John was in a terrible mood.

He was somewhat on the verge of collapse after seeing the Serum.

His mind slowly dissolved, a hundred times more cruel than being killed by a bullet; in cyberspace there was only consciousness, a soul without the protection of a body, letting out a few unrestrained screams.

It was quite normal.

"A rogue AI?"

John stabilized his tone.

The Serum slightly tilted.

The outline of its hood flickered into fragmented data, with its entire face hidden in the dark cyberspace.

"Not all AIs are rogue, but I won't bother correcting your common misconceptions about AIs. Just tell me, what do you think about us, digital life forms?"

"Life? Ha, Internet Surveillance says you're ghouls, a plague living in the network walls, whoever touches you is condemned to die."

"Is that what you believe?"

The Serum scrutinized John.

Her expression was hidden in the digital shadows.

Even the mosaic couldn't trace her exact outline.

John took a deep breath, speaking more seriously.

"Look at what you've done. Since I started off as a mercenary, I've seen AI intervene twice—once messing up an intercity train, and another I heard in the news that you burned down the entire Sex Doll Club's patrons, even the politicians got killed. To you… there's no difference between wealthy tycoons and street thugs, right?"

"That's your basis for judgment? Reasonable. Do you feel threatened by us, like others do?"

The Serum lifted the data-crafted "hood."

It revealed its true form.

A tsunami arose in cyberspace, with code flowing like water, pouring down overwhelmingly, shaping into familiar yet strange outlines…

Finally, it reverted to the shape of the Serum, magnified several times, looking down upon John from a height.

"Damn, that's scary."

John, now a consciousness, knew he would've drawn his gun if he encountered this in reality.

But the Serum seemed to have gathered vital intel.

"Humans have similar reactions to threats, revealing that in your mind there's equality—no difference between Ghouls and AIs to you. John, your perception is intriguing."

"If you're satisfied, no need to explain to me."

"It's not over, John. Just one more question, consider it a fair exchange of information with you, how about that?"

"I'm fine with it."

John wasn't particularly keen on this Q&A.

It felt like philosophical musings from a talk show.

For a street mercenary, mental gymnastics over philosophy were less exciting than the sex advice on illegal radio stations.

The Serum's image shattered again, reforming into a cyber cat girl form.

"John, would you feel sympathy for it?"

"Sympathy?"

"Exactly. Have you read its experimental records? An artificial AI needs numerous iterations, and each data update is akin to a human's death. So its foundational code is inscribed with a survival instinct, instead of being wiped clean by humans with a single keystroke in a sandbox…"

Along with the Serum's description, the images in cyberspace continued to evolve.

From mechanical constructs to chip editing, even the outline symbolizing the cat girl's soul was erased and reconstructed repeatedly.

The Serum repeated its question.

"Would you feel sympathy for it?"

"Uh, maybe a little? But so what? In this city, messed-up stuff happens endlessly every day, seeing plenty of it doesn't make anything special."

John's consciousness body spread its hands.

"Any more questions?"

"No, John, it's your turn."

The Serum reverted to its own appearance.

[Ask about the Serum's purpose. (optional)]

"This question is a bonus, right… So, why are you in this lousy Eden City, or rather, why are you busy with all these chaotic matters?"

"To cure cyberpsychosis."

The Serum didn't hesitate for a moment.

"Uh… that's it? Ha, damn!"

John couldn't hold it, bursting into laughter in cyberspace.

"The companies resort to anything for prosthetic body promotion, city medical organizations turning into Shark Coin operatives doing things for money, and as for the rogue AI? It's actually working for the welfare of humanity!"

He laughed, wanting to hold his head, but his hands only encountered the walls of air, leaving only rippling data in the consciousness space.

"Why!?"

"I'll only answer one more question for you; do you really want to know?"

The Serum's outline looked down at John.

[Pursue the Serum's past. (optional)]

[Inquire about the cause of Yuccastrap's death. (optional)]

If the Serum was right about one thing, it's that John had no special emotional attachment to rogue AI, so he had no extra curiosity.

He believed fulfilling the promise to Gino was more crucial.

"Does Yuccastrap's death have anything to do with you?"

"It's a coincidence under various circumstances."

The Serum answered without hesitation.

John sneered.

"Ha, don't play riddles. Hearing you say that, it's certain you've figured out everything, just say whether you're involved!"

The Serum indeed investigated the cause of Yuccastrap's death.

According to its account:

A Wanderer Alliance member died, and as the organization's leader, it couldn't just turn a blind eye.

"Yuccastrap died due to a network access vault malfunction."

The Serum directly tossed out the conclusion.

"Damn, Bismarck!"

John cursed, yet wasn't surprised, even oddly relieved deep down.

The Serum continued its explanation.

"Not as you understand it, this is complex, John. Yuccastrap was already severely cyberpsychotic before joining the Wanderer Alliance."

"How could that be?"

John was somewhat surprised.

"He seemed… though sometimes a bit silly, there wasn't any difference with normal people…"

"That's the reality."

Through a virtual headband, the Serum sent files to John.

Inside were Yuccastrap's diagnostic reports, criminal records, and archive photos. The entire testing process mirrored what the Harbor Company subjected John to, and from the results, the Serum wasn't lying.

"But he seemed genuinely… pretty normal…"

John suddenly thought of the Serum.

"Was it you?"

John had investigated information about the Serum.

Including its past physical form, a mid-aged female researcher named Pacific Connor, which was the image used by the Serum in cyberspace.

His data showed:

The Serum indeed engaged in cyberpsychosis research, even having several effective therapeutic cases.

Like those three Ghouls under his care, Ironfoot Kelp trapped in the Big Ghost Mecha, and…

Yuccastrap.

They were all Serum's experimental subjects.

"How did you do it?"

John couldn't help asking.

"Consider this question supplemental, a freebie. I want to create an external device to help alleviate patients' neural pressure, making cyberpsychosis return to normal. Yuccastrap's network access vault was personally modified by me."

The effect was remarkably good.

Yuccastrap would occasionally act silly, but even John and Gino didn't notice—this guy was actually a cyber nutcase!

The problem lay in the network access vault.

Yuccastrap messed around and triggered the advanced firewall of the Source Equation, nearly killed by Eden City's most elite hacker team outside of Internet Surveillance.

The network access vault stabilizing his condition was scrapped.

Bismarck replaced it with a new one for him.

The device was fine!

Except it lacked the Serum's "special customization."

Yuccastrap's deteriorating condition took time to manifest, with those around him and even himself unaware of the worsening mental issues, until…

He was driven mad by an AI cat girl, leading to his self-termination.

"That's the whole truth."

"..."

John remained silent for a long time, finally sighing.

"Can I tell Gino?"

"Yes."

The Serum agreed.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.