Chapter 721 - 1: Soulmate

[Cross-dimensional reconnection...]

[Failed.]

[Continuing to reduce deviation to attempt to reconnect with the anchoring world.]

[Use your anchor to maintain contact with the anchoring world while connecting with other worlds.]

Lille’s consciousness was in darkness, with nothing around, only a few lines of text from the system in front of his eyes.

Lille felt the system’s tone had changed slightly, though he couldn’t be sure it wasn’t an illusion.

Then suddenly...

Lille received a familiar communication signal:

[Munemasa: What did you bring up here?!]

[Munemasa: Our directional signal is deviating! This is not the channel to HK!]

Just two short sentences, but they were quite problematic:

According to Munemasa’s plan, the signal tower at Arasaka Tower was a super antenna with high power and wide coverage. With minor modifications and optimization, tapping into Arasaka Headquarters’ electricity for just a brief moment could maximize the transmission efficiency and range of the equipment—

So extreme that it could connect to the internet satellites deployed in low-earth orbit by the Arasaka Group during the internet era, and then use satellites to leap to other internet devices...

Yes, Lille’s final plan was to escape entirely into the internet, now called the old net’s vast Cyberspace, with the original plan to jump to an internet node located in HK.

HK barely had traces of human activity, where the dangerous critical mass controlled city equipment, freely enjoying its vast device resources.

But due to being forced to capture a consciousness to anchor this world, this operation delayed a few seconds, causing the escape plan and escape data packet to deviate significantly, making the escape destination skew...

Yet Lille only received these two short sentences, making it hard for him to determine where they would leap to.

Until Lille felt the surge of electricity; his consciousness reattached to a running chip, and his computing power began to recover. He first needed to identify where he was now...

Cyberspace began to reappear: the current Cyberspace has deviated from the definition by the hacker gods Igarashi and Brage, merely as an AI, the informational collective perceived by Lille is the AI’s real way of sensing the world.

First, he needed to recognize himself...

This processor was small and low-end, equivalent to Marvel World’s regular civilian processors from two years ago, or the 2009 levels in the normal world.

In that year, smartphones had started to capture a market share, but flip phones, slide phones, and keypad phones still held a spot in the market.

Lille roughly estimated that this chip’s computational power was only comparable to a sliding Nokia phone from that period.

As he began organizing the chip, he discovered that it was indeed a phone!

He was now a phone!

The Cyberspace image of the phone was slowly optimized and altered by Lille, but due to this old chip’s computing level and the old phone’s performance, he had to proceed slowly...

Moreover, he found a problem:

[Use your anchor!]

[Cross-dimensional channel is open. If you don’t want to lose contact with another world, don’t use it for anything other than transmitting the anchor.]

The cross-dimensional information channel was as small as a tiny water pipe; Lille almost couldn’t know the situation of another world, but speaking of so-called "anchor"...

Lille immediately found what he needed to transmit:

A small Johnny Silverhand was slowly forming in Cyberspace, looking bewildered, his consciousness still lingering in the last moments in the Divine Chariot...

[Johnny: Damn!!!]

Little Johnny knelt down in Cyberspace, looking up in horror:

[Johnny: Where the hell did this take me, and you are...]

Johnny’s mouth suddenly disappeared, and his body kept getting smaller...

If the earlier was a 7-year-old Johnny, now it became a 2-year-old Johnny.

Johnny Silverhand, the once rock star of the Cyberpunk World, having his personality imprint trapped in the Divine Chariot for decades, his intrinsic nature woke up immediately after waking up, cursing the heavens and earth...

Although Lille needed him to maintain the link with the Cyberpunk World without completely losing the connection, it didn’t mean he needed to endure his nonstop ranting all the time...

[Don’t keep the anchor’s self-learning ability locked for long periods; it would be bad for reducing deviation.]

[Countdown: 1 minute]

Looking on the bright side, he could also gag this talkative rock star for 1 minute.

