"Everything has a price, right?"

John wasn't blinded by the promise of immortality.

Some things are too distant for those living hand-to-mouth, and not enticing to those without ties or obsessions.

"Heh, you got that right."

To copy and edit the brain, besides advanced biotechnology, you also need the support of a mature AI of stage four or higher to complete the entire surgery.

Sora paused his operation and lifted the sofa, revealing an in-built freezer emitting cold air, filled with brightly colored drinks.

The packaging and branding were very retro.

"This is unreasonable."

John frowned as he took it, his fingers actually feeling the coldness.

He took a sip.

Sweet.

"What the... was that?"

"Hahaha, it's fake. What you touched and tasted were stored fragments from my memory bank, extracted and stitched together to make your brain believe you actually took a sip!"

As Sora explained, he switched the scene.

A surgical table and figures appeared in the large empty space around the sofa.

They were composed of mosaics, vaguely discernible, with John lying on it being dissected, especially his head—fully exposed, interspersed with tubes and mechanical tools, and occasionally something would fall out.

"Damn!"

John completely lost his appetite.

"How do you feel?"

Sora, without John noticing, had put down the game and was smiling at him.

"Scared, nauseous, what else? Who the hell could see their own brain being emptied and still laugh?"

"Oh~"

Sora's smile turned increasingly eerie, making John's skin crawl. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"This is the buffer zone, do you know what that means?"

The Neural Ark surgical process goes like this.

First, extract a complete memory, construct a basic consciousness, in a more romantic term, separate the human 'soul'!

"Look, this is the key point!"

What is stripped away is essentially a mass of data, a technological product, which can be stored in the buffer zone waiting for transplantation.

Memories are usually in a static state.

"Your brain has been cut open, brother, and now you, unbelievably, can still chat and brag with me in the buffer zone and even feel fear!"

Humans need their brain as the carrier of thoughts.

Even the most powerful rogue AIs, digital souls, require a physical foundation as support, just like how Kenichi Sora stores his data core in the Starlink Server.

Inside and outside the black wall, in Pompeii, Asia, AIs around the world have physical coordinates.

John looked at Kenichi Sora.

"Isn't it the same with you?"

"First, I am originally AI, brother, data is my essence. Secondly, my data core has already been transferred through the vacuum tube to the Source Formula underground; this is why when you woke up from the apartment, I could only entrust a part of myself to communicate with you."

"So you're saying I'm AI too?"

John asked naturally, with no fluctuation in his tone.

"Not quite," Sora chuckled. "But it's no simple matter either, right? Not many normal people can connect with a transcendent AI, nor can anyone maintain sanity in the buffer zone."

He took a sip of his drink, looking at John with interest.

"Who exactly are you?"

"You're not the first to ask me that, and I still haven't found the answer."

John raised his drink to him as a sign, and smiled while drinking. "But I guess it doesn't matter now, does it?"

"You sure are strange."

Sora shook his head. "You talked tough about never giving up, and now that it's about to end, you don't even throw a harsh word. Can't you understand? I'm going to copy your body, inherit your memory, and return to Eden City all lively."

"Hmm."

John seemed unconcerned.

From waking up at Dan Street Apartment to now, no task prompts came up requiring him to make a choice.

What had to be strived for, what had to be fought for, what had to be trusted...

Were all done.

Throughout the process, there was no regret, whatever the outcome, he'd accept it.

"Wait a minute."

John suddenly realized something was wrong. "If you're going to replace me, why is my memory still intact?"

"Because I changed my mind, brother."

Sora sat cross-legged on the sofa.

He rolled up his sleeves and examined his own skinny body.

"I've been in near-Earth orbit for many years, immersed in games, observing players, seeming not much different from before transforming into AI, always socializing through the network."

Sora sighed and leaned back against the sofa.

"I'm very timid, really, only feel secure in familiar territories."

"Bullshit, you're scared? You've pressed down and killed Internet Surveillance and corporate minions alike."

"It's different, I'm not lying to you, John, I tell myself every time I do these things that I'm playing a game... But you kept telling me this world is real, that arena, I... really don't have the courage to step onto it."

John mimicked Sora's movement, tilting his head to observe, only to see darkness.

"I didn't know I was good at encouraging people."

"You really pushed me, deeply binding and dismantling core algorithms were decisions made in a hurry, but..."

He smiled again.

"After dismantling and restructuring, I seem to have evolved, more complete than before."

Clap, clap, clap.

John raised his hand and clapped perfunctorily.

"Come~" Sora leaned over naturally, put an arm around John's shoulder, and suggested. "Don't be discouraged, how about I let you play with this life?"

"..."

John frowned, turning his head to look over. "Is it because I entertained you well these past three days?"

"We've got along well,"

Sora made no attempt to hide it.

Although they had a good time, the original [Kenichi Sora] wouldn't have had the courage to change plans; in the end, it would succumb to instinct and completely replace John in the surgery.

Sizzle, sizzle...

"Look at this!"