[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer":3,"chapter-cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-398":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Cyberpunk: Cross-dimensional Science and Engineering",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},1151889,1495,"Chapter 398 - 370 Critical Danger (1)","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-398",398,"\u003Cp>\"You just let them go like that? I thought you’d finish them off.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blais was slightly surprised by Lille’s decision inside the car. He had expected Lille to take out those outsiders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We have no personal grudges, and I’m not prejudiced against out-of-towners to the point of wanting to go to extremes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille sat in a Delamain taxi, feeling somewhat peculiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the civilian taxi sector, Delamain had completely monopolized the Night City market, becoming the only option in this unwelcoming market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last time Lille used this service was to call a car for Man and his team to escape from the city center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The peculiarity came from the fact that Delamain was a real AI.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Welcome to Delamain services, Mr. Hamburger.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Delamain’s large head appeared on the electronic screen in front of the seat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The model was Delamain’s standard type, modified from the Villeforet Cottis executive car, with a spacious and comfortable interior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille sat in the back and greeted Delamain: \"What’s the destination?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You have booked a Night City sightseeing route. This journey will follow the pre-set route to the Night City Hall and then return to your designated location.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sightseeing?\" Lille looked at Blais, \"What do you mean? My time is very valuable.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blais’s face darkened: \"What are you thinking! Don’t you wonder why Night City has an AI-operated company?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You guys know? I thought nobody knew.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Haha, are you underestimating network surveillance? We know this company is entirely AI-controlled.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So why is that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille listened attentively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was indeed something he was curious about.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because in the original work, Delamain had shown signs of developing self-awareness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such an AI was termed as a \"dangerous threshold entity\" in network surveillance terminology, different from the first type of AI Lille had already encountered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Theoretically speaking, Delamain’s local network used to provide services should also have a Black Wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When it developed self-awareness, the Black Wall should have eradicated it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In your confrontation with Arasaka, you have encountered the first type of AI, the Soul Killer—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More precisely, it’s a personality imprint copied using the Soul Killer. These data differ slightly from us humans and essentially are a bunch of data, a bunch of programs simulating human emotions, memories, and experiences.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the first type of AI. We call it a Digital Soul.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arasaka had already developed advanced services based on the Soul Killer, \"Protect Your Soul.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This service was very expensive. For clients’ dying relatives, using the Soul Killer would produce an almost identical \"soul imprint,\" stored on special Arasaka servers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When clients missed their deceased relatives, these imprints could be retrieved from the servers to express their feelings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no matter how Arasaka marketed this technology, from a technical perspective, these Digital Souls were AI.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The regulation of these AIs by the Black Wall was in a very delicate zone. According to current information, the Black Wall couldn’t control the operation of the Soul Killer and might overlook some Digital Souls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The second type is even more special.\" Blais pointed to the smiling old Delamain on the screen. \"If one day this AI develops self-awareness, we would call it a dangerous threshold entity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rogue AIs we usually talk about are of this type. Such AIs are now rare, but during the old net era, they were numerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s why we put up long-term bounties, letting bounty hunters deal with these things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These AIs are highly dangerous.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vehicle happened to drive onto a bridge leading to Haywood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From here, one could see the high-speed light rail train passing through the air, connecting the H7 Skyscraper in Saint Domingo to the medical center in the Watson Northern District, traversing North and South Night City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you see Line 1? It transports over five million passengers daily. If a system failure occurred, the economic losses would be incalculable—at the very least, Ye Group could not accept it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, if the high-speed train system malfunctioned, it could cost the lives of an entire train car of people, accidents which were not uncommon during the old net period.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to Ye Group’s advanced controllable AI technology, Night City’s public transportation system had no drivers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The city’s public facilities belonged to Ye Group’s public network domain. If an AI acted out of curiosity or some other reason, high-speed trains could come to a halt, speed excessively, or even derail and crash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such errors were almost inevitable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The birth of a dangerous threshold entity is more akin to natural formation, and generally speaking, even the lowest level of these entities has network skills exceeding 95% of hackers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If we talk about the average level... their network skills surpass 99.9% of hackers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pointed to Delamain: \"This is one of the worst in terms of network technology among AIs, but it still isn’t a true dangerous threshold entity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Delamain responded immediately:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t know what you are talking about. Delamain does not engage in network security business. The Delamain Group is dedicated to providing high-quality taxi services for Night City...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ignoring old Delamain’s explanation, Blais continued: \"He’s not wrong, but it still used various means to optimize the humans in the company.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this process, the company executives did not just sit idly by, but the hackers they hired couldn’t compete with it in cyberspace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could only watch as all company production materials slipped out of their control, and eventually, they lost legal ownership as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These things operated online, making fake intelligence that even network surveillance found difficult to identify directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was obvious that an AI had manipulated things when Europe sent people over.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Delamain explained again:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The internal optimization process of the Delamain Company was entirely legal and compliant. To reduce costs, the company underwent extended reforms...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blais said irritably: \"Can you shut up? This is a private conversation now!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Understood, Delamain will provide you with a peaceful and comfortable conversation experience.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soft music started playing, very subtle, almost unnoticeable, and the car’s speed slowed slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Delamain’s human image disappeared from the screen, and the atmosphere inside the car became more professional.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille felt somewhat peculiar—so network surveillance not only knew about Delamain Company but had also been focused on it for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After \"solving\" the big issue of Delamain, Blais continued:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Such an AI is born purely by coincidence, but most of the time, they originate from software or programs designed by humans to handle tasks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Delamain is just such an AI. The company initially wanted to create a management AI to improve its competitiveness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, users profited again and again from Delamain’s suggestions, leading to the AI being given higher permissions, eventually making the AI believe that the company shouldn’t have humans, as that would reduce costs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So it fired all the workers and management, even using a series of corporate battles to drive away the shareholders and directors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When it received enough external stimuli... it had a chance to develop true autonomous intelligence and awareness; at that point, it would become a dangerous threshold entity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This timing is entirely unpredictable, and currently, humans cannot understand this transformative process.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Like the first cell in ancient oceans?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\" Blais nodded affirmatively at Lille’s metaphor. \"Pure natural formation; these are the AIs we have to deal with.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then why allow Delamain to run a company?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The question was posed while the car still ran smoothly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This question was essentially asking: Why not eliminate Delamain, but old Delamain had no reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One could say he was very professional, shutting up when told to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blais rubbed his temples and said to Delamain: \"No recording of the following conversation is allowed, citing personal privacy clauses 3, 17, and 22.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Understood, the taxi’s recording function is now disabled, and I will check for any potential monitoring devices.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If...\" Blais looked at Lille, \"If a biologist had the chance to observe the birth of the first life form, do you think he would continue to observe it, or would he smash the petri dish because it might become a terrifying organism or some sort of virus?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille nodded slightly: \"If it were me, I would observe the process of life’s birth to understand those terrifying organisms and viruses.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s exactly right.\" Blais smiled slightly. \"You see, you’ve understood—precisely because we don’t understand, we want to observe this process.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1388,"2026-06-03T12:33:12.909Z","2026-06-03T12:33:19.803Z",1,"novelbin.me","1c5df41d50e8b4b1ab6b2f6310e2d4e562af6f70770f42fd8fffb65ea8ec66aa","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-399","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-397",1068,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-cover.jpg"]