Legend of the Cyber Heroes-Chapter 77 - Sand in a Dream

77: Chapter 77: Sand in a Dream

77 -77: Sand in a Dream

Phantom limb pain, also known as limb hallucination pain, refers to when a patient feels that a severed limb is still present and experiences pain in that area.

A person with an amputated hand may still feel the hand being cut, burned, or electrocuted.

Some believe that the essence of “phantom limb pain” is the nerve deficit following the disappearance of a limb.

The brain does not receive neural signals from that area and cannot comprehend the fact that the “arm has been amputated,” leading it to assume the limb is damaged, thus creating a “warning” signal within the brain.

Of course, there is also a theory that this arises from a compensatory mechanism in the cerebral cortex—after losing part of a limb, the brain mistakenly perceives sensations from other parts as those from the original limb, thus creating significant contradictions between “touch” and other perceptions.

This was once a significant barrier in the human cyborgization process—when all the nerves in the body disappeared, the brain would be at a loss.

The simplest method is to send deceptive signals to the brain through a chip, making it believe that its limbs still exist.

But Xiang Shan’s problem was different.

He had just undergone spinal nerve surgery, and the newly grown spinal nerves had not fully integrated, resulting in some bugs in the signals entering the brain.

These erroneous signals were mistakenly processed by the brain, producing a kind of hallucinatory pain.

Meanwhile, the signals Xiang Shan sent to the prosthetic body through the spinal nerves also deteriorated to varying degrees.

Originally, Xiang Shan had chosen to block this signal and then release wireless signals using devices in his brain through remote mode.

But when the electromagnetic pulse covered the signal, Xiang Shan had no choice but to rely on this not yet fully healed spinal nerve to control his newly replaced body.

The pain washed over Xiang Shan’s consciousness like a tide.

Xiang Shan felt as if his long-gone natural body was being struck by thunder and scorched by fire, with various sensations clashing against his body.

And this pain also awakened more memories.

That was the scene of collaborating with other researchers to record data on a sickbed…

That was the scene of being blown to pieces in an explosion…

That was the scene of lying on the ground, facing a young man closing in step by step…

…

In an instant, the hallucination vanished like a bubble.

Xiang Shan urgently took a defensive stance.

But due to the incomplete recovery of his spinal nerve, there were unintentional flaws between his punches and kicks.

Ulster immediately broke free from control and bit back.

In a hurry, Xiang Shan could only use his arm to block the opponent’s bite.

Sparks scattered.

Xiang Shan’s arm’s external armor shattered like a cookie.

Xiang Shan then took this brief moment to flip over and restrain the opponent’s movements.

This is another flaw of synthetic fiber muscles.

Muscles work by fiber contraction to release energy, and the relaxation of muscle fibers cannot provide power.

Biological entities need two sets of muscles on each side to restore their limbs.

Since these two groups of muscles are not the same size, the “inward” and “outward” forces are inconsistent.

This is exemplified in most amniotes.

Amniotes have a structure on their skulls called the “temporal foramen” that allows more masseter muscles to attach to the head, so their bite force overwhelms more primitive vertebrates.

However, due to a huge disparity in scale between the “inward” and “outward” muscle groups of the masseters, many fierce beasts have a vast gap in strength between “opening” and “closing” their mouths.

Small crocodilians like the Caiman Crocodile, once humans pinch their mouths shut, can’t even struggle free.

This is also one of the principles behind many grappling techniques.

Synthetic muscle fibers are indeed far superior to natural animal muscles in this respect, but still not as good as hydraulic rods, which have nearly equal bidirectional strength.

Xiang Shan barely managed to control Ulster’s upper limbs but lost the initiative, so he ultimately couldn’t lock down the more threatening head.

The dog’s jaws worked like hydraulic shears, damaging Xiang Shan’s arm.

A smile finally appeared in the dog’s mouth.

He and Xiang Shan pinned each other, but now he was on top, and Xiang Shan had lost the possibility of leveraging his weight.

Xiang Shan couldn’t even release his grip.

His prosthetic body had greater advantages in speed and burst potential.

Xiang Shan wouldn’t get a second chance to drag the fight to the ground.

This was his victory!

“Considering that we all hail from the Martial World, let me give you some heartfelt advice, young man,” Old Dog chuckled.

“Human instincts are a negative legacy.

The Martial Ancestor once said, those who step into the Martial Path must battle their own instincts.

The Martial Scripture states, ‘The innate body is the lowliest…'”

This remark pierced into Xiang Shan’s mind like a key.

More, more memories surged in Xiang Shan’s brainwaves along with the recently vivid scenes.

—Let’s clean out the negative legacy left by our ancestors!

—Let’s sever the physiological basis for the descendant of the Monkey King to descend!

—Free humanity from the slavery of their own genes!

Let everyone have the opportunity to become the “self” they desire to be!

——We are the ones who stole the Heavenly Fire!

