Chapter 102
A dizzying first-person perspective.
"Fuck! Enemy attack! Enemy attack! It's Arasaka... Our base has been exposed!"
Several armored hovercrafts floated in the distance, visible from Arasaka's perspective.
Accompanied by the roar of machine guns and a dense barrage of rockets that resembled blooming iron trees, a large iron lump slammed into a tactical missile vehicle that had just emerged from its bunker, as if it were a meteorite.
Suddenly, a huge and ear-piercing sound of steel crashing and twisting resounded through the sky. The entire missile vehicle exploded, and flames and thick smoke covered everything around it. Sand and concrete debris were thrown up and then fell like raindrops.
"Holy crap, Adam Hammer?! Run!"
In an instant, the agents' communicators became incredibly noisy: loud shouts were mixed with heavy objects falling to the ground and busy sounds like flesh being smashed into pulp, and the sound quality was greatly reduced due to interference.
"Damn it, what kind of monster is this? Arasaka's ninja trick, mass-produced heavy hammers... Ahh..."
Next came a buzzing sound that was amplified by the video AI.
In an instant, the viewer fell heavily to the ground, and all that could be seen was the blood-stained cracks spreading in all directions with a soft splat!
The scene abruptly ended.
Silence...
Someone angrily slammed their fist on the table.
"Shit!"
His name tag, prefixed with 'California,' identified him as the Federal Intelligence Agency's regional chief in charge of intelligence operations in California on the West Coast.
What's this?
Is there an Arasaka version of the anime "Although it's a secret Militech outpost in the dead zone of the Badlands north of Night City, it was brutally blasted into by the hostile Cyborg" being shown on Arasaka?
Regardless of anything else, this incident during his term is a huge stain on his record. It could ruin his entire future.
Panting heavily, he finally calmed down and clapped his hands.
The lights came on.
"Alright, everyone, tell us what you think of Arasaka's new gadget. President Miles has ordered that we must find out the relevant parameters of this weapon."
He pointed to the giant steel Cyborg image on the holographic screen, magnified, paused, and with its image quality restored. Adam Hammer, wearing new cybernetic armor.
The highlights include his new cybernetic armor, which features a thick upper body and short, thin lower body, resembling that of a gorilla; several other war machines that appear even larger, though it's unclear whether they are clones of the Heavy Hammer or something else; and a freeze-frame of him manipulating gravity fields and magnetic generators.
"And with the reconstruction of the new transportation hub and the re-infiltration of the Dogtown intelligence network, do we need to 'awaken' the last deeply buried 'sleeper agents' that haven't been dug up by that traitor Kurt Hansen?"
After signaling to his staff to continue the analysis and simulation, he looked toward a corner of the conference room where an outside instructor was sitting with his head down, seemingly deep in thought.
A woman with shoulder-length purplish-red hair.
Slender figure, Asian features.
What's most eye-catching is her highly prosthetic cybernetic implants all over her body.
The high-capacity neural interface that connects directly to the occipital lobe, the life support system, the cryo-regulation system, the blood cooling system that almost fill the entire upper body... all tell one thing: she is a highly skilled hacker.
The branch office manager began, "Ms. Nightingale."
"..."
"Lady Nightingale?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, sir."
Finally, the Asian woman raised her face, which was covered with the dents and scars of her prosthetic body.
The red light in its pupils also indicated the data stream.
"It seems that Ms. Nightingale has an idea?" he asked.
"Not exactly. But tracing back to the source, that thing appeared after Vera Adelheid took office, and I checked some sealed intelligence files." The woman paused, her red eyes reflecting the text and images on the holographic screen.
"She also seems to have a history of crossing the 'Black Wall' multiple times."
Chapter 105 The Caged Bird and the Phoenix with Spreading Wings
(Refresh)
"The 'Black Wall'... that hellhole is crammed with out-of-control, murderous AIs that will burn your brains to a crisp. You're not thinking of using that as a breakthrough point, are you? Forgive my bluntness, but I don't think that's a good idea..."
