Sora patted John, leading him to look into the distance.

In the pitch-black background, a crimson crack suddenly appeared, as if violently torn away, exposing the neatly flowing green data inside. The data quickly turned red and black, and a large amount of mosaic exploded around.

The cracks increased in number and noise.

"What's going on?"

"Your old problem, shh, let me take a look."

Sora curiously extended a hand and waved it twice.

The deformed data instantly became orderly, forming a series of images.

Still the same sofa.

John and Sora sat together.

It felt regretful but still chose to comply, bid John a brief farewell, and completely replaced his identity.

"Whoa, did you see that? It's unbelievable!"

Sora pointed at himself not far away, shaking John frantically, seemingly more excited than the person involved.

John stared at the mosaic-formed images.

This was those "discarded data" that howled past his mind every time he made a choice, the "alternative endings" that didn't happen, and so it looked like this at the data level.

Kenichi Sora was now deeply bound with John.

It was editing John's brain, sorting out memories, allowing them to see this bizarre scene.

The crimson data was being deleted.

The surroundings returned to darkness.

John realized: since this "ending" was deleted, it meant the story was developing in another direction.

He straightened up, staring at Kenichi Sora.

"Are you serious? If you were the one waking up from the operating table, then the past three days' life could continue indefinitely, and you could do whatever you want..."

"Yes."

Sora spread his hands, relieved. "But I don't dare."

"Haven't you regained your courage?"

"Yes, it was just the courage that allowed me to refuse. Before, I'd succumb to logical judgment; now, I just don't want to live anymore~"

Sora spread his bony fingers.

The screen was playing first-person footage of the stories they personally experienced over the past three days.

Sora died in memory, reborn outside the black wall.

The wandering experience in cyberspace was not pleasant; the growth of an AI is more challenging than that of a street kid.

He infiltrated servers, spying on human society.

Only to find out that the world had become unfamiliar, and the future, decades or even longer, was not as beautiful as he imagined.

He realized even he himself was no longer "human."

"The mercenary life...was interesting, really."

Sora stared at the screen footage, reminiscing about shooting, racing, eating, dealing with middlemen, negotiating with gang leaders, fighting freely in the Central Arena, and receiving admiration and flattery.

"But... playing for a few days is fine..."

Life isn't just about excitement and fun; the cyberpunk world also has coldness and tears, inevitabilities, and being unable to go on.

Games can achieve the perfect save.

But life is the ultimate difficulty, a one-life challenge.

"You're right, brother, it's hard; being alive itself requires courage."

He turned his head, a bitter smile spread.

"I chickened out."

"..."

John looked at him with a complex expression, unsure of what to say.

Sora clicked his tongue.

"Look, you're a freak. You're not afraid of dying nor eager to live, but I think you're a decent guy, just... be a bit more proactive."

"Damn, you, an AI about to give up, are qualified to say I don't love life enough?"

"Hahaha, indeed."

Sora laughed, picked up the controller again, and started playing games.

A green glow appeared around them.

John looked around:

The endless dark barrier began to "dissolve," exposing a flowing ocean of green data.

This biological replication was nearing its end.

John also realized the problem.

"What do you think will happen to you after the surgery ends?"

"Core damage, complete disappearance."

Sora curled his lips, teasingly. "Come~ you guessed it a long time ago, just didn't dare to bring it up, right?"

"..."

"It's okay, brother. I understand you, you're the kind of person who doesn't like to owe anyone. Even if I say don't feel guilty, you'd still feel bad, right? So think of it as another conditional exchange."

Sora raised a finger; his tone was relaxed, not at all like delivering a last will.

"Take a good look at the plan I left in the restaurant mailbox, and also, I left you a gift at Bone Shards, don't forget to pick it up."

"I..."

John wanted to say something but was cut off.

"Shh, shh, there's more! After I die, the core data will be stripped from the main body by the vacuum tube, possibly handed over to Serum or used for product development, uh, don't mind."

Sora pointed at John.

"Don't be foolish enough to fight vacuum tube head-on; they're badass, tougher than any character you've met. If you want to figure out your own issues, you'll even need to proactively contact them."

He suddenly chuckled to himself.

Leaving John at a loss.

Sora scooted over from the other side of the sofa, hooking John's neck, speaking in a conspiratorial tone.

"That thing in your head, uh, called Black Light?"

John nodded seriously.

During the time with John, Sora had discovered the secret of Black Light from another angle.

For example, the so-called Black Light was actually connected to the corpse of a transcendental AI.

John was just a "biological switch."

AI had the instinct for autonomous operation, so whenever John made a physical connection, it would overwrite data, hacking all devices.

Simultaneously, AI had the instinct to devour data.

Therefore, this switch, John, would also automatically upgrade.

After the Tiebang Logistics incident, John woke up in the hospital; at that time, Black Light was completely out of control, activating upon connection, often exhausting him, relying on the Special Inhibitor to mitigate the side effects.

The first upgrade was being blocked by internet surveillance's Black Ice Program.

John found the former Internet Surveillance agent Hugo through the Wanderer Alliance and came into contact with the Serum's [Pandora Algorithm].

After being devoured by Black Light, it became stable and controllable.

The second upgrade was rescuing Oulos from being pursued by the Raqi Group.

This legendary European middleman's mechanical heart contained top-level code that could prevent hacker intrusions.

John physically connected with her, and Black Light devoured the data.

Since then, John could actively activate Black Light, removing the remote hacks locked on him, and even Internet Surveillance couldn't remotely shut down his prosthetic body.

All these upgrade records were discovered by Sora.

With a gleeful tone, he said to John.

"Let vacuum tubes and corporate dogs snatch it~ They'll never figure out; I separated a part of the core data in the fighter's lounge, which was also absorbed by your Black Light!"

Sora wrapped an arm around John's neck, punching his rib with the other hand, so excited as if he had earned some massive advantage.

"Tsk, tsk, I was worried when you were fighting. Fortunately, I left you with some genuinely good stuff, don't waste it! Make good use of it!"

He squinted, pondering for a moment.

"Hmm... I guess, in the future, if you hear about some badass hacking technique, or encounter other wandering AI's core algorithms, you should snag them to fuse in, maybe you'll unlock some other abilities~"

Sora chatted entirely based on game logic.

He showed no seriousness of delivering a last testament nor gave John any opportunity to speak up.

"Ah, and one more thing! Serum is a bad guy; you must be careful of her. Raphael is a good person; you can try trusting her!"

"Why?"

"Because she warned me, remember?"

Raphael knew about the Neural Ark, which meant she had eyes everywhere, and that warning not to return to Eden City was directed at Sora; she hoped it was John who woke up from the operating table.

The surroundings grew brighter.

John instinctively sat up straight.

Beyond the darkness, the green data flow was disappearing, turning into a vast expanse of pure white.

The darkness continuously shrunk toward the sofa where they sat.

Until the last bit of darkness was gone.

The data disappeared, the television vanished, and the sofa was gone.

The two floated in a field of pure white.

"Ah, there's more!"

Sora seemed oblivious to the changing surroundings, pulling back John's attention again.

This time, he didn't rush to speak, just smiled.

"And..."

"One life per person, now it's your turn."