Cyberpunk: Starting in 2071

Chapter 5 The Gathering of Fugitives
Behind Lucy and Kyoko Nishimura, a tall boy with similarly tanned skin walked in. After the door closed, Mercer sat up lazily and said, "Sit down. I remember there are some instant tea bags under the coffee table. It seems like the other drinks are all gone."

"Thank you." Lucy nodded slightly, but at the same time, her bright eyes were cautiously scrutinizing him.

Mercer was also observing her closely, but for a different reason. He was purely a fan, carefully observing the three-dimensional form of his two-dimensional wife.

Her rainbow-colored short hair shimmered with complex colors under the light, like silver mixed with pink, while the light red eyeshadow under her bright eyes seemed like a permanent tattoo—that's what cyberpunk is all about.

Like the boy next to her, Mercer remembered his name was Tetsuya Daichi, with his short green mohawk and a 'fashionable face' made of a metallic-painted chin prosthetic—he was simply…
These kids, whose lives are constantly insecure, are all surprisingly trendy.

At this point, Mercer suddenly thought of himself—or rather, his own image—and suddenly had nothing to say.

Now, in terms of appearance alone, he is surprisingly similar to his appearance before he transmigrated, or even a high-end version. Not only have his facial features become more defined and his skin improved, but even his eyes look bigger and brighter due to the modifications.

just
He had red hair, a buzz cut, and a black earring in his left ear. Even the incision behind his ear was styled in a red cherry blossom petal shape, very characteristic of Arasaka.

Just like a tattoo, there are also very obvious neural circuit tattoos on the sides of the eyes, which emit blue light when connected to the internet.
Well, after looking at it for a while, it really does seem quite unique, and it even gave Mercer, who had never tried outlandish costumes before, a rather exciting feeling.

When he was a child, he had suggested to his family that he wanted to dye his fur red, but he almost got beaten up by his family that day, which made him stop.

"Leon will be here soon."

Lucy seemed to have observed enough. After speaking, she paused and then said, "I heard from Kyoko that you have something to say?"

"Hmm, it seems there are going to be changes to the company's projects."

As soon as Mercer finished speaking, the eyes of the three people in front of him lit up. Kyoko, unable to contain her excitement, asked directly, "Really!? We can finally stop digging for data from the old network?"

"Well, I should."

After Mercer finished speaking, before Xingzi's smile could fully bloom, he chuckled and said, "Don't worry about being caught by AI when mining on the old network, because our new project will most likely involve directly interacting with AI."

The moment the words left her lips, even Lucy couldn't help but show a look of horror.

Kyoko's eyes immediately reddened, and she looked like she was about to cry: "Huh?"

Tetsuya Daichi, who appeared to be slightly taller than Mercer, clenched his fists even tighter: "Han-kun, are you telling the truth? Is the news confirmed?"

"Calling me Mercer or Han Jun sounds worse than just calling me Han."

After Mercer finished speaking, he said in a relaxed tone:

"I'm not sure, I'm just guessing based on the new director's tone and attitude."

Think about it: because of this incident, the original project director was fired, while I got away scot-free and even my interrogation felt like a formality, while the new director greeted me with a big smile.
The only possibility is that it's related to my encounter with the AI ​​and my survival, as well as what Kyoko witnessed.

However, before discussing these things, let's talk about your situation first.

As Mercer spoke, he observed the expressions of the others and ultimately decided that he should selectively reveal information first.

Apricot is quite innocent and cute, but in this world, in the current situation, innocence and cuteness are not a good thing. Mercer needs someone to lend him a hand in escaping, and in the process of preparation, the partner chosen must be reliable.

Lucy has a strong will to survive, but an overly strong will to survive can sometimes backfire. Mercer must carefully assess the situation before selectively revealing information to them, lest they rush off and get discovered, ruining his plans.

As things stand, Mercer believes he has already completed 60% of his escape preparations independently. The significance of these junior hackers to him is limited to pulling the gun line and helping out during the escape.

Hacking techniques?
To be honest, he's gotten a bit cocky lately. He thinks he could take on ten Lucys. Well, three should be no problem.

After Lucy remained silent for a moment, a notification suddenly appeared in Mercer's eyes.

Lucy has initiated a file transfer with you. Do you want to accept?

