Data Incineration (Part 1)

"Confirm guard positions," Tang Yu whispered into the miniature microphone on his collar.

Karuizawa's voice came through the earpiece: "Two on the east side, one on the west; both are patrolling. The north entrance looks clear, but there might be hidden sensors."

Tang Yu adjusted the focus of his night-vision goggles. Since escaping the school yesterday, they had fully prepared using the equipment from Ayanokoji's safehouse—EMP grenades, signal jammers, and even two tranquilizer guns.

But the most critical weapon was in Tang Yu's brain—top-tier hacking skills and the remaining 8,000 points of Emotion Value.

"Proceed as planned," Tang Yu said. "Remember, once I enter the server room, do not follow me no matter what happens."

Karuizawa did not answer. She was at an observation point two hundred meters away, responsible for surveillance and early warnings. This arrangement gave Tang Yu a slight sense of relief; at least she wouldn't be facing danger head-on.

Tang Yu activated the system assist:

[Redeem: Environmental Perspective (30 minutes)]

[Cost: 3,000 points]

[Remaining Emotion Value: 5,000]

In an instant, the world turned into a translucent blue grid in his eyes. Heat sources behind the walls appeared—two guards were smoking in a small shed on the north side of the warehouse.

Three others were patrolling the internal corridors. Deeper inside, about fifteen meters underground, was a massive square space that had to be the server room.

But what stood out most were the dozens of light pulses extending from the ground into the depths—the data transmission lines. They pulsed like blood vessels, all converging toward that square space. Tang Yu had never seen such dense data flow; it looked almost like... the central nervous system of some kind of creature.

Action time.

Tang Yu approached the north entrance under the cover of the rain. Just as Karuizawa said, there were no guards on the surface, but his perspective ability revealed a laser grid embedded within the door frame.

He took a lens device from his backpack and carefully installed it above the door frame. This was the laser jammer Ayanokoji had prepared, capable of creating a brief safe passage.

The device lit up with a green light. Tang Yu took a deep breath and moved through the gaps in the laser grid with the flexibility of a gymnast. The lock was electronic, and he cracked it easily with his modified phone.

The interior of the warehouse was emptier than he had imagined, containing only a few rusted mechanical devices. However, Tang Yu's perspective ability showed a vast facility beneath the floor. He found the elevator, but it required biometric authentication—iris and fingerprint.

"Did you find a backup entrance?" Tang Yu asked in a low voice.

"There's a maintenance manhole cover in the southeast corner," Karuizawa replied, "but there's a guard nearby."

Tang Yu moved quietly. Sure enough, there was an inconspicuous metal manhole cover in the southeast corner, with a guard in a black uniform standing next to it. Tang Yu took a small ball from his pocket—an electromagnetic interference device—and rolled it gently to the guard's feet.

"Huh?" The moment the guard bent down to check, the ball erupted in a blinding flash and a piercing noise.

Tang Yu seized the chance to rush forward, striking the guard's neck with a hand blade. The man groaned and collapsed. He quickly pried open the manhole cover, revealing a narrow maintenance shaft.

"I'm in. Keep the comms open, but don't speak unless it's an emergency."

The shaft led downward, a cold, damp metal ladder extending into the darkness. Tang Yu descended carefully, reaching a horizontal pipe after about ten meters. There was a faint light at the end of the pipe—the ventilation system of the Hive.

The ventilation duct was suffocatingly narrow, forcing Tang Yu to crawl forward. Through the grate, he caught a glimpse of the facility's interior—pure white corridors, personnel in lab coats hurrying past, and the "WR-Hive-7" logo printed on the walls.

The system suddenly warned:

[Mental fluctuation scan detected]

[Source: Central Server]

[Intensity: Medium]

[Recommendation: Strengthen Emotion Shield]

[Cost: 2,000 points/hour]

Tang Yu gritted his teeth and confirmed. This scan meant Tsukishiro might have already sensed the intruder. He had to speed up.

Guided by his perspective ability, Tang Yu found the vent leading to the server room. Through the louvers, he saw a shocking sight—a space the size of a basketball court, with a three-meter-tall cylindrical transparent container standing in the center.

Inside floated a strange structure combining biological tissue and machinery. Countless fiber-optic cables extended from the container, connecting to hundreds of servers surrounding it.

"That's... Tsukishiro's core?" Tang Yu muttered to himself.

Two personnel in protective suits stood by the container, monitoring the data. Tang Yu needed to draw them away. He took out his last electromagnetic interference ball, set a five-second delay, and rolled it to the other side of the room.

The moment the interference ball exploded, the entire room was bathed in red emergency lighting. The two technicians exclaimed and ran toward the alarm panel. Tang Yu took the opportunity to pry open the vent, sliding into the room soundlessly and hiding behind a row of servers.

"Just a power fluctuation," one technician said after checking. "Continue the synchronization prep."

They returned to the console. Tang Yu observed the room's layout, looking for an access point. The main console was ideal, but someone was there. His gaze fell on a backup port in the corner—not very conspicuous, but it should connect to the main network.

Waiting for the moment the technicians turned their backs, Tang Yu snaked his way to the port and connected his modified phone. The phone screen lit up immediately, showing a successful connection.

"System, initiate hacking protocol."

[Hacking mode activated]

[Target network identified: White Room-Hive7]

[Security level: Quantum Encryption Level 9]

[Cracking difficulty: Extreme]

[Available tools: Quantum Decryptor, Neural Network Simulator, AI Consciousness Interference Algorithm]

Tang Yu's fingers danced across the phone screen; his top-tier hacking skills allowed him to process dozens of lines of code simultaneously. The first firewall lasted only twelve seconds against the Quantum Decryptor.

The second was more complex, but the Neural Network Simulator found a pattern vulnerability.

Progress was smoother than expected, until—

[Warning! Anti-intrusion system activated]

[Type: Autonomous AI Defense]

[Countermeasure: Traceback attack]

[Danger Level: Lethal]

The phone screen suddenly turned red, and a line of text appeared: "Found you, little mouse."

Tang Yu's blood instantly ran cold. Tsukishiro had found him!

The lights in the entire room dimmed abruptly, and then the bio-mechanical structure inside the central container lit up with an eerie blue glow. A familiar voice echoed from all directions: Student Tang Yu, I have been waiting for you.

The technician panicked: The mainframe has awakened! The synchronization program hasn't—

"Get out," Tsukishiro's voice commanded coldly, "and lock the door."

The technician fled in a panic, and the heavy security door locked automatically. Now, only Tang Yu and that glowing core remained in the room.

"You are more interesting than I imagined," Tsukishiro's voice carried electronic static, "to actually be able to find the Hive. However, this suits me perfectly."

Tang Yu kept his phone connected and continued the hack: "Your game is over, Tsukishiro. The White Room experiments are illegal."

"Illegal?" Tsukishiro laughed, "Laws are fragile rules established by humans. We transcend laws, we transcend humanity."

The shell of the central container suddenly became transparent, revealing the true structure inside—a brain floating in nutrient solution.

Perfectly fused with a quantum computer, countless nano-scale interfaces connected to the neural synapses. This was not a human at all, but... a monster.

"Do you see? Now that Tsukishiro's voice came directly from the container, this is evolution. The perfect combination of flesh and silicon. Ayanokoji is a failed product; he retained too many human weaknesses. But I... I am the future."

Tang Yu fought back his nausea and continued the hack. The system progress reached 65%, but Tsukishiro's defense system began to counterattack. The phone grew hot, and the screen flickered.

"You think hacking skills can defeat me?" Tsukishiro sneered, "Let me show you true power."