In 2147 AD, the No. 7 node of the East Asia Computing Power Zone, the ninth slum.
At six o'clock in the morning, there was no sun over the city.
Instead, a huge silver ring suspended above the stratosphere - the National Computing Power Ring (NCR-Halo). It was like a cold eye of God, quietly overlooking the steel jungle that spread like a fungus on the surface, slowly spinning.
Buzz——
A low, high-frequency hum that only people with implanted cochlear chips can hear resounded in the sky.
That was the signal of the beginning of "computing power allocation".
A soft white light stream visible to the naked eye falls from the center of the circle, washing over the "rich area" and "administrative tower" in the center of the city like a waterfall. The neon lights there instantly exploded, the virtual idols on the holographic billboards began to dance enchantingly, and the traffic flow of autonomous driving woke up like blood vessels.
And the edges of the light flow do not favor - those ninth slums hidden in the shadows are still curled up in darkness and acid rain like dead dogs.
When the door of the old time café was pushed open, there was a groan characteristic of rusty hinges.
Lin Lan stood behind the bar and turned the long-discontinued brass grinder vigorously. Her fingers were slightly white from the force, and there were no signs of implants on her knuckles - a rare, pure pair of original human palms.
In an era where even breathing can be priced by algorithms, this inefficient manual labor is seen as a luxury disease called "feelings".
"Boss, today's beans seem to be a little damp?"
The only guest sitting in the corner was an old man in a shabby trench coat. He had no prosthetic eyes, and his cloudy pupils stared at the movements in Lin Lan's hands.
"It rained acid last night and the exhaust fan broke." Lin Lan's voice was very soft, with a warmth that was incompatible with this steel city, "But I added a little cinnamon powder to cover it." "
She lifted the pour-over jug and poured hot water into the filter paper. The heat rose, with the warmth of burnt aroma and cinnamon, instantly dissipating the ubiquitous smell of metal rust in the air.
The old man took a deep breath greedily and even closed his eyes.
"That's great... It still smells good. Unlike those washed out by machines, the water temperature of each cup is accurate to 0.1 degrees, which makes people feel chilled. "
Lin Lan smiled and pushed the coffee over. She looked up and looked through the oil-stained window at the stream of holy light that was falling in the sky.
The light flow represents civilization, order, and despair.
"The price of computing power has risen again." Lin Lan said softly, "Uncle Li next door was remotely shut down yesterday because he couldn't pay the pacemaker network fee." "
The old man's hand holding the coffee shook and smiled bitterly: "We people, like these damp beans." The machine is no longer needed, and no one wants to grind it. Wait for mold. "
Lin Lan didn't speak. She just held the warm coffee pot in her hand. The temperature of the pot wall reached the palm of her hand, which was the only truth she could grasp in this cold world.
Meanwhile, in the "capsule apartment" three blocks away from the café.
Zhou Xing suddenly woke up from the nightmare and gasped.
The cramped sleeping cabin was only two square meters, and the air was filled with musty smells and burnt wires. He subconsciously touched the back of his head - there was a coin-sized metal joint, and the skin around it was red, swollen and inflamed, and even oozing a hint of yellow water.
That is the rejection reaction of inferior brain-computer interfaces.
A glaring red warning box pops up on the retina:
[Warning: Your personal account balance is less than 50 tokens. If you are unable to renew within 12 hours, your Retina Enhancement will be turned off and you will return to "semi-blind". ]
"Fuck."
Zhou Xing scolded in a low voice, patted his head hard, trying to dispel the hangover-like dizziness.
He is a "flesh data porter". In this era where AI can do everything, only the most dangerous, dirty, and human intuition to deal with the "junk data classification" work will be their turn as the bottom enhancers.
But today is different.
Zhou Xing dragged out a rusty tin box from under the bed and carefully took out a pale blue injection - this is the **"nerve stimulant" he bought on the black market after saving money for half a year.
Today is the "stress test day" of outsourcing companies under the National Computing Power Defense Administration (SCC).
If he passes the test, he can obtain a legal "L3 primary computing power quota". With that quota, he no longer had to worry about his retina being shut down, and he could buy real medicine for his seriously ill sister, not this deadly stimulant.
Zhou Xing looked at the photo posted on the bulkhead. It was a thirteen-year-old girl with a ponytail and a bright smile - Zhou Xiaoyu, his only relative, and his last weakness in this world.
Three months ago, Xiaoyu was diagnosed with a "neurodegenerative disease" and needed regular injections of **"nerve repair fluid" worth 5,000 tokens**. In order to raise money, Zhou Xing has sold the right to regenerate his left kidney and even borrowed a large amount of usury.
