Cyberpunk: Starting in 2071

Chapter 75 The Hunters of Cyberspace

The Voodoo Gang hackers are currently riding high.

Ever since the Voodoo hacker known as Slide led a group of Voodoo hackers to split the Voodoo gang and join Dogtown, the strength of the Voodoo hackers in Taiping State has visibly declined significantly.

Throughout 2071, the Taiping Voodoo Gang attempted to restore its former prestige and rebuild its rule over the Taiping region's network.

Today, it must be said that the hackers of the Voodoo Gang have begun to show results.

They have virtually regained control of cyberspace in Pacific State, even preventing locals from accessing the internet directly, openly attacking deep-diving hackers, and extorting money online.
The Voodoo Gang in Dogtown isn't exactly a charity either. They operate on the same principles within Dogtown, but they're relatively more disciplined; you can pay them for safe internet access.
Doesn't that sound ridiculous? But it's true. In the cyber world, you even have to pay internet fees to gangs.

Even ordinary people who don't need to dive deep are affected. Otherwise, if your device is connected to the internet and is targeted by a hacker, they can use the network cable to cause you trouble.

It was precisely because of the Voodoo Gang's high-intensity joint attacks that the network in Taiping Prefecture almost became the Voodoo Gang's own local area network, except for people like Mercer who would occasionally pass by without any scruples.

Other hackers usually avoid the Taipingzhou domain, and even if they have to go in, they usually only go in and out quickly.

The network here is usually like a calm blue ocean, only rippling when the Voodoo Gang takes action.

However, today, in this blue ocean of data, a giant whale has appeared, eyeing us with predatory intent.

“Bridget, our testing program in Pacific State has detected abnormal network signal fluctuations. Should we send someone over to check it out?”

In the Voodoo Gang building in Taiping State, in the Poseidon server room, a Voodoo Gang hacker excitedly found his boss, Bridget.

Bridget stared blankly at the programs running on her computer and replied casually, "It might be those traitors from the slider group fishing. Be careful."

"Don't worry, we'll call a few brothers along. I want to see how their crappy rags can compare to our Poseidon!"

The hacker laughed and beckoned to his buddies to walk over to the hacker chair: "Let's see how long this unlucky guy can last against us today."

I've just developed a new Black Ice program. Don't try to steal it from me; let me see how well it works!

"Heh, just make sure they don't get away." The other female hacker simply exhaled a puff of smoke and placed her cigarette on the ashtray. "Get this done quickly, I have dinner appointments with someone."

"Keep an eye on them. If anything goes wrong, don't forget to disconnect them and switch the Poseidon server back to LAN mode as soon as possible."

Bridget casually offered her instructions.

A hacker who was writing code on his laptop hummed in response without even looking up.

Subsequently, with the cooling systems under several hacker chairs activating, four Voodoo Gang hackers dived together into cyberspace.

In fact, the Voodoo Gang's Poseidon server is not always connected to the public network. This is to guard against the Voodoo Gang in Dogtown and the infiltration of the internet censors.

But when their servers are connected to the network, they reveal the ferocious nature of Poseidon servers, just like a giant deep-sea monster.

This giant sea creature looks like a hundred-meter-long snake with a crocodile head. Perhaps it was inspired by the Hydra. Its upper body is that of a snake, but its lower body is like that of a large lizard, with back spikes, sharp claws, and green scales.

Even the cybernetic imagery gives off a sticky, disgusting, and terrifying feeling.

As a server specifically designed to breach firewalls, the Poseidon server's built-in Poseidon system is essentially a large-scale attack system.

This attack system was specifically created to carry and use various Black Ice programs. It can be used to sneakily breach the firewall, as well as to destroy any hacker adversaries encountered in cyberspace.

This is also the biggest reason why the Voodoo Gang can run rampant online.

When four voodoo hackers transformed into virtual avatars in cyberspace, resembling 'Predators' with dreadlocks and camouflage paint.

Then, with great enthusiasm, it began to ride on the giant sea beast that the Poseidon server had transformed into, speeding towards the IP address detected by the detection program.

When they arrived at the designated location, what they saw was a mysterious hacker standing in cyberspace, seemingly lost in thought.

The expressions of the voodoo gang hackers were somewhat solemn, judging from the detailed clothing on the other side and the black cat perched on its shoulder, staring intently at them.

