Moral High Ground

In the main computer area of the machine, Tong was checking the senior engineer's data.

Collider, Chappie, and Tong are all members of the Ghost in the Shell Mobile Division. They are here on the orders of Motoko Yagami to investigate the cause of death of the previous division chief, Mr. Aramaki.

Among them, the collider is an advanced mechanical life form, that is, a level 50 elite NPC. It seems strange for a mechanical life form not to belong to the four major factions, but the collider is exactly like that. His virtual personality is 100% consistent with that of a normal human. In other words, it is perfectly fine to regard him as a 100% mechanically modified native human.

Even this one's biggest obsession is how to seduce Motoko Yagami.

That's why he was able to become a member of Ghost in the Shell Mobile Division.

As for Chappie, a super hacker—a superhuman and a hacker, both identities are rare.

Sometimes, the authorities also need to secretly investigate certain secrets, and that's when hackers come in, especially those who can remain undetected.

As for Tong, a level 40 version of a neural editor, a neural modeler.

At this point, a large amount of information about "senior engineers" was extracted and used to create models.

A prosthetic surgeon who performed 500 surgeries in just over two months.

One is the lover of the assassin Black Rose.

Another one is an emerging company, an affiliate of Dugo Technologies.

Of all these, what Tong values most is his identity as a prosthetic doctor.

A large amount of surgical data was transformed into holographic projections and categorized.

Then, Tong came to the conclusion that although this person knew a little about various surgeries, his expertise lay in two types of surgeries: flesh implantation and brain modification.

A special kind of bio-engineered being?

Bioengineering?

Tong seemed to have discovered a blind spot.

At the location where Mr. Aramaki was assassinated, no clues were left behind, and no signals were detected.

Theoretically speaking, this is impossible. After all, Mr. Aramaki is a super-intelligent being with the identity of a Deep Web Controller, and no network-level attack could be fatal in one hit.

But what if the other party uses biological methods...

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

A clear, cold voice suddenly rang out.

As the child turned around, a phantom composed of light, shadow, and particles enveloped the entire field of vision.

"Yes, greetings, Ms. Main Brain Machine Agent," Tong quickly said.

"In my database, members of Ghost in the Shell are rarely this polite."

Tong's vision blurred, and he quickly explained, "Actually, most of the team members are very polite, but due to the nature of our work, there are one or two impulsive members..."

Tong couldn't continue speaking; there was no way he could explain all his dark past.

But the machine agent nodded:

"That's right. People have a peculiar misunderstanding about us. They seem to think we are just a group of machines that carry out orders. But they never thought that the ethics of this mechanical age were built by us."

What does that mean?

Tong looked up, only to find that the machine had disappeared.

What appeared before me was a somewhat dilapidated mainframe center.

I heard that a noble from the Cloud Realm forced his way in before, and the two sides fought a great battle. In the end, the machine agent forced him to retreat.

The Cloud Nobles, especially the twelve Cloud Nobles, possess authority on par with the Mechanical Mainframe. Therefore, even if someone commits a crime in one place, the Mechanical Mainframe can only issue a warrant for their arrest in that locality.

Outside the city that never sleeps, the fifth-generation Miller remains a high-ranking nobleman.

"Sir, what kind of help do you need?" A large-breasted AI appeared and smiled.

Tong seemed to be in a daze for a while before finally opening his eyes and saying, "No need."

"Alright, I'll see you out."

As they reached the door, Tong suddenly asked, "When was the last time your machine operator patched the system?"

The large-breasted AI checked the data and said, "Three years ago."

"Knew."

In an unmanned vehicle, Tong sat with a frown on his face. After a long while, he sighed, opened his hand, and the next moment, materialized neural circuits surged wildly into his palm, eventually transforming into a mechanical goddess statue.

Model kit!

"I hope nothing bad happens."

Generally speaking, two types of events can lead to dramatic changes in a mechanical city.

One type is large-scale group trials.

Another type is the upgrading and replacement of mechanical mainframes.

If both of these things happen at the same time, even members of Ghost in the Shell would not want to encounter them.

"Just in case, let's calculate it first."

The next moment, with the goddess statue at its core, a massive amount of information was copied and absorbed.

The most powerful ability of neuromodelers is AI modeling.

This modeling can even predict the next direction of AI to some extent.

Of course, only she can manipulate neural signals at this level.

Even advanced AI doesn't have that capability.

Above the vast city that never sleeps, it seems as if an eye is being born.

Tong now finally understands why Captain Suko always has a look on her face like she's on her period.

There's nothing I can do, these teammates are just too terrible!

Cha Pai disappeared, and along with him, three hidden guards also disappeared.

"I've found something interesting. Go investigate it. The rest is up to you."

This is the message left by the other party.

"Chapai!"

!

This guy—he's alright when Captain Motoko is around, but once the captain's gone, he's like a wild horse that's broken free; he disappears without a trace.

