Personality Fragmentation and the Automatic Ad Machine

The old man who lives in seclusion in the cave in cyberspace is named Shimura Chidō. He is an old comrade-in-arms of Hot Wind.

After being punched by Bu Liuxing, the old man welcomed him in and led him to the dining table. Then he began to ramble on and on.

I never expected you to come back.

The old man put down the workpieces he was working on and tidied up the clutter on his workbench, not caring what the meteorite said or thought—as he introduced himself.

"Young man, my name is Shimura Chidō, and I used to be from Yellowstone People. Where are you from?"

Without hesitation, the meteor replied, "I am an anonymous warrior."

"My goodness!" Mr. Chido wiped his hands clean, took off his glasses and continued wiping, a look of surprise on his face. "What year is it today?"

Meteor tried to stand up, but then felt it wasn't appropriate and sat back down. "Sir, the year is 2032. I do indeed come from the Nameless Ones. I am a Red Stone People, and my name is Bu Liuxing."

Shimura Chidō then asked, "How did you find me?"

Meteor: "Uh..."

[Of course, they just barged in based on the house number.]

The meteor immediately said, "It was the Hot Wind that brought me here through the phone booth."

Mr. Qiantang sat down opposite Liuxing, picked up Liuxing's right arm, and looked at it with a solemn expression.

"Young man, your name is Bu Liuxing, right?"

Meteor wondered to himself if Old Master Qiantang had a bad memory.

"Yes. I already said that."

Qian Tang: "Is the Hot Wind staying in this arm?"

Meteor: "That's right. I was originally a member of a research team. When we arrived near Stone Hill Town, the executioners on Night Patrol attacked us—and when I woke up, I had a Venom in my hand."

Shimura Chidō lowered Ryusei's arm and went into the inner room.

"It's too much trouble to talk like that. I'll go find him a mouth."

In just one minute, Meteor and Mr. Chido explained the whole story, and then they chatted about other trivial matters.

"Mr. Chido, were you friends with Hot Wind before?"

"We are comrades-in-arms; I am a soldier of the Burning Wind Resistance Army."

"Rebel army? Rebel against whom?"

"Everyone rebels. In the past, when there were natural disasters and man-made calamities, Hot Wind and I would fight the monsters and kill corrupt officials. Later, in the era of technological explosion, he and I joined forces to deal with BANKER. Then came the era of the decline of humanity, so we fought against Artificial Intelligence."

The surname "Shimura Chidō".

"Have you heard of the surname Shicun?"

Meteor thought for a moment, then uttered the names of the two brothers from Eureka Volcano City six years ago.

--Two executives of the Mercy of Eros, one named Shi Cun Tuozhen and the other Shimura Junichiro. This pair of brilliant minds devoted themselves to the evil deeds of the Madness Butterfly Sect, and were also unworthy descendants of the Yellowstone People.

When Shimura Chidō heard these two names, he was quite surprised. After Meteor finished explaining the whole story, the old man Chido pushed open the warehouse door and took another look outside.

"Our concubines have produced two such talented individuals?"

Meteor asked awkwardly, "Are you very familiar with them?"

Without hesitation, Mr. Qiantang said, "According to seniority, they should call me Grand Grandfather —dying at the hands of an unknown person is not unjust; it's a good thing that brings honor to our ancestors."

Meteor asked in surprise, "Good news?"

Mr. Chido, clutching a cyborg's head, returned to the storeroom to search for other parts.

"Of course it's a good thing! If this part is mentioned in historical stories in the future, Galahad's two names appear in the textbooks, it's a kind of free advertising. You know, these days, being infamous is considered famous, just like internet celebrities and self-media—it's not about being infamous for eternity, it's about being ignored."

I didn't expect this old man to be so trendy.

Meteor gave an awkward laugh and decided to change the subject.

"Mr. Chido, how did you recognize Hot Wind just now?"

"Because I took a punch from you."

"Huh? Just because of that?"

"The entire network security management system of Shinto City was written by [The Eternal World] -- no one can overwrite the underlying logic of this code." Shimura Chidō patiently explained, "Ordinary users cannot access our private space without the corresponding key and the owner's permission."

The old man came out carrying a human head, sat back down in front of Meteor, and patiently explained.

"It's like a key and a lock; if the owner doesn't open the door, the bad guy absolutely can't get in."