Mercer did not accept it immediately. Instead, he manually activated his personal ICE and then used a network receiver to create a virtual disk, connecting the software to the virtual disk.

If necessary, he can format the virtual disk directly, and the only loss will be the RAM (memory) deducted when the virtual disk existed.

Once the file was received, Mercer's eyes emitted a faint golden light as he watched the rapidly flowing blue data in his field of vision. He quickly understood what the program was for.

He didn't say anything, but instead pulled out the data cable from his wrist.

"Hold on."

Lucy stared at him silently and nodded.

He sat down at the computer, first connecting the data cable on his wrist, and uploaded a 'Freedom Killer V0.1' to the computer, which then performed a targeted scan and removal.

Then, I carefully reviewed the computer data again, manually dealt with the backdoors and vulnerabilities inside the laptop, and deleted some junk programs left by Mercer.
Well, to him now, those programs are really bad. The redundant code is like a mountain of shit, just as garbage as Arasaka's programs.

Because of his inexplicable talent, he viewed data and programs as if he were observing a human being, able to tell their height, weight, and even the 'flesh and bones' of the program at a glance.

In this way, it becomes clear where the core of the program is, where the skeleton and flesh required for operation are, and where there is deformed, unnecessary, and redundant code.

Only then did he begin his formal work.

First, he deleted all the software Lucy had sent him—not that it was unusable, but rather that it was more efficient for him to restructure the core code than to use her software for optimization and upgrades.

After only a minute and a half, Mercer rubbed his temples, looking somewhat tired, and unplugged the cable, while simultaneously sending the new program to the three people present.

[Lucy: Is that a penguin? I didn't know you knew about biology.]

Lucy's voice rang out directly in her mind, which was understandable as she was surprised, since only a lonely AI existed in Antarctica of this world.

Many people believe that penguins are extinct, and actually, not many people know anything about penguins.

Because most people in this world are too busy—busy working, busy surviving, busy studying, busy having fun—no one cares about things that are meaningless, like the supposedly extinct penguins.

As for why it's a penguin icon...
That's because Mercer created an encrypted communication software, and the reason he chose this icon was simply out of pure mischievousness, or perhaps, a kind of nostalgia.

[Mercer: Hmm, you can set your own character avatar. You can use this to chat in the future. Voice, video and file transfer are all fine.]

I used pure random encryption. If there is a signal other than the one that is authenticated, ICE will sound an alarm. At that point, you can cautiously stop to prevent eavesdropping.

You can create a temporary chat group using group chat. If an abnormal signal appears in the group chat, the owner of the abnormal signal will be kicked out. So if you are kicked out, check your device immediately.

The program has an automatic hiding function and runs using the original communication architecture. Normally, it lies dormant in the code of ICE's external signal detection program.

The downside is that because the program itself is small, it requires more personal memory to run.

[Kyoko Tamura: Wow! There's even a UI designer!]

[Tetsuya Daichi: The data is beautiful and incredible; your technology is advancing so rapidly.]

[Mercer: It's just a matter of integrating existing knowledge. Anyway, Lucy, you can start now.]

[Lucy: Wait a minute, there's one more friend, I'll bring him in.]

[Leon: Is this the new version you made, Lucy?]

[Lucy: It's Mercer.]

[Leon: Wow, that's awesome.]

[Lucy: Let's skip the small talk and briefly explain the situation to Mercer. Mercer, what are your thoughts on the company?]

Mercer: No particular opinion; all crows are black.

[Lucy: What about the current situation?]

Mercer: Just ask me if I want to run away. Of course, what idiot would want to stay here as a mining slave and a consumable?

These idiots don't even pay wages. They tricked child laborers into selling themselves, and on top of that, their wages were automatically used to pay off past forced loan training fees. They even calculated the loan repayment date to be until the guy was 22 years old.

Working is out of the question. I would never work again in my life, not even if I died. Tell me, what are your plans?

[Lucy: I always thought you were pretty aloof.]

[Tamura Kyoko: +1! 】

[Tetsuya Daichi: Yeah.]

[Leon: Hey, wait for me! I need to go to the room to talk in person too!]

[Lucy: Anyway, yes, we don't want to die here.]