The other party was definitely not the novice they imagined, who had mistakenly entered the Taipingzhou network domain.

The group exchanged glances, and one of the hackers cautiously asked, "Who are you? What are you doing in this cyberspace? Strangers aren't welcome on the network in Taiping Prefecture!"

Under the watchful eyes of the group, the hacker turned his face, revealing a somewhat creepy smiling mask.

"I thought you guys were going to ambush me directly."

As Mercer's mechanical synthesized voice rang out, a hacker from the Voodoo Gang launched a brutal puppet attack.

The 'Sea God Serpent' beneath them suddenly opened its mouth and spat out thick green venom at Mercer. However, the moment the venom touched Mercer, the original Mercer dissipated into a mosaic of blue data.

At the same time, right beneath the Voodoo Gang's 'Sea God Serpent,' a giant claw composed of black and red data suddenly appeared.

The giant claw extended from the blue network data on the ground and instantly seized the body of the 'Sea God Serpent'. Then, a giant dragon shimmering with blue light rose from the ground, carrying the 'Sea God Serpent' upwards.

With antlers like a deer, head like a camel, eyes like a rabbit, neck like a snake, belly like a clam, scales like a fish, claws like an eagle, paws like a tiger, and ears like a cow, this giant dragon of the East has gleaming black and red scales and eyes that radiate golden light.

It was now gripping the enormous sea serpent, its body coiled around it like a giant python. It bit down hard on its prey, and the 'sea god serpent' let out a silent roar, and countless data fragments burst apart. In an instant, it was bound tightly and could not move.

Mercer stood atop the dragon's head, his smiling mask beaming with a radiant smile, instantly reaching the same height as the hackers riding the 'Sea God Serpent,' and staring at them in cyberspace.

"We've got you."

The voodoo hackers instantly realized the stupid thing they had done.

"Quickly! Log off now and tell them they must cut off the power to Poseidon immediately!"

A hacker shouted loudly while desperately trying to get the Poseidon server to start fighting Mercer, hoping to break the locked state first.

But the giant dragon that suddenly appeared before it used its body to transform into tightly wrapped chains, binding the sea god serpent. No matter how the serpent thrashed about, the dragon only coldly and mercilessly tore at its neck, leaving it nowhere to go.

Countless black and red data surged and spread, causing the 'Sea God Serpent' to let out silent roars, while also causing conspicuous scarlet chains to appear on the bodies of these hackers.

This means that while their server was under attack, they were also locked in place.

"Is this the kind of thing you usually use to bully people? Hmm, the computing power is not bad, and the system is also quite interesting."

Mercer's voice seemed to be everywhere, chilling the Voodoo Gang's hackers to the bone: "Who the hell are you?"

"Hackers," Mercer explained casually. "Never encountered one?"

At this moment, the 'Sea God Serpent' that had been captured by Mercer also began to fight back. It first trembled violently, and then its whole body secreted a pale green venom.

The essence of this venom is the same as Mercer's black and red chains; both are actually a kind of black ice program used to break through the opponent's ICE.

The moment the chains and venom clashed, countless data points disintegrated and scattered, causing the entire cyberspace network to tremble.

This is not an exaggeration, but rather an electronic confrontation between two servers on a public network that has indeed affected data transmission on that network.

Mercer knew without a doubt that the server room must be buzzing with activity right now. In order to prevent his beloved server from being overclocked for too long, he decided to finish quickly.

On its shoulder, the black cat, the incarnation of the Morning Star, leaped up and burrowed into the dragon's body. The dragon, which had been tightly biting the 'Sea God Serpent,' suddenly turned its eyes slightly and became lively, as if it had become a real living creature in the blink of an eye.

No longer just entwining and biting, blurry figures, like celestial soldiers and generals in armor, flew out from the dragon's body, wielding all eighteen kinds of weapons, including swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, and forks.

Each weapon represents a different puppet program, launching a fierce pincer attack on the sea serpent.

The Poseidon system's built-in intelligent AI quickly began to assess the situation.

In less than 0.2 seconds, it analyzed that it was only a matter of time before its ICE was penetrated, and that it could not resist or fight back.

Thus, the default self-protection program begins to operate.

The Voodoo Gang hackers realized something was terribly wrong.

