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Penguin: "Quack quack quack!!!"

Vincent and Parnan were shocked again: "Holy crap, it's a penguin, alive!"

V smiled, disappeared and reappeared, sent the penguin back to Antarctica, and asked the two, "Do you believe me now?"

Parnan nodded, but Vincent then thought of another problem.

"Wait a minute, you're from 2176, but she's from 2076. Doesn't that mean you're from the same era as me?"

Vincent was asking Vera, but Vera already had the answer to that question.

"Vera is from 2076, that's true, but she's not from your 2076."

Vincent pondered: "Parallel universes?"

“It’s not a parallel universe, but the observer effect. It exists because of observation,” V explained. “Time always moves forward and cannot be reversed. I initiated a time travel experiment in 2152, which gave birth to Vera’s world of 2076. In 2171, we initiated another time travel, which gave birth to your current world. So although everyone has had a 2077, your 2077 is more than 20 years later than Vera’s, and nearly 100 years later than mine.”

Vincent nodded in sudden realization; he basically understood.

V looked at Panan, who quickly waved his hand and said, "Don't mind me, I haven't understood anything since 500 words ago."

Vera was almost crying with joy: "See? That's a normal person's reaction!"

Vincent was clearly not a normal person. He now believed that V and Vera were from the future, but he was still puzzled: "Why would people from the future want to see me? I'm just an ordinary wanderer. Even though I've achieved some success now, my future is still uncertain. There shouldn't be anything that people from the future would value, right?"

V shook his head: "You're wrong."

Vincent asked in surprise, "Is there really something about me that you guys value? Transformation technology?"

"Of course not. While the transformation technology is quite cool, in the context of the technology level in 2176, it's only at the level of a high school hobby group."

"That really hurts someone's pride." Vincent's face twitched a few times.

V laughed and said, "There's no need to be self-deprecating. At least the combined design is already at a university level."

"Thank you for your comforting words." Vincent sighed. "So, what exactly did I do wrong?"

V replied, "You are not an ordinary person."

"Not an ordinary person? Am I some kind of illegitimate child who was lost to the world?"

“No, that’s not it.” V said something surprising: “You are actually from the future.”

Vincent was stunned, and so was Panan.

"What a joke! I'm from the future, how come I didn't know that!"

"Because you lost your memory. You woke up in the Badlands and were taken in by the Becker family. You have no memories of what happened before, do you?"

Panan looked at Vincent in surprise. Vincent hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“Now I know where your amazing technical skills come from.” Panan gave a wry smile, then looked at V: “So you took him back to the future? Because his unexpected appearance changed the present?”

“No.” V once again made a startling statement: “It was Vera and I who brought him to this day.”

Vincent asked curiously, "Why?"

"Because you are trying to destroy the entire solar system."

Vincent: "...Is the reason so cliché? It's like a scene from a third-rate sci-fi movie."

"The process was much more exciting than a third-rate sci-fi movie. At least Vera and I fought tooth and nail to beat you."

"What did I do?"

"You've done so much, let me tell you all about it."

V told Vincent the whole story.

"I actually monopolized all knowledge in the future and ruled all of humanity with oppressive power?" Vincent was completely confused: "Impossible, I would never do that! I just want to live a life of comfort and security, but I have never thought of harming anyone!"

“Yeah, yeah,” Vera retorted, “You obey traffic rules and don’t run red lights. Compared to you, I’m the real devil.”

Vincent's expression was complicated: "So, you're here... to eliminate the root of the problem?"

Upon hearing this, Panan immediately stepped in front of Vincent: "Don't do anything rash, I won't let you touch him!"

"Don't worry, Panan, we had no intention of killing him at all, because his return to the past is the correct history."

Vincent immediately recalled a crucial part of their conversation: "My future self only became a tyrant after coming into contact with V's genetic sample... I understand now. He discovered that his genes were exactly the same as V's, that they were essentially the same person. He discovered that time loops, and everyone is trapped in the loop, which is why he wants to destroy humanity and the entire solar system to break the loop!"

V laughed: "As expected of the future Demon King, you're incredibly perceptive. You guessed everything. Everything Vincent did was to break the cycle. In his plan, he, all of humanity, and the entire solar system would be killed by White Frost, preventing him from returning to the past and ending the cycle. Those he had 'exiled' to the outside of the solar system would become the spark of humanity, multiplying and building a new civilization. The initial intention of this plan was good, but it was too cruel. Technology stalled, everyone lived in fear, and countless vibrant lives were lost due to Vincent's self-harm, creating countless tragedies. And most importantly..."

“His actions cannot break the cycle at all; in fact, they are part of the cycle itself,” Vincent continued. “Because of oppressive rule, the future Michiko Arasaka pulled you there, and after you went there and defeated the future Vincent, he returned to the past and became me.”

“That’s right, that’s exactly it.” V sighed. “Time begins to cycle, your cycle, my cycle, Vera’s cycle, with the three of us as anchor points. Time turns again and again, just like a video game where players play different roles in a pre-set storyline, starting one cycle after another.”