Thinking this, Lille discovered a communication signal was coming in—

He now better maintain his normal state.

The receiving system picked up a boy’s voice:

"Oh, let’s see who’s calling?!"

...

Sam Witwicky, a young guy about to start college, was packing up to leave home and head to another part of the Mei Country for the next part of his life’s journey.

He carried a box of packed luggage, following his old man, listening to his flirtatious dad giving him advice...

Mainly about his beautiful girlfriend Michaela.

"Dad, what do you mean?"

"When you go to college, you’ll meet many girls."

"I know, but I’m a loyal guy."

Sam’s dad has a bit of a middle-aged stereotype: not tall, a big belly, a bit bald, though with a good temper and quite improper.

He continued, "Look, Michaela is indeed great, but you guys need to give each other space to grow.

Young couples of your age are like that."

"But we, this young couple, discovered aliens!"

"Haha, how far do you plan to go with that?"

Sam wasn’t fazed and said, "Dad, I get it; not many make it to the end, but we’re different, understand..."

Beep—

The phone rang.

"Let me take this call..." Sam glanced at the phone, proudly showing the caller ID to his dad, "Oh, let’s see who’s calling?"

His father was unimpressed, "Today it’s the little Mi, two weeks later it might be little Mei."

A voice from the phone, sounding sexy:

[Michaela: Sam, let’s break up.]

In Cyberspace, toddler Johnny was shocked—

Nice.

Sam wasn’t flustered, "Are you sure? I feel you’re a bit hesitant."

[Michaela: I really want to break up, so I won’t see you off.]

Sam’s brain worked quickly, still calm, thinking while walking upstairs to his bedroom:

"Wow, this time has some seriousness, don’t worry, I got a long-distance relationship gadget for you..."

"A webcam, 7 days 24 hours, romantic talk, wake up and go to sleep seeing me, plus last time’s souvenirs, you get it, not good over the phone..."

"Mix tapes, candles, and such."

[Michaela: Nice, I can’t wait.]

Toddler Johnny showed a mysterious expression; Lille watched his data body have emotional fluctuations due to being tied with Johnny, causing unnecessary resource usage, wishing to slap this damn brat.

"By the way, do you want my signature uniform?"

[Michaela: That dirty and torn one? You still have it?]

Toddler Johnny, with deep meaning.

"Of course I still have it, Michaela, it’s as precious as a Super Bowl, covered with my sweat and blood..."

Toddler Johnny wanted to speak but couldn’t, though the meaning was clear: doing it this big?

[Michaela: Wow, you’re so confident.]

"It’s not confidence; it’s my humble self-esteem at its peak."

[Michaela: You think giving me a box of souvenirs will keep me from leaving you?]

"Why not come with me? The apartments around the school are cheap."

Sam became a bit more serious.

[Michaela: I have to help my immature dad who just got out of jail, so forget it.]

[Communication background noise: ...Where did you put the clutch cover?]

[Michaela: Next to the camshaft.]

Sam instantly showed a delighted expression.

Johnny was even more delighted: In English, the pronunciation of camshaft is very similar, almost identical, to "cumshot."

This voice was really sexy, top-notch!

"Hearing you say those three words, I lost my mind, say it again softly."

Johnny was instantly pleased with the young guy talking: A kindred spirit!

Although he might not be able to f*** anymore, just listening to this voice made him feel thrilled...

The sexy lady on the other side of the phone didn’t disappoint these two insistently, seductively uttering softly—

[Michaela: Camshaft~]

[Michaela: How can someone like you be unlikable?]

Time was up.

Lille had to release his restriction on Johnny, and he instantly became a 10-year-old Johnny!

[Johnny: This kid really gets it, I feel my down there is getting hard...]

[Johnny: But where is this?]

Sam finished talking, and as he packed with one hand, something fell out...

A metal fragment struck the ground with a crisp sound.

Clang—