Chapter 117

Dust floating in the air settles or gets sucked up more quickly than expected.

Despite the interior and finishing not being neatly done, it seems the place was tidied up faster than I thought, with inbuilt ventilation systems and heat exchangers intact.

…Though it’s a bit of an exaggeration to express it grandly. In the end, the data vault, which was the assignment, landed safely on the floor without being smashed, and at least there were no casualties that died because of it.

“Are we meant to live here for the rest of our lives? This isn’t even a confusing turn, right? Number one and the stragglers, you should come out now…!!”

“…….”

As they began checking their assigned numbers and discussing among themselves, or perhaps admiring the appearance of the vault and calculating estimates, Léonar urged the group onward.

Rather than being passionate about conducting the test or feeling a sense of responsibility for the work, he was closer to an office worker who clearly recognized that they wouldn’t be able to wrap this up quickly unless the order moved along.

However, there was nobody here who particularly held any complaints about that, so at least it didn’t seem like he would have to worry about consumer complaints after the job was done.

“Our adorable lady? Is it 175? Well, since I’m 174 and we’re the last ones, that must be right, but we should double-check.”

“…It’s correct, but didn’t we properly introduce ourselves? I’m not really fond of the way you address me…?”

Hearing just the agreeing part, Marina quickly turned to check Kên’s number as Léonar shot her a glance.

The whining Kên calls her ‘the shy young lord,’ so it seems to be some sort of habit… What’s the backstory on that, I wonder?

Anyway. While they were grumbling, a group began to move towards the center of the plaza at Léonar’s command.

But the number was four, five, six… seven…? Impressive.

“What the hell.”

“Hey, you petty bastards…! If you cling on like that, will the labor costs even cover it?!”

“Why don’t you go ahead and find a few dozen more to start a company?”

Once they gauged the situation, jeers poured in from all directions.

It was apparent that the initial player was met with a large team-up, and the reactions were fervent, but I wasn’t particularly interested.

Not that I was overflowing with confidence.

What I was more curious about was the Data Vault, which had revealed the participants’ sense of competitive spirit and annoyance, and the specifics on Deus Vult.

“Hmm…”

I glanced sideways at Marina and Kên.

…Since there were two team members who were experts in the vicinity, it would be a bit risky to poke them now, so let’s quickly self-study while the first team undergoes their test.

First, I closed my eyes to set the background of the cyberware information display to a neat black.

The communication auxiliary program was… a network browser.

[ Welcome back, Consumer Anastasia! ]

[ It has been 4 hours, 23 minutes, and 14 seconds since your last visit! Would you like to continue displaying the search results for “How to Put Children to Sleep Quickly” that you were looking at before? ]

There was no need to move my hands or even my eyelids.

The cyberware could perform the desired functions simply by thinking while standing or sitting.

Of course, since it was a temporary implant, the brainwave feedback speed was a few milliseconds slower than expensive items, but I wasn’t some bubble-blowing addict when it came to such differences.

If I were to be precise… I was actually the type to be excessively cautious.

I swiped away all the windows suggesting to display the previous information.

What I wanted to explore was certainly the sturdy and ingenious information about the vault, where there were no visible doors to be opened.

As soon as I set the topic, I scanned through the results that appeared…

[ The connection seems unstable… ]

Ah, what the hell.

“Zero, could you just extend the antenna a little?”

– As you command. –

I just confirmed that a stick extended secretly from his back before redirecting my mind back into the virtual world.

In fact, even amidst everything, I felt an odd sensation hindering access to the public network, which made me disguise the gateway like it was from the black market. But is this really happening?

Even if a few people evaporated, tracking might be challenging…

[ Approximately 17,800,000 posts and pages including the data vault have been found. ]

[ There is a document matching the title in the Master Wiki. Would you like to view it? ]

‘How amusing.’

I immediately deleted that suggestion.

Why? Because it was shockingly an advertisement.

No, to be precise, while it was accurate that it was showing nicely organized detailed information, accessing the Master Wiki was a paid service, meaning credits would be deducted from my account the moment I opened it.

The memory of a time when I had no idea and had my hard-earned living expenses sucked dry came rushing back, causing a wave of nausea… Those bastards trying to squeeze every drop out of someone.

Anyway, instead of the Master Wiki, which had a reliability of 99.99%, I opted for the user wiki maintained by network locusts with 99.98% reliability.

Among them, I pursued the information from websites related to cyber engineering that would clearly show high expertise regarding this incident.

[ The data vault is an independent repository developed to protect and store important information from attacks of overzealous net hackers or espionage acts from hostile factions. ]

[ It has been proven through years of corporate wars that printing materials and storing them in physical state is the least exposed method to long-range attacks, but it was born to overcome issues such as low information storage efficiency relative to volume and risks of damage and tampering. ]

[ Various advanced technologies are applied, including an internal power source that can prevent data volatility for centuries, a sensor module that automatically discards internal materials during heating or cutting, and a shape memory alloy added to the exoskeleton frame to minimize modification from temperature and impact. ]

‘…In the end, it’s just a damned expensive box. Then what’s the labyrinth?’

