Chapter 124

“Oh? What’s this, our adorable lady is awake? How perfectly timed.”

“……Please.”

I didn’t wake up just to hear such a greeting, and yet the first words that assaulted my eardrums as soon as I opened my eyes were that. It felt like even my remaining mental strength was getting chipped away.

If the matter could be resolved merely by remaining unresponsive, I would have held out, but the little one, Ken, who was quiet, didn’t differ in treatment or title… I can only say I’m tangled up with an exceedingly consistent human.

– …. –

I gave Zero’s arm a light tap and landed on the ground with both legs.

The reason I stepped away from the hard-won network control was nothing else. What do you mean it’s already our turn?

“170… Another withdrawal? Progress is fast; it’s convenient.”

…What do you mean, it really means the order is back around.

I left the ever-grumbling Sir Léonard behind, checking my watch.

Has it only been 7 minutes? 8 minutes?

Considering the first random network I chose turned out to be a strange place devoid of private files, I think it’s not a bad speed, especially since I had to scrape through the bottom of the system while harboring unnecessary doubts.

Then here’s the problem: Why had the exam numbers passed by almost 100 in that brief span of time?

It’s truly absurd, but supposedly it’s all thanks to me.

“Do you know Chicago? A seasoned negotiator of the Cypher Psycho. When that guy was thrown off guard and dropped out, everyone panicked and withdrew one after another!”

“Uh, um. Of course.”

Judging by Marina’s attitude, I guess she’s someone who should know, but sadly my directory is barely an increment above Haven Wiki, so I’m not sure. …Anyway, I nodded vigorously on the outside.

“Ah, I almost forgot to mention the guy said he learned something. He was impressed by how high the walls of the capital are. Even though he seemed eager enough to engage in separate disruption plans, why did he act like he was ignoring it earlier?”

“Uh.”

My body stiffened. The thought of needing to clarify the misunderstanding at the back didn’t even cross my mind. I tried my best to disguise, but where on earth did it come from?

While it shouldn’t have been packaged to be a disruptive operation, it nonetheless was the first time my behind-the-scenes activity got discovered, causing my head to spin.

Could it be that there was something I could be caught on…? Had pretending to sleep been too much? But there are people who were giving up and dozing off, did Zero and I stand out that much? To the point where a hacker I had never even met could pinpoint me?

With my awkwardly stiff face and glances from around, she lowered her head and whispered…

“…You used Abyss Dive, didn’t you? They said they completely lost to your skills and team security. Even the shy computer caught the signal released from your side.”

“Ah, damn it.”

Seeing her eyes looking like she expected that, my mouth opened automatically. Lightning struck in my head as I pieced together the shattered cause and effect.

So, the only signal that was accurately detected was the one sent through Zero; the rest was probably just noise from that ghostly figure I encountered at first come to the surface. It makes sense given how thorough that person was to hide their identity in such odd forms.

Well, it was good to have preemptively driven them away.

It relieved me that I wasn’t discovered for my abilities or actions, but merely for the coincidence of running into them on the first network.

In this harsh world, the source of trust that allowed me to take initiative nearly wavered, which made my heart sink a little, but it’s fine now.

“Phew…”

Anyway, as soon as my thoughts were sorted, I immediately turned my face towards Ken.

I knew I’d been caught, but why were they doing frequency detection at that timing…?

Could you possibly be one of those clients masquerading as participants?

“I… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to spy, I was just carrying my usual equipment, and it happened to have a bunch of extra devices like an oscilloscope…”

“……Fine then.”

Since the glaring gaze made me uneasy, I took my eyes off the little lord defending himself in a timid voice.

While I should be grateful that our allies are capable, it’s not something to pry into. After all, if Ken or Marina were among the recruited members, I wouldn’t have suggested teaming up to increase the success rate. What would be the gain in traveling around with a strange person whose background I didn’t even know?

Phew… Thank goodness. I really overreacted and lost out.

Moreover, I knew it wasn’t a big deal, and since it was resolved, I needed to get back to what I was doing….

“174! Hmph, is it you all? Hurry up and come out. I have my own personal research and can’t just be wasting time here indefinitely. …Looks like I won’t be able to sterilize the body today.”

Resolved? Not even close…!

