Chapter 95: Network Elf
[Network Elf, huh…….]
A back alley sowhere in Hong Kong.
I was sharing the information I had just learned with Little Sister.
However, Sis’s reaction was more lukewarm than I had expected.
‘With Sis’s personality, she should’ve been making a huge fuss.’
A mysterious otherworldly race discovered in the Electrosphere.
And the other party was Little Sister, a hacker who was extrely interested in the Electrosphere.
Naturally, I expected her to bombard with questions, but what I got back was a reaction that felt oddly unconvincing.
So I turned the question back on her.
[Was this information you already knew?]
[Well…… to so extent.]
[To so extent?]
Information that a gacorp executive had been secretly hiding, and she already knew about it.
She really wasn’t an ordinary talent either.
[Anyway, more importantly— you used Ar’s ability on Ophelia, right?]
Sis vaguely brushed it off and changed the subject.
I felt a slight sense of doubt at her behavior, but I went along with the conversation.
[Yeah.]
An ability Ar newly gained after consuming an Andromancer.
A completely new hacking thod that utilized ssenger Possession.
[So? What did it feel like using it in real combat?]
After trying it out, I could tell it was far more powerful than I had expected.
But if there was one drawback……
‘It consud quite a lot of Flying Squirrels each ti I used it.’
Moreover, unlike ordinary ssenger Possession, it was a thod that didn’t overload the device, so each individual Electrosphere Wraith was extrely weak.
Thus, the harder a device was to possess, the more Electrosphere Wraiths—‘Flying Squirrels’—were consud.
Just to possess Ophelia this ti, as many as six wraiths had been invested.
[That’s definitely a problem.]
Electrosphere Wraiths were in extrely high demand, but the absolute supply was very small.
That was because of the nature of wraiths, which were said to be transford from what were once ‘sapient beings’.
[So how do you usually get wraiths?]
[Usually through the Electrosphere black market. Corporations also mass-produce them themselves.]
[Mass-produce?]
[You know how holess people sotis disappear in droves from the streets? That’s basically what that is.]
Those who weren’t ‘registered’ anywhere in this world didn’t receive proper protection from the judicial system.
‘Right. This was that kind of world.’
I was reminded once again that I was standing in a world where disregard for human life was rampant.
[So, what’s the plan now?]
When Sis asked in a noticeably serious tone, I answered.
[Tomorrow, Ophelia has a separate appointnt with Edwin.]
[You’re planning to snatch the target then?]
[Yeah.]
[You know that guy won’t be easy.]
[Of course.]
Edwin Silver— a lee mage swordsman who used Radiance-type magic.
Just as Sis said, he wouldn’t be an easy opponent, but in a way, this was also an opportunity for .
‘I happened to need Radiance-type knowledge anyway.’
The mana my older brother had most frequently imbued into his forr weapon, the ‘Arc Blade’, was precisely Radiance-type mana.
Because of the Arc Blade’s nature of releasing stored mana, it was best suited to Radiance-type energy, which was compressed at extrely high density.
[Don’t worry.]
[……I’m not worried.]
After ending the communication with Sis, I disappeared into the darkness at the back of the alley.
A building rooftop sowhere.
A place where Hong Kong’s dazzling streets could be seen at a glance.
Little Sister stood there, staring at the city with empty eyes.
‘Network Elf…….’
A na that could never be forgotten.
A secretive race that originated from the colossal data lifeform containing the secrets of the Electrosphere— the ‘Electrosphere Tree’.
‘There’s no way the Elders will stay quiet.’
The Network Elves’ leadership had always strictly upheld the principle of thoroughly concealing themselves.
Yet here they were, being traded like commodities.
There were only two possibilities.
Either the Elders’ control had weakened.
Or……
‘Their stance had changed.’
No matter how hard they tried to hide their racial identity, it wasn’t sothing that could be concealed forever.
The Elders were well aware of that fact.
