Chapter 146

[ …Error log re-review. ]

[ Observing unauthorized spikes causing intentional latency on the connection path, attempting to connect via the lower priority assigned lines…. ]

“This is…!! What kind of absurd method is this…!”

– ……. –

Bang!

The hand that had been rising near the nape of the neck seemed to realize there was no time to waste, so it forcefully hit the forehead once before returning to the keyboard.

One side stabs, the other defends. Unlike a simple yet profound confrontation between spear and shield, in terms of security issues, the attackers hold overwhelming dominance.

Especially in a situation like now where there’s no concern about leaving records of the intrusion or the need to hide identities.

“Ugh, ah! No…! Ugh, come on…!! Damn….”

“Hmm…?”

Confusion, concentration, admiration, despair, cheer, pessimism.

In an intense electronic world confrontation, emotions swirl and occasionally surface as seconds are divided into milliseconds.

At first, while the tin can robot equipped with that prickly personality model restrained Kên, Marina had slowed her steps to avoid, hopefully, identifying the surroundings she was most worried about—the enema tracker.

Sharply opening her eyes again, she compared the component catalog lingering in the archive of memories with the appearance of Zero.

Although some high-priced parts were briefly visible, they seemed somewhat burden-some for an individual to handle.

But to suspect there’s another supplier involved was ambiguous… scattered traces of compromise with a wallet were also observed intermittently.

“It seems unclear whether there’s a backer providing funds separately….”

It could be a possibility of inducing confusion by throwing in materials for judgment, or perhaps a remnant from a time when she had her own customized droid, but until now, she’d just been waiting to see.

As she watched what she thought was merely a guardian droid equipped with unique artificial intelligence continuing the information warfare, she found her thoughts deepening.

A safety device for unexpected accidents? It seemed like it took a lot of effort in various ways….

What was being guarded, and what results were pursued to induce such a confrontation? Did they notice that either she or Kên had something else in mind…?

“Profit…!!”

While Marina’s concerns deepened in one corner.

Kên was becoming increasingly engrossed in the competition against Zero—or rather, against Anastasia, who was representing him.

Tap… bang! Thud!

He was inwardly thinking that this sensation was quite a long time coming.

In mock battles or sparring sessions, and even training, one has to suppress and lead, meaning that the skill and response of the receiver must be high for smooth practice and testing.

A bit of carrot and countless whips.

Testing the opponent’s limits and provoking their pride to draw out their inner strength was the ideal training to learn skills hammered into the brain through the body.

In that sense… it was only natural that Kên, who had early excelled in network engineering and cyber architecture, would soon step into a real battle after outgrowing practice games that had no more lessons for him and would quickly lead to chaos if he slipped.

Having gained experience quite capably, he began to reflect that it may have been too early to feel a little self-satisfied since he was gradually making a name for himself.

[ Veiling Process Executed. Transmitting anonymous data through encryption. ]

…Failure. Even though it was meant to be an advanced technique, the deceptive tactics quickly shot through the security net, signaling its breach.

[ Preparing to transmit large-scale security nullification, launch countdown 5… 4… 3… 4… 5… 5… Scheduling self-diagnosis of the main system. ]

Having loaded a special virus projectile that wreaked havoc on all authentication procedures of adjacent devices, it was poised to backfire in some bizarre way as his computer began rebooting on its own, prompting a hasty cancellation.

“This is a bit much…!”

Was there a chance they temporarily applied a closed logic that indiscriminately blocked all external signals, making the approach difficult? Yet, it was hard to believe such a simple thing when a string of bizarre phenomena unfolded.

This droid couldn’t possibly be actively reversing its code and generating appropriate antithesis, so it meant all the results were output by the embedded software….

What kind of development tool did they use, and how long did it take to create a program that displayed such versatility and performance, even for a mere robot?

She would rather hope that this ridiculous addition that she was casually sleeping in the room would turn out to be a complete lie.

If this was a spectacular scene where a fierce droid served as a medium for exchanging skills, it would have made her feel a tad more at ease.

From the moment she witnessed the almost magical multi-tasking ability that could annihilate a pile of viruses or malicious codes in an instant, she had recognized that this was no ordinary powerhouse, but she had never truly believed there would be such a significant disparity.

Besides, not long after bragging about how pleased she was that the world recognized her skills.

Instead of being pressed down, as the droid said, merely stalling in response to this side’s hacking attempts while being pushed back so much seemed too unfitting… sadly.

– You’re showing remarkable resistance against Lady Anastasia’s work. Originally, I intended to prevent even viewing the file list, yet boldly attempting to access it using her ID… I almost thought you were coughing and was about to interfere with your sleep myself. –

“……Hah.”

Kên let out a hollow laugh upon seeing the robot vibrating in victory.

…Did they even set up such trash-talking on purpose…? Really?

At this point, he was becoming curious about why so much effort was put into it.

Was it showing off? Or laughing at his incompetence?

