Chapter 15: Escape, Data Barrier from the Blackwall

Fighting a small Militech combat team is a completely different kind of battle from a one-on-one with Knott. No matter how strong Knott was, he was still just one person. His oppressive presence and combat ability were tangible. But he was an arrogant lunatic who appeared right in front of V. But now, V is facing what feels like an endless barrage of bullets, and she can't even see the people. The small-caliber ammunition from the drones couldn't penetrate her subdermal armor, but it could hit parts of her not covered by the subdermal armor. Eyes, ears—the entire head was vulnerable. The firing rate of the Nekomata was slow, with only four bullets per magazine. V shot at those armored vehicles almost instinctively, with a hit rate close to perfect, but the lightweight bullets from the drones were impossible to defend against— "Ah! Fuck, I've never hated drones so much in my life!" From time to time, the other side would fire rockets, and V scurried between the stones like a mole— But the stones seemed fragile under such firepower, being gradually worn down! "Fuck! Leo! Have you figured something out? I can't hold on much longer! Fuck—" Boom! A rocket exploded next to V, and the blast sent her flying—her body aching from the place where she had been hit during the fight with Knott. She had maintained an active Kerenzikov state for a long time. One hand was firing the G-58 Dian SMG at the drones, while the other was using Nekomata to shoot at the armored cars, all while reloading. V felt like she was fighting a war, facing an entire army with just one person. "Fuck, hurry!" V turned around but saw nothing. For a moment, she even wondered if Leo had run off. Boom! Another rocket exploded, sending V flying like a piece of paper. Even in a slowed-down world, when firepower is strong enough, there are places you can't avoid. And V's body was nearing its limit. "Fuck..." V spat blood, looking up to see the drones had already crossed the last defense line she had set for herself. The sound of armored cars drew closer. "It's over..." V felt powerless; she could even hear footsteps. Zap— High-voltage electricity surged, a piercing sound echoed. In the next moment, she saw drones crashing to the ground like rain, and vehicles seemed to lose control, dumbly running over their own allies as if in slow motion. [First-time implantation of unique cyberware: Militech "Chapter" Model 6 Prototype Core (Unfinished)] [Note: This cyberware relies on top-tier neurobiology technology to provide conditions for AI persistence and control, but it is now directly connected to your nervous system.] [Gained 200 Tech Points] [Current Tech Points: 676] Almost the moment the implantation was complete, Leo immediately activated the cyberware. All his nerves were highly stimulated, and his brain began operating at high speed, with lines of digits and data flashing before his eyes. He saw everyone here— With a single thought, he began the hack. Numerous data streams formed a place in front of him like a visible space! It is just like cyberspace! Cyberspace refers to the virtual space drawn by network managers using information density and resistance intensity. Hackers, when using deep-dive equipment, can transform into supercomputers, moving within this space like a computer. And deep-dive equipment was developed to maximize the computational power of the brain while keeping it independent from data erosion. Now, Leo directly entered this state, with data forming space in front of him. He could even see the borders separating different net domains, as well as the wall isolating the old Internet. And Leo now found himself at a boundary that was absolute, both physically and in the network! The phenomenon of the "net domain boundary moving" was completely displayed before him! From other places, the Blackwall appeared solid and reliable, but from here, it was trembling and moving! The Blackwall's movements would constantly affect the borders of the net domains divided by NetWatch, and people couldn't communicate across the Blackwall, which was the root cause of the net domain boundary's movement. An empty network boundary, a massive red and black wave... that's the true nature of the Blackwall. In front of this massive wave, humans were like—no, they were ants. "Fuck..." Leo was stunned. More and more data flowed into his brain, and he was somewhat dazed. Just as Vic had said, cyberspace was an abyss—when he opened his eyes again, the Blackwall was right in front of him, eroding him! He could hear the abyss promising him eternal life, secrets, and omnipotent power... Jumping into it without protection would only lead to downfall. But Leo was different. [Risk of datafication from hyper-immersive computing is pushing you to the verge of transforming into a digital life form] [Trait: Heart of Evolution activated] [Remove mental interference?] [Removed] This illusory space could not affect him in the slightest; he could calmly observe the data, as though a creator observing their creation, rather than becoming engrossed in it. Leo pulled himself away from the Blackwall, disconnecting, but he still carried a portion of the Blackwall's data. He saw the flow of data and saw the data from those killed by V suddenly burst open. That data scattered, some remaining on others, while some drifted as if carried by the wind... shockingly, towards the Blackwall. "Data... is also anchored in reality, and AI is life born from data. There's no reason AI should be the pinnacle of creation; humanity can evolve too." After this reflection, Leo focused on his target once again— But even with basic hacker skills, fully hacking these people was still quite difficult. [Accelerate mastery of practical skills: Network Hacking (Proficiency Level)] [Current mastery progress: 30%] [Requires 280 Tech Points to master] [Exchanged] [Current Tech Points: 396] Knowledge surged into his brain. Staring at the vast cyberspace and towering Blackwall, he suddenly had a wild idea— If he used this portion of data he had taken from the Blackwall and uploaded these data fragments as a Daemon to the enemy, what would happen? When a person dies, some of their data ends up on the Blackwall, which seems to suggest that everyone can connect with the Blackwall. By using this connection, he could reverse the data flow from the Blackwall, directly flooding the enemies with it. Without hesitation, Leo began working. He hacked several drones and soldiers' cyberware, then carefully severed his tenuous connection to the Blackwall, while attempting to guide the infected portion of the data. As he began, Leo discovered