"One last time." Zhou Xing said to himself in the mirror. The person in the mirror is pale and bloodshot in his eyes, like a wild dog cornered by a cliff.
He bit off the needle cap and plunged the medicine into the carotid artery.
Blue fluid pushes into the blood vessels. The severe pain exploded instantly, followed by a morbid exuberance. The noise on the retina disappears, the world becomes incredibly clear, even the trails of dust in the air are clearly visible.
Zhou Xing grabbed his coat and pushed the door out.
On the streets outside, countless people at the bottom like him are flocking to the testing ground that determines their fate like workers.
Tianqiong Technology Test Center, the square is crowded with people.
Thousands of bottom enhancers huddled under the scorching sun, the smell of sweat and oil mixed together to make it disgusting. They all longed for the only opportunity to make a leap - pass the test, obtain a computing power quota, and escape the quagmire of the slums.
Zhou Xing lined up in the line, feeling his heart beat so fast that it seemed to jump out of his chest.
At this moment, the sky suddenly darkened.
Not dark clouds, but ... A huge, streamlined black flying machine slowly landed in the center of the square. On its shell, a golden, three-headed dog badge is sprayed.
That is the symbol of the Zhao Consortium.
The aircraft hatch opened and a young man walked down.
He looks just in his early twenties, wearing a perfectly tailored white suit, meticulously combed hair, and an innate arrogance on his face. His eyes were pale gold - not human eyes, but millions of tokens worth of "Zeus Pupil" bionic prosthetic eyes.
Zhao Mingxuan, the prince of the Zhao Consortium, is the top technology oligopoly heir in the East Asian computing power region.
There was a dead silence in the square. Everyone lowered their heads and did not dare to look at him.
Zhao Mingxuan scanned the crowd, as if looking at a group of livestock waiting to be slaughtered. His gaze eventually fell on a test instrument on the edge of the square.
"Today's test, add a new link." Zhao Mingxuan's voice spread throughout the audience through the loudspeaker, with a playful smile, "I just developed a new defense wall algorithm and need some ... Volunteers come to test its ability to withstand stress. "
He pointed to the thousands of people in the square: "Just them." Anyway, they are all waste at the bottom, and they are slow to even do data classification. "
Zhou Xing's heart sank suddenly.
He knew that the so-called "test defense wall" was actually to use them as guinea pigs. Those who are unqualified at the bottom will have nervous breakdowns, become vegetative states, or even directly brain die under the impact of violent computing power.
"What? Don't want to? Zhao Mingxuan looked at the silent crowd and sneered, "If you don't want to, you can get out." But remember, those who refuse to test will always be blacklisted by the SCC. "
No one moved.
No one dared to move.
Zhou Xing clenched his fists tightly, his nails embedded in his palms, bleeding out. He looked at the high-ranking figure and felt the complete contempt in the other person's eyes - it was not the look of a person, it was the look of garbage and ants.
"Very good." Zhao Mingxuan nodded in satisfaction, "Then let's start." Let me see how many seconds you unevolved carbon-based monkeys can last. "
He raised his hand and waved it gently.
[Instruction: L2 level computing power suppression, power 10%, range coverage - the whole field. ]
Boom!!
An invisible wave fell from the sky, like an invisible giant hand, slapping everyone in the square.
It was a pure flood of information, a high-pressure computing power suppression, and a terrifying force that could only be called by L2 level permissions.
In an instant, screams came one after another.
The person in front of the line fell directly to the ground, bleeding from his seven orifices; The person in the middle held his head and screamed, as if he was pierced into the brain by countless steel needles at the same time; The people behind tried to escape, but their legs were weak and they couldn't move at all.
Zhou Xing felt like he was hit head-on by a high-speed train.
His retina was instantly filled with garbled characters, and the brain-computer interface sent out an overload alarm, and his nerves seemed to be thrown into a hot oil pan.
[Warning: Nerve overload! ] ]
[Warning: The temperature of the brain-computer interface is abnormal! ] ]
[Warning: It is recommended to disconnect immediately! ] ]
Cutting? How to cut it off?
Zhou Xing wanted to scream, but his throat seemed to be blocked by something and he couldn't make a sound. His vision began to blur, and his consciousness seemed to be grasped by an invisible hand, being crushed little by little.
This is ... Is it L2 power?
This is ... Is there an insurmountable gap between the powerful and the bottom?
At the last moment of losing consciousness, Zhou Xing heard Zhao Mingxuan's smiling voice, as if it came from a very far distance:
"Oh, what a bunch of waste. Even the test qualifications for my new algorithm... None. "
Darkness engulfs everything.
(End of Chapter 1)