The next instant, she dove straight into the city's network. Within that boundless torrent of data, a few fragile figures were drifting, searching for any trace of her in this endless digital world.
But of course, Silver Wolf's digital erasure wasn't something they could ever hope to detect.
However, this was a cyberpunk world. Here, if something existed, it left a trail. And hackers were the ones who followed those trails, piecing together fragments of truth from the vast, limitless ocean of the net.
Naturally, the corporate hackers probably lacked that kind of exploratory drive. They were just in it for the money.
Right now, Lyra was navigating that data stream.
He had jacked into the network, revisiting the scene from that day, scrutinizing every last detail.
"This person's build... seems quite young?" Lyra mused, looking at the small, erased silhouette—the only outline left behind.
'Damn, how did a kid this small pull off something like that?'
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became.
Honestly, when he'd been assigned the task of investigating this incident, his heart had been pounding nervously.
After all, he knew what had happened to the previous hackers who looked into it—they'd all been reduced to drooling vegetables. And right before they'd fried, it was like they'd seen something utterly terrifying.
That hacker was just too strong. No matter how skilled, anyone daring to investigate this ended up a mindless husk.
Lyra never considered himself special. He'd known some of the guys who'd been turned. Their skills might not have been on his level, but to be fair, even he would've found it difficult to wipe them out so completely. And his opponent?
From who-knows-how-far away, they'd been turned into that.
So while Lyra was investigating, his mind was racing, his entire posture screaming that he was ready to bolt at a moment's notice.
The company's pay was generous, sure. But you had to be alive to spend it.
Lyra decided then and there: once this job was done, he'd fake an illness and take some sick leave...
He hadn't even had much chance to enjoy the pleasure doll he'd bought recently anyway...
'For the peanuts they pay us each month, why am I risking my neck?!'
Muttering to himself, Lyra kept a wary eye on his surroundings.
His enemy was an exceptionally cautious netrunner. They probably already knew he was investigating. With a personality that careful, they were likely lurking in the shadows right now.
So... he had to be careful, then more careful, and then careful again!
Just then, a somewhat youthful voice reached his ears from beside him: "What are you doing? Skulking around like that..."
Silver Wolf stood next to him, tilting her head as she looked him over, a puzzled expression on her face.
For a moment, Lyra froze.
His head turned slowly, like a rusty clockwork spring.
Then, he saw a young, delicate face.
Right now, its owner was looking at him with open curiosity.
And judging by her demeanor, she'd clearly been there for a while.
All this time, and he hadn't noticed?
What sent a colder chill down his spine was this: in this space, hiding one's appearance was simple. Yet she had openly revealed her looks to him. That could only mean one thing... she intended to silence him for good.
Of course, Silver Wolf had simply forgotten. The previous hackers who'd chased her? She hadn't even lifted a finger herself. The viruses she'd left behind as a casual precaution were enough to turn their brains to mush.
What kind of virus?
Of course, it was the audio from 'Slumbernana Monkey'!
Just imagine: inside your head, that infectiously catchy Slumbernana Monkey tune plays on a loop for a hundred years—all compressed into a single instant. Anyone would lose their mind!
The reason Silver Wolf had come personally this time was because this man had actually managed to neutralize the virus she'd left behind.
Sure, she'd just placed it casually—like Doomfist casually punching Ana—without any special safeguards. But given the general hacking level in this world, achieving that was pretty impressive, okay?
It was pure curiosity that brought Silver Wolf here in person.
Of course, this was just one of her digital avatars in the network. Her real body was still strolling down the street.
She'd just left David's place, walking off her meal...
"Just looking into this shadow..." Lyra began, smiling at Silver Wolf as he spoke. But in the very next instant, his form vanished without a trace, fleeing the data space at incredible speed.
He was so fast that even Silver Wolf was taken aback for a second.
'This guy... I thought he'd at least exchange a few words with me,' she mused. 'Turns out he was just pretending to talk to distract me while he made a run for it. Not bad.'
