"Ever since the accident, they suddenly beca very close, even doing deep dives together. I know how many of them there are... they must be up to sothing."
The novice netrunner, under the gaze of rcer and the others, first glanced nervously at the ground, then mustered the courage to look at the Arasaka agent:
"I think they’re definitely plotting sothing. Before, Lucy, Kyoko, Daichi, and Leon got along well, but rcer only joined after the accident.
And rcer has... changed a lot lately! There’s definitely sothing wrong!
I stand by what I said!"
The novice netrunner’s heart was pounding wildly. He knew he’d be seen as a traitor by his peers after this, but... if his report succeeded, maybe he could survive!
He could escape this project, no, even get promoted to a senior position because of this rit!
Thinking this, Sakata’s expression grew resolute.
He was almost certain this group was hiding sothing; everyone used to look like they were on the verge of death, but lately, these few had been chatting and laughing.
He’d secretly asked Kyoko before, but even she said it was just because things had been safe lately, with no encounters with AIs.
That didn’t make sense. Kyoko was naturally timid, and even he felt more scared during deep dives now. How could Kyoko suddenly be so brave?
"I have plenty of evidence to prove they’re secretly planning sothing or hiding so secret!"
The more Sakata spoke, the clearer his thoughts beca, and he grew even more excited: "Yes, it must be this way!"
But the Arasaka agent remained unmoved.
Did this brat really think Arasaka employees were fools...?
Every conversation between Lucy, rcer, and the others was on record. They were under 24/7 surveillance of communication signal fluctuations, biotric data analysis, and the whole package.
Although the data occasionally showed so variance, it never reached abnormal levels. Besides, wasn’t this review ant to uncover exactly that? Did he really need to point it out?
"Other evidence?" The Arasaka agent coldly stared at Sakata.
Sakata was stunned: "Evidence? I an... they’re acting suspicious. If you interrogate them strictly, you’ll definitely find sothing..."
"Bakayarou! Get in line for the review! You’re wasting my ti."
The Arasaka agent cursed angrily. If he had the authority to discipline him, he would’ve already given the kid a cyberware lockdown plus neural overload.
He didn’t need any netrunning skills, just the permissions Arasaka granted senior agents were enough.
Sakata opened his mouth ekly but could only trudge dejectedly to the back of the line.
rcer didn’t even bother looking at him, his expression calm. He even took the opportunity to put on the jacket by the netrunner station while Sakata was dawdling.
He walked lightly toward the elevator, while the others wore varied expressions. Kyoko looked absolutely furious; she had been pushing hard lately to recruit the two remaining novice netrunners still in the facility into their escape group. Just when rcer seed on the verge of agreeing, this ss happened.
Now, Kyoko didn’t even know how to talk to rcer.
What’s more, for a mont, even she felt a chill of fear. It was a good thing rcer hadn’t agreed earlier. What if Sakata had leaked the plan?
Lucy, on the other hand, wore an icy expression.
She wasn’t a bad person, but to be honest, as long as she could make it out alive... No, as long as she could escape with everyone here now, that was enough. She didn’t care about anyone else.
Daichi and Leon exchanged a glance, their faces faintly uneasy. If things really ca down to the wire...
Escape now? But their preparations weren’t complete yet.
Still, seeing rcer walking at the front of the group, hands in his pockets, calm and composed, their anxiety suddenly faded away a little.
It’s fine. With rcer here, he’ll definitely pull it off!
As for the last mber, the quiet young girl netrunner, she simply watched everything in silence, her eyes empty of emotion, like a soulless doll, chanically following the group.
—--
They took the elevator down to B1, and rcer, as expected, was the first to enter the dical bay for his cyberware check.
The advantage of him going first was that if anything seed off, he could imdiately use the Quickhacks already loaded into his cyberdeck’s coprocessor and take action.
Dr. Oda stood by the surgical chair with a hint of irritation on her face. "Alright, lie down. We need to run a full diagnostic on your cyberware software."
Noticing her mood, rcer smiled and teased, "Looks like Dr. Oda’s in for so serious overti this ti."
"...At least two days without sleep, by my estimate. Anyway, if you could make this easier for , that’d be great."
Expressionless, she waited for rcer to lie down, then imdiately plugged the diagnostic machine’s data cable into the port behind his ear. Once connected, her fingers flew across the screen as she checked his cyberware data.
"Hmm... Your neural link readings are unusually high. What have you been up to in Cyberspace lately?" she asked.
"Well, idle hands and all that... dug up so data, wrote a few programs using server processing power. You can check the coprocessor." rcer began, but Dr. Oda cut him off.
"I see... Take Control, Overheat, Cyberware Malfunction, Short Circuit, Ping... Hmph. The architecture needs optimization. A few programs like these and you’ve maxed out your mory? The tech team will review your software data later. Rember to report to the tech departnt right after your check-up."
rcer nodded. Of course the structure was bloated.
He’d hidden programs like "Synapse Burnout" which could fry an enemy’s brain. "Freelance Assassin" for rapid code-breaking, and "mory Wipe" and "System Collapse" for silent takedowns.
With that many programs tucked into the code, how could the mory not be strained?
Normally, the Arasaka Mk.3 Cyberdeck with a coprocessor only had six default Quickhack slots.
