload were quite blurry. In less than six months, my parents began to show symptoms of soul decay, and it progressed very quickly."
Hearing this, Hayden finally couldn't help but ask, "So you think they died from some kind of conspiracy?"
Alastor raised his eyebrows: "That was indeed the first thing I thought about. So, as a hacker, I poured all my energy into investigating everything related to it. In the end, I didn't find any evidence to prove that my parents were murdered, but instead discovered another secret."
Hayden's curiosity was piqued: "What secret?"
"Of course, it's the secret of the Soul Failure Syndrome."
The genius hacker's voice turned cold.
"The higher-ups at Mitra Corporation knew about the mechanism of Soul Atrophy long ago, but they didn't make it public. A small group of outsiders, through research, discovered that the integrity of the brain during consciousness uploading was related to the onset of Soul Atrophy. They were proud of their clever insights and then stopped there. They never considered that even if the first reason was true, there might be a second reason hidden underneath."
A long pause.
“There is a very expensive, high-grade magical material,” Alastor murmured, “called the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl, also known as ‘Immaculate Light’.”
Hayden frowned and continued, "I know what the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl is. It's usually a material used by the Mithra Group to establish new cyberspace or construct massive mental arcane spells."
A simple arcane spell can be cast by uttering specific words, performing precise actions, and expending some magic power. If the caster's skill is efficient enough, this method can indeed produce very powerful results, such as creating a meteor shower of burning fire that falls from the sky, or an explosive bombardment that blows up everyone and everything on the street.
However, the greatest arcane arts cannot be adequately described in words. These most powerful spells cannot be driven by ordinary magic alone; they require special and rare magical materials. The difference between these greatest arcane arts and ordinary ones is like the difference between the sun and a candle. They can flatten mountains, turn deserts into forests, or purify hundreds of kilometers of barren land.
The Wish-Fulfilling Pearl is one such rare material, said to be a precious mineral existing between energy and matter, exclusively discovered and mined by the Mitra Group. Hayden didn't know much about them, because he felt he would never need such a thing in his lifetime.
However, Alastor then told him, "The second key to the onset of Soul Atrophy lies in how many wish-fulfilling beads were used when the consciousness was uploaded."
No wonder Hayden was stunned for a moment: "The wish-fulfilling pearl is needed for consciousness uploading!?"
“It’s possible, but not necessary,” Alastor replied calmly. “Just a few milligrams of Ruyi Pearl dust are needed during the upload process to prevent the consciousness uploader from developing Soul Degeneration for two hundred years. But the Mitra Group keeps this secret hidden on their servers and has never made it public. Why do you think that is?”
Hayden rubbed his temples, realizing what was going on: "Because precious materials are more profitable to use elsewhere."
The production of the Wish-Fulfilling Pearls is too low, and for a super-corporation like the Mitra Group, there are simply too many places where they are needed. Rather than making them public and letting ordinary people with uploaded consciousnesses consume resources, it would be better to invest these materials in more profitable businesses.
What? You're asking why we don't just publicly launch a consciousness uploading service using the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl? Don't forget, consciousness uploading is something only the lower and middle classes can afford. How could they possibly afford it? The upper class, who can afford the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl, don't need consciousness uploading at all; they can simply rejuvenate and achieve immortality.
Since that's the case, it's better to simply keep this matter quiet and use the scarce resources for higher-yield purposes, which can also alleviate social conflicts—if everyone believes that Soul Failure is a natural law, something that can't be avoided like aging and dying, then naturally no one will dwell on this issue, let alone blame the company. In any case, in most cases, symptoms of Soul Failure don't appear until after sixty years.
"Do you understand what I mean, wizard? I don't hate the Mithra Group because of my parents' deaths. That's meaningless. I simply realized the truth because of my parents' deaths."
Alastor's voice carried a hint of sarcasm.
"With the Mitra Group's annual production of Ruyi Beads, even consuming only one-twentieth of them would be more than enough to free the dead from the 'soul decay' of the world. This wouldn't even be detrimental to them, since the company could actually make money if the dead could continue working online. But they're unwilling. After some calculations, the company discovered that consuming one-twentieth of the Ruyi Beads in the high-end luxury market would be more profitable."
Hayden frowned: "For example?"
“Perfume,” Alastor spat, “and intellectually stimulating pets.”
Ah this
Hayden had indeed heard that the scale and revenue of the supernatural intelligence-enhancing pet market had been extraordinary in recent years.
"So the company is evil, and the Mitra Corporation is especially evil because they could have created a utopia, but they chose to use their resources on other, more profitable areas—not that they weren't profitable, but that they were more profitable."
