Chapter 464 - 406: Mai Mingle’s TedTalk: A Lecture on and Application of Nest Network Information Technology

Chapter 464: Chapter 406: Mai Mingle’s TedTalk: A Lecture on and Application of Nest Network Information Technology

In the rumbling, endless, pitch-black rainy night, at the point where two flashlight beams converged, stood the most repulsive-looking stage director in the world.

And it was, in fact, immensely proud of itself.

Mai Mingle had seen through the real trap in an instant, yet the creature had still droned on for two full minutes. It painstakingly went over every detail, unwilling to omit a single thought that crossed its mind.

"...They say villains die from talking too much, but I’m not afraid! Because I’m not the villain. Oh, and I’m not going to die, either. But after laying such intricate groundwork and setting up this exquisite trap, if I didn’t get to explain all the ins and outs, I’d probably die of frustration..."

The Resident closed an eye on its temple. The rest of its eyes continued to gaze affectionately at Mercury and Mai Mingle—it certainly had enough of them to go around.

Then, it raised an index finger and tapped its temple, right on the closed eye.

’...As if to say its brain was in fine working order.’

’Its skull must be covered in eyeballs. Is there even any room for a brain?’ Mai Mingle found herself pondering the technicality of it all.

"The most crucial part was when Mercury turned on her flashlight looking for the AP. I had to force myself to act casual and not snicker. I also had to be careful not to step into her beam of light, otherwise the jig would be up instantly... Do you see the irony? Her very knowledge of Residents led to her own defeat!"

The truly terrifying part was that the Resident’s lengthy speech actually had an audience—and an audience that would cheer it on.

"This guy’s looks are nothing new, but his methods are pretty damn good!"

A line of distorted, churning, ink-blot-like Nest text surfaced from the depths of Mai Mingle’s mind. Somehow, she could understand it.

"Hold on, so the Nest network can watch live streams?"

Countless layers of laughter, real and fake, jagged and overlapping, echoed from deep within Mai Mingle’s mind.

"Are you a newborn?"

"Yeah, the last time I watched a live stream I was still human. What’s this thing doing? Why is it streaming? Is he trying to sell products or teach a makeup tutorial? What part of the Nest are we looking at?"

’What’s happening? What’s a live stream?’

’It was as if countless Residents had connected to her brain. Whatever she saw, they saw too—wait, is *this* what it means to be "connected to the Nest network"?’

"What you’re seeing isn’t the Nest, you know."

The Resident standing on the road seemed to be able to see the text surfacing in Mai Mingle’s mind. Like a stage director finally reaching the climax of a show, it thrust its hands toward the sky.

"This! This is the human world! This is Blackmoor City!"

An explosion of Nest text detonated in the depths of Mai Mingle’s mind.

how is that possible no way how can a resident enter the human world you’re not one of the lucky ones with a Path

but i did think it was weird that the buildings trash cans shops and trees weren’t moving at all

so how’d you get into the human world is this old woman really in the human world what’s happening

"Everyone, calm yourselves and listen to me," the Resident before them said smugly. "It is now my Talk time. You may call me Ted."

...Bizarrely, Mai Mingle suddenly felt a consciousness drift over from Mercury.

Resident Ted seemed to have struck some kind of nerve, making Mercury feel a mixture of helplessness, irritation, and amusement. She felt just as Mai Mingle had moments before: sometimes it was impossible to get angry at the Residents, leaving only a sense of powerlessness.

’Was I able to sense Mercury because we’ve "connected" to each other?’

She tried calling out to Mercury in her mind a couple of times, but there was no response.

Meanwhile, Resident Ted had already launched into another monologue. It clearly relished being the only one with the answers, the only one who could preach and enlighten the ignorant.

"Tonight, a momentous change has occurred in the human world. This event has only just transpired, and it is thanks to my sharp senses and extensive information network that I was able to react immediately, becoming one of the very first Residents to enter the human world."

"You’re dying to know what it is, aren’t you? Well, I’ll tell you. The Nest and the human world have been linked."

"If you go to the following addresses..."

"...you’ll discover what appear to be massive black holes torn open at those locations in the Nest. Don’t worry, that isn’t the Black Abyss Belt... The Black Abyss Belt has been squeezed into the human world. Once it’s in the human world, it poses no threat at all."

"So, the darkness you’re seeing is the night of the human world!"

what what impossible who did this

wait did the host’s plan actually work

’The "Host’s plan"?’

Mai Mingle’s heart clenched. She recalled the radio host who had saved her from the taxi driver. ’They have to be talking about him, right?’

He had said something back then which she hadn’t found strange at the time. But afterward, the words kept bubbling up from the back of her mind, feeling more and more wrong the more she thought about them...

He had said, "For the Nest, the Nest Dominance Game is like a hurricane making landfall in Florida—an unstoppable natural disaster."