The fact that he’d squeezed in so many was already a testant to how well he’d optimized the program mory.
"Alright... that’s about it. I’m seeing recent usage traces on your monowire?" Dr. Oda pressed on.
"I’ve been practicing in my room, it’s been so long since I last used it. If I don’t get familiar with it again, I’m afraid I might chop my own fingers off when the ti cos."
"Good. Being prepared is a virtue."
Dr. Oda squinted at the data for a mont before saying, "Your neural pathways have mostly recovered?
No, not just mostly recovered, your ’Intelligence’ attribute seems to have improved as well! Incredible.
Hold on, I need to update the data and upload it to your dical log."
rcer suddenly grew interested.
The ’Intelligence’ Dr. Oda referred to was just like stats in a ga, used to evaluate a person’s potential and strength in various physical and ntal attributes.
Generally, a Body attribute of at least 12 is required to accept cyberware like Gorilla Arms or a Berserk OS.
Programs like the Sandevistan not only demand a high Body attribute but also require a Reflexes attribute above 12 to operate.
The Intelligence attribute determines the computational capacity a netrunner can handle, their reaction speed in Cyberspace, and more.
Cyberware such as the Kerenzikov or Synaptic Accelerator, which enhance neural speed, often perform in ways tied to both Intelligence and Reflexes attributes.
The Cool attribute dictates one’s tolerance for cyberware.
The higher the Cool attribute, the less likely one is to suffer from cyberpsychosis episodes, aning they can handle more cyberware installations.
"After the check-up, can you tell all my current attributes? I haven’t paid attention to them in a long ti."
"Sure. Have you taken your cyberware dical courses? If so, I can also send you the examination report so you can understand yourself better."
Dr. Oda seed noticeably cheerier, as if she’d spotted sothing intriguing.
"I’ve recently started the interdiate course," rcer said.
"Not bad," Dr. Oda raised an eyebrow. "My assistant just graduated from the advanced course. You still have ti for this?"
"Cramming lately, given everything that’s happened to ," rcer replied smoothly.
"Mhm. Alright, the results are in. Body... 11?
You’re only fourteen this year, right? That’s impressive.
Reflexes... 16? Young people these days are sothing else.
Cool is... 19?
Intelligence..."
Dr. Oda fell silent, and instead, her cybereye began to glow.
rcer guessed she was making a call.
He calmly sat up and sneaked a glance at the screen, where a line of text in Japanese read:
[Detected Intelligence attribute exceeds conventional evaluation paraters. Information on subject ’rcer Vale’ has been automatically sent to Arasaka’s talent reserve list.]
Huh, so I really am a genius among geniuses.
rcer waited patiently, and soon enough, Dr. Oda turned to him abruptly: "Alright, you can skip the procedural checks. Head to the director’s office first... it’s on the top floor."
"Understood." rcer asked curiously, "What does this an?"
"This number ans that, as long as you don’t make any fundantal mistakes, you’ll soon beco a full-fledged senior agent and undergo advanced agent training.
Depending on the results after training, you could be assigned as an executive assistant, deputy project director, or to a special departnt.
rcer, in the future, even I might need to rely on your support." Dr. Oda’s expression grew increasingly amiable.
"Then I’ll leave my friend in your care, Dr. Oda. That Agent Supervisor doesn’t seem particularly friendly."
After rcer spoke, Oda nodded crisply:
"Not a problem. You’ve just been cleared anyway, at most they’ll ask about your deep dive experience and insert a lie detector chip. I’ll have a word with him to keep things civil."
This attitude made rcer chuckle inwardly. No wonder everyone in the company was scrambling to climb the corporate ladder.
If he didn’t know what Arasaka was really like, he might not even want to leave.
But alas, his mind was made up.
What cos next...
As rcer walked out, he pondered the possibility of squeezing a hefty sum out of Arasaka before making his escape seed to have grown considerably.
Just as he stepped out, Lucy, who was second in line, looked at him with concern. rcer simply smiled and said, "Just a routine check, no need to worry."
The sharp gaze of an Arasaka agent fixed on him, blocking his path. "This isn’t the way to the programming departnt. Where are you going?"
"The top floor, the director’s office. You can verify that."
rcer t the agent’s stare. Though his current body stood just over 160 cm, he showed no hint of backing down against the agent, who was well over 180 cm.
Though he used the respectful Japanese honorifics customary here, his attitude made the agent’s fingers itch with irritation.
What’s with the upbringing of kids these days? Forget lacking respect for seniors... how could they even forget to show deference to superiors?
The agent was thoroughly annoyed but still dutifully ssaged the director. After receiving confirmation, he stepped aside.
"Watch your attitude, netrunner."
"Ah, my sincerest apologies." rcer gave an insincere, perfunctory bow in the Japanese style and strode off purposefully.
The agent narrowed his eyes, turning to glare at Lucy. "What are you looking at? Get in for your check!"
Just you wait... don’t let catch you slipping up.
The Arasaka agent gritted his teeth in frustration.
—--
anwhile, rcer entered the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. The display screen soon showed that access was granted, and the elevator accelerated upward.
When the doors opened, a lavish, spacious office ca into view. rcer stepped inside and saw Tano Ena, resting with her eyes closed in her chair.
Reviews
All reviews (0)