Abyssal Wanderer.

"...That's the basic situation. Whether you're willing to believe it or not, and whether you can seize this opportunity, depends on your own judgment."

The man who had suddenly approached him finished speaking and stood there with an indifferent attitude, not at all worried that he might be torn to pieces in the next second.

Perhaps because of the other party's calm demeanor, the draftsman did not choose to take direct action or call the master of ceremonies or the mortician to come and arrest the person.

The visitor identified himself as "Baptiste Moreau" and immediately declared that he was the main executor of this crisis of second-generation intelligence.

After saying that, he directly produced the evidence that the cartographer had murdered Ushō Goro, and deduced from it that the cartographer's real purpose in coming to the Nord resettlement area was not to solve the crisis of the second type of human intelligence, but to hope that the entire resettlement area would be completely destroyed.

Immediately before the cartographer could harbor murderous intent, he stated that he was there to discuss cooperation, and then proceeded to present a plan that could completely crush the resistance in the current resettlement area. He also added that after receiving this information, his own life was no longer of concern—he was free to do as he pleased.

"It sounds tempting, but it doesn't seem to do you any good. Or perhaps you're unaware of your inevitable destruction?"

After a long silence, the illustrator said this.

Even if the other party may not know that Thunder is fully charged and could turn the resettlement area into a wasteland at any time, they should at least have some understanding of Olympus Corporation's style of doing things.

"From a rational point of view, that may indeed be the case."

"Baptiste said with a smile."

"But we are not beings born from the spirit of Apollo. The meaning of our existence is to vent our pent-up emotions and to release ourselves as brightly as possible. If destruction in the heavenly fire is our fate, then this is actually the ending we truly seek."

Seeing that the draftsman remained frowning and silent, Baptiste continued:

"Or... do you really think you can find the person you want to find on your own?"

The illustrator's eyes sharpened instantly.

How did you know?!

Several appendages shot out like lightning, carrying various weapons and pressing against Baptiste's vital parts.

"You are, after all, an adjuster of the Empsa Path. Don't you have any basic understanding of the dark web ecosystem? Our wisdom comes from the resonance of the collective unconscious and the echoes within the Dionysian framework. Simply put, it is the existence that can be called dark web malware... And your previous actions on the dark web revealed your intentions far too obviously."

Even though he might be killed in the next second, Baptiste said quite easily.

For some reason, the illustrator sensed a hint of sarcasm in the other person's tone.

"So, who is that person?"

"That's what the draftsman said coldly."

"Someone you can't find or deal with."

Baptiste answered without fear.

Knowing that he couldn't communicate normally with this madman, the draftsman simply swung his limbs and cut off the other man's head.

It's better to study his corpse to get more information than to try to extract information from him.

Moreover...

By attaching the appendages to the other person's head to maintain their activity, and looking at the other person's eyes that were still moving in their sockets, the image of Jim Ritter appeared in the artist's mind.

Next, I need to find a way to contact that Orpheus path adjuster without the mortician's knowledge.

First, use him to extract crucial information from this Baptiste's mind, and then... although it's a bit of a pity, we still have to kill that guy named Jim.

…………

"Oh, my countless stars, transform into my power—Stardust Burst! Launch—!"

"Oh!"

"Did it fail? How about this move?! That ray of light piercing the darkness is the guide of the Milky Way! Milky Way Piercing—!"

"Bang!"

Once again, like a punching bag, Hoshino Hikaru was slammed back by the embodiment of fear, her petite figure crashing into the light barrier and causing a violent tremor.

The magical radiance shining on Hoshino Hikaru has dimmed considerably—even with the full support of the data center behind him.

No, it wasn't just that the magical glow symbolizing computing power had dimmed; at this moment, Hoshino Hikaru's Lolita-style dress, which resembled a cake tower, was covered in charred burn marks and torn pieces of fabric. His once fair and delicate face was also considerably blackened—all of this was a concrete manifestation of the significant decline in the integrity of his Ice Wall and his mental state, reflected in the Prism program.

Upon witnessing this scene, hackers of various appearances behind the firewall couldn't help but cry out in concern.

"Hikari-chan...a real man?"

“Miss Hoshino, that’s enough. We don’t need to fight anymore.”

"Hoshino Hikaru-sama, you can do it!!!"

"Hey... did Hikari-chan accidentally expose herself there?"

Although some people had rather strange points of focus, Hoshino Hikaru felt a burning fighting spirit in his eyes as he felt the enthusiastic support from the audience behind him!
"We can't give up yet..."

he murmured.

She replenished her magic power from the "Mage Tower" and repaired some damage to her skirt that might have caused wardrobe malfunctions. A pair of pure white energy wings unfolded behind Hoshino Hikari.