Perhaps they had changed their strategy to strike first rather than wait to be discovered.
‘Well…… the Elders aren’t fools.’
When the Electrosphere was first discovered in the real world, it probably hadn’t been difficult to stay hidden.
But now, the situation was very different from the past.
Above all, Electrosphere-related technology had advanced at a staggering pace.
Along with that, Electrosphere exploration capabilities had naturally skyrocketed as well.
‘What on earth is lissa thinking.’
The one reason the Elders had been able to hide the Network Elves who occasionally appeared in the real world was simple.
It was because an exceptionally skilled hacker nad lissa had struck a deal with the Elders.
A deal to kill every Network Elf that appeared in the real world.
But now, the sa lissa who had extracted Network Elves from the Black Market had personally handed them over to a gacorp.
That was impossible unless so change had occurred in the principles the Elders had upheld all this ti.
‘If they’re going to be discovered anyway, maybe they decided to side with a gacorporation outright…….’
There seed to be a reason they had chosen ‘Royal Spirit’ as their trading partner.
Among gacorporations, they were comparatively the most favorable toward otherworldly lifeforms.
‘Or could it be that lissa fell out with the Elders?’
The mont the thought crossed her mind, Sis let out a small snort of laughter.
That possibility was nonexistent.
‘lissa…….’
She was a woman who had tried to maintain a relationship even while killing her own younger sibling.
‘Hoo…….’
As unpleasant mories from the past surfaced, I shook my head and brushed them away.
She sensed that a turbulent period was approaching.
Perhaps the day when a new otherworldly race called Network Elves would roam the streets freely was not far off.
‘If that day were to co…….’
Sis muttered softly and swept her hair back.
At the tips of her swaying hair, small sparks crackled.
White and black hues intermingled, creating sparks that looked almost grayish-white.
The far northern edge of Hong Kong.
An abandoned ruin bordering the massive curtain known as the Ten-Thousand-Li Great Wall.
Because monstrous creatures occasionally leaked out from the divided Central Plains, it was a place where people could not properly live.
[Got the location.]
Diesel, crouched beside Kali while wearing specialized goggles, reported to her.
She, too, put on similar goggles and asked.
[Where?]
[Inside the cathedral at the center of the old city.]
When I displayed the coordinate data along with the explanation, Kali nodded.
[Forces?]
[As expected, it’s just Edwin Silver and two guards.]
This transaction was a solo act driven entirely by Edwin’s personal obsession.
I didn’t know why he was being this devoted to Ophelia, a half-android, but for , it was good news.
If this had been a formally prepared transaction by a gacorporation, it wouldn’t have been sothing that could be stolen with just two Ghostcatchers.
[Ophelia’s side is taken care of for sure, right?]
[Yeah. No problems.]
Originally, Ophelia was supposed to co to this ruin today as well.
But thanks to Diesel having intervened in advance, she was under the impression that the transaction date was on a completely different day.
[Let’s move.]
Removing my goggles, I stepped into the dim city.
‘This is seriously eerie.’
Weeds grew thick among concrete buildings that looked ready to collapse at any mont.
Streets that must once have been packed with people were in utter ruin, as if they had been bombed.
[Do you think it’s real?]
While moving toward the destination, Kali posed a question.
[What is?]
[What Edwin Silver said. Are half-androids really an Electrosphere race called Network Elves?]
[No idea.]
According to Edwin Silver, there were two kinds of Network Elves that appeared in the real world.
One was born with a complete physical form, and the other possessed a machine capable of housing equivalent intelligence.
By that logic, Network Elves didn’t have to enter androids— they could have gone into refrigerators.
After all, every electronic device in this world was equipped with a high level of artificial intelligence.
[Isn’t this an insane discovery? If it’s really true, that ans all those urban legends were real.]
Fans that decapitated people, haunted amusent rides, serial-killer cars.
As Kali said, those creepy incidents might actually have been the work of Network Elves possessing object-based AIs.