"Damn it! I'm doomed." A voodoo hacker, looking desperate, kept trying to send the message over the network.

Unfortunately, Mercer had already prepared the partitions here.

As the giant sea serpent beneath the hacker began to rapidly disintegrate, its form becoming illusory, the Voodoo Gang hacker had already guessed what had happened in the real world.

"It's too late. They're going to switch Poseidon back to LAN mode."

The hackers murmured in despair as they could clearly see streaks of black and red data spreading like venomous blood within the giant sea serpent's body.

This means that the puppet program has already been deployed to the server.

If we switch Poseidon back to the local area network at this moment, it means that this puppet program will start running locally and automatically begin to spread within the local area network!
"no no!!"

A hacker let out a miserable scream.

The moment the Poseidon server became illusory, his body also disintegrated. Without computing power support, Mercer didn't even specifically attack him; it was just the various attack puppets that the server was constantly running automatically that easily broke through his personal ICE.

Then, the other hackers also screamed in unison. Heavenly soldiers and generals in armor flew in from the sky like terrifying demons, piercing them directly with their weapons, carrying them off the giant snake's head, and flying them into the air.

In less than a breath, the hackers were shredded by the blue celestial soldiers flying through the air. The puppet program had been fully activated, and their bodies in reality began to convulse, overheat, and finally smoke and catch fire.

Inside the Voodoo Gang's server room, alarms had already gone off and chaos reigned.

Bridget, the hacker leader of the Voodoo Gang, had already realized that things might not be going well when the Poseidon system and Mercer's servers were engaged in a fierce ICE battle.

However, confident in her hackers and the Poseidon system, she did not immediately choose to forcibly disconnect the network, but cautiously requested that the server be switched to LAN mode first.

As long as ICE remains unconquered, switching the server back to the local area network is equivalent to disconnecting humanity from the network. No matter how strong the enemy is, they cannot do anything to them without a network connection.

Moreover, it can also safely bring back the hackers connected to the server, killing two birds with one stone.

But just as Bridget was switching the Poseidon system to a local area network, the screams of the hackers in the hacker chairs made her acutely aware of the seriousness of the situation.

"Quickly! Disconnect all devices from the LAN! Everyone switch to your squad subnet and restart the server."

The moment Bridget finished speaking, the lights in the room, as well as the indicator lights on all the devices, suddenly began to flicker.

"Impossible!" a hacker shouted sharply, and without saying another word, he rushed toward the nearby security switch.

However, the automatic turrets that were originally used for security in the room suddenly started up. The moment the folding turrets popped out, they began to automatically search for enemies.

Bridget suddenly rolled over and hid under the table, then her prosthetic eye flashed with a violent stream of data.

She has always been very confident in her hacking skills.

The automatic turret, whose fire control system had been activated, was initially at a standstill for a moment, but then it continued to fire without mercy, instantly riddling the hacker who was trying to turn off the room's power with bullets.

"It's a roaming AI! It's an AI!" a hacker shouted, a mixture of despair and inexplicable excitement. He reached out from behind his cover and yelled fervently at a camera staring at him coldly.

"God! Please don't kill us! We are your most loyal followers."

Before the hacker could finish speaking, the distant artillery emplacements began raining bullets down on him.

"Damn it, the server's been infected with the Puppet Program! You idiots!"

Bridget cursed under her breath as she watched the idiot, but in doing so, she managed to shut down the distant automatic turret while struggling with her own Poseidon system.

Without even catching her breath, Bridget took off running, almost sprinting, toward the power switch.

but.
Before her hand could touch the switch, it suddenly tripped, plunging the room into complete darkness.

At the same time, there was also a burnt smell.

Bridget turned her head away stiffly. In the vast Poseidon server room, a few flickering lights illuminated the space.

"Quick! Put out the fire!" Even Bridget finally lost her composure, shouting shrilly, "Fire extinguisher! Go find a fire extinguisher!"

“Bet! I’m going to kill you!” Bridget’s desperate screams finally alerted the Voodoo Gang outside.

Because of the power outage, the automatic door outside was also locked, so the group had to wait for a guy with a gorilla arm to come in and forcefully pry the door open with a crowbar before they could finally come in to help.

"Put out the fire! Put out the fire!"

