[{"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-544":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},1152385,1495,"Chapter 544 - 515: Criminal","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-544",544,"\u003Cp>Lille’s brain got cooked because his blue eyes were only attacked by surprise; he wasn’t crippled, and strictly speaking, the attack only hit a small part of the server area.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for why such a badass effect could be achieved, that was thanks to Munemasa, the AI technology expert responsible for the effect. If it had been Little Octopus instead, she would only have created a small bulge on the data barrier and caused a minor server explosion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan was dumbfounded; he truly was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just now, he had witnessed something called Burger King launch a... launch a suicidal network attack on the city level!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He... he...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan didn’t know what to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to say that you’re really a desperate terrorist, a madman, brain-dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But... respect for the dead, it seemed pointless to curse now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, he immediately saw Lille lift his head—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah... ahem...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The newly recovered muscles tensed up and he started retching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille shook his head; no matter how many times he went through it, even if the \"Evolution Heart\" talent allowed him to ignore the discomfort and pain to keep his thoughts clear...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the feeling of half his brain and nerves burning up and then regenerating was still something he couldn’t get used to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s done.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s done?\" Ryan wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and said frantically, \"What the hell did you do!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I attacked Ye Group, breached their firewall, and by the way, burned part of the power grid inside Ye Group, oh, and two substations in the Watson District...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having said that, Lille took a breath, waiting for the Lizard Serum to restore the last bit of his brain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan was even more dumbfounded after hearing this: They attacked Ye Group?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 2076, mega-corporations, especially multinational corporations, could essentially be regarded as the governmental entity of a medium-sized country from the old days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it’s a special multinational corporation like military technology, you could directly consider it as a large country’s governmental entity from the old days without much error, after all, New America could be said to have been built on military technology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Ye Group, as the founding corporation of Night City, might not match multinational giants in total volume, but relying on Night City, it was quite wealthy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Night City itself, it could be regarded as an entity equivalent to a medium-sized country!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And most importantly, Ye Group controlled every aspect of Night City, especially the infrastructure!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a downright terrorist attack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan completely freaked out, \"Why would you do this! You just needed to release me, and then... then NCPD, Terrorist Mobile Team, would have...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shut up!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille rebuked, and Ryan shut up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having finished, Lille turned to Jack and said, \"Go up and check the situation, have Munemasa do a thorough scan on the Floating Car.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two nodded and left, while Lille looked at Ryan: \"I had to do it. Didn’t you hear what he just said? He was about to burn you to death when I tapped into your brain.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Lille pointed at Perares on the ground, this young politician who had taken off his sunglasses and the signal booster attached to them, was staring blankly with his eyes lost, leaning against the wall and trembling slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was only then that Ryan noticed Jefferson’s abnormal behavior, and... yeah, he was still alive!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only alive but his prosthetics were functioning normally!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was thanks to Lille’s direct confrontation with the blue eyes—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three AIs launched a sneak attack on the headquarters of Ye Group, thereby diverting a lot of computing power from the blue eyes, and given the devices used by the blue eyes, Lille had the opportunity to forcibly sever the network connection between the blue eyes and Perares.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The price he paid was to endure the AI’s attack directly with a human brain...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To his surprise, the AI attack from blue eyes wasn’t outrageous—it just wasn’t insurmountable for Lille, and as the cost of burning more than 50% of his brain, Lille achieved his goal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille was brief with time pressing, \"The inside of Ye Group has been taken over by an AI, Perares had many ideas planted into his head, and, just now, it was that AI speaking.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan looked towards Perares, who seemed to wake from a dream, his eyes filled with bitterness, shock, and confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at Lille like a drowning man grasping at the last straw:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I... I felt like I was in a dream, I was awake, I heard what you said, I even felt like I was controlling my body, those words were mine... it was me, It was me who wanted to get rid of Ryan, it was me who snuck into his office...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If only I got rid of him, I could become mayor, shape the city, create... Dream City.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan was completely stunned; there were too many surprises tonight!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who still remembers, this whole farce just originated from Burger King wanting to be the underground boss, helping the network monitor catch AIs...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The span is too wide!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perares curled up in the corner holding his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In public, he was a confident politician; he could gun down a mercenary who tried to assassinate him and, like a tough guy in front of the camera, express his ideals, influencing those voters...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now he found out that all he was might have been manufactured, just like earlier, he felt like he was controlled, and yet he felt...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That he was supposed to do it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, his brain didn’t issue the unbearable pain, only the collapse of his shattered world view remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If I can’t even control my thoughts, if... my memories, tastes, views, and beliefs all come from a program, from others...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My pursued ideals are a lie, a phantom forced into my head by someone else...