The deputy director of the NUSA Joint Intelligence Bureau couldn't help but rub his forehead, which seemed to be throbbing with pain. His brows furrowed, and a thoughtful look gradually appeared in his eyes.
In his view, there are only three types of people who rush to get outside the "Black Wall": those who are mentally unstable, those who are highly skilled and daring, and those who are passive.
Given that woman's current status in Araban, apart from the few members of the Araban main family, no, only Saburo can completely command her. That old devil wouldn't be willing to use her to fill the "Black Wall."
"Ms. Nightingale, is this the assessment of the White House Intelligence Advisory Committee?" He paused, then looked at the Asian woman across the table.
Although she was still Federal Intelligence Agency, her status President's Favorite and a top hacker meant she was always by President Miles' side, essentially making her half a White House staff member.
"Part of it is."
Ignoring the other party's stereotypical prejudice against certain deep-sea hackers who cross the "Black Wall," the lark's expression remained unchanged, and she did not deny it.
"In that case," the deputy director looked up, tapping the table with his thick fingers, and muttered seriously, "It's settled then. Alright, as long as it's President Miles's order."
"Assuming, let's assume, that the sealed, outdated intelligence is accurate and not false information or bluff released by Araban, does that mean we've fallen far behind Araban in the iterative development of cyber implants in the fields of intelligent AI control, deep network penetration, and professional hacking..."
Or perhaps...
He looked at the operations staff and strategists in the conference room with a gloomy expression.
"Vera Adelheid... fucking bitch, is that damn bitch really a hybrid of Adam Hammer and Razi Bartmoss?"
To say that Vera has reached the level of the now-defunct "God of Hackers" Razi Bartmoss is definitely an exaggeration, and it seems like an attempt to downplay her own negligence.
But as one of the Federal Intelligence Agency's top intelligence officers overseeing operations in California on the West Coast, he was no stranger to Vera's exaggerated combat hacking abilities.
The "Operation Spring" in Johannesburg, South Africa, was such a brilliant plan. They had the Sun Stairflower in their grasp, but because that shrewish woman realized what was happening, all their efforts were in vain, and they lost everything.
Whenever they see news of the great success of the Huangban "Solaris Staircase Project", a group of insiders and leaders of the "Operation Spring" can't help but feel frustrated and disappointed.
Damn it, seeing you make money is more painful than me losing money.
Why didn't we go all in and send more hacker support teams back then? If we had delayed for even a minute or thirty seconds, the stuff would most likely have been snatched away!
Well...
"When Vera Adelheid first emerged in Night City, my predecessor... well, let's not talk about it. I didn't pay attention then, and it's too late to say anything now."
He subtly shifted the blame, then waved his hand dismissively.
"That's the logic, but the key is to figure out why she keeps going to the ruins of the Old Net that were destroyed after the 'data explosion'. Could it really be like what the informant said, that she's going to find Rogue AI to play data battles and practice her computing power under pressure?"
What kind of talk is that? You're so arrogant, do your deceased parents even know?
To see the whole leopard from a single spot—the difference is so vast that it's hardly a laughing matter.
The lark looked at the beautiful woman who appeared on the holographic screen in response, and who was highlighted with an extremely dangerous symbol.
With blond hair and blue eyes, and delicate features that exude a touch of arrogance, he wore a dark, custom-made uniform. His indigo irises seemed to be like a calm lake, never rippling. A faint smile played on his lips, and his demeanor was dignified yet reserved.
Putting everything else aside, this presentation is a textbook example of neo-militarism.
Vera Adelheid Russell.
Although it was something it didn't want to admit, the lark knew what emotions it was experiencing.
Yearning...envying...hoping...jealousy...
With each upgrade and iteration of her hacking equipment, and each time she breached the "Black Wall" to complete her missions, not only was her physical body extensively replaced with prosthetics, but the indelible trauma to her nervous system also caused her to gradually lose and blur her Remembrance of the past.
Both frequently cross the "Black Wall," so why is she no longer human, while Vera remains so radiant and beautiful, without many overt traces of cybernetic alteration, only perfectly proportioned, almost decorative, body contours that accentuate a cold, icy beauty?