Then, the voodoo gang saw that Bridget, who was usually mature and calm, was now acting like a madwoman, holding a fire extinguisher with almost one foot in the fire, shouting and desperately trying to save her server.

After a period of chaos, Bridget finally collapsed to the ground five minutes later, staring blankly at the charred servers still smoking in the distance, unable to come to her senses for a long time.

A series of hurried footsteps came from outside, and a burly black man almost ran towards them.

"Bridget! What's going on?"

The man looked at the mess in the server room, which reeked of burning, and showed a look of astonishment.

"Plasid! Find him! You must find out who did it!" Bridget slammed her fist into the ground, her eyes bloodshot. "I want revenge! I must get revenge!"

"Who?" Placid felt his head go blank.

"I don't know! The slider! The internet police! Whoever it is! Find him, and we'll kill him!"

Bridget roared, her eyes blazing with fury, "There aren't many people in Night City who could do this! We'll definitely find out!"

"I understand. Let's assess the damage first. We shouldn't go deep-sea diving for the next few days." Placid took a deep breath and calmed down.

He wasn't a hacker; he was just the head of the operations department in charge of the Voodoo Gang's violent activities. As the Voodoo Gang's de facto second-in-command, Placid was more concerned about how much property the gang had lost than Bridget's anger.

Bridget's face turned ashen: "At least three million euros. That doesn't even include the programs we wrote and the stored data."

"Damn it," Placid muttered under his breath, "I know, take it slow."

This is almost three months' worth of their net income. You have to understand that their income has to support so many people under them; it's not like they can use all their earnings to buy servers.

not to mention.
Looking at the corpses on the hacker chair and the two hackers killed by the automatic turret, Placid took a deep breath and clenched his fists.

These are the strongest hackers in their Voodoo Gang!

“I will find out who it is! Whoever it is! We will make them pay! I promise, Bridget!”

After Placid finished speaking, he waved his hand and turned to leave with a murderous look on his face: "Let's go, let's investigate now!"

Bridget didn't reply, but just stared blankly at everything in front of her, as if she had just had a sudden nightmare.

[Morning Star: Why don't you try hacking me directly into the Poseidon server and wipe them out?]

In this cyber world, Mercer, riding a giant dragon, patrols the network of Taiping State like a god surveying his territory, occasionally dropping things like monitoring programs.

"First, if the other side is fast enough and manages to disconnect the server, wouldn't you be stuck on that server?"

Mercer said, holding Morning Star in his arms and stroking its fur: "Secondly, completely destroying the Voodoo Gang in Taiping Prefecture is not a good thing for us right now."

[Morning Star: Could you please share your thoughts?]

“We don’t have enough manpower right now to take over all the market and territory vacated by the Voodoo Gang. If we crush them, it will only benefit the Animal Gang or the Slippery Gang.”

Mercer said.

[Morning Star: Do you want to maintain the current relatively balanced situation in Taiping Prefecture?] "That's right. There is no vacuum of power. Before we have the ability to fill this gap, it's better to maintain the status quo first."

Mercer spoke to the morning star as patiently as if he were teaching his own child: "These days, the Sliding, the Animal Gang, and even the Hanz in Dogtown all desperately want the Voodoo Gang to fall, but their downfall won't do us any good."

The most direct impact is that once the Voodoo Gang in Taiping State collapses, the Animal Gang can acquire all of Taiping State's territory without lifting a finger, and the Slider can naturally inherit the Voodoo Gang's remaining assets.

Hanz could then sit in Dogtown and easily balance the power between the Dogtown Voodoo Gang and the outside Animal Gang.

So what's our value then? We might end up fighting the Dogtown Voodoo Gang, but if we win, we'll become pawns in Hanz's power balance, going against the Animal Gang.

After Mercer finished speaking, Morning Star understood his intention.

[Morning Star: So it's better to maintain the status quo and let the forces in Taiping Prefecture continue to maintain this relatively divided state. As a neutral force, we can more easily profit from it.]

Once we've gained sufficient strength, we'll disrupt the balance, and then we can decide for ourselves what position we want to occupy in Taiping Prefecture.

“That’s right.” Mercer said, then stretched and said, “For the next few days, you will be in charge of monitoring the network in Taiping State using the server. If the Voodoo Gang wants to retaliate, then let them see what we’re capable of.”

