Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 61 Black Wall Announcement (Second Update)
Rebecca quickly browsed the contents of the forced window.

The above clearly lists detailed ingredient analysis, undisclosed clinical trial failure data, and internal email correspondence of a best-selling painkiller released by the biotechnology company many years ago. The evidence conclusively shows that the company was aware of the drug's serious side effects, which could lead to neurodegeneration and eventual death in users, but deliberately concealed this and continued to sell it for huge profits.

At the bottom of the window, some known victim information was highlighted in bold. Although it was anonymized, behind those cold statistics are countless broken families and silently lost lives.

"Damn it..." Rebecca cursed under her breath, but her heart began to race uncontrollably.

She instantly understood what this meant—the boss's promised "black wall announcement"! He had actually done it, and in such a sweeping and unstoppable way!

Just as Rebecca was reeling from the shock, she noticed that Qiwei across from her was acting very strangely.

This usually calm, even somewhat aloof, hacker was now sweating profusely and his face was pale.

Her fingers moved rapidly in the air, tapping and sliding, clearly engaged in intense combat within her own neural interface.

But her movements lasted less than three seconds before abruptly stopping, as if an invisible force had gripped her throat.

She let out a muffled groan, leaning back in her chair, her chest heaving slightly, her eyes filled with disbelief and horror.

“It was you…not you…” Qiwei suddenly looked up, her gaze like a knife shooting at Rebecca, her voice trembling almost imperceptibly, “Just now…something…passed through the black wall…”

Her words were somewhat broken due to shock.

As a hacker who spends most of her time on the fringes of the internet, she knew better than most people in the bar what had just happened.

That wasn't an ordinary hacking intrusion; it was a near-miraculous global broadcast that took advantage of the characteristics of the black wall protocol itself!

In the instant she attempted to retaliate, she felt not the resistance of an ordinary firewall, but rather as if she were facing a vast, boundless dark ocean composed of rules and code.

Her hacking skills were as insignificant as trying to move a skyscraper with a toothpick in the face of that power.

The information flow and authority pressure that came back at the moment of contact almost burned through the protective circuitry of her implant, causing her to "brain die" on the spot.

Using the black wall for intrusion? That's completely outside her comprehension!
This goes beyond the realm of "highly skilled" and touches upon areas she cannot comprehend.

While Qiwei was still in shock, her mind racing as she tried to figure out which legendary hacker or national-level power was behind it, and she prepared to leave this dangerous place immediately, Rebecca muttered something under her breath, her tone filled with a sense of pride and excitement: "Damn... no wonder he's the boss! He really did it!"

These words struck Qiwei like a bolt of lightning.

She turned her head sharply, staring intently at Rebecca, her earlier panic replaced by an intense curiosity and desire to explore.

“Boss?” Qiwei’s voice was low, but filled with an undeniable urgency. “Rebecca! Do you know who did this? The one who used the black wall just now… was your ‘mastermind’?”

Rebecca paused for a moment, realizing she had let something slip.

She instinctively tried to brush it off, her eyes flickering slightly: "Huh? What boss? I don't know what you're talking about... Maybe it's some big shot who doesn't like biotechnology who stepped in?"

But how could Qiwei be fooled by such a clumsy performance?

She leaned forward, her gaze almost piercing Rebecca's eyes across the table: "Don't play dumb! What you just said, and your current reaction... you definitely know what's going on! Tell me, Rebecca, who exactly attacked just now?"

Rebecca was getting annoyed by Qiwei's intense gaze. She scratched her hair, knowing she couldn't hide it anymore.

Moreover, seeing Qiwei's extreme interest in the "boss's" technology, a thought arose in her mind—this might be an opportunity?

"Alright, alright!" Rebecca seemed to give up resisting, but a sly glint flashed in her eyes. "Yes, that was our boss's doing. How about that? Awesome, right?"

She said it in a deliberately boastful tone.

Qiwei ignored her tone and pressed on, "Who is he? What kind of person is he? How could he... how could he do something like that?" "A boss is a boss, after all." Rebecca shrugged and started making up a story, while also mixing in a bit of her own "sales pitch," "A... well, a guy with amazing skills, a bit of a weird temper, but very generous."

We're basically working for him now. Want to know more? It's simple, accept the offer, join us, and you might have the chance to meet him in person and ask him for advice.”

She paused, recalling Chen Yu's emotionless, mechanical face and the principle of equivalent exchange, and added, "But I must remind you, the boss has a bad temper and never allows anyone to get something for free."

If you want anything from him, whether it's knowledge, skills, or equipment, you have to pay a price in exchange. There's no such thing as a free lunch; that's an ironclad rule with the boss.

Qiwei fell silent.

Her face was hidden in shadow beneath the hood, making it impossible to see her expression; only her slightly pursed lips revealed the intense struggle within her.

She was filled with an irrepressible curiosity about the "boss" that Rebecca mentioned, and an instinctive longing that a technologist feels when faced with technology that transcends cognition.

The technological prowess and knowledge behind the ability to utilize the Black Wall were beyond her comprehension.

Even the slightest guidance, or just close observation and learning, could be a qualitative leap for her hacking career.

On the other hand, her deep-rooted lone wolf mentality makes her instinctively averse to and wary of things like "joining a team" or "pledging allegiance to someone."

This meant losing her freedom and entrusting her safety to others, something she had been avoiding for years.

Risk and opportunity were being fiercely weighed in her mind.

The music at Ritz Bar had resumed, and the surrounding patrons had recovered from their initial shock and began to discuss and speculate about the source and purpose of the "data storm" that had swept the entire city.

The revelation of the biotechnology scandal in such an explosive manner foreshadows a significant upheaval in Night City's public opinion and underworld.

Amidst the gradually returning noise in the background, Qiwei finally raised her head. Her eyes regained their previous calmness, but a hint of determination shone deep within them.

“Okay.” She looked at Rebecca, her voice clear and steady. “I’ll join.”

This time, it was Rebecca's turn to be a little surprised: "Are you sure? Have you thought it through? Our boss has a lot of rules, and the work we're about to do is probably no easier than what happened today."

“I’m sure.” Qiwei nodded. “But I have one condition, or rather… a request. I hope you can arrange for me to meet this ‘boss’ as soon as possible. I need to confirm whether he is… worthy of my loyalty.”

She used the word "loyalty" instead of simply "cooperation".

Rebecca understood how difficult it was for someone like Qiwei to make this decision.

“I’ll have to ask Mann and the boss himself.” Rebecca didn’t immediately give a guarantee, “But don’t worry, since you’ve agreed, you’re on our side. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

She raised her glass, which was still half full, and gestured to Qiwei: "Welcome to the team, Qiwei. Although things might get even more fucking exciting from now on."

Qiwei did not raise her glass, but simply nodded slightly.

She picked up her communicator and silently changed Rebecca's contact name from "potential client" to "teammate (to be observed)".

She remained uncertain and wary about the future, but her thirst for knowledge about cutting-edge technology temporarily overwhelmed everything else.

She wanted to know who this "boss" who could pry open the black wall was. And what kind of path would this choice lead her down?

Outside the bar, the neon lights of Night City continued to flicker, as if the brief data storm that had just occurred had never happened.

But the fate of some people has been completely and silently altered.

(End of this chapter)