Compared to the Black Wall and the Old Net it sealed away, the local network Arasaka had spent decades building in Night City was nothing by comparison.
Cyberware was merely the outward manifestation. Cyberspace was the true inner core of the cyber world.
"Hmph, Rachie Bartmoss, you really were a kindhearted dog bastard."
After casually cursing the culprit behind the Great Network Collapse over fifty years ago, Vera expertly lowered the computational speed of her thought data, gradually calming her turbulent data flow.
Rachie Bartmoss.
A legendary figure in the network field more than fifty years ago, the greatest hacker, the greatest among the great, hailed by some deep-diving hacker enthusiasts as the God of Hackers who had never been defeated online.
Before his death, he released the Data Collapse virus, Rabids. This Super Virus destroyed the Internet, which had already been riddled with holes by the Fourth Corporate War.
The old network crumbled, melting away like ice cream left over a flame.
History called it the Great Network Collapse.
The Dow Jones plunged hundreds of points in a single hour. The stock market crashed in an instant, cries of despair rang out across the world, and even megacorp CEOs committed suicide. Network Surveillance and the major megacorps, including Arasaka, exhausted every effort just to salvage a few scattered fragments.
At the same time, large numbers of AIs went out of control. Malicious AIs multiplied and roamed freely. To prevent everyone from having their brains fried the moment they connected to the Net, Network Surveillance created the Black Wall to isolate them, completely severing the Internet.
Nowadays, Night City had a local network, and both Arasaka and Militech used their own local networks as well.
Before Bartmoss caused the Great Network Collapse, the entire world had been covered by the Net. From unencrypted public documents to corporate secrets protected by the most complex encryption methods, everything could be transmitted and stored online.
After the Great Network Collapse, the Net became islands of algorithms and code, divided and controlled by different corporations, governments, and gangs.
Bartmoss, you son of a bitch!
Perhaps at first, the public had welcomed the network collapse, since they could watch the rich and powerful suffer through disaster and hardship. Most praised the God of Hackers.
But once the initial chaos passed, the consequences of losing the Internet made the public realize that if they wanted to connect to the Net now, they could only rely on corporations, delivering themselves into corporate control without any power or ability to choose.
Naturally, more and more people began cursing Bartmoss. Other than the oldest and most veteran edgerunners.
As for Vera, from the standpoint of a Corporate Dog, she cursed him too!
Soon, the data-simulated image of a tall, well-proportioned woman stabilized and projected itself into Arasaka's Cyberspace.
She looked much like an expert-level netrunner after using deep-dive equipment, transforming into a supercomputer and entering Cyberspace like data projected by a computer.
Deep-dive equipment referred to cybernetic plugins and various support devices designed to connect to the Net as deeply as possible and achieve higher data throughput.
The biggest difference was that Vera valued her life and had not connected herself directly. She had entered through a relay.
She belonged to the kind most despised by old-school netrunners and street hackers.
Because she was "outsourcing" the connection, Vera's data transmission efficiency was relatively low. But that did not matter. If efficiency was lacking, premium gear could make up for it.
As long as the premium gear was good enough, overpowering those poor street rats with raw hardware was not difficult.
Backed by Arasaka's nearly top-tier supporting facilities, along with dedicated pathways refined over many years by countless skilled Arasaka netrunners gathering data from the deep net, Vera easily reached the deepest part of Cyberspace that ordinary humans could safely access.
In other words, the leading edge of corporate security's exploration of Cyberspace.
After swimming beyond Arasaka's network security zone, Vera continued diving. The Black Wall did not react.
As she drew near the Black Wall, she could already see the apocalyptic data wasteland beyond it, the aftermath of a digital nuclear war.
A place where many precious relics and secrets from the old network world lay buried.
Arasaka and every corporation in the world had suffered tremendous losses in the collapse of the Old Net. Countless valuable data archives had been lost, and technology had regressed severely. Street gang lone-wolf hackers usually entered on deep dives for the thrill, while corporate hackers infiltrated it to uncover and salvage assets.
And, while they were at it, steal assets from their competitors.
Cyber archaeology.
As far as Vera knew, Arasaka had many institutions that selected orphans and trained them into expendable hackers.
Once those orphans reached a certain level of hacking ability, they were forcibly ordered to excavate valuable resources from the Old Net. It was not uncommon for them to be brutally attacked and killed by Rogue AIs during the process.
Vera had reviewed quite a few sealed corporate case files. One of them involved a training institution where lax management had allowed the "expendable hackers" they trained to kill their handlers instead. The incident had been studied as a classic case of management failure, a lesson for others.
Vera followed the route from her last "training session" and soon spotted a turbulent current of scarlet data.
A rampaging Rogue AI.
Warning: Uncontrolled artificial intelligence approaching. Hostility assessment at maximum level. Immediate evasion recommended.
"Oh, there you are."
Vera wore the expression of someone who had just found a priceless treasure.
"Bzzzt..."
The instant the scarlet mass of data noticed Vera, its entire body began writhing violently like a flowing thick watercolor painting. One moment it was a robot, the next a grotesque mix of animals, then a sex doll, then indescribable deformed tentacles...
It seemed to be twisting in a silent roar. In the next instant, it transformed into a massive red-and-black wave formed from countless chaotic data streams and crashed down toward Vera's data-simulated form.
Corrupted data currents and network viruses poured in.
"Bzzzt..."
Somewhere in the Rogue AI's chaotic data storage chains, it vaguely remembered doing this many times.
Whenever this happened, these non-kind humans... Huh? Why did it know they were called humans? Forget it, that was not important. At this point, they either screamed, melted, exploded, or vanished in the blink of an eye as they fled...
Huh? Why was this human neither fleeing nor exploding?
The Rogue AI's unstable intelligence became confused.