I'm also entrusting you with the 'Death Wish' procedure; during this time, you'll only have three main tasks.

First, cooperate with me in testing the 'ctOS' system.

Second, monitor the Taiping State network. If any voodoo gang dares to come here looking for trouble, send them to their deaths. Tell them that from now on, I'm in charge of this network.

Third, thoroughly understand the core code of Death Wish and make its power your own.

[Morning Star: Understood, mission accomplished!]

The cat on Mercer's shoulder nuzzled his cheek affectionately before disappearing.

Mercer, meanwhile, returned to his own IP address and began customizing his server's appearance—or rather, creating a cool-looking facade.

Since Mercer plans to use the server to run many programs that require a constant internet connection, his server will most likely remain 'visible' in the cyber world.

Even if deliberately concealed, continuous network fluctuations will certainly not escape the notice of those with ulterior motives. It is better to be open about it and use superficial 'arrogance' to cover up the true intention of the server connecting to the network.

As for the possible retaliation from the Voodoo Gang?
Mercer was even less worried.

If he was afraid of retaliation from the Voodoo Gang, he shouldn't have accepted the commission at all.

Isn't street life just a cycle of you killing me and me killing you, a cycle of revenge? This kind of thing happens all the time in Night City, and it usually continues until one side is completely wiped out.

As for other hackers wanting to break in?

Hehe
It didn't take Mercer long to get the server's appearance set up.

He set the server's entrance as a majestic gate resembling the Southern Heavenly Gate from Journey to the West, and then hid the server's main body in a series of magnificent, ancient buildings that seemed to be shrouded in electronic fog.

From a distance, it looks like a celestial palace half-hidden by a giant archway, with two armored warriors, transformed from ICE detection programs, standing at the entrance as gatekeepers.

At the South Heavenly Gate, Mercer thought for a while and felt that the name Orion didn't quite match his architectural style, so he simply made a flame symbol and a huge Chinese character "猎" (hunter) on the armored warrior's cloak.

That looks much better now.

After taking care of everything, Mercer logged off and sent a message to Hanz.

[A: I burned their sea god statue; I reckon they won't be able to access the internet for a while.]

[Hanz: What?]

Hanz's astonishment was evident from those two simple words.

Dude, I asked you to take care of a few hackers, and you ended up burning down their Poseidon server? And it hasn't even been that long.
[Hanz: Wait a moment, let me check with someone. If everything is fine, then you've exceeded your target for this order.]

[Hanz: Your efficiency is amazing, A.]

He unusually sent several messages in a row.

Mercer smiled and replied.

[A: Let me know if you get any work. I guess this job is done.]

[Hanz: You've already burned down their server, so it's definitely settled. Let me check, then I'll transfer the money to you.]

[A: Yeah. 】

After hanging up the call, Mercer got up, leaving only Anzu watching him from the side of the room.

"They've all gone out to work. Qiwei and V went to the Confused Club to upgrade Hanz's network, and Rebecca took Lucy to scout out the Cleaner Building."

Before he could ask, Xingzi explained the situation and then said, "Pila is in her studio upstairs, studying the weapons you bought."

"Hmm." Mercer agreed and reached out to unplug the wires. Seeing his awkward movements, Xingzi took the initiative to go over and unplug the wires from the back of his neck and back.

"How's your business? Is it all settled?" Kyoko asked curiously.

"Pretty much. I burned down that sea god from the Voodoo Gang. They shouldn't dare to go online casually for a while."

After Mercer finished speaking, Kyoko smiled and said, "I knew it. Lucy said you'd be busy for a while, but I think with your skills, dealing with a group of street hackers won't take long."

"Don't underestimate them. These guys are actually quite skilled in networking. Considering they have servers to back them up, they're no worse than the corporate dogs."

After Mercer finished speaking, he paused and then laughed, "But compared to me, that's a different story."

"You're amazing!" Anzu's emotional value was overflowing.

Mercer waved his hand with a smile, stood up and said, "Alright, I have to get back to work. You go ahead and do your thing."

Xingzi hummed in agreement, handed him a can of iced cola, and then went to her computer to write code.

Mercer thought about it for a moment, but instead of rushing to start working, he made a work plan for himself.