Can't you make money using the Ruyi Pearl for consciousness uploading? Of course you can. Not only can it benefit everyone in the world, but it can also generate revenue for the company. After all, as long as the dead who have escaped the cycle of spiritual decay are kept working, they can certainly be exploited by the company and continuously generate profits for it.
The problem is, to exploit people like this, you need to consume Wish-Fulfilling Pearls. However, Wish-Fulfilling Pearls are scarce, and wouldn't it be more profitable to use them elsewhere?
Why stop when you can earn two dollars but only one dollar?
Alastor learned this truth from the deaths of his parents: there is only one rule that companies should follow, and that is profit. When faced with a choice between two options, they will always choose the one with the greater profit.
Social morality? The well-being of ordinary people? What are those things? How many gold coins are they worth?
“The Mitra Cartel did not directly kill our parents, and in this respect our experiences are very similar.”
Alastor said, his voice heavy.
"Therefore, the reason I formed [Bosa] to fight against the Mithra Group is not for revenge, but for the people—to reclaim the pure land of cyberspace that everyone can enjoy, and the peace of the afterlife."
"To achieve this goal, I need a lot, especially warriors who still have a conscience and are strong enough, because this battle cannot be won by information technology alone."
This anti-corporate student leader finally set his sights on Hayden.
"And everyone says you are the strongest free agent in New Seattle."
Hayden already knew what he was trying to do.
“You chased me away from the ruins of that department store just a few hours ago.”
So he calmly made his comments.
"Did I really drive you away?" Alastor retorted. "That police [Rakshasa] drone was one of my trump cards that I managed to hack into, and its attack didn't even scratch you. You retreated, wasn't it just because you thought the police really came?"
That's true...
Hayden could only scratch the back of his head: "Who told you I'm the strongest free agent in New Seattle?"
Alastor shrugged: "I found it on some mercenary forums today. I heard that three months ago you took down seven top-tier urban mercenaries in one go and captured a mercenary team that attacked your house."
Ah this.
Hayden didn't dislike this kind of "good reputation," after all, street prestige was a source of business. It was just a pity that Alicia had actually killed those seven mercenaries, and Angela had captured the entire mercenary group alive, but somehow the story got twisted and became Hayden's achievement. Street rumors are always like that, not very reliable.
"Very convincing"
Therefore Hayden said,
"However, I have no interest in committing suicide with you."
In any case, his answer will be the same.
"What use are your petty hacking attacks, occasionally exposing scandals of company executives, stealing a few police drones, besides making passersby laugh?"
Therefore, Hayden scoffed at it.
"Would you like to give Mitra Group's information security business a plug while you're at it?"
These were words he had overheard from Abigail, the Dark Witch, two hours earlier, but who cares? It doesn't matter anyway.
Alastor frowned as expected: "Of course I know that current hacking methods alone cannot truly bring down the company. In fact, I do have a real plan, which is why I want to recruit warriors like you..."
"Don't be silly, do you really think recruiting some mercenaries will be of any use?"
But Hayden let out a further cold laugh.
"Let me tell you honestly, even thirty ordinary civilian mercenaries together might not be able to defeat a single combat-type Coordinator from the Mitra Group. Ten top-tier mercenaries might be able to take down one before they all die. But how many top-tier mercenaries do you think New Asia has? How many combat units does the company have?"
Besides, seven top-tier mercenaries died on the streets of New Seattle just three months ago, all killed by a non-combatant Coordinator. Mercenaries' lives are really worthless.
"Your nonsense is truly inspiring and deeply moving."
So Hayden stood up, dusted himself off,
"That's why I'm advising you to shut up. Whether you're a mercenary or a hacker, we're ultimately just professional criminals who operate without any real capital. Do you really think you have a chance of surviving if you seriously try to fight the company with force?"
He turned and left, carrying Angela, who was bi-dimensional, on his shoulder.
Alastor still frowned, staring at Hayden's back: "I've already said it, I'm not without a real way to defeat Mitra. Are you really not going to reconsider? I'm not asking you to join for nothing; I don't lack mercenary money, I only lack like-minded freedom fighters."
"I'm sorry, but I don't need the money right now, so there's no need for me to get involved in this mess."
But Hayden didn't even turn his head. He had just earned half a million from Abigail the Dark Witch two hours earlier.
"Besides, actively seeking trouble with giant corporations? That's not freedom, that's suicide."
However, though Hayden turned to leave, Alastor refused to give up. Even after Hayden had walked a distance away, he could still hear the other man shouting at him:
“Wizard! Although the mercenary circles in New Jersey say you are eccentric and cynical, I know we are the same kind of people! Even if you want to keep to yourself now, you can't run away forever!”
These ominous words lingered in Hayden's mind for a long time.
--------------------------
Leave the internet and return to the material world.
Hayden slumped into his armchair, sinking half his body in, and sighed. His listless state even surprised Angela.