The moment I heard that irresponsible slacker of a judge, I realized that nothing had changed despite knowing the situation.

I’m not one to turn down easy money. Should I really dip my hands into that witch’s cauldron-like thing?

Even if it flowed into Zero, it’s a problem. If I miscalculated the response and it backflows on me, it’s disastrous if the communication implant breaks, and touching the brain… I didn’t want to imagine what could happen. Ugh.

Creeeak…!!

“Alright, let’s go, everyone!”

“Ahh… Seriously!!”

Everyone… Yeah, that’s the most bearable title among the alternatives.

I don’t know what has her so excited, but anyway, she was more spirited than before, grunting as she dragged Ken’s computer—now inconveniently heavy—towards the vault, so I had Zero help with the move.

In the end, dragging my feet reluctantly, I found the attention of the audience who still had interest in our team preparing work in the center.

For some reason, there was a natural atmosphere of withdrawals, but if someone suddenly popped up saying, ‘We will do it!’ that would be quite noteworthy.

…Or could this be a final warning sent before a group lynch against someone who raises their hand cluelessly to ask questions just before the lecture ends?

For now, I quickly covered the surrounding dirt with my shoes as various bodily fluids of previous participants became visible at my feet.

What should I do….

While I contemplated with my head bowed deeply, that damned data vault came into view at the corner of my sight.

As I approached, I could vividly feel the pulsating power source inside as if there were a heart, along with the resulting slight warmth, further strengthening my hypothesis of it being a cauldron or a mishmash container.

Even the red light indicating a locked state was intermittently flickering, which I didn’t recall it doing when it was first delivered.

“……Shit.”

But what can I do? It was a rational conclusion, thinking, ‘Since I’ve come this far, I might as well gain something.’ When I was about to conclude my worries, an unexpected suggestion came in.

“Hey, since the most challenging competitor was handled by our cutie, how about you take it easy for a bit? We need to show our worth, too.”

“Uh…? Oh, so you think it’s enough for the two of you…?”

While I blankly asked back, Marina, with a beaming smile full of affirmation, connected a wire extracted from her handheld device—wondering why it needed to be in such a physiologically unsettling area, her wrist—with the provided computer.

…Did I show my reluctance too overtly?! I didn’t expect to be treated this well!

“Operation and role division are perfect! Ken will handle any anomalous modulation programs or viruses, while I will take care of the vault logic entirely.”

“W-Well, you must have had a tough time dealing with Cypher Psycho in advance… take a little break…”

‘Your extreme attitudes are harder than those things whose names are difficult to pronounce.’

But the sharp retort that screamed inside wouldn’t reach them.

While I was off doing my unlawful break-in, it seemed like they had discussed everything and finished preparations smoothly as expected, promptly inserting the wire into the vault that appeared to be in a bad state just by seeing them.

Click!

The fact that I had no time to intervene is honestly an excuse. Even if I had only shown signs of wanting to stop, Zero would have reacted at inhuman speed to prevent it.

However, Sir Léonard’s filter was somehow bypassed. After witnessing the poor behavior of the prior participants and the battered condition of this vault, I genuinely grew curious about their capabilities which made me decide to watch.

………Click. …Click.

“……?”

Like a moment of stillness before a storm.

From the computer to the vault, from the vault to the computer. Even as insane data exchanges happened down the connected wires, the screen remained quiet until suddenly something started to display, each instance punctuated by a quick click.

…Click, …Click.

Like a rhythm game, each time Marina’s fingers moved, letters and numbers got erased.

At first, it happened every 5 seconds, then it became 4 seconds… soon 3. The interval of responses that were measured in seconds dropped to a hundred milliseconds, and perhaps even down to tens of milliseconds before long.

Click, click. Clickclick. Clickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclick!

“Uh……”

Should I ask what on earth they are doing, or should I call Doctor Stop and ask if this is okay? It quickly became clear which was the right answer.

“…They apparently memorized the entire code library related to the data vault and registered all possible scenarios as macros according to the security logic to use them.”

I appreciated the kind explanation, but I could only grasp the part about ‘memorized.’ Yet, regardless of not knowing the exact principle, I was undeniably impressed by the way they were handling the deluge of data like a tidal wave.

“I told you! My memory is good!”

…Sure, I knew she was showing off.