Virus Vault No. 0

Input, output, digitization, iteration—having only been in the Divine Land for a short time, digital life had already given the female player, Dida, a small, profound shock.

So this is what the real-world cyber network is like?

The senior engineer glanced at the long queue and chuckled, "If all of humanity were digitized, what do you think would be most important to those in power?"

"That power?"

"To be precise, it's about social structure. Without a social structure, a technology tree is just a bare trunk; it can't branch out and form a civilization."

"Now you can think about what the social structure is like in the divine land."

Tick-tock fell into deep thought.

In theory, digital life can achieve immortality—as long as they keep iterating.

However, unlike AI, digital life has no processing power, no CPU, and self-iteration is difficult to achieve, so it must rely on a force that can iterate.

Super network companies like Diwang Group, as long as they master the technology to "evolve" digital life, can continuously acquire the power of "advanced digital life".

This is much cheaper than recruiting or training a high-level AI!

"Do you understand now? If it is a civilization created by artificial intelligence, then the first thing it does is not to develop its own technology tree, but to create a social ecosystem. Only under a good social ecosystem will technology explode. In the universe, this is called 'Civilization Ecology,' a subject that every civilization leader must learn."

"From the current perspective, the 'digital civilization' of the Divine Land is functioning quite well. As long as this social structure is maintained, there will be a continuous stream of advanced digital life forms that will join the Divine Land's forces in order to ensure their own survival."

"This is a huge experimental field for growing chives."

Dida glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to them before whispering, "If that's the case, why is the EarthNet Group so busy capturing AIs in the CyberNet? Aren't there plenty of them here?"

"I'll ask about that for you after the interview," the senior engineer said with a shrug.

Dida pursed her lips. She still had many questions she didn't understand, such as what was going on with this interview, why the Diwang Group would suddenly send her an interview invitation, or how they could be so sure that she would pass.

However, it was soon their turn in line.

The senior engineer and Dida walked in one after the other. Just as Dida had imagined, it was a small room with three interviewers, two men and one woman, all with serious postures and indifferent expressions.

Dida subconsciously straightened her back and gave a professional smile.

But the senior engineer didn't play by the rules. He spoke in a tone befitting a privileged second-generation rich kid, like someone whose father is the CEO:

"Alright, stop reviewing and just approve it for us, we're in a hurry."

"..." Tick-tock.

The three interviewers remained expressionless. The female interviewer in the middle coldly said, "The pass rate for interviews at Normal Digital Life is 1%. What makes you think you can become a member of our group?"

"An advanced digital life form is not rare here. You may not know this, but the more advanced the digital life form, the lower the success rate of its iterative evolution," the male reviewer next to him added.

Tsk, it's only because this place is a god-like land that digital life is worthless, like leeks. If it were outside, a high-level AI would be welcomed by 90% of companies.

"And judging from your attitude, I don't think you'll become one of us," another reviewer concluded.

"Oh, really? Then why did you send me an interview form?" The senior engineer smiled and waved the file bag in his hand.

"All interviewees are vetted by headquarters."

The female interviewer suddenly realized something and quickly manipulated the computer on the table. Her expression changed from calm to astonishment because on the screen, the words "senior engineer" and the ticking interview form both had two big red "qualified" marks.

"You've hacked into headquarters' server system!"

The three interviewers' expressions changed simultaneously, and the next moment, a large number of digital signals appeared in the room, and one after another, men in sunglasses emerged from the signals.

A very strong sense of déjà vu.

"You've even replicated technology at the level of Cyber Killer, or perhaps you developed this antivirus technology for cyberspace?" the senior engineer asked with great interest, completely ignoring the tense atmosphere on the scene.

"With the ability to hack into our headquarters system and not care about being detected, you must be a well-known hacker in the underworld," the female interviewer quickly calmed down and asked.

"As for fame, I do have a little bit. I checked yesterday, and I have to thank my peers for not making any big moves lately. My ranking on the mother city's wanted list hasn't fallen out of the top ten. By the way, my hacker name is 'Prototype'."

"The prototype, that guy who assisted the Bird of Paradise and banished the entire Cloud City?!"

This time, the female interviewer was finally surprised. The top ten on the Mother City's wanted list were also the top ten hackers on the planet.

Especially for senior engineers, a title earned through a major event carries even more weight.

"You're Cyber Hacker?!" Dida was stunned. Wasn't Mr. G a cyber assassin? How did he suddenly become a mortal enemy hacker?

Generally speaking, a master hacker like a "prototype" is often a thorn in the side of a large corporation, like using a cannon to kill a mosquito—not only can you not kill it, but you'll also get bitten for no reason.

She had never heard of someone proactively seeking an interview before.

"So, do you think I passed the interview?" the senior engineer asked with a smile. "Or perhaps you want to test my hacking skills?"

The senior engineer glanced over and saw that "Virtual Invasion" had been activated. With the enhancement of the other four types of max-level knowledge, its power was already terrifying. Even an advanced AI equipped with "Electronic Barrier" would have a high probability of being affected.

To outsiders, it appeared as if Mr. G's "cyber killer," the exclusive agent of the Diwang Group, had suddenly transformed into countless fluctuating numbers on his body. This was quite similar to the collapse of the digital life form that Dida had witnessed before.

The female interviewer made a quick decision:

"Mr. Prototype, you have passed the interview. Next, I need to notify headquarters so that a specialist from headquarters can come and discuss the position you have been offered."

"Very good," the senior engineer looked around and smiled, "Where's the break room? I need to rest for a bit; the interview was exhausting."

In a very luxurious lounge, Dida looked at the mysterious NPC in front of her with a complicated expression.

Although she already knew that the NPCs in this game were intelligent, she didn't expect them to be this "intelligent." How did you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, learn to lie?

Wasn't he supposed to be a cyber assassin? How did he suddenly become a wanted criminal? If I hang out with you, will I also become an officially wanted criminal? I'll lose reputation!

I'm a law-abiding citizen!

"Why... why did you deliberately reveal your identity? With your hacking skills, it would have been quite easy for us to infiltrate from the beginning."

After hesitating for a while, Dida finally said nothing and instead asked about the senior engineer's previous actions.

"Corporate espionage is permissible in some companies but not in others, especially in large companies that have already established a digital ecosystem."

"So instead of trying every possible way to sneak in and then being discovered, it's better to just reveal your identity from the start."

"Imagine a project being targeted by a top hacker. If you were in charge of that project, would you rather take precautions day and night, only to find it impossible to defend against them in the end, or would you simply bring them in from the beginning and keep them under your watchful eye?"

"Do you know what they're going to do?" Dida asked in surprise.

"Ever since they started arresting AI on a large scale, I've more or less guessed what AI can do that digital life can't, or what places AI can go that digital life can't."

"Think about it carefully, there aren't many places like this or things like this on this planet."

"Oh? I wonder what Mr. Prototype Developer has in mind?"

Sometime later, a door appeared on the wall of the lounge. A bald, middle-aged man pushed the door open and went straight to the point.

Looking at the brain matter encased in a glass skull, the senior engineer narrowed his eyes:

"The cyberspace virus database 0, right?"