“But this time is different,” Vincent asked. “If it were a loop, you should be repeating your own story now, instead of coming to my point in time and joining my story.”

"Indeed, I stepped out this time."

"How did you do that?"

“A higher-dimensional demon was helping me. He failed many times in the cycle, but this time he succeeded.”

"Since it's a cycle, it should be flawless. Was there something different this time that allowed him to succeed?"

“He said there was no difference. Every time, I would retrieve my memories, challenge the Night of Echoes, fail, have my memories wiped off, and enter the cycle again. But this time, I defeated the Night of Echoes.” V thought for a moment and said, “According to the high-dimensional demon, I become stronger with each cycle, and this time was the strongest he had ever seen me.”

Vincent asked curiously, "Why have you become stronger?"

“I don’t know, I’m investigating, and there are no results yet.” V shook his head. “Let’s not talk about me, let’s talk about you. In normal history, you would lead the Wanderers to overthrow the Corporation, establish a new unified human government, and embark on a path of technological leapfrog development. This is a good history, and we don’t need to change it.”

“But I will die someday, and the real me will be born more than 2000 years from now, walking the same path again,” Vincent said. “That’s the biggest problem.”

“Indeed, your era may be earlier, but it is actually the ‘past’. The Great Demon King was born a long time later, but that is the real ‘now’.”

Vincent asked, "What are you planning to do? Go to the future and beat me up again?"

“That’s just treating the symptoms, not the root cause,” V said. “The future Vincent only became the Great Demon King because of the time loop, so as long as we solve the time loop, we can naturally prevent Vincent from turning evil.”

"Solve the time loop?" Vincent frowned. "Stop the research and use of time-stopping technology?"

“If that were the case, we wouldn’t have used time travel to find you,” V said. “Technological progress, like time, is always rolling forward and can never be reversed. Time technology carries significant risks and can cause time loops, but what we should do is mitigate those risks, develop measures, and manage this process using scientific, rigorous, orderly, and stable methods, like controlling nuclear fusion, so that it can be used for our benefit and to make our lives more convenient. If we shy away from any potential danger and shelve it altogether, then humanity would probably still be a primitive, bloodthirsty beast.”

Vincent chuckled: "Hmph, what an arrogant statement, like something a mad scientist in a fantasy movie would say. In most cases, your ending will likely be that you fail in some experiment, turn into an inhuman monster, and then be defeated by the protagonist wearing a cloak or a bodysuit."

“Times are changing. Such a clichéd plot wouldn’t sell tickets anymore. I have a film producer who switched careers to selling tortillas because of this,” V said seriously. “There are no superheroes in capes or tight suits in reality. In fact, those crazy scientists are the real heroes of mankind. Time technology is an essential part of mankind’s journey to the stars. I won’t give up. What about you? Do you want to come with us? With your technology, our chances of winning will be much greater.”

Vincent paused for a moment, then looked at Panan.

Panan grasped his lover's hand: "Whatever you want to do, Vincent, I will always support you!"

One sentence filled my hesitant heart with strength.

Vincent asked V, "What are you planning to do?"

V smirked: "It's simple. The time loop will give birth to Echoing Night. As long as we defeat Echoing Night, we can break the loop. I will assemble a special forces team specifically to target Echoing Night. Every time it appears, we will defeat it once. Every time it appears ten thousand times, we will defeat it ten thousand times!"

Vincent was a little surprised: "So rough?"

“First, use brute force to learn from experience, and then use various techniques to mold it into your own shape.” V glanced at Panan and winked at Vincent: “I suggest you take notes; these are all my experiences, and they will benefit you.”

"Ahem." Vincent blushed slightly, silently memorizing the method, and asked calmly, "What can I do?"

"We have a lot to do. But the most urgent task is to take over this world and eliminate any future worries."

Vincent agreed with the proposal: "Give me three more years, and I guarantee I can overthrow the company!"

Three years really go by quickly.

This wasn't V's self-sacrifice, nor was it Vera's self-inflicted destruction; it was a fair and square victory over the company on the front lines.

But V still felt it was a bit slow.

"Three years is too long."

"Then you can name a time limit."

"Three days, I guess."

Vincent's eyes widened: "Are you kidding me?"

No, not at all.

V snapped his fingers, and a flash of white light appeared in the sky. Thousands of spaceships appeared above Night City, densely covering the entire sky.

Three hours later, without exception, all the major companies in the world surrendered!

Humanity has thus entered a new era.

Chapter 207 Towards the Stars

By deploying nanobots, assigning AI stewards, establishing fairness and justice as the basic operating rules of society, amending laws, fine-tuning morality, and using computing power as the sole equivalent, a new world is thus established.

"Is it really that simple?" Vincent was a little surprised.

“Don’t worry, this isn’t my first time doing this, I’m experienced.” V shrugged: “Building a new world is actually very simple, it’s people’s hearts that make it complicated.”