The first priority is to upgrade and develop drones and heavy firepower equipment.

Because if nothing unexpected happens, Diana will soon make a move, trying to seize the biotechnology transport convoy. There's even a possibility that she'll face a tough ambush, where weapons and equipment are of paramount importance.

He couldn't possibly expect to deal with the armored transport vehicles using the junk he had.

Secondly, the development of the ctOS system cannot be stopped. Just consider it a change of pace. The sooner the program is written, the greater the benefits will be for oneself.

Thinking of this, Mercer said, "I'm going upstairs to the workshop to work on weapons and equipment. Don't dive by yourself."

"Okay." Xingzi nodded.

Mercer then took the iced cola, along with his ZetaTech external engineering tool and laptop, and went up the elevator.

At this moment, in the workshop on the first floor, Pila was humming a little tune and fiddling with a sniper rifle.

This is a "Nekota" technology sniper rifle from the "Tsunami Defense Systems" company. A single magazine can hold four chargeable large-caliber electromagnetic tungsten-tipped bullets, with an effective range of 1800-2400 meters.

Although the second-hand goods that Mercer bought were already well-worn, with considerable wear and tear on the electromagnetic catapult and various accessories.

But in the hands of technical experts, these are all minor issues.

"Boss, want to get some fresh air?" Pila greeted him, only to find Mercer standing right next to him, examining the gun with him.

"How do you plan to modify it?" Mercer looked at the 'Neko-mata' sniper rifle in front of Pila, which had been dismantled and was now just a skeleton.

"I haven't decided yet. I plan to study this electromagnetic catapult first, and then see how to modify it."

As Pila spoke, he scratched his head and said, "I used to tinker with kinetic weapons, and at most I would add some smart fire control chips. I've never really worked on this kind of technical weapon before."

"Then you should tinker with that Constitutional Military Industry multi-barrel grenade launcher—I hope to increase its firepower, even if it's modified into a vehicle-mounted version, it must be able to be equipped with armor-piercing grenades."

As Mercer spoke, Pila clicked his tongue and said, "Are we going to go head-to-head with a Behemoth?"

“It would be best to set the enemy as someone with armor stronger than Behemoth, such as an armored airborne transport vehicle, or even a specialized armored personnel carrier like the Demon Lizard,” Mercer said.

Pila fell into deep thought, and after pondering for a while, he suddenly said, "Why don't we try to think of a solution from the single-shot rocket launcher?"

"What do you mean?" Mercer raised an eyebrow.

"For example, put together a few single rocket launchers and study the armor-piercing rounds with intelligent target acquisition. Even if it can only fire one round, make a quad-launcher. If four large missiles are launched in one go, I estimate that even the Demon Lizard would not be able to escape unscathed."

Pila got excited; he loved tinkering with these high-powered gadgets.

“That would really cost tens of thousands of euros per shot.” ​​Mercer thought for a while, but still nodded and said, “I prefer the type that can provide heavy firepower suppression frequently and in multiple rounds, but a one-time big weapon would also be good.”

“And I bet the time is pretty tight?” Pila smiled and wiggled her fingers.

“You guessed right, I estimate we’ll need it in a week or two at most,” Mercer said.

Pila thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll have to think about it carefully."

"Just do your best. Be careful when tinkering with something this powerful, or you might blow yourself up." Mercer chuckled a few times.

Pila laughed and said, "Don't worry, I haven't spent all the money I topped up at Liz yet, I'm not going to die from something so stupid."

Mercer smiled and shook his head, then turned and went to the warehouse. After careful selection, he found several drones and sat down in the workshop to start disassembling them.

Mercer believes that the easiest and most cost-effective way to modify or assemble drones is to do so.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the military can sell a Pterodactyl drone for 10,000 euros. In reality, the cost of this thing is incredibly low. If you exclude the value of the camera and AI fire control chip, Mercer estimates that the remaining parts would cost at most 1,000 euros.

This is based on the price Mercer paid for the parts himself. If it were the military's own factory, with workers who might not even earn a thousand euros a month mass-producing them on an assembly line, they could probably produce one for a few hundred euros.

Considering the cost of living in Dogtown, as well as Mercer's own personal preferences, he felt that if he wanted to find a reliable, cheap, high-volume, and easily adjustable piece of equipment, then drones would definitely be his top priority for future research and development.