[ The term “labyrinth” refers to one of the grades indicating the security level of the data vault. From the top:

Mystery

Labyrinth

Dilemma

Riddle

Even puzzle-grade vaults suitable for home use are renowned for their security, capable of resisting an average net hacker’s assault for about 30 minutes. ]

‘Oh…’

I nodded vaguely.

So it’s a tough item worth considering as a benchmark, and even recognizes quite a level of hassle.

Though the term “average net hacker” slightly bothered me, if that’s the case, I could probably pass through without revealing anything by just following others as they solved it.

‘But then is it different from a black box?’

Previously, I recalled the hefty mass that had stealthily extracted data from the gateway control area.

It was hard to compare since it was a situation where proper authentication was done, and data exchange was taking place while slipping in unnoticed, but perhaps that too was a vault that looked different.

[ A black box is closer to an EDR (Event Data Recorder) for verifying and investigating circumstances during an incident than ensuring perfect internal data preservation. Unlike a black box with freely modifiable access permissions, a data vault can only be accessed normally by the authenticator set at the moment of initial operation. As soon as all connections are severed, it is sealed again. ]

‘…Okay.’

I wouldn’t go so far as to say I fully comprehended it as a joke, but I understood roughly.

A high-difficulty puzzle that resets to its original state as soon as an invader steps away. Truly a love-hate existence for hackers. Hmm…

“Alright. You can retract the antenna now. Thanks.”

I stretched contentedly and patted Zero’s arm.

In the spirit of the compliment, I thought about dusting off the dirt that got thrown on him while protecting me earlier, but seeing him clean his gloves briefly while just having done some chores made me unexpectedly proud.

– Did you obtain the desired information? –

“Uh… I’m not sure…?”

I tilted my head and struggled to think, but no better answer came.

The important content regarding the security system itself wasn’t widely available, so despite the effort, not much was gained…

Ah, but one thing was clear, albeit a somewhat unexpected conclusion.

Web surfing in this world was excessively convenient and addicting.

Just by following the connections of an infinitely stretching web of information like an eternal spider’s web, I could easily absorb related knowledge.

In this respect, my hardware—my body—was undoubtedly high-performance, providing a clear advantage, but… isn’t that how net junkies are produced?

Well, considering this is the place where the more deeply immersed individuals end up, it wasn’t too incomprehensible.

…By the way, they said it was a labyrinth grade. Is the first strategy not over yet?

“……”

I began to pay close attention to the work of the first team, which I had initially treated with some indifference, as there would be many more demonstrations to see.

One person clung to each side except for the floor and ceiling. Behind each of them, additional personnel were connected with what looked like thick wires to their necks or wrists, or to terminals, sweating profusely.

It seemed they were busy communicating with each other, as their mouths were constantly moving, but no words escaped outside, creating a scene reminiscent of a silent film.

Moreover, some among them had blood trickling down from their eyes and upper lips, which added a sense of solemnity to their quiet work.

…Sometimes realizing I wasn’t the only one whose nosebleeds occurred while working gave me a sense of relief. Would it be too transparent to say that?

Clang!!

“Wow…! That’s pretty fast, isn’t it? At this pace, they might finish in just one day!”

“…What?”

Marina, who was putting out ominous comments, aside.

With the heavy sound of opening, the red lights indicating the vault’s sealed state changed one by one to a bright green before everyone’s eyes, breaking the suffocating silence and triggering mixed reactions from all around.

“Quite impressive…?”

“Impressive my ass! If eight people were on it, my mom would have solved it ages ago!”

Some expressed admiration, others agreed, while a few mocked it.

A clear skill gap, or the disparity in inflated egos, was subtly revealed among those gathered.

Léonar, who had been silently measuring the time—truthfully, I thought he was asleep since the mask on the screen had disappeared by then—announced the results.

“Number one and… the rest took a total of 32 minutes and 14 seconds. So… Number nine! You can start immediately!”

Clang!!

As soon as the eight-member dream team retreated, with a loud noise, two people who were clearly on the same side approached confidently toward the vault, which was still locked in red.

I’m pretty sure they were called twins, right?

The pair of hackers who looked exactly alike from head to toe strutted confidently. They stood crookedly at the podium and asked their question while throwing a challenge at our team out of the blue.

“Excuse me, the person in charge? Sorry, but can we bring in the equipment outside now? Those kids you came with seem to have prepared a lot… Isn’t this a form of cheating?”

“….”

…I would like to amend that. They were rude and quite insufferable.

What the hell did you just say?