that even a small amount of Blackwall data had a density thousands of times greater than the normal world! Just dealing with this small portion took far more time than hacking the cyberware of all the soldiers! This tiny piece was enough to block the entire squad, a total of more than 50 units, including cyberware and drivers! Data blockage is the most basic form of cyber attack, but now, the data used for blockage was the immensely denser Blackwall data! Such a massive data stream flowing into the drones could only have one outcome—the software driving the drones would be completely destroyed, the electronic control systems would fail, a powerful surge would occur, and the drones would be irreparably damaged. As for the humans, the implanted cyberware wouldn't generate a current strong enough to penetrate their bodies, but the massive data load would be enough to completely jam the operation of the cyberware, reducing its efficiency to less than a tenth of its original capability! The humans' speed would slow down, their homeostasis systems would be disrupted, as if they had contracted a terminal illness— Just like what V was seeing now! They all seemed to lose their direction, standing like wooden figures, while some better-off ones knelt down and started vomiting! Those less fortunate were directly run over by the speeding armored vehicles. "Take them out—I've hacked their cyberware." Leo's message appeared in V's vision, but for some reason, it was in red and black. "All of them?" "All of them. Hurry up, I don't know how long this will last." Getting the confirmation, V grinned and reloaded her weapons. It was a slaughter, but she had no moral qualms. [First-time development of a unique Daemon: Blackwall Data Blockage] [Note: Extract a high-density Blackwall data fragment and upload it as transmission data to the enemy's network.] [Gained 3000 Tech Points] [Current Tech Points: 3396] "So, Vic, what exactly is this thing? It's so powerful?" V got Vic on the phone. With the net domain boundary fluctuations, they were now in the Pacifica Domain, so no need to use a firewall to call him. "...I don't know how to explain this. You know about cyberspace, right?" "Is that a joke? Who doesn't? Hackers use deep-dive equipment to do whatever they want in cyberspace." "Then you should know that in addition to the equipment, hackers need to soak in an ice bath because the deep-dive equipment essentially turns the body into a biological computer to handle the complex data in cyberspace. "And the Sandevistan is also a type of cyberware that turns the body into a super biological computer to accelerate it, but a normal Sandevistan would always have a safety valve. With unlimited acceleration, a person's consciousness would sink into cyberspace, just like those unlucky hackers who incorrectly unplug their deep-dive equipment. Their brains are completely fried from unrestricted computation. And there's also an urban legend that says people can achieve eternal life in cyberspace... but that's never actually happened. So, using a Sandevistan means you can't perform complex data processing, and no netrunner would use a Sandevistan as an operating system." "What does this have to do with Leo?" "The cyberware in his body is like an unlimited acceleration version of a super Sandevistan—it plunged him into cyberspace in that instant, and then he crawled back out!" Vic's voice was now tinged with disbelief. "People often say that those who undergo excessive cyberware modification are walking on the edge of becoming a cyberpsycho, a true edgerunner. But this thing... this single piece of cyberware could turn anyone into a cyberpsycho! Yes, it doesn't give him physical combat strength, but more likely, he'd believe he's an AI, wreaking havoc in cyberspace! But he snapped out of it! Do you understand? He woke up! Like nothing had happened! Even people watching erotic braindances have a stronger reaction than him!" V was stunned as she listened—was this guy really that badass? Vic continued, "Honestly, V, I don't know what's going on, but if I had to say something, I'd rather give him a new name. I would call him 'The Abyssrunner,' and unlike those edgerunners who could lose control at any moment, he... He seems like he was just going home, I fathom." Vic's mind was filled with the image of Leo calmly learning how to develop Daemons during the surgery, like a diligent student opening a textbook at home. Is this even human? Leo groggily opened his eyes. Overusing his brain had left him exhausted, and installing this Sandevistan had made him even more tired than if he had fought a real battle—computation involves the whole body. His body was emitting heat continuously, like a computer with a failed cooling system. Obviously, after this one operation, his already short lifespan was cut even shorter. "Is it done? Please, please keep me in this position and put me in the car—don't, don't forget the cargo in the car, it's worth a lot of money..." V walked up to Leo and gave him a thumbs-up. "Of course—amazing job, Leo, we just took down an entire Militech squad!" Vic's voice came through the comms, "There have been too many shocks today—V, remember to cool him down. I'm signing off now." Plop. A drop of rain fell on V's face, and she instantly lit up with joy. "No way, we're that lucky? It's raining." Leo barely kept himself from passing out. The two of them checked the stolen Behemoth armored vehicle, confirming there was no tracking signal, loaded up all the loot, and drove off. It would take Militech a few hours to reorganize and mount another pursuit, and by that time, they'd be long gone into the wilderness. The rain would wash away their tracks, leaving nothing to follow. The car sped down the highway, with the heavy rain pounding on the windshield. "Right now, we should sing something! This crappy car doesn't have a radio!" In the car, V shouted loudly, afraid Leo wouldn't hear, "What's the name of that weird song you were humming earlier? I thought it was pretty fun, perfect for this moment!" "It's called 'Freak That Jamaican.' The next part goes like this: 'The wife is stewing bird's nest soup, I'm popping a bottle of tequila~ Living like this for 30 years~ with money more than I can spend~ The light deep within the clouds always brings me hope~'" As he sang, Leo fell asleep. Just before he completely drifted off, a sliver of sunlight broke through the damaged window, piercing through the thick clouds and shining in front of him. He seemed to see an ancient wheel. It was inscribed with ancient symbols he couldn't understand, slowly turning. [Unstable energy is about to erupt, please prepare yourself.]