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perares’ face became more and more distorted, and finally, he uttered the statement he least wanted to admit, and the headache was almost enough to make him faint again:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I... I am a man living in a phantom, you’re right, you’re more suitable to be the mayor than me, at the very least... you’re real!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You are... you can believe in your ideals! Mine, everything about me is fake...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I can’t distinguish which are lies and which are true...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille used the Octopus Arm to lift Perares, pressing him against the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now is not the time for your total breakdown act—do you want to look at me? I am also human. You may be a fake, but I am real, and I, a real person, have defeated the evil AI controlling you, preventing you from taking an action against your will...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any objections?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perares widened his eyes and shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good, then trust me like a soldier trusts a general; like a child trusts their parents; like... a believer trusts the heavenly Father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your world starts anew today, pulled back into reality by me. Cherish the truth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille stepped forward, there was only a fist’s distance between him and Perares, two different eyes staring at him—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Always so effortlessly strong, always so calm, always...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeming to always have a path to follow, just like the version of himself Perares had imagined, the self he once was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the difference was, this was real, and Perares felt it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perares calmed down a bit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Very good.\" Lille patted his shoulder, and the Octopus Arm administered a stimulant, \"You have a good head on your shoulders, young man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The past is the past. You lived in an illusion before, but now, as long as I’m alive, you live in reality.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille straightened his collar, Perares stood empty-headed like a child, not thinking about anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he also felt stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan was utterly confused: What about me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You’re taking care of Perares, what about me... Do I go?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You.\" Lille looked at Ryan, \"I must say you’ve got some skill, but that’s no excuse to turn Night City into a cesspool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You like freedom, well now I’ve won, and I’m going to enjoy my freedom...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan got the message instantly as the Octopus Arm just began to rise:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ll listen! I’ll listen! We’re all from Night City, I...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good.\" The Octopus Arm brought the two together, and Lille grabbed their hands, making them shake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One, a former idealist who lived in falsehood, and the other, a realist but a bastard libertarian, today, here...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under my watch, make peace. Perares for deputy mayor.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perares was still bewildered, but Ryan had already completely understood, yet...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re thinking beautifully, but let me be blunt, the reality is, after such a night, it’s impossible for me to protect you any longer!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corporations against corporations, Night City politics can only laugh it off and attempt to coordinate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In reality, Night City politics are nothing, purely dependent on corporate maneuvering, with Ye Group actually contributing a lot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now with the Ye Group in complete paralysis, why should he protect Lille, why should he protect these three fanatics of Burger King?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he does protect them, he’ll be labeled a terrorist as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille shook his head: \"I don’t need your protection.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But I’ve heard that your life...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I do need some technology to extend my life, but consider Night City’s five gangs, plus the NCPD power you hold, that’s control over nearly all areas of Night City. Add that to tonight’s displayed tech, Adkaduo’s logistics on the US-Mexico border...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Do you want to take a guess at how much all that’s worth? Do you think I still need an official status, to show up in Dog Town?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille shook his head: \"I don’t need anything from you. What I want is for you and him to sit quietly in the mayor and deputy mayor’s seats, according to my wishes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Work well, I have high hopes for you, and your new assistant. Forget about Hot.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan swallowed hard, feeling it was still a bit... unbelievable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Faced with the choice of becoming Night City’s underground Emperor, a proper man; or a complete criminal, facing the seemingly unbeatable Terrorist Mobile Team’s siege, they chose...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They choose to be the endlessly pursued criminals?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To attack Ye Group, bearing all the blame, just to save Perares who was being controlled, to save themselves, marked for death by the corporations...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Ryan found it... shocking that there could still be such good people in the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the question returns to now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that’s the case, publicly distancing Lille from themselves makes it hard for corporations to understand what happened, and the NCPD has no reason not to listen to Ryan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterward, it turns into the Burger King terrorist group failing to assassinate the mayor but causing Ye Group to fall into paralysis, then...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan can go back to being the mayor, kick out Hot, let Perares become deputy mayor, constrain Ryan’s extreme libertarianism; Ryan can also continue to shine, dangling the corporations and keeping Night City the Free City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People need freedom, and they also need guaranteed dignity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the best outcome Lille could think of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But how do you plan to escape? The whole place is surrounded by the Terrorist Mobile Team! You’ll be killed! You’ll be wanted to the ends of the earth!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille turned and left the room, heading upstairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then let them chase.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1903,"2026-06-03T12:33:29.771Z","2026-06-03T12:33:38.261Z",1,"novelbin.me","3b252abe239cdb27261c2dec297f0975c6d3078d11f99a8c05a19a096763bac6","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-545","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-543",1068,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-cover.jpg"]