Wizard: Become stronger by drawing cards from the potions variety show

Chapter 811

Inside the cafeteria, a student rubbed his eyes and muttered to himself, "Did I see that right? So many enemies, and they were all taken care of in the blink of an eye?"

A classmate next to him chimed in, "This shows how powerful our school's defense system really is! Those automatic weapons cleared everything out in an instant once they were activated. I always said the library is the safest place."

"Things aren't that simple. The defense system should have activated immediately; the fact that it didn't suggests something fishy is going on."

A senior student dressed in a silver combat suit, looking like a hacker, crossed his arms. The holographic mask on his face was changing from round eyes to crescent moons. He turned to Old Black, who was eating heartily at the table, and asked, "Am I right, Old Black?"

Old Hei elegantly swallowed the last bite of his pastry and wiped his mouth: "That's right. When the attack occurred, the defense system should have been activated immediately, but it was blocked by someone with high privileges. The other party also forged an application document for a 'response capability test,' including this attack as a response capability test with an application, and even the medical filing was done flawlessly, which is why the illegal application passed the review."

He spoke casually, but the students present all understood the deeper meaning behind his words: high-ranking officials had used their authority to mobilize an armed group to try to kill Noah.

The most suspicious thing is the "test application": judging from the situation on the ground, if the attack had succeeded, Noah would have been dead for sure, because there were no safety measures activated and no pre-arranged medical treatment measures. The application itself was a forgery.

This also explains why the library's defenses did not respond when the attack occurred.

Someone asked with great concern:

"So, if we encounter a similar situation, we also have to hold out for three minutes like Noah before reinforcements arrive?"

Old Hei shook his head: "That's not right."

"What's wrong?"

Old Hei picked up another pastry and said slowly, "What takes Noah three minutes may not take you. Noah is a top hacker. He saw through their trick immediately and used his high privileges to counter them. It only took him three minutes."

He surveyed the entire room, the crescent moon on his mask gleaming faintly: "If it were you, you might not be able to see through the opponent's blocking methods; even if you did, it would be difficult to restart the defense within three minutes—that requires extremely high privileges, which neither you nor I possess."

These words suddenly made the atmosphere in the restaurant heavy.

Everyone knew perfectly well that if they were in Noah's position, they would probably be long gone.

"Burp—" Old Black let out a loud burp, breaking the silence. "But you don't need to worry too much. With our skills and all our possessions combined, we're not even worth as much as one of their tactical squads. No one will go to such lengths to mess with us."

Although these words were hurtful, they relieved everyone.

Indeed, they do not deserve this kind of "treatment".

The atmosphere in the restaurant immediately became much more relaxed.

"Old Black, you're too mean!" someone joked.

Old Hei didn't care: "Say what you will. I'm placing my order."

"What order? Is it for a new processor? Or some new brain-computer interface?"

The hacker in the silver robe leaned closer and saw that the black man had customized a top-of-the-line humanoid robot on the terminal...

"Hey, Old Black, you actually ordered this?"

The man in the silver robe and black robe seemed a bit bewildered. He had been standing there for a while and happened to see it. Old Black's fingers flew across the screen, selecting all the available options.

The internal space has been expanded, and a full-band network interface has been added. Except for not directly installing a server, all configurations have been maximized.

"Designed like this... are you planning to have robots working in the future?"

Old Hei snorted: "What's wrong with that? I still have to go out eventually. I used to think the library was safe enough, and I could complete my research using the campus network. As long as I didn't leave the library, there wouldn't be any security issues. But after seeing what happened today, I think having a manned robot is quite necessary. Even on campus, we have to be careful."

After Lao Hei finished speaking, everyone present was still shaken. Recalling the scene they had just witnessed, they instantly felt a sense of shared experience.

"That's right! If it weren't for that robot helping Noah get through the most dangerous phase, he wouldn't have been able to wait for the defense system to activate."

"Indeed, it seems I need to get one too. If it can withstand an attack of this scale, it will definitely be fine for daily use."

"So this is the manned robot that's been all the rage lately? I thought it was just a marketing gimmick, but it's actually this amazing."

Even the silver-robed hacker who initially questioned Lao Hei nodded after careful consideration and said, "You're right. Maybe I should order one too."

Old Hei patted him on the shoulder and said, "You can go back to your seat and choose slowly. In our line of work, nothing is more important than safety."

Immediately, the restaurant was abuzz with discussion.

Many students who initially thought it unnecessary to spend this credit were tempted. After today's ordeal, they realized that nothing is more important than personal safety.

As the crisis subsided, the students returned to their seats to continue their meal, and the conversation revolved around manned robots.

After all, what just happened was still fresh in their minds, enough for them to talk about for a long time.

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Lao Hei quietly disappeared and stopped talking. He got up, packed up the unfinished snacks, stuffed them into his pocket, took out another piece, put it in his mouth, and walked out of the restaurant while chewing.

Pushing open the restaurant door, a cool evening breeze caressed his cheeks, and he could faintly smell the stench of gunpowder.

From a distance, he saw Kara and the others standing with Noah.

Old Black walked over to Noah and said, "I did as you said. You can see the results in the recorded video. I think it's okay. But even if the results don't meet the standards, I've still fulfilled my promise. That manned robot must be given the highest configuration possible to support high-intensity network warfare."

"No problem." Noah nodded in satisfaction. "We don't need to check the results; the number of orders in the system just surged. Once word gets out about today, there will be even more orders."

He added to the black man, "You'll receive the robot by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. All the materials are top-notch; it could have been even faster if some custom parts weren't arriving tomorrow."

"Thanks." Old Black paused, the pattern on his mask turning into a puzzled frown. "I really don't understand, having just survived an assassination attempt, how can you still find the time to do marketing?"

