"Well, I know." Mercer chuckled and continued, "But ultimately, it's just a program. As its creator, if even I can't control it, then it means it wasn't created by me at all."
Speaking of this, Mercer thought of the original code of Venus—that's what he copied from Desire for Death, and it remains unresearchable to date, the 'AI Soul Core Code.'
"As for Venus, I'm confident. Although I still can't understand the construction of the core code of these highly intelligent AI, AI is driven by logic after all.
They have their behavioral logic and goals, unless corrupted by a Sorcery Puppet-like Rabies virus from Bartmos, they cannot escape their initial logic."
After Mercer briefly explained, the others could only nod.
On the road of hacking and programming, Mercer has gone too far, to the point where ordinary geniuses can't understand at all.
If he thinks there's no problem, then there is no problem. If problems arise, they probably aren't his fault. If even he has problems, then no one in this world will be problem-free... It sounds convoluted, but the fact is truly so.
"So, this program you're eager to finalize, will it help us settle that biotech deal?"
Lucy frowned slightly, as Mercer had been almost entirely focused on the development and experimentation of this program over the past few days.
Mercer nodded, curling his lips: "Of course."
At this moment, Venus timely issued a reminder, its electronic voice now mature and gentle, indicating its growth during time on the server, and it developed its own preferences.
And Mercer never intervened in her choices on such 'personal' matters.
"Master, Mann has completed the handover with Faraday. As you expected, Arasaka has sent professional intelligence agents to approach him. Fortunately, we now have surveillance access to the restaurant where they are meeting."
As Venus' voice fell, a camera footage popped up on the laptop screen.
At this moment, in the video, Faraday, dressed in a suit and looking somewhat distinguished, sat in the corner of a restaurant that was empty except for him, waiting for Agent Arasaka's arrival.
The camera automatically zoomed in, capturing Faraday's facial details, and a program window popped up by his face, displaying his name, age, and recent activities, plus some details Venus deemed worthy of attention and understanding.
Then, the camera slightly turned, and a man in Arasaka attire walked into the restaurant, expressionless, nodding slightly to Faraday before taking a seat opposite him.
The camera captured the identity of the Arasaka man, then a string of information popped up beside his face.
[Name: Chris Paul]
[Age: 58]
[Intel Analysis: Senior agent of Arasaka's counterintelligence department; abilities not outstanding but patient and steady. Currently a trusted assistant to Arthur Jenkins, the head of Arasaka's counterintelligence department.
Due to his older age, promotion is difficult, causing significant psychological pressure. Appropriate inducement could increase his participation in biotech activities.]
[Home Address: ...]
This name... just burned one Chris factory, here's another one owing to be burned.
Kyoko watched with amazement: "How was this analysis made? Like being a trusted assistant, under pressure, difficulty in promotion—how was this intelligence gathered?"
"Simply put, we have high-level admin accounts on various Night City forums, filtering company employees as 'Sorcery Puppet Virus propagators' using internal registration information.
Through those employees who were secretly installed with the Magic Puppet Program for various reasons, we monitor the private chat groups they use and collect relevant information to complete character profiles."
Venus' words reminded the few once again of Mercer's ctOS system's power—unexpectedly, those actions were accomplished back when testing the program.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this accomplishment that Mercer excitedly declared the ctOS system complete.
Mercer just focused on watching the computer video feed.
At this moment, Faraday was already exchanging data chips with the Arasaka agent.
This Arasaka agent took out his laptop, began viewing the data on the spot, and after just a few lines, suddenly exclaimed: "Are you sure? This intelligence..."
This agent intentionally lowered his voice, but in the AI's automatic intelligent volume enhancement situation, everyone still heard the conversation clearly.
"If this intelligence is real, we've caught a big fish this time! This equipment batch was redeployed from headquarters, and a second version likely cannot be replicated in the short term!"
Chris excitedly clenched his fist—not having worked in Arasaka, people probably can't understand his current feelings.
To get promoted in Arasaka, there are only three ways.
One way is to overthrow superiors; as long as you do a stellar job and find leverage against your boss and potential allies, you may overthrow superiors.
Take down your boss, with allies supporting you, and if you gain profits for the company or reduce losses, you can directly move up.
The second way is by rendering a major contribution to the company.