Ms. Audrey Bergman, the legendary film artist under Venus Digital Media and the new queen of pseudo-sensory films, once again woke up from a strange dream.
Returning to her own reality, she blinked at the mottled marks on the ceiling.
"Jenny."
She called out as she stretched her arms.
"Here you are, Ms. Ma Wei."
The projection of the smart housekeeper appeared next to her in an extremely dignified manner. She bowed to herself and asked respectfully:
"What do you need?"
There is another problem with the smart housekeeper's authentication system.
Hearing that unfamiliar name, Bergman thought slightly dissatisfied.
How many times has it been? Every time I changed my username, I asked the smart butler to call me by my correct name. But within a few days, she would identify herself as someone else again.
What's going on? Isn't Vista Intelligent an Olympus company? How can you spend a lot of money to buy high-end services and still make such low-level mistakes?
"My name is Audrey Bergman, do you understand? Enter this name and don't call it wrong again in the future."
Bergman said sullenly.
"I'm very sorry, the user name has been changed, Ms. Audrey Bergman, do you need anything?"
With an impeccable apology on her face, the housekeeper Jenny said this.
By the way, this must be the business behavior of Vista Intelligent Control Company...
Suddenly, Bergman seemed to have figured out why.
According to the news, "Vesta" has also begun to enter the entertainment media market in recent years - although their purpose of doing so is just to make virtual idols popular and then launch idol-themed smart home systems. But this strategic layout does have an impact on the market of "Venus Media".
Two Olympus companies have formed a competitive relationship in the entertainment market. As Venus Media's most popular pseudo-simulation star, I will naturally be targeted in various ways by the other party.
I am like a falling leaf, helpless at the forefront of a business war between two behemoths...
Thinking of this, Bergman couldn't help but lamented his tragic fate.
He never expected that the other party would do such little things to disgust himself.
I have to talk to my agent soon and ask her to replace this outdated housekeeping system.
"Has that trainee named Jane sent any harassing messages again?"
After standing up and stretching his muscles, Bergman asked about another thing that he was more concerned about recently.
Jane Held, a silly boy who just passed the trainee audition. As soon as he entered the company, he impatiently launched an offensive to pursue himself. He said that he came to Venus and passed the one-in-a-thousand selection just for himself. Such nonsense...
In short, she kicked the guy out on the spot - as a trainee, how dare you come out to fall in love? Aren't you afraid of being fired on the spot for breach of contract and having to pay liquidated damages for the rest of your life?
Hearing her question, Jenny's eyes flashed with blue data, and she immediately said:
"Ms. Bergman, no person named 'Jane Held' was found in your contacts, nor did you receive any missed calls."
"That's right... Then he might change someone else's account to send a message. Check your contacts to see if there is..."
Bergman continued to ask without hesitation.
For some reason, Bergman seemed to have guessed that the silly boy named "Jane" was actually wealthy, the son-in-law of a manager of a large company, and would do anything to pursue him.
She seemed to know that things would probably develop like this, as if she was watching a movie she had seen countless times.
"Miss Bergman, you only have two contacts in your contact list. Your son Liao Qi, and your mental adjuster Bai Dong."
Jenny said so.
Regarding this answer, she directly ignored the name mentioned by the other party and said thoughtfully:
"Mind adjuster, I feel like I need some fine-tuning of my emotions recently. Help me make an appointment with the adjuster named Bai Dong and ask her..."
"I am here."
A female voice came from the door of the room.
Bai Dong stood there, with an expression of uncontrollable anger on her face.
Before "Bergman" could speak, she waved directly. The 3D projection of Jenny, the housekeeper, flashed in front of her in an instant.
"Change the title from 'Audrey Bergman' to the legal registration identity 'Ma Wei'. Lock the title and no longer allow service recipients to modify it on their own."
"The command has been confirmed, Ms. Bai. It is detected that your heart rate is too fast. Do you need to play lyrical music?"
Facing her new master, smart housekeeper Jenny replied with great respect.
"No, please enter do not disturb mode first."
Bai Dong took a deep breath after speaking, and then turned to look at the middle-aged woman.