Indeed, managing to dismantle her Slumbernana Monkey virus showed he had some skill.
Unfortunately for him, precisely because he had a brain, Silver Wolf didn't get to perform that one line...
You know, the one... 'Aren't you going to run? Instead, you're approaching me?'
It would've been so cool to say that. If she could've delivered that line, she might have secretly reveled in it all day.
But even though he'd escaped, Silver Wolf showed no panic. Instead, a smile played on her lips.
'You think running away will save you? How naive.'
The next moment, her form also vanished from the space.
On the other side, Lyra jerked upright from his chair, gasping for air. Just that brief contact with Silver Wolf had been enough to make him terminate the dive in a frenzy.
As he sat up, he realized the back of his immersion suit was soaked with sweat.
The pressure Silver Wolf exuded was just too intense.
But it would all be worth it.
"Lyra? What's wrong?" His partner, Quentin, looked over at him, confusion in his voice.
Due to the previous... attrition rate, Arasaka had assigned Lyra an assistant for this dive. At the slightest sign of trouble, the assistant was to cut the connection and forcibly pull him out.
"Quentin, we're gonna be rich! I found her! I found the one the higher-ups are looking for! Can you believe it? The one who took out several top-tier hackers... is just a little girl!"
As he spoke, his face was alight with excitement.
The top brass had said: find this person, and the reward would be hefty enough to set them up for life.
"She never expected it! On the surface, I was answering her question, but I was really just making my escape! Hah! Now that I'm out of the datascape, no matter how powerful she is, she can't touch me! After all... she can't very well crawl through the fiber optics to kill me, right? Haha!" Lyra laughed maniacally.
'She's still too green,' he thought. 'So confident in her skills that she didn't even bother with a disguise, just confronted me with her real appearance. Who'd have thought such a top-tier hacker would be so cowardly?'
"You saw what she looks like?" Quentin's face also showed excitement. He got a ten percent cut of this job's pay. With a reward that fat, even ten percent was a life-changing sum.
"Yep. A little girl. As for her looks... you'll find out soon enough! Let's go report this now!"
The two of them made to leave the room immediately.
However, when they tried the door handle, it refused to turn no matter how hard they twisted.
"Strange, is the lock broken?" Lyra was puzzled. He pulled out his phone to call for someone to open it from the outside.
But when he picked up the phone, it showed no signal.
"Dammit, what kind of carrier is this? We're inside Arasaka! There's no way there's no signal here!" He complained, staring at the screen.
A moment later, he froze. Something was wrong. This was all too coincidental.
"You ran pretty fast. Do I really look that scary?" Silver Wolf's voice emanated from the room's equipment.
"Of course not. In fact, if I met you under normal circumstances, I'd definitely try to chat you up and ask for your number..." Hearing her voice, Lyra showed no panic.
"I admit, you've got some serious skills in the hacking department. Managing to breach Arasaka's systems is no small feat. But you're underestimating Arasaka. They'll trace your digital footprint back to you, and then you'll wish you were dead. Countless hackers have tried to break in here. They all ended up the same way."
"That's because they weren't strong enough," Silver Wolf replied, her tone breezy.
"Not strong enough? Maybe. You live in this world, yet you don't know how powerful Arasaka is?" he retorted.
"How powerful? More powerful than Screwllum? I'll admit, since I left Punklorde, Screwllum is the only one who could trade blows with me in a digital duel without ending up at a disadvantage." Silver Wolf's voice held a note of interest, and... a hint of eager anticipation.
'Maybe I'll hack Planet Screwllum later when I get a chance, give him a little surprise.'
"Screwllum? Who's that? Never heard of him. But if I were you, I'd get out of here now. Breaching Arasaka brings you no benefits, only downsides. After all, I'm out of the dive now. No matter how powerful you are in the net, it's all an illusion. The real you is weak, just a kid. I remember your face. Arasaka will find you easily."
"If I were you, I'd be considering turning myself in to Arasaka. Talents like you? The big shots are very interested. They might not even kill you." Lyra spoke in a coaxing, persuasive tone.