At that moment, the wind calmed, the waves stilled, clouds halted, and flags ceased fluttering.

The memories instantly became clear, the “past” receded like a tide, and finally froze on a certain frame.

A car was parked on the side of the street.

Then, someone inside the car looked outside and reached out a hand toward a shabbily dressed person, much like a beggar.

The “beggar” snorted coldly but still grasped that hand.

——We must admit, we indeed overestimated ourselves.

——”The productive forces determine the relations of production”…

I had thought that by developing the most powerful technology and fostering the strongest productive forces, handing them over to humanity would naturally lead to more advanced transformations.

——You truly are an idiot.

The naked apes living in the forest of steel, and their ancestors from 50,000 years ago in Africa, show no difference in brain structure.

Their pathetic nervous systems have long been unable to properly understand society.

Most people just learn a few new words from the pioneers, then let those words do the thinking for them.

——Naked apes instinctively desire the appearance of a monkey king.

It is their inescapable nature.

Even the most populist movements, which should emphasize democratization the most, inevitably morph into grand ceremonies of loyalty to leaders and adoration of idols.

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened in history, right?

——Even if we inserted chips into their brains, they wouldn’t use these abundant resources to think properly.

They would simply follow their instincts and worship a new monkey king.

It’s hopeless.

——Ha, brother, have you had enough of complaining?

——No, how could I have enough?

——Well, as long as you have the energy to scold, it’s enough.

The revolution has not yet succeeded, comrade, so strive on!

——Not yet succeeded?

Hasn’t it already failed?

——Failure is the mother of success.

——What more can we do?

The world has already been thoroughly controlled.

This one thing is what we’ve achieved in this lifetime!

Hahaha…

——Hmm.

Indeed, that’s true.

We thought that when the last poor person became a Homo vexillues, we would just have eradicated all famine.

But undeniably, we also created irresistible powerhouses.

Come to think of it, from the distant past, technology has always been controlled by the powerful.

——Development needs resources, production needs resources…

——But just like we used to say in the group.

“Knowledge” should be the common wealth of mankind, why should the rich claim ownership of it?

In essence, the scientific research system, which is derived from the European nobility system, and the social class of knights, are fundamentally the same; glory to oneself, military exploits for the lord.

——That’s exactly the problem.

Nobles, feudal lords to capitalists, bureaucrats, the monkey king in everyone’s head has never changed.

Only that capitalists and bureaucrats are generally better than landlords, so we all feel that this represents progress, and that this progress will continue.

Just the wrong path.

——So?

It’s too late to say anything now.

The world has already lost its resistance.

——We can still create the sparks of resistance and hand them to the people.

——Are you still being naive?

That bunch of naked apes…

——That bunch of naked apes are also “Homo sapiens.” Among the naked apes, there are certainly countless fools and imbeciles.

But on the ten-thousand-year journey of Homo sapiens, not all are foolish; there are also sparks of wisdom and genuine chivalry.

——Let’s create a new kind of technology.

Combine open access with decentralized production, to make something that anyone who gets it can use…

——I want to call it…

“Martial Arts isn’t anything like that!” Xiang Shan’s spirit escaped the Demon Calamity, immediately entering the state of Calm as a Mirror, Still as Water.

He laughed, “What right does an idiot, who has practiced Martial Arts wrongly, have to repeat what I’ve said?”

“What?” The Dog seemed angered, “You, you actually said that my authentic direct lineage of the Imitation Beast Path is incorrectly practiced?”

“The Imitation Beast Path primarily emphasizes true imitation; limbs and torso, all identical to a living body.

Such disguise as a pet means that even if someone touches, they cannot feel any difference, thus, you can steal information.

Next, it emphasizes speed.

If you cannot escape to safety, how can an information thief complete their mission?

Therefore, among the three hundred Martial Arts designed by Martial Ancestor Xiang Shan, it is the weakest and the least suitable for conversion to direct combat.

After all, there are several hundred Prosthetic Body designs more suitable for battle in this world, some harness other Assassination Techniques, or they have corresponding Military Martial Paths designs.

Why tailor yourself poorly by learning Imitation Beast Path and putting on a dog’s skin?

Such an unsuitable Prosthetic Body for battle, coming out to kill enemies without proper disguise, what is the point?”

Ulster Granddog, obsessed with practicing martial arts all his life, had never learned the history of the Imitation Beast Path boxing technique, nor had he ever contemplated this question.

His spirit showed a slight flaw.

At that instant, Xiang Shan suddenly exerted his strength.

His waist forming a bridge, he lifted the Dog’s Prosthetic Body off the ground without actually applying force.

At the same time, Xiang Shan’s back, shoulders, elbows, and palm aligned, and a great force, like a huge spear, pierced forth.

Xiang Shan’s External Armor, nearing collapse, slipped off his arm like a glove, buying him a sliver of space.

His arm thus pierced into the Dog’s mouth.

A scream immediately ensued.