Chapter 838 - 117: Save Yourself, Harm Everyone Else?

After reading all the materials, Elliot became even more silent, not knowing what to say.

"...I usually call such things traitors." Elliot paused after saying that, "But... is he right? I mean, it feels absurd that the entire British-French Channel depends on us..."

[Lille: Actually, it’s not a big problem. The land in Foxstone isn’t suitable for large-scale factory construction, the costs are high, and there’s a risk of being affected by the continuously rising sea levels.]

[Lille: That’s why the three factories here do indeed bear the responsibility of maintaining the normal operation of the British-French Channel.]

[Lille: Once the calculated production capacity is not reached before a typhoon hits, leading to a lack of maintenance under natural disasters, it could indeed result in severe consequences.]

Unlike most of the situations Lille was familiar with, here, the UK was not a major founding country of the European Union, mainly because it encountered two significant political upheavals, missing the maturity and reinforcement period of the European Barrier.

However, through successful transformation with network supervision and old Britain’s influence in the global financial and military industries, it eventually managed to integrate into the European Union...

Just not so centrally.

As the starting point of the British-French Channel on the British side, Foxstone indeed undertakes the vital role of connecting the UK with the European Union, and to a great extent, the UK is very dependent on this channel.

In this world, nearly two hundred years have passed, sea levels have risen, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and storms have become more frequent, and the UK’s territorial area has shrunk significantly.

Furthermore, prolonged political changes and military unrest have greatly hindered development, coupled with the drastic population decrease due to plagues, the core territory of Britain has been shrinking. As soon as the situation stabilized and it entered a period of development, it was hit by the great internet collapse...

Looking at Foxstone, you can imagine the current overall state of the UK:

An industrial city responsible for border logistics and network smoothness, with nothing but factories and worker apartments. The so-called CBD area is non-existent, only integrated skyscrapers accommodate European Union and company offices.

This is a city that would never be seen in Night City logic: a pure functional city, contributing its efforts to other cities, but not profitable itself, lacking high-value commercial activities.

But even such a functional city is pathetically small, it’s more a town than a city.

Apart from a truly large city like London, all other regions basically provide lifeblood for London...

But on the other hand, without London, without the network supervision and other "high-tech" enterprises inside it, the European Union wouldn’t even consider the UK, the UK couldn’t even maintain its consumption and necessities without running around.

The UK’s value depends on London, and London’s stable operation depends on the connection with the European Union. If something goes wrong in Foxstone...

All of the UK would experience a shortage of materials, the rich certainly wouldn’t, but the poor might starve in droves.

As someone who loves to comment on the internet, doesn’t Elliot understand?

You can’t say he doesn’t understand, it’s just that the human brain has a hard time thinking in parallel, often focusing only on one aspect under the influence of emotions. When work is hard and there’s no money, it’s natural to rant about the company.

But for someone like Elliot who loves to comment on the internet... he’s familiar with excuses to vent, among them is this: look at the bigger picture, consider the general situation.

If it’s about the bigger picture... Foxstone’s factory indeed cannot have problems, even if a bunch of factory people end up dead or wounded, as long as the equipment is fine, it can quickly be restored.

To save his own neck and the people in the factory, Elliot stopping the production line would cause serious damage to the machines...

In fact, according to the information sent back from Lille, it would be more damaging than the losses caused by that cyber-psycho.

[Johnny: Hmph... if I’m miserable, no one else should have it good either, dying in the factory would truly be coerced.]

[Johnny: Stop brainwashing this kid, his mind isn’t working right.]

Elliot was pulled back to reality by Johnny’s voice: "But... if there’s another famine..."

[Johnny: So what if there’s a famine, at least I can live a few more months.]

Johnny’s figure appeared in the room, quickly scanning the things beside him.

[Johnny: But living a few more months without alcohol and cigarettes, that’s too miserable, I want to smoke—why don’t you smoke? How can there be someone who doesn’t smoke?]

"Smoking is bad for you, workers smoking will accelerate the consumption of lung filters, causing an additional 14%~98% wear depending on the intensity, meaning in numbers, an additional maintenance cost of five thousand to twenty thousand a year.

Compared to carrying more loans and doing heavier work, I’d rather honestly drink soda... besides, smoking also shortens life!"

[Johnny: Bullshit... why aren’t you talking?]

[Lille: He really doesn’t need to smoke, there’s nothing he needs to numb himself from.]

Elliot paused hearing this, not just because of Lille’s words, but because Johnny’s shadow began to flicker.

The lights around him started dimming as Johnny disappeared, applications on the computer screen closed, flickering with black and white patterns, Elliot’s still-unrepaired prosthetics slightly heated up, and the brain-computer interface made him feel the entire room warming up...

Szz...

The prosthetic eye suddenly lost all signal, this less-than-a-second darkness was neither too long nor too short: long enough to clearly sense the darkness, short enough that Elliot couldn’t even scream.

[Lille: It’s done.]

When the darkness dispersed, the long-haired man with a silver arm disappeared, replaced by a cloaked metal figure.

Lille appeared in Elliot’s visual system.

Johnny is a pure digital soul, the Black Wall doesn’t react to him, but Lille and Munemasa aren’t...

But now Lille can be a special AI capable of avoiding the Black Wall—

Or rather, he has always been a unique special AI.

Lille just appeared in Elliot’s head, the latter even felt like his brain was out of his control... like there was something weighing down his mind, not knowing if it was psychological or if his brain indeed had some issues.

"Uh... hey... big brother, I’ve been laid off now, with over 4000 left in my pocket. Considering my previous expenses, it’ll probably run out next month."

Lille gave him a glance: "The apartment has been taken over by me, you don’t need to pay for daily expenses..."

Lille quietly grumbled: Who would’ve thought I’d end up helping people cook books to forgo rent and utilities like these daily expenses...

"Really?"

Lille didn’t speak, just looked down at Elliot without expression, who suddenly sprawled on the sofa:

"Big bro! Teach me cyber technology! I want to..."

"I think what you need to learn now isn’t cyber technology." Lille interrupted him, "Your brain, your thoughts are what need to be armed first.

Munemasa taught you for so long, according to his feedback, you started to get distracted halfway through."

[Munemasa: Mainly some fantasies, fantasizing about mating as humans and getting bullied after having money and power, then bullying others.]

Hearing this, Elliot jumped up, his face flushing with anger: "You... how can you even peek at what I’m thinking!"

[Munemasa: You have a bunch of these plots stored in your memory, a slight comparison of your physiological state when you look at these things makes it clear.]

Lille looked at Elliot’s submissive demeanor, helplessly shaking his head.

If entering the cyberpunk world for the first time, encountering V is like drawing an SSR; helplessly entering this kid’s head, it’s like...

Drawing an R? Of course not, it’s like just starting a game and the game company goes bankrupt.

Lille waved his hand: "Let’s go out and take a stroll."

"Okay."

Lille dissipated into the air, while Elliot, filled with curiosity and expectation for the future, heard this phrase:

[Lille: What do you think about the person who laid you off?]