"Then how are you going to manage people's hearts?" Vincent asked worriedly. "Although the people in the company have submitted to you, it's only because they are intimidated by your powerful military. It will probably be very difficult to get them to truly submit and be convinced of your loyalty."

“It’s very difficult, so I never intended for them to be convinced,” V said. “Never try to manipulate people’s hearts, because that’s the ultimate chaos that even a super AI can’t figure out. Take you for example, you used to be a complete demon, but who would have thought that after you lost your memory and started over, you would become a kind person who doesn’t even run red lights?”

"So how are you going to deal with those people? Are you really going to let bygones be bygones? They won't give up. What if they start another rebellion?"

"Rebellion is an inherent right of everyone. If we take even that away, then we'll become just like the company. Let them rebel if they want, as long as they can afford the consequences," V said calmly. "Now, society is managed not by humans, but by AI. Call AI cold-blooded or absolutely impartial, but they won't accept bribes or bend the law for personal gain. Good people will be protected, and bad people will be punished. Their ample computing power allows them to always see clearly and never create wrongful convictions. If those old fogies in the company dare to rebel, they will only face the full force of the law. Those who should be arrested will be arrested, and those who should be executed will be executed."

"Sounds good," Vincent remarked. "But I'm a little worried. What if the AI ​​malfunctions?"

"I'm not so arrogant as to think that AI won't malfunction, but you should know that the probability of AI malfunctioning is 10,000 times smaller than the probability of human governments malfunctioning. And most importantly, even if it does malfunction, AI has a comprehensive and efficient error correction and repair mechanism. Just this alone makes it much more reliable than any political system that humans have ever had throughout history."

"Don't human governments have any mechanisms to correct their mistakes?"

“If that were the case, there wouldn’t have been so many dynastic changes, or rather, dynastic changes are a kind of error correction mechanism.” V shrugged: “But this error correction mechanism is too brutal and too destructive to society, so let’s just throw it into the dustbin of history.”

Vincent was convinced, but still a little worried: "If only we had more time, at least to take down those bastards in those companies, so we could feel at ease handing society over to AI."

“That would indeed be safer, but as I said before, it’s too brutal.” V shook his head and said, “War is war. Whether it’s just or evil, it’s always the ordinary people who suffer. If there’s no other choice, then going all out to fight and fighting for survival is not impossible. But now that there’s a better solution, if we still insist on starting a war, then that’s just hopeless incompetence and arrogance.”

Vincent understood: "So that's why you sent a spaceship directly? I thought you were..."

“Showing off? Boasting?” V chuckled. “I used to enjoy showing off and boasting too, but that was many years ago.”

Vincent then realized that the radiant woman in front of him was actually over a hundred years old.

“V.” Vera pushed the door open and came in. “They’re here.”

“Then let’s go,” V said to Vincent. “They deserve a lot of credit for your smooth sailing this year, helping you escape danger time and time again.”

Vincent straightened his clothes and nodded solemnly.

In the next-door conference room, he met some friends he had never met before.

David Martinez and Lucy Martinez, a couple with one being a warrior and the other a scholar, repeatedly save the resistance from danger on both the real battlefield and the cyber battlefield.

Rogge and Santiago, the middleman queen's intelligence network is extremely important, and Santiago, as a senior member of the wanderers, has been traveling around and has contributed a lot to the growth of the resistance.

Johnny Silverhand and Otto Cunningham: the former is the King of Rock and Roll and the King of Popularity, whose concerts are all a wake-up call; the latter, as the god of hackers, single-handedly suppressed all the hackers in the company, leaving even Barthemos in the dust.

Finally, there are the uncle and niece, Yoriyuki Arasaka and Michiko Arasaka.

As high-ranking members of the company, they shouldn't have been present at a meeting belonging to the resistance, but they were the biggest contributors to the resistance's continued victories.

Intelligence, supplies, technology... the two deliberately leaked countless things, which ultimately enabled the resistance to grow from weak to strong.

"Thank you." Vincent said solemnly, "I know that words cannot express my gratitude for your contributions, but all I can say right now is thank you. Without you, the resistance would not have made it this far."

"Don't be so polite with me," Johnny Silverhand said, pinching his crotch. "Just treat me to a big drink and a good bath later."

Vincent smiled and said, "Okay, my treat."

Santiago punched Vincent: "Well done, kid, you've really made us wanderers proud."

"hey-hey."

“Mr. Vincent, will the future really be as you say?” David asked.

"Of course, I promise."

Arasaka Yorinobu looked over and said calmly, "Be a good leader, and don't let our efforts go to waste."

“I will… though I’d ​​like to say that, I will end my role as leader of the resistance and will not hold any position in the new government,” Vincent said, making a startling statement.

"Because the new government is managed by AI?" Arasaka Yorinobu frowned. "I don't completely believe in AI, nor do other people in this era. I remember that in order to avoid causing public backlash, the new government will still have a president position, to be held by a human."

Vincent nodded: "I know."