"But there is one exception, and that is Hot Wind Kid--"

"--The Shinto People's law enforcement units use clones of Hot Wind. Both their genes (physical structure) and memes (mind models) are universal keys, granting them law enforcement authority. They're just like a bandit wearing a fake police uniform."

[What the hell are you talking about? Am I a fake cop?]

Meteor quickly pressed down on his restless right arm. "Don't be angry, big brother. Don't be angry."

Mr. Chido was startled, then burst into laughter.

"He still has the same temper? Hahahaha! He's so energetic!"

Meteor laughed awkwardly, "Yes, he's always been angry."

"When I first saw you," Shimura Chidō, as he placed the bionic head onto Meteor's right arm, "I thought some highly skilled hacker had wandered over to my place."

Meteor placed his palm on the head, and then saw a black mist intertwine with the artificial body's hair, bursting into bursts of lightning.

Mr. Qiantang's eyes were filled with complex emotions as he watched the head's facial muscles twitch, gradually indicating that it was about to wake up.

He then spoke to the shooting star.

"In [Extreme Bliss Space], unless users sign a supplementary agreement or make a verbal agreement, they cannot attack each other. This is an inviolable ironclad rule. But you hit me hard on the head the moment you walked in—that's a privilege reserved for law enforcement."

"Only then did I realize that you were Hot Wind."

The bionic head took a deep breath, as if resurrected from the grave, and suddenly opened its eyes, staring at the two of them in horror.

At this moment, with the help of Shimura Chidō, Hot Wind finally found a suit program in Extreme Bliss Space, a legitimate software that he could attach himself to, and came back to life with this prosthetic head!

Hot Wind cursed, "Damn it! What did you put on me?"

Shimura Chidō looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, I changed jobs and have been collecting scrap ever since."

Hot Wind struggled, his face contorted in pain. "What's in this head? I'm fucking going crazy!"

Shimura Chidō immediately explained, "This is the remains of a private doctor who provided medical consultation services before his death. There might be some spam messages."

In Shinto City, people not only have physical bodies, but also a data body in cyberspace, which allows Artificial Intelligence and living humans to switch social identities.

Today, Shimura Chidō's job is collecting scraps.

The piles of artificial remains in the underground stone slab outside the house were all discarded soft facilities, each a different module, a different formula, and a different profession's discarded waste.

The head prepared for Hot Wind was once the doctor's electronic brain, containing some residual data, including short-term and long-term memories, and neural activity in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. These things will affect Hot Wind's behavior and modify Hot Wind personality.

However, this is not permanent; it will only temporarily cause some communication barriers.

"Get me a new voice!" Hot Wind yelled. "I can't take it anymore! This guy's head is full of commercials! I..."

"Sorry, I don't have that much money, Boss Hot Wind." Shimura Chidō said with a forced laugh, "Find you a 100% synchronized cybernetic body? I'd have to assault the police, chop off the heads of the Shinto City law enforcement officers and send them to you, after all, these cybernetic body modules are perfect replicas of you -- if I had that ability, why wouldn't I get you a complete set?"

Hot Wind: "Alright."

Meteor watched in amazement as the head rolled on the table. Soon, several incredibly resilient tubes emerged from its neck, transforming into legs. The Hot Wind then propelled the head to crawl, observing the world.

When the Hot Wind turned around, it saw Bu Liuxing.

"Holy crap! So this is what you look like?!"

Bu Liuxing asked in surprise, "So you don't know what I look like?"

Hot Wind replied irritably, "When I'm running all over you, I can only see your memories in the brain. Don't you know that Homo sapiens can never clearly see their own appearance?"

Meteor: "There's such a saying?"

Hot Wind explained, "Whether it's a front-facing camera or a mirror, people always see a reflection—you're not a big star who's on TV every day, this is the first time I've seen you from this angle."

Meteor didn't know what to say.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

However, Shimura Chidō quickly broke the awkward silence.

"Time is up."

Hot Wind: "What time is it?"

Meteor: "Is it time?"

Before the words had even finished --

--The soft part of Hot Wind Boy's body, that is, the cyborg head, began to broadcast automatically.

Like Hot Wind spiraling out of control, it started talking nonsense.

"Doctor, is there a way to burn fat quickly without exercising or controlling my diet?"

"Yes! Don't worry, my client! I'll arrange your cremation immediately! Call the Ginza First Medical Center now to order funeral services and get a discount! Don't hesitate, act now!"