Looking at her, Bai Dong kept trying to persuade himself in his heart.
I am a professionally trained professional who knows the pathogenesis of "Identity Anchoring Disintegration Syndrome" and also understands the clinical manifestations of this kind of cyberpsychosis - I should not have any feelings towards a patient or such a victim. Such strict requirements.
More importantly, during the treatment process, you should not bring any personal emotions - this is the professional ethics that a mental adjuster should have.
She understands this, but...
"After tonight, your son may not come back alive."
She couldn't help but say this.
Ten minutes ago, she received some news from the front lines... some news that would make even the most optimistic person unable to feel optimistic after hearing it.
"So you still want to use the identity of the actress that was fabricated by the company based on the algorithm and is completely fictitious... instead of the identity of Liao Qi's mother to witness all this? I know this is too much... but, wake up."
Anyway, he didn't have much talent as a mental adjuster, so Bai Dong simply gave up on himself and said what he wanted to say in one breath.
In response, Liao Qi's mother, Ma Wei, just tilted her head towards her in confusion - as if she didn't understand what she was saying at all.
Then, she frowned, and said the name very slowly, as if she was being forced to recall something unwillingly.
"Who is the Liao Qi you are talking about...?"
Bai Dong sighed.
"He is your son and a hero."
She stepped forward and held Liao Qi's mother's calloused hand.
"Tonight, he will carry out a hopeless struggle for the liberation of all underground levels in the Nord settlement area... I know, aunt, that you were disappointed with him in the past because he did not follow your arrangements. Choose the path that most people choose.
"But the more difficult path he chose, is definitely worth your pride for him... So, at least today, please remember your true identity, okay?"
When Bai Dong spoke, he felt like he was even shaking.
But for her heartfelt words, Ma Wei responded with only one sentence besides a blank expression:
"I don't understand what the hell you're talking about."
This is it...
Even though it was an expected answer, sadness and helplessness still filled Bai Dong's heart.
How can cyberpsychosis be so easily cured?
If you can really make a patient with "Identity Anchoring Disintegration Syndrome" return to normal through a few words from the bottom of your heart... even temporarily, then the profession of mental adjuster will have no value. .
Cyberpsychotic patients awakened by love and memories... It's not that such miracles have never happened, but since they are all called miracles, it is enough to show how rare this kind of thing is.
If this was a world where miracles could be summoned at will, then the world should not be what it is today.
"sorry……"
Not knowing who he was apologizing to, Bai Dong squeezed Ms. Ma Wei's hand tightly, sighed and lowered his head.
Why did Bookelius ask them to do stupid things with no hope of success, and why did he follow them to do stupid things with the same probability of success?
"I was stupid."
Bai Dong said this with another sigh, as if she hoped that these words would bring her much relief.
Then, she felt someone touching her head like an elder.
Bai Dong quickly raised his head - the way Ms. Ma Wei looked at him at this moment no longer looked like the glamorous female star she had imitated due to her long-term immersion in simulator movies, a beautiful female star more than 20 years younger than her.
Rather, she is more like a kind mother of a similar age to myself.
Bai Dong held his breath for a moment, waiting for the other party's next words with some anxiety.
"What was the name of the assistant who invited me to shoot "Falcon Man" yesterday?"
Bergman asked.
She was referring to what happened last night when Liao Qi came back here.
Last night, after Liao Qi left, she asked herself once. At that time, I said the name "Liao Qi", but as usual, the other party didn't say much after hearing the name.
What about today?
Bai Dong opened his mouth slightly, planning to answer again. Unexpectedly, "Bergman" let go of his hand, walked into his room, opened the closet, and began to rummage for something in the deepest part.
"Although I still won't take on a superhero movie until I win the 'Muse Award.' But since the invitation is to the classic IP "Falcon Man", I have something here that I hope to give to the little boy from before. Assistant, can you transfer it to me?"
Bergman said, taking out a metal box from the deepest part of the cabinet.
"this."
She said so.
"What's in this?"
Bai Dong looked at the metal box that was placed at the deepest part of the cabinet but was polished spotlessly, and couldn't help but ask curiously.
Ma Wei smiled and then said:
"this is……"
Bai Dong couldn't hear the answer.
