"Do you think if New America really had control over a network nuclear weapon, they would hold back from using it against their enemies?"
Ultraman revealed the essence of New America's use of the Black Wall: "They are like a group of primitives who have stumbled upon a weapon of the future, knowing only to point the barrel at their enemy and pull the trigger, and yet pulling the trigger itself requires a highly skilled hacker.
Currently, the only one in New America who possesses this skill is a hacker named Lark, and even this hacker can't be expected to pull the trigger many times.
Her body will collapse, because each time she initiates the Black Wall protocol, she becomes the conduit. The enormous data flow and relentless attack methods of the Black Wall will make her life flicker out like a candle, and this is irreversible.
And if you attempt to use the Black Wall for a large-scale attack... you'll be its first victim.
Don't use it, don't even think about it, it's better for both of us."
Mercer was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Can you use the Black Wall to destroy the world?"
"Perhaps," Ultraman calmly replied.
"Could Lilith's goal... be related to the Black Wall?" Mercer's thoughts shifted quickly, but Ultraman effortlessly kept up with his train of thought: "It's not impossible."
Mercer pondered, then sighed after a long pause, "I must have control over this world-destroying button. I don't want to use it, but I need the deterrent. Even if it's fake, I need people to believe it's real."
Ultraman merely said coldly, "You can try."
She wouldn't give Mercer any help in this regard—she knew very well that with Mercer's abilities, even without the Black Wall, he might have a way to create a network nuclear bomb on his own.
And if he wanted, perhaps he could indeed weaponize the Black Wall using military science research, but Ultraman wouldn't assist him and might even stop him from exploiting the Black Wall, as it was one of her responsibilities.
Mercer then straightforwardly said, "I can give you the rogue AIs from the Little Beidou Facility, but you need to come over and help me. I'm very worried there's something filthy inside. I need an insurance policy, and all intelligence, knowledge, and technology must be shared."
"Alright," Ultraman said, then raised her hand slightly towards Mercer. A stream of data condensed into a key-like object and was handed to Mercer.
"After entering the facility, throw it in, and leave the rest to me," Ultraman said, and then her figure began to gradually fade away: "Spider Murphy said you've changed, and it seems that's true."
Mercer hesitated for a moment, then said, "Tell her I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt her with my words at the time. In hindsight, my choice of words may have been too sharp and absolute. I just dislike how you all treat life so lightly now."
"Next time, tell her yourself—she was quite upset those days. By the way, your attempt to control the nuke is no different from those with ambition, and I don't like it at all.
I hope you really just want self-preservation, not to become one of those bastards who preach love and justice but think only of themselves."
Ultraman finished speaking and vanished.
Beyond the Black Wall, the world was silent. Mercer quietly gazed into the distant, pitch-black, unknown data field and sighed after a long pause.
Ambitious...
Mercer shook his head with a complex expression, then chose to go offline.
Anyone who wants to change the world could be considered ambitious. Regardless of the original intention, just holding ideals isn't enough to achieve real impact.
After exiting the deep dive state, thinking about the matters concerning Lilith, Mercer wandered into the dining room.
"What are you thinking about? If you ask me, you shouldn't have changed yourself into this mess. Did you do the test this morning? I told you, let Old Wei have a remote look..."
V mumbled as he placed the tray in front of Mercer, who finally came back to his senses, smiling helplessly: "My medical skills aren't beneath Old Wei's now, don't be so suspicious. I assure you, I'm fine."
"What do you mean, I'm being suspicious? Look at yourself now. Saying you're half Adam's Hammer wouldn't be an exaggeration. Except for your head, where haven't you had surgery?"
V then seriously said, "Mercer, your level of modification is higher than mine now!"
"It's not unusual to be higher than yours. With your level of intelligence, you haven't had any issues, why would I?" Mercer replied with a cheeky smile, making V roll his eyes.
"Yeah right! Old Wei told me that cyberpsychosis doesn't depend on intelligence levels; sometimes, the smarter ones are more prone to going crazy, as people like you love to overthink and then get stuck in dead ends."
V unceremoniously continued, "In any case, you must do mental and equipment tests daily from now on, no slacking off."
"I guess I shouldn't have told you I had cybernetic surgery..." Mercer muttered.
And V raised his eyebrow: "Speaking of which, I have more to say! In just a few days, you cobble together a set of cybernetics for yourself? And you always joke about how reckless I am. I think you're more reckless than I am!
I asked the researchers, you didn't even test that cybernetic setup you made, immediately installing it on yourself. Does anyone do that..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" Mercer raised his hands in surrender: "First of all, the concept was already in my head, the simulation designs were done, it was just about bringing the full design to life, it wasn't something I just made up on a whim.