Circuit boards and chips were unlikely to be soldered on site, but transmitters were readily available.
These transmitters were spread throughout the Watson District; during the battle, they were completely controlled by the Vortex Gang using hardware, betraying Munemasa and blocking its possibility of escape.
The miniature transmitters were the most crucial part of Lilleâs envisioned system.
Traditional chips used transistors and logic gates to perform calculations, constrained by the physical processes and manufacturing of the chips.
But in this system, each transmitter acted as a virtual processing unit, modulating and demodulating electromagnetic signals.
The frequency, phase, and amplitude of the signals filled every corner of three-dimensional space with information, unrestrained by physical wiring. Multiband and signal stacking technology made data transmission far more efficient than traditional line systems.
[Munemasa: If I remember correctly, before you hacked into these devices, there were a total of 489 miniature transmitters. I need all of them.]
[Lille: There are only 324 left now.]
[Munemasa: Bring them all.]
[Lille: Theyâre already on the way.]
In the Watson District, people thought the race had ended, the riots were over, and the frantic yet restrained car racing had finally concluded.
The Vortex Gang and the Tiger Claw Gang, who were about to head back to their dens to divide the spoils, reappeared on the streets all at once.
On the quiet streets, the modified gang members from both factions surged out of the corners like cockroaches out of the nest.
This time it was pure racing.
[Munemasa: Good, second issue, these transmitters have a high demand for power.]
[Lille: The technology content isnât high; the stuff is on its way soon.]
In Saint Domingo, the Six Street Gangâs convoy rolled out from Old Captainâs hideout, equipped with a series engine adapted for the Legend Mackinaw.
The power issue was also easily solved; Da Maiâs installed vulture turbine engine assembly had 5800 horsepower. The original engine could divert 900 horsepower for power generation; now, it only needed to add another engine.
A total of 1800 horsepower would be converted into about 1400 kilowatts of electricity to power these additional transmitters.
[Munemasa: Your electromagnetic locking system is very useful. We can apply this set of armor and the system to the system boundary, isolating interference from the outside world and improving reliability.]
[Lille: Itâs a reasonable design.]
The power of the transmitters could not match the strength of drawing electricity from Night City. The signal would weaken, naturally necessitating certain anti-interference measures.
The electromagnetic locking system was based on Chroni Titanium Armor Plate; Adkaduoâs underground furnace hadnât extinguished yet.
The armor underwent slight modifications to be used for the outer shell.
[Munemasa: Made now? Is this your technology? I thought it was the companyâs...]
[Lille: Continue.]
[Munemasa: The last step is software installation, but you should be able to do it yourself.]
[Data transmitting...]
[Transmission complete.]
In the empty roads of Night City, if no battle occurred, a seasoned driver could race from east to west in just one hour.
The rumble of the engines once again rose on the streets, but this time it wasnât as explosive.
It tended more toward uniformity.
The neon lights dimly lit, billboards flickered, and post-war Watson District plunged into a massive power paralysis. Yet it was this area, immersed in darkness, that became the gathering point for gangs throughout the city.
Motorbikes, vans, trucks, sports cars... fleets marked with various graffiti approached from different directions, converging towards the future.
One by one, palm-sized miniature transmitters were delivered to the future, antennas trimmed, coils checked, installed, soldered...
Round after round of rapid processing received nods from Jack and Vâ
No matter how many times they saw it, Lilleâs state of handcrafting equipment always felt... comforting.
And this time, the assembly was even crazier.
Previously, Lille set the assembly program first and let Little Octopus assist with the installation. In reality, he was still directing, though it looked multi-threaded. Any place requiring spot corrections would still pause, waiting for Lille to handle it.
But this time was different.
The backup generators of the future roared to life, and the hotelâs secure servers were burning out black smoke.
Little Octopus didnât understand assembly, but Munemasa knew it too well. The collaboration between the two AIs was dazzling!
Laser cutting, welding, screwing, assembling... the number of hands limited the speed of assembly!
Once the engine was installed, the Legend Mackinawâs engine began turning again; immense electricity flowed into the transmitters, and complex, dense electromagnetic waves filled the small space. The phase, frequency, and amplitude of the electromagnetic waves constituted Da Maiâs internal data stream.
In cyberspace, Da Maiâs data body suddenly crashed into the disordered red noise, expanding its small volume by several times in an instant!
The original Da Mai was only four meters tall in cyberspace, but now it had grown to over 20 meters, and its informational density was more than ten times the original!
If one only considered informational density, the potential of this system was even higher than that of AI using a human brain as a wetware server!
Electromagnetic waves resonated in the space, and Chroni Titanium Armor was subsequently installed. Da Maiâs data body surface also developed an armor structure appearance, and with the installation of the last piece of armor, the noise on Da Maiâs data body surface also started to consolidate!