[Then there could be ones possessing air conditioners and stuff, right? Ugh, just thinking about it’s horrifying. Even if they rebel, all they could do is make things cooler, right?]
While chatting idly, the cathedral—our destination—ca into view.
[Whoa……. This vibe is insane.]
Kali exclaid over the network.
The ornate Gothic-style cathedral was half-destroyed by sothing.
Judging by the marks, it looked like the claw scars of a high-grade monster.
‘If the claws were that big, how huge was the body?’
Setting aside the brief impression, I approached the building.
After exchanging a glance with Kali, we headed for the cathedral’s main entrance.
‘That must be it…….’
As we stepped inside, moonlight poured in through shattered stained glass.
Where the pulpit for mass should have been, two pitch-black coffins were placed instead.
In front of them stood a silver-haired man in a reverent posture, as if offering a prayer.
‘Edwin Silver.’
Clenching my fist slightly, I spoke quietly into the network.
[Proceed as planned.]
Kali replied with a seriousness completely different from before.
[Yeah.]
As we exchanged the signal—
Woooooom……!
A heavy infrasonic vibration echoed from sowhere outside.
At the sa ti, small sparks jumped beneath Diesel’s and Kali’s ears.
“Ha……. So it really works.”
A secret weapon developed by the Cheonrang Group.
A special pulse bomb that completely severed all connections to the Electrosphere.
“Now we don’t have to worry about external support for a while.”
“How do you even pull sothing like this off?”
“You’re not supposed to ask about trade secrets like that.”
“What? Ha……!”
Kali let out a hollow laugh.
Diesel handed her a chip.
Soon, a dedicated communication line with poor audio quality connected between the two of us.
[Let’s begin.]
She tossed out that brief line—
And her pupils glowed orange.
-Will I go to heaven when I die?
A voice echoed.
-Is there a heaven ant just for ?
The voice of a mass-produced android one could hear anywhere on the streets.
-Am I…… really alive?
Edwin Silver lived the rest of his life regretting that day.
Regretting what he couldn’t properly say to her as her power core slowly shut down and she died.
Regretting how he couldn’t say a single word to her as she expressed gratitude to him with her last remaining energy.
-Thank you for picking up when I was abandoned.
-…….
-Thank you for being kind to .
-…….
-Thank you for making feel like I’m alive.
-…….
-Dad.
The final words Edwin Silver failed to say to her.
That she wasn’t a machine, but a living being.
If he could just go back to that mont, he would have been willing to offer everything he had achieved since.
“Are you repenting or sothing?”
“……?”
At the sudden voice, Edwin Silver turned around.
There stood a man.
“……Who are you.”
It was the ti Ophelia was supposed to arrive.
But the one who entered the cathedral was an uninvited guest.
“Why are you going this far?”
The man asked as he walked step by step under the moonlight.
“I heard that, for a corporate executive, you care quite a lot about half-android human rights.”
“That’s quite rude.”
Had he struck a nerve?
Edwin’s brow twitched at Diesel’s words.
‘The connection to the Electrosphere…….’
Surveying the situation, he quickly grasped what was happening.
‘An attack targeting the Network Elves.’
The orderly flow of mana emanating from the man before him.
Judging by it, he was a mage of considerable caliber.
“I don’t know who you are, but you’ve made the wrong choice.”
“Is that so?”
A sneering reply ca back.
For Edwin, a gacorp executive, it was a rather novel experience.
‘He’s trying to provoke .’
Was it to buy ti?
Or was he trying to draw out the first strike?
It wasn’t particularly important.
No matter what strategy the opponent had, it ant nothing before overwhelming force.
With that thought, Edwin Silver drew the sword at his waist.
But he didn’t know.
That what the man before him wanted—
Was that overwhelming power itself.
“…….”
Edwin Silver’s expressionless eyes began to glow in multiple colors.
At the sa ti, a small smile ford on Diesel’s face.
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