Chapter 612 - 583: High-End Venues, Upper-Class Manners

Just 30 seconds ago, V had told the technicians that they weren’t robbers, but 30 seconds later, a pricey remote prosthetic was dismantled into pieces by Lille.

Such advanced prosthetics were indeed sophisticated. As a remote-controlled prosthesis, it lacked the conventional design for biological compatibility found in typical prosthetics. Its optical, acoustic, and pressure sensors were set to the highest standards, transmitting intensely realistic sensations modulated by a cyber modulator into signals acceptable to the customer.

The more sensitive the prosthesis, the higher the specifications for its information-processing processor, and thus the more complex the reverse engineering. Deciphering these minuscule structures required high-precision technology and equipment. Additionally, in terms of design, chip manufacturers would implement reverse engineering protections, such as obfuscating circuits and hardware encryption.

However, Lille had a tech-savvy AI well-versed in European technology—Munemasa was created by Arasaka, and the reverse engineering competition between Arasaka and Europeans had been longstanding:

Arasaka Saburo saw Europeans as stumbling blocks in his path forward, while Europeans saw Arasaka as a Japanese company with ambitious wolfish aspirations, possessing an extraordinary control over Asia and attempting to extend the influence of Arasaka Bank. This encroached upon their core interests; hence, they had always adopted a strategy of containment in the shadows.

Overall, Europe could be said to absolutely dominate Arasaka in network technology—a beginner hacker could buy an Icebreaking Magic Doll designed against Arasaka right on the streets of Night City, many of which came from Europe.

But as one of the world’s most advanced security companies, Arasaka would not just passively take the hits; their understanding of European technology was also quite profound. Inside Arasaka, Munemasa once stood at the forefront of cracking European technology.

They just didn’t bite much, because Arasaka knew that they couldn’t afford the cost of a falling out with Europeans just yet.

Former advantages had significantly diminished with Munemasa going rogue, and Arasaka Saburo probably couldn’t have imagined in his wildest dreams that the rogue AI would end up working dutifully for Lille.

[Munemasa: Have you seen the electrodes on the neural interface? They are completed at a 1 nanometer scale with three-dimensional stacking, which is technically the limit. I must admit, the Europeans’ technology is indeed advanced.]

[Munemasa: After reaching the 1 nanometer scale in nanotechnology, three-dimensional integrated circuits are the foremost approach and currently the most common design in the field of technology. However, different architectures can result in large performance disparities. I can attempt to reverse engineer this kind of architecture.]

[Lille: Use my Si Anweisitan as a server.]

The barriers in reverse engineering chip architectures exist for AI as well. Lille’s only advantage was that he had a magical research team in the Marvel World. Maybe with a stroke of genius, they could produce results, but right now they all had their hands full with projects.

Reverse engineering chip technology was a novel task for Lille, but he had a teacher who was very knowledgeable about European technology.

For Munemasa, its work efficiency was still over a hundred times that of a top-tier team. After all, this was what it was made for.

Re-engaging with European products, it had quite a motivation to break the codes.

In terms of craftsmanship, the cyber modulator and processor used in this prosthetics set had a minimum process size of about 3 nanometers, but the architecture was much more advanced. A single chip consisted of 12 layers of stacking, the theoretical power limit was only 45 watts, and the frequency could reach over 8 GHz, with the chip’s area being only 600 square millimeters.

When these core computing chips worked in conjunction with other chipsets on the motherboard, they formed the advanced neural interface of the remote prosthetics—

This kind of neural interface was a high-end product not even advertised to the vast populace of Night City. Here, however, it was just a basic component in a sightseeing robot.

An outstanding neural interface performance was fundamental for third-generation prosthetics, and only better, faster processors could handle an increased number of neural enhancement implants while coordinating the human-machine system.

Industrialization could take its time, but the faster Lille’s body could transform into prosthetics, the better. So, he directly removed the neural interface from the remote prosthetic, planning to find time to extract the chip and transfer it to his own body.

Snap!

V placed a cup of water on the armrest of the wheelchair. Lille, grasping the chip, paused and asked, "What’s this for?"

V raised an eyebrow, "I bring you a drink and you’re not pleased?"

"Such good treatment?" Lille clicked his tongue in amazement as the mechanical hand carefully picked up the cup, "Found your conscience?"

"Have I ever been bad to you?!"

"No, not really. Let’s go."

As glasses clinked, they leaned against the bar, looking over the entire venue—

At the center of the venue was a display stand, and the "product" being exhibited was a child, appearing about the same age as Matt, with visible signs of prosthetic modifications at the Achilles tendon and thigh joints.

Surrounding the display stand, numerous remote prosthetics were gathering the child’s data with intense focus.