As he disassembled the drones, Mercer gradually came up with many good ideas. He pulled over the engineering microcomputer, plugged it in, and then began to draw design sketches in his mind while disassembling and studying the drones.

His multitasking, drawing design drafts on the computer with his brain, made Pila's scalp tingle—was this something a human could do?
But seeing Mercer so engrossed in his actions, he only muttered "pervert" to himself before quietly tinkering with the rocket launcher.

No one expected that Mercer would sink for three whole days after it started to sink.

Even when V led the team to deal with the scavengers, Mercer only said "be careful" before continuing to focus intently on his research on drones and robots.

He refined or discarded countless sketches and drafts. In the end, he simply wrote a simulation program, connected directly to the server, and began to engage in 'armchair theorizing' by utilizing the server's computing power through accelerated thinking.

Mercer was finally able to snap out of his intense research and development state when Diana Kuno and Roger sent him messages almost one after the other.

[Diana: I need to talk to you in person. There are some things I can't say online or over the phone, you understand?]

[Question: You want to meet me and find out more about me?]

[Diana: No, that's not what I meant!]

[?: Put the information about what I need into a chip, and I'll retrieve it using a drone, just like before.]

[Diana: You know I can't be your puppet forever. Let's consider this our last collaboration. You helped me, and I helped you. Is that alright?]

[?: Of course, I wish you really thought so—but I must remind you, Diana, don't try anything funny.]

[Diana: I can't!]

[?: I hope so. You decide the time, I'll decide the location. After this collaboration, we won't contact each other again.]

[Diana: Okay!]

Mercer sneered, not believing a word Diana said, but he still felt that Diana would definitely send biotechnology to deliver what he wanted.

If you want to fish, at least the bait has to be real, right? If even the bait is fake, then Mercer has to say, Diana wasn't that stupid.

Mercer directly called Morning Star: "Morning Star, activate the backdoor program in the biotechnology server and see if what she said is true."

He didn't just steal data—it's like he hacked the city hall's registration server. Wherever he goes, he leaves a backdoor program on that server. Isn't that the basic operating procedure for hackers?

However, Mercer estimates that it won't be long before the biotechnology server experiences an 'accident' and will have to be formatted urgently or subjected to a thorough virus scan.

Previously, Diana was too busy to reveal that she had been threatened and that her server had been hacked.

But now that she has almost officially landed on her own and has dealt with her biggest competitors, the next thing to do is naturally to eliminate any potential threats.

[Qimingxing: We are currently investigating for you]

[Morning Star: We have re-hashed Diana's studio computers and are currently searching them.]

[Morning Star: Search complete. Diana did indeed submit an equipment application to headquarters as requested, and the application list is as follows.]

After carefully examining the documents, Mercer nodded and said, "Leave a virus on her personal computer. If we have the chance, we'll hack into her brain-computer interface again. We need to find a way to confirm the accuracy of this information."

[Morning Star: Understood, I will continue to monitor her.]

Diana's brain-computer interface was definitely formatted. If you want to hack into her again without her noticing, you'll have to see if she'll give you the chance.

Mercer then opened the message that Roger had sent him.

[Rogge: I've already investigated the woman you're looking for, Meredith Stott.]

She's not on the same team as the people you're targeting; more accurately, she's in competition with another agent in charge of this matter.

If you're looking for someone to trip them up, then Stott might actually be a good choice.

Here's my contact information; you decide what to do—just don't drag me into it.

Mercer glanced at the contact information Roger had sent, replied with a thumbs-up emoji, and then began to think about how to contact Stott and find a way to get her on his side.

After much thought, he decided to check the information Diana had given him first.

One must be extremely cautious when dealing with Stott, otherwise, this ambitious woman might very well betray him and gain benefits elsewhere.

After letting out a long sigh, Mercer put down the drone in his hand.

At this moment, what appeared in his palm was a small drone that was only 60 centimeters long and 20 centimeters high, driven by four propellers, and looked rather simple.

Mercer quietly examined the drone for a moment, and finally made a decision.

That's the one for now.

A disposable suicide drone with an overall cost of only 800 euros.

After a brief period of consideration, Mercer officially named it the first model in the Swarm series of drones – 'Death Squad'.

(End of this chapter)