Hikaru Hoshino slowly flew to a position level with the embodiment of fear.

Now, he's the only hacker left who can stay outside the firewall and confront that devil.

All the unofficial servers below the eighth floor of the resettlement area have now fallen into the hands of the Fear Incarnate. Any non-wizard-level hacker who dares to show their face will be instantly logged off.

Several hackers have even been imprisoned in the enemy's private domain—although the staff immediately cut off the connection and rescued them after discovering it, they still suffered various torments in the virtual world and went insane.

"After all, I'm the only one left to fight here, so I absolutely cannot back down!"

His childish voice echoed across the entire plain, and his eyes sparkled with starlight. As the data center replenished its computing power, the magic circle behind him shone even brighter!

"Oh my god!!! Hikaru-chan is the best!!!!"

"Everyone, let's not waste the time that Ms. Hoshino bought for us!"

"Damn it, damn it, damn it... Why am I so weak... If only I had wizard-level power, then I could be with Ms. Hoshino Hikaru..."

Feeling the support of the hackers behind him once again, and feeling the power of their friendship and trust, even though he was extremely tired, Hoshino Hikaru felt his strength surge up again.

He had to buy the hacker alliance enough time to strengthen their firewall, even if it was just...

"I'd do anything, even if it meant entering the defeat CG!"

He roared and transformed into a streak of seven-colored light, rushing straight towards the embodiment of fear.

"Everyone... everyone's wishes have been conveyed, so let's all become light together!"

But it was also at this time...

"Is that so? Love and friendship..."

The ram-headed demon, who had only ever roared "Awooooo," suddenly spoke in human language as Hoshino Hikaru charged toward him.

Hoshino Hikaru was momentarily stunned when the other party raised his hand and grabbed him in his hand as he turned into a stream of light.

"So, you're the strongest person here, aren't you?"

The monster looked at Hoshino Hikaru, who was struggling in its palm, and a terrifying smile appeared on its face.

"In that case..."

The gorgeous Lolita dress was instantly burned to ashes by the black flames, and then countless black sludge climbed onto Hoshino Hikaru's body, drilling into his brain through the holes in his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears.

"Hahahahahahahaha..."

The monster let out a laugh that chilled everyone to the bone.

At the same time, countless images, sounds, smells, and tastes flooded into Hoshino's... no, into Junjie Zhang's mind through the brain-computer interface.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah--"

Junjie Zhang, inside the combat cabin, let out a shrill scream.

…………

"Aren't you ready yet?"

Booker paced back and forth in the operations room, his face full of anxiety.

Not long ago, he received a message that the only wizard-level hacker in the resettlement area had fallen into a coma and was in critical condition. Now, the firewall of the entire Nord resettlement area is on the verge of collapse.

Once the firewall collapses, it means the Nord resettlement area will fall.

At that time, all automated equipment will become the enemy, and only a small number of Coordinators will remain as the resistance force.

If we go even further, allowing malicious programs to gain control of the universal printer...

Number One is currently working with the people of the Olympian Order to eliminate the entities that the malicious programs have assembled for themselves. Although they are only using the existing equipment in the settlement area, they have now created multiple constructs that are theoretically capable of reaching Depth 2, or even approaching Depth 3.

If left to develop, even more advanced structures will eventually be created.

To slow this down, they must suppress their opponent in cyber warfare.

"Is it not ready yet?"

Booker continued to ask.

"Shut up, Booker! We've already given it our all!"

The person he asked replied rather irritably.

"If you're not going to be of much help, just stay here and keep watch, and while you're at it, guard this place for us, and then..."

The man glanced back at Booker as he spoke.

"Just wait and see our spectacular performance."

…………

Even if Hecate is considered a shareholder in Theseus's freight, the cartographer's aimless search for a "shareholder" is doomed to failure.

Yes, Charon was not lying; Hecate was indeed in the Nord settlement at that moment.

But her location is absolutely impossible for anyone to guess, and it would be very difficult to find her.

The goddess of the moon is located a thousand meters above the Nord resettlement area, bathed in gentle moonlight—this area is legally within the resettlement area's airspace.

High-heeled sandals woven from gold thread were neatly arranged beside the bed. At this moment, she leaned against a dark hammock, blending into the night, her dark eyes gazing at the sky.

Beside her lay the silver safe, and three black spheres, seemingly empty and dark, orbited around her—like satellites orbiting a planet.

She stared at the sky for a long time—not at the moon or stars, but at something else. Then she looked down at the resettlement area below.

"We need to hurry..."

She said it as if she were sighing.

"Otherwise, it really will be too late..." (End of Chapter)