Exploration Team Member
I’m serious! This is a first-hand report from headquarters!Exploration Team Member
Forget it. Use logic, will you? Sounds like a city legend…Exploration Team Member
Morning. What legend?Exploration Team Member
Ah, Craig. Have you hear about the sequel to that legendary hack that happened last time?Exploration Team Member
… You mean yesterday’s rumor?Exploration Team Member
Yeah! HQ has been constantly tracking that hacker. Heard they found some related signals to it in the cyTus virtual internet cyber-city. They appeared suddenly then disappeared in an instant….Exploration Team Member
You mean “without leaving any record”? all bullsh*t sounds like that. A sensational topic, alongside fuzzy description and everyone will believe it. Bunch of dummies…Exploration Team Member
B-But, my friend swore to me that he detected a reaction….Exploration Team Member
…. If it only appeared for an instant and the follow-up investigations revealed nothing, the hacker probably figured out a way to make it undetectable, right?Exploration Team Member
… Like a proxy? Orient the connection to another location to avoid being traced… Is that possible?Exploration Team Member
We are talking about a high-level hacker. Shouldn’t be an issue. But that means they’re still in the dangerous Node 08… He’s got a reason for not leaving. Do we know the approximate location of the signal?Exploration Team Member
… Uh… The range is huge… But actually it’s in…
JOE
… Quadrant II?Lai
Yeah, the boys reported that burglaries have occurred in several places. The scattered locations don’t seem to reveal any patterns, but all of them happened in Quadrant II of Node 08.JOE
… Tsk… Well dawg, what got stolen?Lai
A compute device, spare parts, etc. But the losses weren’t big. The shop winners were pretty happy. Besides the locks and security systems, there were no damages… At least their shops didn’t get blown up by friggin’ drones.JOE
You mocking me!? Rat bastard… Even though no one got hurt, it’s still a burglary so we gotta go check it out.Lai
… Woah, woah, woah. You really wanna turn the gangs into detectives? Don’t be stupid, will ya? You think if we do a few good deeds, the world above is gonna view us differently?JOE
Well, we gotta start taking baby steps! I’ll take care of the Enforcement Agents. Just need some time…Lai
… *spits*… Gotta take care of that annoying rat first, though.JOE
…Lai
What you doing? Got a soft heart for Mad Dog? Weren’t you the one who tipped us off to the fact that he was making a move on that chip factory>JOE
I… Aigh-ya… I know what I need to do.Lai
good. Brother Zheng already got the boys moving. We only trusted you and followed you, cuz of that punch. If you disappoint us, Brother Zheng and I may just skin ya.JOE
Thanks brother… Well, did ya find out where Mad Dog’s at?Lai
NopeJOE
… *yawn*… Understood~ Understood.Lai
… This guy… Get your sh*t together, will you? Let’s go.JOE
… Deep in the industrial area, eh…?
Kouhei
From now on, you can’t go running off to that place to play, you know that, right?Kenta
…*sob*…*sob*…Kouhei
There’s a lot of people in there who don’t work like normal people. I heard that they hide in those empty buildings doing who knows what.. Luckily, I was close by. Otherwise, something may have happened.Kenta
I said I was lost…Yukiko
You’re fine and that’s what matters… I was worried. Kenta, you didn’t run into any strange people, did you?Kenta
No… But I wandered into an alley that was, deep, deep in there! I heard some weird noises!Yukio
Weird noises?Kenta
Yeah! Like, Dee-Dee Da-ba, beep beep, ron-rrong-rong… System Online… Bop bop…Kouhei
Sounds like some kind of machine? Maybe some gang is trying to set up an office… I’m sure it’s dangerous! Don’t go near there, ya hear?Kenta
I got it… Dad is sooo annoying…Yukiko
Alright, alright. Let’s not talk about this anymore. Oh, yeah. Your sister called. She’ll be back in Node 08 in a couple days!Kenta
Really!? Yay! Sis is coming back! Yay, yay, yay!!!Kouhei
Wait a second, I’m not finished talking…Yukiko
Haha… It’s so late. You must be hungry, huh? Today, I cooked some stewed beef. Come on and eat.Kenta
Hoo-yah~~ Smells de~ lic~ious~ Momma! Kenta’s ready!
All my facilities are online. The proxy for leading them on is also complete and this temporary base in the industrial area of quadrant II has been assembled. Hiding here was the right idea. Even after implanting myself deep into human society, I have yet to be targeted by anyone of consequence. So long as I don’t run into someone as gifted as Simon Jackson, I’m pretty sure I can maintain this location for a while.
{{{2}}}
Taking action, is by its nature, quite risky. I could be detected by Vanessa in an instant or I could come back empty-handed. But based on her current mode of thinking which prevents me from entering her world, the O.S. Space, this may be my only chance to crack her otherwise sealed network… In any case, this is my final gamble. I’m prepared to enter the final stage. Let’s do this.
{{{2}}}
Ivy
Everything is set up. I have already done everything I can…. I hope this works. The time now is… 12 o’clock, 1 minute and 12 seconds… It’s time.