He’d said, ’I guess you could say I’m on the side of post-disaster reconstruction.’

For the Nest, this "disaster" was "being dominated."

’So, following his logic, "reconstruction" ought to mean "restoring it to an undominated state"—but how could that be possible?’

’How could you restore something to an undominated state after domination has already begun?’

’In the human world, you could rebel, usurp the throne, kill the ruler, and the reign would end. But rules set by the Nest become "truth" itself; they can’t be sidestepped like that.’

In Lan Jiesen’s notes, An Lu had also said, "I can use the Nest however I want."

’Faced with such absolute domination, how was the radio host supposed to achieve his "post-disaster reconstruction"?’

’Thinking it over, the only window of opportunity had to be right after the "disaster" struck, but before a final ruler emerged, right?’

’But... his plan was to lead the Nest into the human world? Why?’

’He didn’t seem like one of those Residents obsessed with slaughtering humans. He was so rational...’

While Mai Mingle’s mind was reeling with shock, suspicion, and wild thoughts, Resident Ted’s mouth hadn’t stopped for a second.

"...What you are all seeing through these two humans is the human world. You can think of them as a browser interface, a window, or a camera."

A chorus of amazement and praise rose from the depths of her mind, mingled with plenty of doubt and questions—the crowd of Residents gathered in Mai Mingle’s head was growing.

’Mercury’s mind is probably just as crowded.’

"Then let us see something else to prove this really is the human world and you’re not just messing with us," a Resident said. "What’s the point of having them just stare at your ugly mug the whole time?"

Resident Ted laughed heartily.

"I knew it. There are bound to be some backward students among you, with small minds and narrow horizons, who still don’t quite believe me."

An endless tide of denials and self-praise surged from the depths of her mind.

"No problem. I’ll let you all get a good look at the human world through these two humans. I can even be your tour guide."

how are we supposed to look they cant move

hey old woman turn your head

’...I’d love to move,’ Mai Mingle thought.

’If I could move, the first thing I’d do is turn off my phone’s flashlight. But how could Resident Ted make me move without letting me turn the light off?’

"Now, I will install an Application Programming Interface, or API, into the consciousness of these two."

Resident Ted started spouting more words Mai Mingle couldn’t comprehend. "With an API, her consciousness becomes an application software system. You will be able to interact with her conscious system—to put it bluntly, you can issue commands, and after I approve them, she will act accordingly."

’...If there was anything in the world that could make her more furious or fill her with more resistance, she truly couldn’t imagine it.’

’Her body... was going to take orders from a bunch of Residents?’

’My consciousness—my conscious system—has become an "interface" for receiving Residents’ commands? That’s what this means, isn’t it?’

The countless Residents in the depths of her mind, however, were ecstatic.

awesome can you shoot yourself

no way that request won’t be approved yet right

With a stiff, rigid body, Mercury walked step by step into Mai Mingle’s field of vision. The command she’d received was apparently to go touch the trash can on the side of the road.

"Hmm? Send in your requests, the API is already open. How come no one has any commands for the old lady?" Resident Ted asked, placing his hands on his hips. After waiting a few seconds, he added, "Just state your request. What’s there to be shy about?"

"...Turn your head," a Resident said.

"Turn your own goddamn head, you sycophantic piece of crap! The head that should be turning is yours! Turn your head, turn your head, turn turn turn turn until it falls off!"

Mai Mingle froze.

Who was that who had just spoken?

"Oh, alright. Turn her head, you say?" Resident Ted acknowledged the request and waved a hand magnanimously. "No problem! Turn!"

She could move again—but her neck felt like it was made of individual Lego bricks, forcing her to turn it one excruciating segment at a time.

As her head turned, the driver with the black fog swirling above his head immediately entered her vision.

whoa what is that

isn’t that the Black Abyss Belt this really is the human world it was really pushed into the human world

Under a new stream of commands, Mai Mingle walked stiffly toward the driver, her limbs moving awkwardly in unison. She meticulously studied his head, then slowly reached a hand into the swirling black fog.

The Residents in her mind descended into a complete frenzy.

someone go look quick and see if her hand is coming through if we see it it means the connection is real

then we can get into the human world enter the human world enter the human world

humanhumanhumanhuman shouldn’t exist want humans want humans wantwantwant humans want to take humans apart peel them separate the useless parts from the good refine them down to that tiny bit of filth oh the power it makes my knees weak i hate it

gotta admit that host did a great thing how did he do it how did he do it

we can’t kill them all my dear compatriots leave some to seed so we can have more residents more residents

"Go forth, my compatriots!"

Resident Ted spoke with deep, heartfelt passion, "Go to those massive, fractured black holes! Stand before the darkness, listen to the torrential rain of the human world, smell the foul stench of human souls, and—just like me—step on through!"