Lucy: A few days ago it was Tony, last week it was Hanako, and a month ago it was Kagekuma.
The rate at which people are dying is accelerating. Those wandering AIs have probably discovered that a group of kids are logging on to mine on time, and they start arresting people when the time comes. They've even learned to wait for their prey and hide traps for the mining data.
I don't want to die, none of us want to die, so we've decided to escape!
Mercer, you are very strong, and your talent far surpasses ours. If you are willing to join us, I believe we can definitely escape!

Mercer: What's your plan?

Lucy: We have obtained the list of security personnel and their replacement order, and we have also secretly hacked into the employee information. We have decided to start our escape on Christmas Day.

Because there were an unusually large number of employees applying for leave that day, it seems that the years of working underground had become unbearable for them, and they all wanted to go out and celebrate.

Moreover, the situation outside was chaotic enough that day, and I believe that many company employees would also be on leave that day, so they ran away from there.

The specific plan was that we originally intended to take advantage of the opportunity to dive deep into the old network that day and launch a large-scale information attack on them using our Unicom servers.

But now, if the project changes, I don't know.

If we really have to deal with the AI, can we even hold out until Christmas Day? Lucy looked somewhat sad, or rather, fearful. Mercer could easily see the vulnerability the girl was trying so hard to hide just by looking at her face.

Kyoko Tamura and Tetsuya Daichi also showed similar expressions. Kyoko looked completely dejected and sad, with her eyes reddening, while Tetsuya Daichi sighed and his expression was extremely heavy.

[Mercer: Don't worry, you've developed a mindset from being treated like expendable resources—I don't think the project team has the ability to directly capture AI.]

Capturing AI requires highly specialized equipment and more powerful servers, which our current prosthetics, equipment, and supporting facilities do not support.

Even if they are prepared to capture AI, our role is at best to be bait, used as bait to fish.

What about other preparations? How long did you plan this out? Is this all you've prepared?

Lucy: Leon and Earth also wrote a hacking program that can unlock the prosthetics on our bodies. I'll send it to you in a bit.

However, this program will trigger an alarm, so do not try to run it directly. We tested it with a simulation program, and it can deactivate all prosthetic programs within ten seconds.

That's more or less.

Mercer thought for a moment, but instead of directly saying that he had just come up with something better on a whim, he gave a simple reply.

[Mercer: I'll optimize the program later, no need to rush. Besides that? What about the escape route selection, supply planning, identity disguise, escape destination, and preparations and future plans after arriving at the destination?]

Upon hearing this, the chat group suddenly fell silent. The children looked at each other, speechless, until someone suddenly knocked on the door.

[Leon: Open the door, it's me.]

With a thought, Mercer unlocked the door, and a thin boy with short blue hair eagerly walked in and sat down at the table.

[Leon: Hey Mercer~ You used to be such a quiet guy, I never knew you were so capable.]

Leon: Uh, don't ask them anymore. They're not thinking about that much. They just don't want to die, so they have to escape first.

As long as we leave here, it doesn't matter where we go or where we escape to. We originally planned to leave our fate to fate after we escaped.

Since everyone only has hacker-like cybernetic bodies, and at most a single-molecule ray that can be considered a weapon, what use is that against Agent Arasaka? Most of us haven't even actually fought in combat, and the combat training we've received has only been basic.

[Tetsuya Daichi: Yeah, we didn't really think too much about it. As long as we escape, we'll have a chance to survive.]

Everyone was terrified to stay here; they knew they'd be the ones dying on the next deep-sea dive. So nobody was talking about dreams or the future.

[Mercer: That won't do. You guys think about it first. As for the specific escape route, I'll come up with a few options. Once we're out, you can choose whichever you like.]

[Kyoko: I believe in you!!]

[Lucy: Okay, let's all think about it together. But Mercer, be careful, if the project changes, you'll definitely be a prime target.]

Mercer: No big deal, there's always a way.

At this point, Mercer was no longer interested in discussing the escape with them; it seemed he would have to come up with the specific plans and action plans himself.

So he turned to asking about what he was truly curious about.

[Mercury: Anzu, what exactly did you see back then?]

[Apricot: It's AI.]

[Apricot: Before you disconnected, I saw a strange AI. It looked like a huge male made up of red data, with no physical features, except for its unusually bright eyes.]