Noah said matter-of-factly, "Wasn't GG the perfect solution in that situation?"

"The results were indeed surprisingly good." Old Black stared at him, "but your composure makes one wonder if you orchestrated this assassination yourself..."

Noah chuckled and shrugged. "You know that's impossible."

Indeed, not only Noah but everyone present knew this, because the attackers were real humans, flesh-and-blood humans.

This was an outright terrorist attack.

Currently, all robots manufactured are completely transparent with the main AI, regarding it as a supreme being. Their every move, their movement trajectory, and any information they perceive and store can potentially be used by the main AI, so they are not the best way to be used for murder.

Only humans could fool AI into planning such an attack; when crimson blood splattered across the square, it was undeniable murder.

"Luckily they didn't succeed, did they?" Noah laughed. "Because I'm not fighting alone. I have manned robots, combat AI, a library, and most importantly—" He looked at the people around him, "you friends who became friends through this fight."

"It is precisely because of your intervention that this is the best proof that this is not a drill. Only then can I directly terminate the current application and resubmit the access application."

"To be honest, I never expected you to be here, let alone to lend a helping hand."

This is the truth.

When the attack occurred, the Hound-Type 1 system scanned information on all students in the vicinity. But Noah was still surprised when the system analyzed that someone was willing to risk their life to help.

The conversations in the restaurant were all recorded by the battle system, so Noah was able to understand their original intentions and purposes by reviewing the information in these records.

It turns out that they wanted to repay him because he had helped them.

Noah never imagined that the initial purpose of granting access was to collect combat data. Although it did help the other party, it was essentially a mutually beneficial transaction.

Unexpectedly, the other party felt indebted and resolutely stepped in to save them when everyone else was trying to protect themselves.

"You will always be my friends," Noah said solemnly. "As long as our research group exists, you can apply to test our products at any time, and all kinds of our products are available to you free of charge."

He turned to Old Black: "Can I call you Old Black? What happened just now wasn't a transaction, it was mutual help between friends. You helped me, and I'm giving you a manned robot in return. You can adjust the configuration at any time until you're satisfied. To be honest, I'm even considering paying you a salary, after all, this is our first time working with hackers. If we can launch a hacker-customized robot, it'll be like opening up a new market."

"And you, Kara, David, Cecily, Jod, and Avalon, each of you can get a manned bionic robot customized to your needs. If there are any bumps or minor changes, you can contact us at any time for customization and modification."

Noah called out the name of each person.

"I hope you will all accept the gifts I'm giving you. Your willingness to help in that situation is a life-saving debt. If we don't repay that kindness, who will be willing to help me next time I'm in danger?"

"That makes sense." Old Hei readily agreed. "To be honest, I wasn't planning on refusing anyway."

Who would refuse to save a lot of credits?

Kara, Cecily, and the others readily accepted. They had only offered their help for peace of mind, but the return was so generous that refusing would seem pretentious.

Avalon scratched his head sheepishly and said, "Jord said you might reward us with a yearly restaurant pass..."

Jode quickly interrupted, "I was just kidding! What you're giving now is far more than the value of an annual card."

"No problem, I'll grant you access. From now on, all your expenses at this restaurant will be recorded in the research group's account."

Noah didn't care about this expense at all.

The research group already has dedicated funds for maintaining the health needs of test personnel, so adding a few more authorizations is easier than reimbursing the cost of group meals.

Avalon chuckled sheepishly, "Thank you, Boss Nuo! What a coincidence! How about we grab a bite to eat together? You were here to eat, weren't you?"

Jode was surprised to find that this seemingly honest guy could occasionally have a flash of brilliance, and now was indeed a good time to get closer to him.

Noah readily agreed: "Sure, our research group is coming over later, so we can have a meal together."

Just then, several manned robots drove up from a distance.

Noah looked at them and said with a smile, "We were just talking when they arrived."

The research team members hurriedly jumped out of the cockpit and surrounded Noah, chattering amongst themselves:

"Is the team leader alright?"

"Boss! I heard there was a terrorist attack here. Are you alright?"

Apart from Ava, who remained as calm as ever, everyone else looked anxious.

Noah raised his hand and gently pressed down, and everyone immediately quieted down.

"I'm fine." He smiled and looked around. "Thanks to these friends who helped me."

Only then did the research team members notice the people around Noah.

Martin raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, "Huh? I know you guys! You were our opponents in our first project assessment!"

The research team members remember that they were not surprised—that competition in which the lower grades defeated the upper grades was rare even in the history of the library.

But who cares about that now? Losing to someone like Noah is perfectly normal.

Cecily and David had already let it go.

That defeat, however, allowed them to stand out in subsequent competitions by using bionic robots, and their growth rate even surpassed that of the contestants who were preparing in seclusion.

"That's right, it's us," Cecily said with a smile. "Let's celebrate today, and please continue to support us in the future."

Avalon, who had somehow appeared beside Fio, patted him on the shoulder: "You've gotten better and better since joining the research group! Shall we practice together later?"

Fio shook his head: "No interest. I'd rather spend that time doing research."

"So you haven't fought anyone in a long time, that's great..."

"?"

The crowd entered the restaurant noisily, sat down around the long table, and naturally offered Noah the seat of honor.

While Noah chatted and laughed with everyone, discussing the next steps, he also connected part of his mind to the Hound Type-1 combat system—using interrogation capsules to extract valuable information from the prisoners' minds.

As he expected, the memories of these people had been erased beforehand, and the key parts were missing, making it almost impossible for them to prove their identities.

A cold glint flashed in Noah's eyes: If you think you can fool me with just this, you're being too naive. When it comes to manipulating memories, the Myriad Faces Weaver is the expert.

You can erase memories, but can you erase the connection between each other...?