Chapter 1399 - 454: War AI: Frederick

Chapter 1399: Chapter 454: War AI: Frederick

The oppressive force of the lightless deep sea on one’s spirit is immense. The light from the helmet’s searchlight can only pierce the endless darkness, and without any reflection, you might think the searchlight is broken.

The gurgling sounds made by the flowing seawater make you feel as if countless creatures are lurking in the dark, a fear deeply rooted in instinct and genetics.

In such an intensely tense and claustrophobic environment, even the slightest change can bring quite a mental jolt.

So when you realize you’re surrounded by the eerie red light, every cell in your body secretes fear factors, and even your soul can’t help but shudder. When these factors converge at the central nervous system and feedback into your behavior, it becomes

"Ah!!!!"

A piercing scream echoes in the chat channel, abruptly shattering the previously calm sea surface, and the water starts foaming instantly.

[Cybercles: What’s happening down there, speak quickly!]

[Senluo Wanyxiang: Pull us up! Quick!]

Driven by fear, Senluo Wanyxiang and Phoenix just want to leave this eerie place as fast as possible.

But as soon as those two doorframe robots reacted, they were torn apart by creatures swimming in the dark, plunging towards the bottomless abyss, losing signal link, and the transport platform also lost contact.

Cybercles cursed in his heart.

Why isn’t the damn sonar responding?

There’s only one reason this could happen, and that’s that the stealth technology of the intelligent mines has significantly improved over fifty years, making it impossible for their sonar to counter it.

Almost simultaneously, Cybercles sensed the motor was suddenly accelerating, indicating the recovery cable broke!

This isn’t a skirmish; it’s an ambush long devised. Perhaps they were spotted shortly after entering the water, and the mine was just bait thrown to lure them over.

Damn it, this sneaky AI is too damn insidious.

Although it’s not the first time players faced off against rogue AI, it was always either in Cyberspace skirmishes or single combat within Night City. This kind of real-world confrontation is a first, and they had entered the adversary’s home turf.

Luckily, the connection between players hasn’t been cut off.

Cybercles reported the matter to the command center and immediately contacted the two in the water.

[Cybercles: Hey hey hey, are you still there?]

[Phoenix: Damn it, come save us! Holy shit! Crap!!! Ah ah ah!!!]

Although the oxygen tank was intact, the feeling of helplessly falling into darkness due to the broken cable was driving him almost to madness.

[Cybercles: Quit yelling, if it’s no good, log into Cyberspace and euthanize yourself! Get to the point quickly!]

To him, dying wasn’t a big deal; nothing to be afraid of, this equipment was funded by headquarters, and there’s compensation for death, with no personal loss.

[Phoenix: You have a point!]

Then Phoenix didn’t care anymore, let it be, and directly went out-of-body to enter Cyberspace Plaza One.

He still had a standard set of Resurrection Coins, not needing to wait three days, ready to reincarnate anytime!

Seeing the fantastical and grand, stylistically diverse buildings, the feeling of being grounded dispelled the stifling pressure of the deep sea, reviving him entirely.

Senluo Wanyxiang, however, displayed greater psychological resilience. Even after realizing he was sinking, he didn’t panic, opting to deploy airbags to maintain buoyancy while watching the approaching red dots closing in.

In the beam of the helmet’s searchlight, shadows could be seen moving through the water, drawing closer.

Senluo Wanyxiang could sense that the adversary was observing him too, filled with malice, and severing the cable seemed merely to leave them to die in fear and despair.

What a fiendish sense of amusement.

If he had brought some weapons down, Senluo Wanyxiang would’ve drawn a knife no matter what.

But the duo’s reaction was clearly not what the adversary wanted to see; one fell directly into a coma, while the other remained unfazed, confronting it head-on.

The shadows circling Senluo Wanyxiang finally stopped, with one approaching him.

Under the searchlight beam, Senluo Wanyxiang discerned the adversary’s form

An industrial robot, unlike the cylindrical mines, its two front mechanical arms made it resemble a swimming lobster.

This is a typical design for intelligent underwater operational equipment.

Yet the opponent’s two mechanical claws unceremoniously crushed Senluo Wanyxiang’s visor, quickly flooding his diving suit with seawater, submerging his mouth and nose, and it extended a data connector towards the nape of his neck.

————

"Were you attacked by a mine?"

Upon arriving at Plaza One, Phoenix immediately reported to Wildman and the team, no one was greatly surprised.

They had anticipated rogue AI in the sea might react, but it was merely a matter of losing some equipment; they had already bought Resurrection Coins for Senluo Wanyxiang and Phoenix, making the loss entirely acceptable.

But the sonar technology being crushed by the opponent eliminated players’ desire to fight intelligent mines in the water entirely.

To battle, they must engage in network confrontations with rogue AI in Cyberspace.

"What a pity..."