“Wow… Seems like genuine experts have different coding from the rest? A loser like me wouldn’t even dare to hand over a business card!”

Pausing at Zero’s launch area, looking over here again, even Marina, who had been bustling about and expressing her keen interest and motivation to learn, began to seem suspicious whether she was still on the same team.

No matter how much, she wasn’t a big deal worthy of such an effort.

In a last desperate attempt, should he unleash the mutated virus that he had previously confined and isolated and stir up a commotion to look for a gap… while contemplating it deeply, the savior who resolved that crisis was Anastasia, which made him cease such self-deprecating thoughts.

Unless they intended to all come together and attack, he thought, there was no way one could win in a power struggle with such delicate actions aimed at data theft.

“…Phew.”

Honestly, it was an utter defeat. A complete loss. Thoroughly and entirely beyond any excuse.

This wasn’t just due to differences in the quality of trivial equipment or conditions gone awry.

It was not a lab rat who was fortunate to survive like himself, but an unreasonable genius. Perhaps this was what true gifted talent looked like.

“Khuh, puh…!”

A complex self-deprecation laced with tears and laughter escaped.

At least a frog in a well has the right to decide where to lay its body within the well; but miserable, he couldn’t even complete a little mischief without the permission of these terrifying ladies.

In fact, most of what he possessed was fake.

His beloved computer was a borrowed item funded by a patron, and his hacking skills were knowledge injected through surgery thanks to possessing a brain with a high suitability. But ironically, the name thrown at him as if out of goodwill was real.

That was it. Even as he snickered, Kên, who was sinking into the swamp of self-denial, came to a significant realization.

…Ah, did Anastasia really not know about the completely tailored countermeasures prepared against him?

She likely knew everything from the very beginning and diligently led the request, then gently caught the wrist of a fool attempting to cross the line.

Let’s pose the fundamental question of ‘why.’ Let’s seek the answer.

Ultimately, with skills, abilities, …and looks above reproach, the glimmering opponent preparing such an event could only conclude it was a form of consideration for him.

A perfect logic that satisfied all circumstantial evidence had been established.

Thus, while Kên was deciphering the situation on his own, reflecting on the behavior of an immature boy absorbed in his own thoughts, Marina reached an interesting conclusion.

This could… be something valuable to use, right?

Subtly, after quickly transcribing the codes used during the vigorous electronic battle onto her terminal, she spoke up.

“Crybaby, timid one. Feeling calmer now? If you’ve finished lamenting about being the unluckiest in the world, how about learning some espionage from this sister?”

“……What?”

A drained response issued forth in response to the unexpected suggestion.

It was one thing to say not to make a big deal and quietly fade away, but now to suddenly teach him something.

Wiping his ruined face with his hands while adopting a suspicious demeanor to see what her ulterior motives were, Marina fervently persuaded Kên.

“Hey. Who barges in like that against a corporation? Not like you’ve put your neck out! Even if the cruel higher-ups command us to go and die gloriously, we have to manage ourselves to work at a reasonable pace.”

“……Marina, you might be able to act like that, but I am a body tied to every piece of nail by debt…!”

Before getting to the main point, a finger raised firmly to clamp his rising objections.

“Those are highly secured research materials, top-secret documents. Not everything that fits those categories is valuable information! Every little fragment of detailed locations in this secure area, the military power of that tracking guy you caught a glimpse of, and the daily work report structure we maintain are all nuggets of gold that industrial spies would kill for!”

“But…! That’s a shabby result far lesser in value than the items we’ve been commanded to target.”

Grin.

From there, Marina flashed a bright smile.

Indeed, it seemed she was the one saying something nonsensical.

“Then! What are they going to do? Are they going to kill the technician who barely returned alive personally? That would be an immense loss for them!”

“…Huh?”

At her incredible advice to put his life as collateral and put it back on the line, Kên’s mouth went agape.

It didn’t seem unreasonable. If they operated under an impeccable debt logic, proving steady value this way, even if those methods thwarted the upper levels, it might be easier to ensure their protection.

And perhaps… by consistently repaying the debt and distorting the balance on the scale, he might someday become a free man.

In a moment of resignation, not only did he grasp his life, but he was also handed a path to survival.

He was not so devoid of conscience to whine here continuously.

“Really… Thank you so much, sisters.”

“Ugh, now that you’ve understood, cram it into your head from now on. All electronic devices will surely be scrapped when the contracts are finalized. …If you’re truly grateful, go and bring more distribution funds for me and cutie or whatever.”

Anyway, regardless of her intentions.

Dismayed, Marina stood up and waved her hand while heading back to the room, having received a heartfelt thanks from a whimpering kid, and Kên, with barely any words of gratitude left to express, trailed after her.

As the unofficial assignment of the enema came to a close, at least the two people’s worries seemed to have been resolved fairly well, concluding on a warm note.

– ……Well, disregarding the process. As long as you turned off your interest in the storage device that still had not been fully erased, I have no significant complaints. –