After he finished speaking, the room fell into a deathly silence.

Meteor didn't dare to breathe loudly, judging from the throbbing pain in her right arm—

--The Hot Wind seems very angry.

Hot Wind: "Qiantang?"

Shimura Chidō explained in a serious tone, "This was a medical malpractice case. This doctor used a care service, and the treatment plan he wrote for the obese patient was cremation on the spot. Medical software thinking models are very expensive—if it didn't have some flaws, how did it end up in my hands? If you think about it this way, it makes sense, right?"

Hot Wind: "Damn!"

Shimura Chidō explained, "Every eight minutes, this software automatically broadcasts a piece of junk information. This brain is beyond repair. My job is to extract useful information from this contaminated data and turn waste into treasure."

Hot Wind: "So I have to say some stupid nonsense every eight minutes?"

Shimura Chidō: "We used to watch commercials every twenty minutes when we watched TV dramas, which was normal."

Hot Wind said impatiently, "Alright! Let's get down to business!"

The three gathered around a small table and began to discuss their grand plan.

The Hot Wind eagerly approached Bu Liuxing first.

"I have a plan! A brilliant idea! The political agenda is to destroy the gods of Shinto City and utterly destroy this damn city."

Shimura Chidō nodded. "What are the benefits?"

Bu Liuxing nodded in agreement. "I need to find my Ahei, and Brother Ping'an. Their fates are currently unknown. Black Brother is the offspring of a Holy Beast; it must be in the Electronic Museum."

Even with only a head remaining, Hot Wind still exuded the air of a leader. "This hothead and I will be in charge of breaking down the door by force. You need to find a way to get us a module—let this kid go toe-to-toe with the law enforcement team of Shinto City. After it's done, everyone gets what they want, whatever they want."

Shimura Chidō hesitated, then raised and lowered his hand, finally licking his lips with a tense expression.

"Do you know what you're saying, Boss Hot Wind?"

Hot Wind: "I'll give you time to think it over—this won't work if we're not of one mind."

Meteor looked at Qian Tang; it seemed that the idea Hot Wind had just proposed had stumped this frail old man.

"Mr. Qiantang, is there something you're having trouble saying?"

After thinking for a long time, Shimura Chidō finally pulled out a scroll screen from the VENOM center of his right arm.

"Look at me now, this is who I am."

The screen showed a sanatorium in Shinto City. A emaciated old man was curled up in a hibernation pod, relying on various life support devices to stay alive; his vital signs were extremely weak.

"I'm about to die, Boss Hot Wind, I'm almost ninety-nine years old."

Hot Wind asked in surprise, "You didn't undergo prosthetic body modification? Your physical body..."

Shimura Chidō's virtual image changed rapidly, from an old man in his sixties or seventies to a spirited young man in his twenties.

In just a few seconds, he went from being a child to a middle-aged man, and then back to an old man.

"In [Extreme Bliss Space], I can live forever. I can experience different stages of life through various neural signals; I can be young or old."

Immediately afterwards, Shimura Chidō activated the VENOM mechanism and switched to a different mode.

"I can also transform into a woman and experience other people's mods."

Mr. Sendou instantly transformed into Ms. Sendou. Her withered skin became radiant, and her figure underwent a dramatic transformation, eventually turning into a curvaceous, black-haired woman with fiery red lips.

Hot Wind: "Holy crap! I didn't know you had this kind of hobby!"

Meteor: "Good heavens!"

Shimura Chidō has returned to his original form.

"In short, I don't plan to change my real-life persona—there are countless alternate accounts online, but I can't forget who I am, boss."

The Hot Wind fell silent.

Meteor immediately pressed, "What if the Hot Wind is going to destroy Shinto City?"

"I will die," Shimura Chidō said. "It's not that I'm afraid of death, Hot Wind Boss. None of the physical bodies of the Burning Wind Resistance Army have undergone cybernetic modification—except for the VENOM Agency, we are all 100% Homo sapiens."

Hot Wind: "Are you ready?"

Shimura Chidō gave an irrelevant answer and began to ramble on.

"It's so good to hear your voice again."

"If you're not in a hurry, would you have time to hear the stories that have unfolded over the years?"

Hot Wind slowly approached Meteor, facing Shimura Chidō, the flexible hose loosening his head, and he suddenly sat down on the table with a serious expression.