Normally, there would also be scouts watching on-site, but most of them postponed their visits due to the recent attack at the sports stadium, opting to observe online instead.

"Ladies and gentlemen, for the 2076 to 2077 youth athlete draft season, we now commend to you—Tommy Walker!"

"Despite his young age, Tommy is a talented male soccer player, with his best position being—goalkeeper!"

"His compatibility with neural implants is excellent, and his recent performances have been very eye-catching. If you are interested, you can check his latest data..."

The child was a blond, with a horizontal line from a massive surgical procedure evident on his face, signifying major surgery.

The joints of his left hand had obvious signs of prosthetics, and the Achilles tendon had also been replaced.

[Name: Tommy Walker]

[Age: 9]

[Prosthetics: Subcutaneous injector, enhanced bionic chin, enhanced Achilles tendon, bone enhancement, direct neural enhancement device under the skull.]

Jack and Matt stood close to the display, the former with his arms crossed, the latter blankly surveying everything around him, not knowing what to say.

"...They’re too young," Jack shook his head, "Their bodies can’t handle such prosthetics, these heartless bastards."

Matt’s feelings were much more complicated: he had only heard that Dog Town had the best Sports Academy in All Night City, and that recently many young athletes had come from Taiping State.

But...

Matt was very puzzled, "Why would they want to implant those kinds of prosthetics?"

The event he participated in told him that at this age, to implant neural enhancement prosthetics, use subcutaneous injectors for stimulants, reinforce bones, and implant prosthetics of a certain scale, such as enhancing the jaw and non-biological muscles, tendons... was to mortgage the future.

Just as Jack was about to speak, the group noticed a small commotion at the entrance—

"Miss... would you be interested in participating in unrestricted free boxing?"

"I’m an agent from the New America Professional Wrestling Federation, you may have heard of my partner..."

"Someone like you should go for the NBA, look at those elbows..."

"Get lost!" Wild Man King impatiently shoved aside these convict agents, "I don’t do professional fights, get out of my face."

Lille remembered only then that his perception modification for remote prosthetics wasn’t enough for them to ignore Wild Man King’s outrageous physique!

"Boss..."

Just as Wild Man King started to speak, Lille quickly raised his glass, and then hurried to the bar with a chuckle.

Lille said to the bartender, "Get him a..."

"Some beer."

The bartender was also a bit startled by Wild Man King’s build, collecting his thoughts he said, "Uh, which kind of beer?"

Wild Man King opened his mouth, about to request some "high-end" beer he knew, but Lille said, "Give us a pint of BrewDog’s End of History."

"What a weird name." Wild Man King grumbled as he picked up the glass and downed a whole pint.

"Beer’s so cheap, drinks like this sell for cheap and people will think we can’t afford them. This stuff’s expensive, can sell for over seventy thousand euros a bottle in Europe, shipping it to Dog Town would..."

Lille’s initial words were whispered to Wild Man King, while the latter part was addressed to the bartender, because he wasn’t sure about the shipping costs either—who could find the cost of smuggling online?

The bartender smiled professionally and said, "All your expenses here are complimentary, but if we were to talk about the cost price, this beer should be around eighty to eighty-eight thousand euros a bottle."

Wild Man King looked at his empty glass: that meant he had just chugged nearly twenty thousand euros in one go.

Thinking it over, she glanced at the agents she had just scared off, and after an internal struggle, still shook her head.

V, expressionless, poked Lille on the side.

[V: How much did we just drink?]

[Lille: Uh... imported European mineral water might be around 100 euros a glass, and tequila is quite expensive, maybe about 800 euros a bottle?]

[V: Get me something expensive!]

[Lille: Actually, I didn’t expect they’d still be selling that, so why don’t you try... Diamond Tequila?]

In high-end places, one must match the surroundings with high-end actions and demeanor, and suddenly, V really wanted to put on an act.

So, acting very dramatically and as if she was intrigued and pleasantly surprised, she said to the bartender, "You have that kind of drink? Do you carry Diamond Tequila?"

The bartender’s smile grew strained, "You’re joking, right? Such a limited-edition aged brew could probably only be found in your private collection. Although we can provide complimentary drinks, we can only offer the common ones."

V shook her head in feigned disappointment, "I thought... never mind."

[V: How much is that stuff?]

[Lille: Uh, if it’s the one I’m thinking of, it was three million euros a bottle fifty years ago.]

[V: You son of a bitch, that bartender won’t think I’m a fool! How could such liquor be on the complimentary shelf! Looks like you’re asking for it, Little Li Zi!]

V, with a poker face, squeezed Lille’s neck, subtly applying pressure—

Lille could only bear it with an expressionless face and then begged for mercy in secret.

[Lille: I’m wrong, sis! I’m really wrong, spare me—]