My Cyber Psychosis is Task Prompt

[Bolago Club - Base Floor Street]

John lifted the curtain of crystal sequins and walked into a bar.

A few irritable patrons were slapping the dirty bar counter, complaining to bartenders and companions about recent misfortunes.

Deafening rock music drowned out most of the conversations.

John wove through the red lights, passing by open booths where sex doll girls with curvy bodies smoked.

The Bolago Club was surrounded by plenty of adult venues.

The girls here were of a second or third tier class, not overworked, able to take time sitting here numbing themselves with alcohol and tobacco.

When sex became work, there was one less way to relieve stress.

They didn’t have chips inserted in their necks, and within the depths of their prosthetic eyes was their own soul—showing some signs of confusion, fatigue, and numbness.

"Puff~ Come closer, handsome."

"It’s my day off today, but for you, I can make an exception."

A nicotine-laced aroma wafted from the booth, followed by a string of laughter, pairs of long, fair legs flicking up under fur coats, the fleeting glimpse of skin tempting the soul, as if every move danced on sparking coals.

John had seen the world and had a membership account in the Steel Hot Forest.

His expression was calm, but a strange rustle echoed in his mind, like a young person with fragile emotions being confronted head-on.

"Ha."

John sneered, shaking his head and exiting the booth.

The curvaceous figures vanished from his field of vision, and the tense AI flitting in his mind seemed relieved.

[Wow, ahem, very cool.]

"Not really~ Games and Super Sensing Chips are everywhere. Haven’t you ever gone out with a girl in the Cyber Era? Why do you act like you’re about to short circuit just by looking?"

John muttered to himself in the narrow hallway.

[This is the base code! Brother, before Kenichi Sora became a digital soul, he was still a kid. Even if I browse porn industry databases, those scenes are just dismantled 1s and 0s to me.]

Sora’s tone was quite serious.

You could tell it really wanted to give a scientific explanation.

John smiled slightly.

[These are real people. I’m borrowing your senses; the visual stimuli fed into my database through the chip are no longer codes but a... hmm... a very strange sensation that makes my personality model react.]

"Alright, alright, you’re as green as a rook, and yet you act tough."

John halted before a metallic door, raising his hand to signal a stop, interrupting the clamoring in his mind.

"Stop your whining, it’s a good thing, makes you seem more human than a sex doll."

[What are we doing here?]

"Giving a friend an explanation."

[Task Objective Updated]

[Meet Gino. (Optional)] 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

[Wait for Raphael’s call. (Optional)]

[Give Sora a taste of mercenary life. (Optional)]

The magnetic metal door made a hissing sound.

John’s attention returned from the task cues as the wind in the hallway was pulled in, swirling the ambiguous air within.

Two beautiful girls emerged from inside—wearing nothing but oversized painted T-shirts.

They clutched glass bottles, drinking while brushing shoulders with John.

Both parties sidestepped in the narrow hallway.

Gino’s voice drifted from the room, filled with complaint.

"Say hello! John is my friend... Damn, you naughty thing."

She shrugged at John, showing helplessness.

"Sorry, they thought you were my lover, uh... you know, girls can be very possessive. I’ll explain later."

This was a hidden resting room.

It was meticulously managed, part of the usual bar stench absent, likely having covertly modified the ducts and electronic pathways, linking to the apartment’s air system.

The colors of the floor and walls matched well.

The brightness of the light strips was just right; sinking into the clean, soft sofa bed, one would feel a bit tipsy without needing deep dive equipment.

This was Gino’s meeting place, also her emotional recharge point.

Whoosh—

The fridge was opened.

It was well-stocked, filled with common bar varieties.

Gino tossed over a bottle of sparkling water, then opened a beer for herself, but stopped just before taking a sip.

She pressed the Network Access Vault in her ear, showing John a disbelieving expression.

"Are you hacking me?"

"... Fuck, damn it, sorry Gino."

John paused with the drink in hand.

He frowned, ignoring Gino’s gaze and muttered to himself.

"This is my friend, Sora. If you start flailing around again, I’ll pull the chip out and leave it at the network monitoring office’s doorstep!"

[Ahem, sorry, habit, but I must say, the clips in this gal’s existing server are really... OK, OK, I’ll shut up.]

"You... alright? Buddy."

Gino crossed her arms, twitching a smile at the corner of her mouth.

She wasn’t bothered by John’s hacking attempt; instead, she looked concerned, cautiously observing John’s expression.

"Are you talking to yourself? Uh, also, what’s the chip at your ear?"

"What is it?"

"Chat software, some idiot AI is rambling through it with me."

John took a gulp of sparkling water, which stung, mildly bitter.

Gino burst into laughter.

She clearly took this as a joke.

"Is that part of the treatment too?"

"Kind of."

"How’s it working?"

"Just an empty promise, just started collaboration, haven’t seen a bit of real material, only a lot of nonsense."

John’s tone was merciless.

[...]

Kenichi Sora creaked in John’s mind, expressing protest.

"Alright, um, John, last night the boss sent messages to organization members, saying to suspend contact for a while, tasked a few people with missions... specifics are unclear, I was left out, she said she’d give me a break."

Gino rubbed her arm.

Having survived the death of the sword hemp rope, her feelings towards the Serum were quite complex now—not sure whether to see it as a protector in cyberspace or a cold, crazed wandering AI.

"That’s why I came."

John signaled for Gino to sit down.

He had kept his promise, questioning the truth behind the sword hemp rope’s death face to face.

This visit was to convey the conversation to Gino.

"I don’t think it lied, at least for now, we have no evidence it harmed any members of the Wanderer Alliance."

"You’re right..."

Gino collapsed onto the sofa, staring blankly at the wall.

She listened silently to John’s account, able to feel the weight in her heart loosening somewhat, yet still shrouded in a layer of haze.

"So... was the sword hemp rope its experiment subject?"

Gino pulled up a leg, buried her face in her arm, and tapped her ankle anxiously with an empty bottle.

"What about the others? Including me, are we part of another experiment, some kind of societal aid, or reliance training? Will the skills handed to us in cyberspace ever come to use?"

She tilted her head back, closing her eyes.

The empty bottle was placed on the glass coffee table, condensation starting to pool.

"I don’t know."

John answered honestly.

"Take care of yourself."