Shimura Chidō composed himself and slowly began to speak.

"What can kill a group of powerful warriors? What method can bring the most resolute torment by extreme torture?"

The answer is time.

"Boss Hot Wind, by the time the Fifty-One Pillars were completed, the Saintly Beast had also been tamed, and the entire cyberspace of the Shinto City was finished. It seems like everything is moving in a positive direction."

"One of my comrades has gone mad. Ever since he came to this virtual space, he has been watching the video of the January 4, 1977, iron disaster."

"Data-driven memory has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it allows people to remember something forever, and the disadvantage is that it allows people to remember something forever."

"We can't forget the traumas we suffered in the past, especially our comrades in the Burning Wind Resistance Army. Their strength comes from their protective instincts, their sense of justice, and also from their scars."

"This comrade began searching through the Hei Mu Qianshou's large bank for various disaster-related memories, using those modules to make himself a witness to the disaster, allowing him to relive the experiences of those who suffered."

"Then he went insane. His personality split into more than four hundred parts—he simultaneously fell into a volcano, became his daughter buried in the rubble during an earthquake, and became the father holding his daughter's hand outside the precast concrete slab, desperately waiting for rescue. He was both the teacher holding up the classroom floor and the child hiding under the desk."

"He was anyone, but he disappeared into this data and became nothing."

"This was the first cybernetic psychopath in the Burning Wind Resistance Army, whose intense compassion and love turned him to ashes."

"Boss Hot Wind, now that your DNA blueprint has become a typical human, we soldiers are even more confused and helpless—on days when we don't need to fight, we train in VR space, engaging in combat with simulated enemies time and time again."

"You are the hypothetical opponent; the Shinto People consider you the best sparring partner."

"Our personalities are also gradually disintegrating. We can meet you on the streets of reality, and you continue to uphold justice in the virtual space. The closer people are to you, the less they recognize you. We don't know who you are—if you don't want to become a deity like the Shinto People, you will immediately be regarded as an evil Shinto People by them. We must fight against evil spirits like you and learn how to subdue evil spirits."

"Especially your wife"

Hot Wind said impatiently, "Can we skip this topic?"

Shimura Chidō disobeyed and still pronounced the name.

"Peach"

Hot Wind's nominal partner, whose full name is Shihara Momo, was once a member of the Burning Wind Resistance Army and accompanied the entire warband and Shinto City through six different eras.

From the earliest Pioneering Era, through the war-torn years of fighting against the Madness Butterfly Sect, through the era of scientific research and development, through the era of Nuclear Fission Power Station and the rise of Artificial Intelligence, through the era of bandit suppression of BANKER, and finally to the modern era in which Meteor exists.

After the technology of Extreme Bliss Space was perfected, almost all normal Homo sapiens moved into the virtual home. The real world only needed to use electrolytes and VENOM to maintain energy balance. People used AI to manage production activities and maintain the basic operation of society. Entertainment and culture were replaced by neural signals and no real interactive activities were needed. Extreme Bliss Space could simulate any neural signal, and fake experiences could become real.

"Because you are a [typical person], your wife doesn't recognize you in the real world, and she has to fight you in the virtual space. Her personality split is most obvious. The longer she stays in [Extreme Bliss Space], the worse her mental state becomes." Shimura Chidō didn't care about the leader's face. His tone was cold as he tore off the last layer of paper—at this moment, Hot Wind was just a ghost, no longer the leader that Chido knew.

"Like her brothers who suffered from personality splits, Atao also died. But people loved her; after all, she was your woman, Hot Wind, and an idol admired and revered by countless people. So, in [Extreme Bliss Space], she came back to life."

"Her Liman mental model began as the solemn and dignified 'First Lady,' which then spawned various variations. She has many, many copies; people use her as a voice assistant, as an advertising spokesperson, dress her in all sorts of clothes, and produce goods related to her."

"Your personality also began to crumble because of this incident. In just a few short years, these ghosts defeated you, and you lived in [Extreme Bliss Space] with Xiao Tao —when you went outside and saw this big star going to various events with countless fake bodies, you eventually went insane."

Hot Wind: "I know I'm dead, but that's none of our business."

Shimura Chidō nodded, then looked at the meteor.

"I was simply explaining the ins and outs of the matter to this young man from a Homo sapiens perspective—he had the right to know before he got involved."