"Huh?" In response to his long speech, Silver Wolf only made a sound of pure confusion.
"Who told you that just because you logged out... I can't do anything to you?" Silver Wolf was genuinely baffled. Who gave him the courage to say something like that?
"What a joke! Even the strongest hackers can only throw their weight around online! The online you, no matter how strong, is fake! If you've got what it takes, jump out of the screen and kill me. Otherwise, I'm about to end you."
Perhaps feeling completely safe now, Lyra sneered, his expression downright smug.
Beside him, Quentin nodded along with a similar cold laugh.
'Seems this hacker is strong, but not too bright,' Quentin thought. 'She can't tell what's what, bro thinks she's invincible in the real world too just like online?'
However, in the next moment, both men's voices cut off abruptly, like ducks being strangled. Their faces were plastered with sheer terror.
"Oh? Then I'll grant your request..." From the screen, a pixel-art version of Silver Wolf's head appeared first.
But then, the pixels began spilling out of the monitor like an invasion into reality. Countless pixel points swarmed into the air, gradually coalescing until they formed a petite, cute figure.
Her single-drill-ponytail swayed casually behind her head. Silver Wolf sat on the desk, looking down at the two stunned men, and couldn't help but blink playfully.
"I've never seen a request like that in my life. I wasn't even planning to kill you originally, but... how can I refuse such enthusiasm?" Silver Wolf feigned a sigh, then gazed at the dumbfounded Lyra and spoke softly.
"Miss—no, Ma'am! Grandma! I was wrong! I was really wrong! I know I messed up! Please, I'm begging you, don't kill me! I'll do anything, anything at all!"
Lyra, a man in his thirties, dropped to his knees and started kowtowing frantically.
Silver Wolf's method of jumping out of the screen had shattered his nerve completely. He didn't even think of resisting.
"Anything?" Silver Wolf repeated, as if triggered by a keyword. She walked right up to the man, her expression cold.
"What kind of resolve do you have to say something like that? You're just a regular Arasaka employee. Can you truly bear the weight of another person's life? 'Willing to do anything' carries that kind of heavy responsibility."
"Don't make promises you can't keep. You've seen my face. If I let you go, tomorrow Arasaka would be kicking my door down shouting 'NCPD, open up!'."
"But I really don't want to die..." Lyra wailed, his face a mask of misery.
"You don't want to die, and I don't want to die either. You... you're only thinking of yourself." Silver Wolf looked down at Lyra coldly, her voice flat. "If I told you to kill your partner right there, would you do it or not?"
Beside them, Quentin was stunned, then looked at Lyra with dawning horror.
"Of course... I'd kill him!" With a speed that even took Silver Wolf by surprise, Lyra grabbed a nearby dagger and plunged it straight into Quentin's temple.
Quentin lost consciousness on the spot...
"Whoa, that's ruthless..." Silver Wolf stared, momentarily speechless. 'This guy... he's rotten to the core.'
Judging by their earlier conversation, these two had known each other for years, right? And yet he hadn't hesitated at all. She hadn't even given a definitive answer, and he'd already acted.
'Truly only thinks of himself.'
"Please, let me go!" He was kowtowing frantically to Silver Wolf now, like a desperate character out of a drama. But Silver Wolf's gaze held not a shred of emotion.
'Someone who'd do that to a long-time colleague... he's a walking disaster in the real world too.'
"Pay more attention in your next life. And don't forget to apologize to your good buddy there." Silver Wolf was still speaking when she saw Lyra suddenly lunge towards her.
But in the next instant, a 'pop' sound rang out. A wisp of black smoke rose from Lyra's head, and then he collapsed face-down in front of her.
With everything settled, Silver Wolf's figure vanished from the room.
Out on the street, Silver Wolf continued her walk, having casually eliminated a threat. But just then, some commotion broke out further down the road.
"Is that... MaxTac? What are they doing here?" Watching the aerial vehicles in the distance, Silver Wolf paused, then a look of keen interest spread across her face.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.