A violent explosion sounded from the wall on the side, and the thing that caused the explosion broke in faster than the sound.
Something huge broke in.
Roar, air waves...
Black Red……
Alarms, screams...
A series of images were shattered in Bai Dong's mind, like something crudely crafted by a poor impressionist painter just to make a living.
After struggling for a long time, she realized that she had been blown to the load-bearing wall of the living room by the air wave. The back of her head hit the concrete wall hard, and when she fell, it dragged a long trail of blood. At this moment, she didn't have any strength to try to change what was happening at this moment.
Bai Dong wanted to send a warning to the outside world through the brain-computer interface, or ask for help... but she soon discovered that she seemed to have been infected by a virus, and all the background programs running on the interface were completely offline and invalid.
Not only the brain-computer interface, but also her biological brain... it became extremely difficult to concentrate.
In a daze, she saw several black-armored giants more than three meters tall, walking back and forth among the ruins of the room. Where their facial features should be, there were eight blood-red lights lit up.
I heard them...the conversation between them.
"Is this the home of Liao Qi? The guy who Ye Qian suspected of hacking into Tartarus?"
"Hey, I thought I could find hacking equipment, or dark web technology products or something...but it turned out to be this kind of thing?"
"Who is this woman? Liao Qi's mother? But she's already dead, so there's no point in using her as a hostage, right?"
"What's in that box she's holding in her hand? Damn it, the bones are all covered in it."
(Sound of opening box)
"Hey, it's nothing, just a pile of rubbish... It's a waste of time."
"Shut up, Wutou-9, record the 3D video of all the scenes here and increase the resolution. Ms. Christie only said that we cannot attack the Icarus members, but if they attack us, Even in the board room, she had nothing to say.”
"The one in the living room is still alive, what should I do?"
"That guy is an official member of Icarus. Check her vital signs. If everything is fine, we will go to the next one...The information provided by the resettlement area government is too bad."
"Let's go."
…………
After listening to Bai Dong's narration, Liao Qi stood there, as silent as death.
Booker wanted to say something several times, but in the end nothing came out.
After a long while, Liao Qi asked in a hoarse voice:
"Can you show me what's in that box?"
Bai Dong didn't answer, but the communication screen followed her limping perspective into the room.
On the desk, an extruded and deformed metal box was placed quietly in the middle.
What's inside the box is a limited edition crystal toy figure that was once broken, but was carefully glued back together, only to be broken again in the end.
Liao Qi closed his eyes, but the scenes replayed in his mind uncontrollably.
Falcon Man, a superhero who was born in a slum and battles wits and courage with evil and greedy capitalists.
As a child, Liao Qi dreamed of growing up to be like Falcon, a brave and resourceful superhero who would fight against evil corporations and take back what originally belonged to the people.
For some reason, some details that he had long forgotten came to his mind at this moment.
It was on the afternoon of his tenth birthday. When his father bought this toy, he was clearly in pain, but he still pretended to be generous with a stiff smile.
At first, my mother was nagging and complaining about why a broken toy cost so much. But after seeing his happy and uneasy expression, he still smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. When my little girl makes a lot of money in the future, she must be good to her parents."
The strange thing is that there are only lead-gray domes in the resettlement area and low-quality artificial lights. But the scene in Liao Qi's memory was sunny. Under the clear blue sky, the golden sunshine gently fell on the shoulders of their family of three.
Look at the place on the toy that was glued back. Liao Qi seemed to have seen the scene where his mother was alone in the study after he ran away from home, carefully gluing the broken toy back together bit by bit.
It was like a ritual - as if as long as she glued the toy back, her son would come back obediently and get admitted to the company.
It was as if their family could all live a happy and decent life from now on.
Liao Qi took a deep breath and raised his face.
"Booker..."
he said.
"Um……"
"Did you know? My mandala is a toy that was smashed to pieces."
Liao Qi said this.
"There's nothing I can do."
Booker said directly.
Liao Qi turned to look at Booker.
"Depth 4 revamp of Path of Icarus, a day-by-day program.
"I need you to help me install this."
(End of chapter)