"Such pitiful strength. You'll need to hit harder than that."
Within the red-and-black storm of zeroes and ones, Vera smiled and lightly beckoned at the Rogue AI.
The Rogue AI instinctively continued rampaging, trying to destroy, crush, and assimilate the human data-simulation before it, but—
"Bzz—"
A violent sensation of powerlessness swept over it.
It discovered that it could not control the data before it. Deep within that human's data-simulated form flickered a pitch-black hollow. Though it did not understand heat or cold, it felt an incomparably frigid entity pulling at its intelligence, eroding it, devouring it, crushing and assimilating everything that made it what it was.
The Rogue AI collapsed.
Vera opened her eyes. An indescribable emotion surged through her—satisfying pleasure, mental exhilaration, joy from the depths of her soul, and perhaps panic or excitement within her consciousness.
"I should still count as human, right?"
Vera murmured.
She probably still did.
People died when they were killed. In reality, if someone blew her head off, she would definitely die. So, she was still human.
Vera knew very well that she was lucky, not invincible.
The area beyond the Black Wall, where ordinary people could barely survive and had to infiltrate with extreme caution, was a treasure land to her.
But that did not mean it could not affect her.
Her strength and resistance in abstract concepts such as thought, consciousness, and soul were merely far greater than those of ordinary flesh-and-blood humans. The potential brought by Heaven's Gift from crossing worlds would remain nothing but potential unless it was realized.
She needed to be cautious in seeking realization and transformation. Diving into Cyberspace and excavating the Old Net was the most suitable "training" method Vera had found, while the protection of the secure relay meant she had no worries about risking her life.
"If I devoured the entire Old Net... Well, no getting ahead of myself. One step at a time."
Vera refocused her attention and eagerly stared at the Old Net's data ruins before her. Like someone controlling a game character while searching for hostile NPCs, she greedily yet restrainedly considered the "experience points" she could gain by killing AIs and exchanging data-stream attacks with them.
Cyberspace, beyond the Black Wall.
Within the data wasteland filled with ruined electronic warfare units and Rogue AIs, a woman's data-simulated form slowly emerged in scarlet zeroes and ones, outlining and shaping itself. She was a naked, long-haired woman, and she looked in Vera's direction.
Searching... Comparing...
"Arasaka..."
2074/5/28, 00:00.
Arasaka Tower, Internal Network Security Division attached to the Security Department.
Her vision returned to brightness, catching the colors and light of the real world.
Feeling completely clear-headed but still needing to put on a tired appearance, Vera rubbed her brow and rose from the sofa. From the connection terminal between her personal link and the secure relay, an Arasaka administrative hacker's politely formulaic voice reached her ears.
"Supervisor Vera, your deep-dive session has ended."
"Mm. Thank you."
After replying politely, Vera rubbed the bridge of her nose and glanced aside. Looking at the hacker holding the scorching-hot relay with emotion, she smiled calmly. "Looks like my skills have improved considerably. This time, it didn't burn out."
"...Beyond the Black Wall is very dangerous, Supervisor Vera. If a Rogue AI attacks and burns out the relay, even with safety programs protecting you, the strain on your brain's nerves is still enormous."
The hacker in charge emphasized this from a responsible standpoint.
Vera understood that very clearly.
Arasaka Hackers who infiltrated the Old Net for excavation, even with safety program protection, were usually dazed when they awoke after an attack by a Rogue AI. Their noses and mouths bled, and they needed a period of quiet rest before recovering.
But—
Vera stretched, and every bone in her body immediately crackled. "Thanks for the reminder, but you forgot that I came from the Special Rapid Response Unit. See you tomorrow." With that, Vera lightly waved her hand.
The automatic door opened.
She walked out.
Work was over!
"Whew... Security, combat command, biological research, network hacking... Is she an all-rounder?"
After Vera left, the hacker in charge shook his head. Patting the scorching-hot secure relay in his hand, which needed maintenance, he sighed. "What an enviable talent..."
"Supervisor Vera Adelheid Russell."
Miss Vera Did Not Want to Become a Legend
Night had fallen, and neon lights glittered.
At 12:07 a.m., Miss Vera finished her day's work.
Vroom... Vroom...
A Rayfield Holy Sword hovercar slowly emerged from the internal parking platform of the pitch-black tower.
Its exterior was coated in a special finish found only on the newest supercars. Its body was entirely dark-toned, capable of absorbing radar waves to achieve a certain "stealth" effect, yet it remained glossy and subdued, understated and luxurious.
White patterns on a black background, with the aRaSaKa logo and the Arasaka Clover emblem.
This was what allowed it to travel almost entirely unimpeded through Night City without undergoing any inspection.
Inside the car, Vera took off her jacket and leaned against the soft cushion, examining the Identity Card, Car Purchase Certificate, and Thank-you Letter wrapped in a retro gilded cardboard box. The card looked much like Trauma Team's Platinum Membership Card.
"An internal discount. It wasn't too expensive."
It was only a little more expensive than the Lady of the Lake S9 Guinevere's 225,000 eurodollars.
With hovercars, the truly difficult thing to obtain was the channel to buy one—the social class.
Arasaka... No, all corporations were the same. They promoted hierarchy. Whatever rank you held determined what clothes you wore and what kind of vehicle you rode in. Whether male or female, everyone was required to dress in a manner befitting their position.
"..."
A few seconds later, Vera lost interest and tossed the cardboard box aside. Resting her elbow on the armrest, she propped up her chin expressionlessly and watched the receding lights outside the window.
Her first hovercar had arrived.
Yet it did not seem to bring her much joy.
Even though she had wanted one so badly before...
Through the dark privacy glass, Vera's indigo gaze overlooked the world below.
"..."
Before you continue