Chapter 498: Utopia
After completing the defensive redeployment arrangement for Squad Nearl, Ryo (Avatar) returned to his dedicated workspace.
He took out that dimensional communicator from a specially made storage box.
This was a metal device about the size of a small suitcase. Its surface was smooth, with only one primary interface and a few status indicator lights. The design was simple and portable, but it possessed considerable weight due to its internal precision dimensional positioning and signal conversion modules.
He placed the communicator on the workbench and connected it to the laboratory's auxiliary power interface.
After the startup sequence, the device emitted an extremely low hum, and the indicator lights shifted from a standby dark red to a steady deep blue.
It began to operate, establishing a stable, encrypted channel dedicated to data transmission between the two locations.
Almost instantly, the information flow that had previously become sluggish and abbreviated due to dimensional barriers immediately recovered its smoothness and completeness.
The gene-seed cultivation data, STC system analysis logs, and assessments and directives regarding research projects in this dimension, processed by the main body far away on Necromunda, were transmitted over clearly and unmistakably.
Simultaneously, the detailed reports collected here by Ryo (Avatar) regarding the situation in Night City, the status of the laboratory, and the transfer of the Genesis Particle research were also efficiently fed back.
This highly efficient, stable dedicated data connection allowed Ryo (whether avatar or main body) to confirm the practical value of this device.
The significance of the dimensional communicator's successful application lay in providing a more reliable means of contact than relying on periodic consciousness synchronization, which might suffer from delays or information loss.
This added a layer of tangible technological guarantee for the multi-dimensional exploration and resource coordination he might conduct in the future, elevating the coordination and controllability of cross-dimensional operations.
With the confirmation of a stable communication link, Ryo (Avatar) refocused his attention on what was before him.
The hidden dangers of the Death World research had been isolated, the Night City laboratory was under control, the redeployment of Squad Nearl enhanced surveillance forces, and the dedicated data channel with the main body was now unhindered.
After the dimensional communicator was running stably, Ryo's (Avatar's) attention turned to a comprehensive assessment of Night City's current condition.
By connecting to the Administrator's core database, real-time data streams and statistical reports clearly outlined the city's status quo.
Night City's exterior still maintained its iconic cyberpunk aesthetic: skyscrapers towering into the clouds, giant holographic billboards that never extinguished competing for brilliance in the night sky, streams of hovercars weaving through the intricate three-dimensional traffic network, and the streets and alleys still filled with all kinds of people and the cold gleam of cybernetic augmentations.
However, beneath this familiar exterior, the city's foundation had been thoroughly reshaped.
The most fundamental change originated from a complete revolution in the energy sector.
The giant plasma reactor buried deep beneath the city's foundation, like an inexhaustible artificial sun, continuously and stably output massive electrical power that far exceeded the city's peak demand.
The concept of "energy shortage," once deeply branded in Night City's memory, had completely been reduced to an unfamiliar term in historical documents.
The city's power grid operated at a saturation state year-round, and the abundant electricity even required active consumption through various large-scale energy-consuming facilities.
This powerful energy cornerstone supported a modernized public service network covering the entire territory.
The highly efficient water purification system ensured that every tap flowed with drinking water meeting the highest cleanliness standards; the intelligent waste processing system had practically achieved the real-time sorting and harmless decomposition of garbage.
The public lighting and climate control systems, which used to be frequently interrupted due to unstable power supply, now achieved twenty-four-hour uninterrupted, full-territory coverage.
A more striking change was reflected in the urban landscape. Those dreamlike holographic ecological sceneries and large-scale light-and-shadow art installations, which previously were restricted to Corporate Plaza or top-tier communities due to their terrifying energy consumption, were now scattered across multiple public plazas and citizen parks, bringing a visual feast once enjoyed only by the top echelon to ordinary citizens.
The extreme abundance of materials changed everyone's life even more intuitively.
The "Matter Replication System" operated continuously with extremely high efficiency. Based on the demand lists precisely calculated by the Administrator, it accurately produced everything from basic food and clean drinking water needed for survival, to basic medicines, and even standardized building components used for urban maintenance.
The problem of material scarcity that had plagued Night City for decades, particularly the dilemma of rampant inferior synthetic foods, had thoroughly become history.
Today, even the most ordinary citizens could enjoy "natural" food produced daily by the replicators.
These products, in terms of molecular structure, nutritional content, and even the subtlest levels of texture and flavor, were absolutely identical to genuine natural products, completely bidding farewell to the unpleasant chemical aftertaste and rough texture of the synthetic foods of the past.
Combined with the increasingly perfected social management system of the Magi System, the entire city presented a nearly unimaginable order and prosperity in a war-torn world.
The social division of labor was clear, basic survival needs were unconditionally met, and the crime rate was maintained at a controllably low level. This allowed Night City to become a unique, orderly "Utopia" amidst the aftermath of the Fifth Corporate War and the power shifts on the North American continent.
Despite the drastic changes in the outside landscape, with the NUSA and Militech having essentially taken control of the vast territories of the North American West Coast, Night City's independent status remained exceptionally firm.
It stood like an isolated island within the NUSA's territory, yet remained transcendent above it.
The combat records of the Knight mechs under Ryo's command crushing Arasaka Headquarters with overwhelming force years ago had clearly been repeatedly studied by the decision-makers of the NUSA and Militech.
That level of technology and destructive power, surpassing their realm of comprehension, formed an invisible barrier of deterrence.
Without the certainty to handle a threat of the same level, any direct military action against Night City was deemed an irrational risk.
Therefore, although border checkpoints were reinforced and intelligence activities never ceased, official-level military intervention or annexation attempts remained strictly in the stage of paper simulations.
Ryo (Avatar) browsed through these reports without much fluctuation in his heart.
The current state of this city was exactly one of the expected outcomes of his intervention and investment of technological resources years ago.
It now perfectly fulfilled its function as a stable, controllable, and well-resourced research base.
The changes in the outside world, as long as they did not breach the threshold of deterrence, were merely background parameters requiring monitoring.
He closed the city status report, focusing his perception back inside the laboratory. The environment was stable, energy was abundant, defenses were tight, and communication with the main body was unhindered.
All conditions had been met. It was time to restart the research on the Genesis Particles here.
This time, he hoped to truly touch upon the mysteries of the origin of life in an environment free from Warp interference.
(End of Chapter)