[Xingzi: He was standing right next to you at the time, and I saw your cybernetic appearance with my own eyes. I was devastated!]
But then it immediately reassembled. I don't know what happened. It's like he killed you with a flick of his finger and then brought you back to life!
And he's not the only AI!

[Xingzi: There's also a huge red female AI standing right behind him!]

Those two AIs were absolutely terrifying; those gigantic humanoid AIs were practically monsters!

[Apricot: Your cybernetic appearance before you went offline also seems to have changed, but I couldn't see it clearly because I... I was scared.]

So before it noticed me, I crossed the black wall and immediately logged off. I just didn't expect that you would already be awake after I logged off.

[Kyoko: This is all I've seen.]

Seeing the hint of fear on Kyoko's face, Mercer simply winked at her and then laughed:

"Alright, anyway, we're still alive."
As for the reason for the collapse of Cyber's image, I'm not quite sure; to be honest, I have no memory of that period.

"Since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it. Since I'm still alive, I'll just take things one step at a time."

Mercer stretched and turned off the chat group.

He probably realized that none of these kids were reliable; they were simply driven by the fear of death to find a way to escape Arasaka.

As for other things, such as dreams and the future, they are not even on their list of considerations.

You can't blame them. After all, for 99% of the people in this world, a company like Arakawa is like a god.

They might be able to escape, but in their view, even if they did, they would definitely be caught afterward.
Even though no one mentions it now, their real thought is to live one more day as long as possible, so they haven't thought about anything else.

I just feel that dying from Agent Arasaka's bullets is better than being silently eaten by AI on the old web.

"Since things have come to this, let's have some tea first."

Mercer said in a relaxed tone, "In any case, these few days are a rare vacation. This is the first long vacation in several years, right?"

Enjoy this rare moment of leisure.

Leave these annoying things to me.

"Huh? I just got here!" Leon's eyes widened, as if he wanted to chat some more.

But looking at Mercer, Lucy suddenly felt a sense of peace.

If he can act so relaxed, even though he's currently Arasaka's main focus, then I don't need to be too afraid, right?

Tetsuya Daichi scratched his head, then suddenly remembered something and said, "I have a game console I bought a while ago. It has the latest soccer game on it. Want to play?"

"Wow! Where did this come from? I want to play!" Leon's eyes lit up.

Daichi Tetsuya smiled cheerfully:

"After paying off the loan, I still have 300 euros left each month. The company's meal allowance is only 200 euros. I saved up for several months and bought a second-hand one. I even asked an employee to help me buy it. It just arrived yesterday."

"Lucy, Mercer, would you like to see my Mewtwo?"

Xingzi's eyes lit up: "I haven't seen this in a long time either!"

We take turns watching, or we pour the data onto the TV and watch it like we used to watch movies!

It took me ages to finally convert Mewtwo into a video!

"Apricot, haven't you watched that Mewtwo movie more than ten times already?" Leon teased.

"I didn't tell you, it's annoying."

Apricot stuck her tongue out at Leon and made a face, then looked at Mercer with longing.

"Mercer, you said you weren't interested before, how about giving it a try this time?"
It's really good! When I first came here, I needed to watch it almost every day before I could fall asleep!

Lucy remained calm, but secretly sent Mercer a message.

Lucy: Look, this child treasures this Mewtwo. It was a birthday gift from a former employee who took pity on her.

She shared it with you to try and get closer to you—you should be able to tell, right?
This child used to be a little afraid of you.

[Mercur: Yeah, I know. Perfect, Mewtwo, I haven't tried it yet.]

Mercer smiled and nodded: "Alright, let me experience Mewtwo all by myself first, as compensation."

He thought for a moment, then got up and removed his pillow.

There is a reading chip under the pillow.

With a quick scan, the title of the book, "Neuromancer," can be seen on the chip.

"This is a novel about the 1960s. You can take it, scan it, and read it at your leisure. It'll help you pass the time."

Anzu immediately reached out and took the chip with delight. With a quick scan of her prosthetic eye, she copied the contents.

Soon, the two of them sat down with bright, unfocused eyes, clearly having already begun reading.

Mercer fiddled with the Mewtwo Ring, and after a while, figuring out how to use it, he put it on his head.

With a flash of light, he successfully entered Mewtwo's world.

(End of this chapter)