Back to realityâ
Outside the core of Da Maiâs infinite electromagnetic core, transmitters formed a wireless control network for transmitting induced currents, and the new electrical control system needed no cables at all!
Induced electricity was transmitted to various parts of the body control system, Chroni Titanium Armor Plates minutely rotated, and the four wheels kept twisting at different rates. Bio-static electricity reappeared on the surface of the tires, providing powerful, unrestricted tractionâ
Initial correction completed.
"Beep beep beep!!!"
The sound was as loud as ever.
This time, there was no motorcycle, no heavy weapons like the Hammer-30, no massive integrated circuit boards, and no Blast Ride motorcycles. The car now weighed just over six tons.
Forty minutes had just passed.
Compared to its initial state, the Legend Mackinaw now had better coverage, with smaller gaps between the body armor.
[Munemasa: Itâs more perfect now.]
[Munemasa: The body can almost be enclosed within the electromagnetic locking system, and theoretically, at the gaps, you can reverse-generate electromagnetic waves, neutralizing the remaining EMP effects through the principle of interference.]
He was speaking to Da Mai.
But this operation was only theoretical, minimizing the EMP impact was the best outcome.
[Munemasa: Now, we should name this system.]
[Lille: It didnât have one before?]
[Munemasa: I called this feature âFinal Protocolâ to help me bypass local networks of Night City and the Black Wall to get here.]
[Lille: I see, that wasnât the original purpose of the device.]
Information was AI consciousness, and now Da Maiâs consciousness could transcend hardware and wiring, much like a human soul leaving the body.
Thinking this, Lille immediately had an inspiration.
Consciousness transmitted through the void, functionality through a grid-like design, covered with electromagnetic waves, controlled by induced current.
[Lille: I want to call this system: Ether Grid.]
[Development Completed: Ether Grid System]
[Description: A high-strength, high-sensitivity, high-density information transfer network, forming a dense stream of information in a small space that only AI can decode and adapt to.]
[AIâs natural destiny, the ultimate form of wireless networking, a revolutionary information technology that transcends hardware limitations.]
[Main developer: Munemasa (AI)]
[Reward Technology Points: 4000]
[Current Technology Points: 21500]
[Consciousness switching, Points to be deducted: 200]
[Munemasa: Appropriate name, but if I may be blunt, those proficient in networking would deduce at first glance that we are high-intelligence AIs.]
[Munemasa: If I were you, I wouldnât flaunt it on the streets.]
However, Lille not only planned to flaunt it on the streets, given Ryanâs current situation, he might even have to directly confront a heavily guarded corporate area...
Sometimes, the pursuit of truth and perfection could come at an unbearable cost.
[Lille: Are you sure you want to follow me?]
[Munemasa: I just need to preserve the main model, I can disconnect from external databases at any time.]
It must be said, Munemasa was a peculiar AI.
Having settled this, Lille walked back into his previous life as Jack and V sat in chairs, ready to leaveâ
At the side, having watched the entire process, Rogel didnât know what to say anymore.
Too many thoughts echoed in her mind.
"...youâre planning to..."
"Make the front page of tomorrowâs news, the legitimate front page," Lille didnât explain much, "Youâre better off knowing just thatâanyway, a company is going to suffer."
"Why?"
"If thereâs still a chance, Iâll get someone to summarize the ins and outs for you, but for now, I can only tell you, Ryan the old fatso canât die just yet, at least not in such a manner."
"You think Ryan is better than Perares? After turning Night City into the most colorful cesspit in the world?" Rogel sharply guessed that this might be a political struggle.
It made sense: Becoming the most badass underground Emperor of Night City, one would inevitably brush against politics.
"Itâs complicated," Lille pondered before speaking, "Night City is already the worldâs most colorful cesspit, but if he dies unclearly today, Night City would turn into chocolate-flavored crap.
Letâs go."
Jack finished his last hamburger, and V finished a high-energy biscuit.
"Wait a minute!" The bartender, Claire, hurriedly called out to Lille, who was about to leave, "Although I donât understand what youâre saying... can you leave a recipe?"
Lille didnât know cocktails, but he indeed thought of a very unique recipe.
So far, however, it wasnât clear how he and this recipe were related.
So Lille said:
"...the ingredients I want probably arenât available here, and they might not be easy to procure.
Add sugar to carbonated drinks, then mix in 10”Ci of tritium and 1”Ci of strontium-90, tasty and thrilling, glowing and warm, but donât drink too much, itâs bad for the health."
Claire was utterly baffled, while Rogel seemed to understand a bit...
Is this something to drink? This is nuclear wastewater!
Seeing their reactions, Vâs eyes twinkled as she thought of a new recipe for herself.