The lark was puzzled.
All she knew was that this couldn't go on; she was doomed.
"Freedom..." The lark moved its lips silently.
Rosalind Miles was indeed her benefactor.
She was therefore granted special permission to use all the prototype technologies developed by the Federal Intelligence Agency at will, and they did care about her in her daily life. However, Miles was a political creature.
Ultimately, Miles treated her as the ultimate excavation tool to cross the "Black Wall," as a walking humanoid cyber nuclear weapon, never truly considering her feelings.
"Change." She wanted to break free from Miles's control.
An inexplicable emotion spread through her heart, and a yearning for freedom arose, gradually forming a crazy idea in her mind...
She became more and more clear-headed and calm.
The time is not yet ripe.
Looking up at the bald eagle emblem of NUSA in the conference room, the caged bird seemed to take on a deeper, more profound luster.
"Crossing the river by feeling the rough terrain."
Unaware of this subtle change, the deputy director in charge of the matter, leaning back in his chair, continued to chair the meeting with his hands clasped on the table.
"Vera Adelheid's behavior is indeed very unusual. It's possible she discovered or gained something from behind the 'Black Wall'... The network crash, the AI rebellion— Bartmoss, that arrogant and stubborn idiot, messed everything up. And if the White House Side has decided to increase its investment in infiltrating the 'Black Wall'..."
"Internet surveillance is easy to solve," he said.
Picking the easy target is fine; let's solve this one thing first. Tell me, did I do anything or not? Things that can be solved with money aren't really problems; the key is—
"Deep-sea diving and crossing, is it 'conventional' or 'unconventional'?"
The Federal Intelligence Agency official gave the lark a meaningful look.
A gaze that seemed to hold pity.
For Major Corporations, "routine" means risking their lives to train a large number of mass-produced hackers to delve into the "Black Wall" and dig out Old Net data.
In short, all Major Corporations are players in this field. Those who voluntarily become elites are a different story.
'Unconventional' means targeting extremely rare super hackers, providing as many as possible on hand, capping the compensation, maximizing enhancements, and pursuing breakthroughs from a single point.
For example, there are street hackers who want to play deep-sea games and end up killing themselves, veteran hackers who are mercenaries, gang hackers with some backup and considerable financial resources, and a few talented and supported super hackers who are backed by corporate conglomerates.
The difference between the upper and lower limits is extremely large.
Of course, for Major Corporations, both are fundamental. They have both the 'surface' and the 'points'. It just depends on which the bigwigs at the top prefer at this stage.
Judging from President Miles's cultivation and continuous transformation of Miss Nightingale over the years, the president clearly prefers the latter, and has already reaped considerable benefits.
"All of them."
The lark maintained her indifferent demeanor, her face like that of a mechanical doll, and said in a businesslike tone, "Before the operation begins, Mr. Deputy Director, the President needs you to rebuild the new transportation station and open up the Dogtown intelligence network as quickly as possible."
"The new batch of supplies to the Six Street Gang should not be suspended. The president has approved the dispatch of NUSA veterans to Night City in batches. The Coronado Farms in Santo Domingo cannot be lost; that is the bottom line."
Soon, after discussions on topics such as "whether to hinder the pilot policy for security publicity in Vera's Lijiang Scenic Area", "to give Huangban's overseas intelligence stations a blow", "to mix sand into Huangban's new research center area", "to promote the expansion of Night City's border outposts", and "to allocate more special funds for secret operations to hire Cyberpunk hyenas", the discussions concluded.
The lark strode out of the conference room.
"Real."
As she was about to leave Federal Intelligence Agency headquarters, a private video call came in, the location marked as the White House.
[Akimi. Great news! The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) has released a new prototype experimental product that will take your computing power to new heights.]
The lark's eyes flashed with red light.
[Song Zhaomei: Yes, Your Excellency. I'll be there shortly.]
Night City.
The air route from the Corporate Plaza to Westbrook.
The visual imagery features cool colors such as blue and purple, along with dazzling neon lights, towering skyscrapers, and enormous billboards.