Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 934, Section 144: Perception
Just as the data stream was successfully solidified and the indicator light on the storage chip lit up steadily, Carl's keen senses detected something unusual.

The entire replication process was almost perfect—scanning was blocked, firewalls were bypassed, and data was downloaded, all in absolute silence, without triggering any known alert protocols.

However, it was precisely this excessive success that made Karl feel a little uneasy.

To be fair, if Carl were to protect this data, given his own style, he would never completely trust a single protection program and would definitely bury deeper and more hidden triggering mechanisms.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, the warning came true.

A low-level pulse, completely different from conventional alarm protocols, was instantly activated at the lowest level of the data stream as Karl completed the program copying.

The activation condition for this pulse is not a superficial condition like 'illegal access' or 'privilege breach,' which is easily detected and blocked. Instead, it targets the moment when the blocking personnel are off guard.

That is, it will only start the moment it senses that the data has been completely copied.

'We've been discovered.'

Carl felt a chill run down his spine. This moment reminded him of the time when he copied the data of the new U.S. secret unit, "White Hawk"—it was also because he triggered Song Zhaomei's preset copy detection protocol that he was able to get subsequent communications from Song Zhaomei.

It seems that whenever intelligence matters are involved, whether it's roving AI outside the Great Firewall or top hackers walking on the edge of the Great Firewall, they all seem to like using this approach.

This approach, which fails to prevent intelligence leaks but attempts to mitigate subsequent losses, is ultimately flawed.

It really has that AI-like approach: realizing that the loss is unavoidable, it tries its best to mitigate the loss without hesitation.

This approach is indeed effective, Karl has to admit.

People often don't pay much attention to details when they get what they want most and what's most important. Karl has already obtained information on all the people controlled by the mastermind behind the scenes. He can eliminate their infiltration by contacting them one by one and following the clues.

With the help of intelligence, this matter can be resolved quickly, and the conspiracy orchestrated by the mastermind behind it will come to an end.
Carl then lost track of the mastermind.

They could easily do it again in another place at another time, and by then, having suffered heavy losses, they would be more vigilant, more careful, and more meticulous in leaving no room for error.

In other words, if Carl wanted to end this matter, he has already done so. However, the subsequent events have been concealed by the mastermind through a decisive abandonment.

Can Carl accept this outcome?

Of course not.

Although this wasn't exactly a mission, and Carl was just helping out, he always had a 100% approval rating when it came to missions.

To put an end to this, at the very least, Carl needs to find the mastermind behind it all.

This approach, which only addresses the gecko's tail, is not enough to satisfy Carl.

In just a split second, Karl had already figured out his next move.

The instant he sensed the anomaly, he reacted with superhuman speed, cutting off the signal flow and attempting to isolate it. But just as Karl had expected, the invisible warning message instantly pierced the barrier and sent an extremely brief pulse into the unknown distance.

“Tracing the pulse direction.”

Karl immediately gave the AI ​​instructions, but at the same time the AI ​​issued a warning.

"Warning: Data integrity is being compromised. The target has initiated an emergency cleanup protocol." Almost simultaneously, Carl 'heard,' or rather, sensed through his deeply connected AI, a faint, buzzing sound, like a buzzer breaking, coming from inside the target vehicle.

Immediately afterwards, the indicator light on the vehicle's data recording device on the screen suddenly went out, and the internal storage chip was completely burned out by the instantaneously generated high-voltage current.

Those data copies stored on the local device have also been self-deleted, as if erased by an invisible eraser.

Fortunately, Carl removed the storage chip in time, preventing the self-deletion from affecting the chip in his hand.

While Carl carefully stored the storage chip, AI also helped him determine the direction of the pulse scan.

"The signal receiving location has been determined and marked."

The AI's notification sounded in Karl's mind. He looked in the direction marked by the highlighted area in his vision, and his gaze instantly locked onto the distance—the direction of the warehouse where the people had disappeared earlier.

"This pulse is directional. It seems that those people were carrying specialized receiving equipment."

In other words, are these the very people who act as a last resort to fix things after the fact?

They may be carrying clues related to the mastermind behind this!
Although the alert message was extremely brief, and because it was a hidden program, it was unlikely to contain his specific identity or location, the mastermind behind it would certainly regard it as the highest threat.

Karl could guess their next reaction even without thinking.

Without a doubt, that is
run!
Without the slightest hesitation, Karl sped off like an arrow toward the warehouse where the people he had seen disappear in the surveillance footage. His movements were so fast that he left only afterimages in the air.

We must catch them before they completely cut off all clues and leave the scene!
In the blink of an eye, he had rushed to the warehouse where the vehicles and personnel had entered. The warehouse had a huge, slightly rusty metal door that was not locked. He skillfully used his shoulder to push it open quietly.

The commotion here will soon attract other people, and all Karl needs to do now is to be quick, the faster the better.

Karl slipped inside, quickly disappearing into the shadows by the doorway, his sharp gaze scanning the entire space like a scanner.

The warehouse was unusually empty and quiet.

Beneath the towering dome, only a few beams of light pierced through the broken ceiling, cutting out patches of light and shadow on the dusty ground. In the distance, a few abandoned machines covered with dust cloths were scattered about, and the air was filled with the dull smell of rusted metal and years of grease.

This place looks like a completely abandoned place.

Judging from the dust rising in the air, even the Vortex Gang within this factory area rarely comes to this place.

However, this also helped Carl, as it meant he only needed to follow the footprints left on the ground to find his target.
As Karl was thinking this, he stopped in his tracks.

He stopped in his tracks at this crucial moment.

Because something's not right.

Carl smelled something.

Bloody smell.

(End of this chapter)