"Just like you said, your wife is now like the subway. During holidays, passenger traffic surges, and people can't refuse this [First Lady]. The moment she became a commodity, the entire economy of Shinto City was revitalized."

"People are frantically buying all mods related to her, which in turn drives up mods for many members of the entire Burning Wind Resistance Army. People are experiencing our lives, even at huge costs and incurring debt."

"And you, Hot Wind, if you hadn't become a typical human, treated as a hypothetical enemy by the Shinto City's security system—you too would have been commodified, becoming a pastime in [Extreme Bliss Space]."

"While I'm cleaning up the trash here, I can see the memories left behind in so many artificial remains. They slept with all sorts of celebrities and talked about history and knowledge from all walks of life with social figures from different eras over the past hundred years. If you hadn't become a law enforcement officer, or a perceived enemy, there would definitely be a lot of people eyeing your backside."

"The communication and exchange within [Extreme Bliss Space] brought about incredible productivity, but also a terrifying flood of information, seemingly shattering all morality and etiquette."

"I was eating secondhand garbage last week and almost turned into a cybernetic psychopath. While I was retrieving data from a prosthetic body, that woman was messing around with three Super Bowl athletes—this prosthetic body called this kind of activity the playoffs."

"At the time, this flood of information almost blew my mind and messed up my mental model. I won't go into detail about other terrifying and bizarre experiences, like cutting my own thigh into butterfly patterns and letting my friends and family taste them—these things that drastically lowered my sanity. In short, it was a very chaotic experience."

"I support you, and I hope you can end this era."

Even though Meteor was still a baby, just listening to him made his Madness Index rise.

He couldn't imagine what Hot Wind and Chido had gone through; they were probably powerless to stop their comrades from developing symptoms of personality disorder.

Without the Shinto People, the people of Shinto City wouldn't be alive today. Without the management of Artificial Intelligence, this city would still be a terrifying place surrounded by wolves and bastards.

Scientific research and technology have liberated people. [Extreme Bliss Space] and various modules have dramatically increased people's communication efficiency. Repeated "personal experiences" and "technology sharing" can quickly unleash the light of wisdom in a primitive society.

However, when people enter [Extreme Bliss Space], their desires and humanity gradually decline.

The heroic era of the past left behind many ghosts, which have now become a form of entertainment, used to stimulate consumption and become an indispensable commodity in the economic cycle.

Hot Wind: "Are you done talking?"

Shimura Chidō: "If my memory is accurate and hasn't been altered, then these are the things that should happen—I have nothing more to say."

The Hot Wind immediately began to speak.

"So."

"Doctor! I'm a professional fighter pilot! Is there any way for me to withstand accelerations of over 25G? Implanting a prosthetic body or genetic modification? I'm open to anything! As long as I don't get left behind by society! After all, my salary is just too high! I need to renew Ms. Shihara Momo's subscription!"

"Hello, we suggest you retire on the spot and find a job. Selling your organs still has some research value. If you are selected as a representative person and your genes can be included in an electronic museum, that would be a huge asset!"

"Why?! I want to be a complete person!"

"Because electronic computers, as AI pilots for fighter jets, are far superior to Homo sapiens. Fighter jets don't need cockpits, and electronic equipment doesn't need to consider G-forces—the evolution speed of any Artificial Intelligence cannot keep up with its self-evolution. And there's another point."

"As a doctor, I sincerely advise you that the era of war is over. You should use fewer strange modules. Our Shinto City has no helipad, no airport, no Air Control Center, no air force—you are unemployed, and your Shihara Momo mind model companionship service expired last month."

After saying this, the Hot Wind returned to normal. After eight minutes, it will restart the advertising mode and relay junk information.

"Damn it! My soul is impure!"

Shimura Chidō shrugged, unconcerned.

The Hot Wind howled and cursed.

"You fucking bastard. I need to find this kid a mod, and now I'm seriously doubting your abilities. How are you going to scavenge for food in a garbage dump?"

Shimura Chidō stood up and walked towards the door.

"Then you'll have to wait a while. I'll go outside and tinker around; maybe there are some good things related to combat techniques among these soft prosthetics."

Hot Wind turned around and scolded Meteor.

"Hey kid! Touch me!"

Meteor: "Huh?"

The Hot Wind howled loudly.

"Touch my head! Let me get back into your body from this limp prosthetic! I can't take this mental torture anymore!"