Tong is now extremely worried about the collider. Given its fiery temper, will it tear that suspect's lover to pieces?

When she arrived at Hanging Street, she saw a scene that made her eyes nearly pop out.

The collider sat obediently on a small stool, its little notebook filled with notes.

Across from them, a handsome and rugged man was preaching and teaching.

"Next, let's analyze the words and actions of wealthy women. For example, one day, your captain, Motoko Yagami, asks you to go shopping with her. What should you do?"

"Of course, I'd wear a suit, look incredibly handsome, and wait at the street corner two hours in advance."

"Idiot! First of all, rich women are all career-oriented. Would they be the type to go shopping all the time? So, there's only one possibility: she's having trouble at work. And what should you do in this situation? Accompany her to relax? Idiot, you should seize the opportunity..."

The Fairy Tree Romance

Tong glanced at it with a twitching eye. There was a line written heavily on the book, "The Rich Woman's Guide to Success, Version 1.0".

"You, you, you—"

The collider looked very pleased with itself and said, "I really made the right choice coming here. I didn't know there were so many tricks to flirting with the captain. No wonder I always got beaten up every time I pursued him. There are so many secrets I didn't know."

"Well, if you learn this trick of mine, I guarantee you'll be kept by a rich woman within six months. Of course, this refers to ordinary rich women. If it's a top-tier rich woman, you'll probably need to learn version 6.4."

The collider stood up with a serious expression and bowed at a 90-degree angle.

"Master!"

The senior engineer scrutinized the other party, "With your qualifications, you were not originally qualified to be my apprentice, but considering that you are so diligent and ambitious as a mechanical life form, I will accept you as a nominal disciple."

"Yes, Master!"

"Master, my foot!"

!

The girl kicked the collider in the head, and only then did the collider notice her.

"Hey, Tong, you're here. I'm doing some investigation."

"Are you investigating others, or are you being investigated? Get out of here and stay outside!"

The girl kicked and shoved the other person out of the door before glaring fiercely at the senior engineer.

The senior engineer had somehow appeared behind the family-run bar, smiling at the other person, "What would you like to drink?"

This guy is pretty handsome, but he's got a really bad heart.

Tong cursed inwardly, then strode angrily to the other person. "Since you know why we're here, then just tell us the truth."

"What do you want me to tell you?" The senior engineer handed over a glass of milk, saying with concern, "Milk helps with breast enhancement, drink more."

Tong sneered, and the next moment, he activated neural signal acquisition. This skill is similar to a hacker's Virtual Invasion, but only when it reaches the maximum level can one have the ability to retrieve information from the human brain.

However, this move was like throwing a mud ox into the sea; it couldn't penetrate at all.

"Are you Cyber Hacker?" Tong looked at the other person in surprise, while at the same time receiving a message from the collider.

"Be careful, this guy is very strong. We might not be a match for him on our own."

"Is he pretending to be stupid because he realized he couldn't beat the other party?" Tong suddenly realized, but when he thought about how the other party had acted just now, he was furious. This guy had definitely been brainwashed.

"What is your relationship with Black Rose?"

"Ordinary acquaintances".

"Have you had any contact with her since you separated?"

"No."

"Don't you know what she's up to?"

"Of course, we only have a simple physical relationship," the senior engineer said sincerely, "It couldn't be purer."

"Well said!" came the cheers from outside the door. "Master, isn't this what you said: when dealing with rich women, you need to be arrogant, but not spineless; you need to be like some kind of sponge?"

"You've grasped the concept well."

Tong took a deep breath and said coldly, "According to the information, you also have a relationship with another Ms. Du?"

"Our relationship is purely one of sugar daddy and sugar baby. Logically speaking, as a professional, I shouldn't have only one client."

Loud applause came from outside the door.

The veins on Tong's forehead bulged, and just as he was about to say something, a mechanical eyeliner flew in, scanning him with a beam of light.

"Citizen No. 34131431, according to the laws of the City That Never Sleeps, you will need to have a moral chip implanted."

Tong raised his eyebrows, a gloating look flashing in his eyes.

The senior engineer's smile remained unchanged, "Then keep pretending. I'm the most morally upright person."

The next moment, the mechanical eyepiece's four claws clamped onto the engineer's head, and the probe was inserted into the back of his head, beginning its operation with a "buzzing" sound.

The scene was quite horrifying, with surgery on the back of the head on one side and the senior engineer casually mixing drinks on the other.

The operation was swift and decisive; soon, the new ethical chip was implanted in the brain.

"You've been fitted with a moral chip. Have a wonderful life."

After the mechanical eye-catcher left, the senior engineer opened his mouth wide, half of his arm went into his mouth, and his fingers seemed to be pushing into his brain.

Three seconds later, he pinched the chip with his fingertips and placed it on the table.

"Oh right, what were you going to say?"