Chapter 43: The Deep Dive II

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Chapter 43: The Deep Dive II

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X closed his eyes and basked in the sensation of what felt like absolute power, enjoying the breeze of data passing by him, and the wind sparking from collisions of data.

X regained his focus as he moved toward the outer cluster of camera nodes, approaching cautiously as they flickered in and out of focus, casting shadows in the ambient red glow.

He activated a stealth program, watching his form flicker and dissolve until he was barely visible, like a shadow slipping through the Net.

His fingers danced over his deck, and he felt a tingling surge as his program latched onto the first camera node.

The system offered a mild resistance, a soft vibration beneath his feet as it pushed back with low-level ICE defenses.

X barely noticed as he worked his way through the code, stripping away the barriers like peeling back layers of thin glass.

He felt the network open up before him, and the camera feed blossomed on his HUD.

The specific alley before the camera appeared, cast in dark, grainy shadows, with silhouettes of people moving through alleyways, unaware they were now under his watchful eye.

The sensation of control surged through him. That was only one camera, but it felt like the first taste of something addictive.

As he moved deeper into Japantown's network, the structures around him became denser, more labyrinthine, like stepping into a cathedral of light and shadows.

Larger nodes appeared, each representing higher-security feeds from busier intersections, commercial plazas, and private businesses.

These nodes pulsed a brighter red, encased in fortified walls of shifting data patterns; layers of code, and ICE that hummed with an almost menacing energy.

The ICE moved with purpose, like serpents weaving through the walls, watching for intruders.

X paused, taking in the imposing sight of the district's core security network.

The sight was beautiful, an awe-inspiring labyrinth of light and shadow. Even now, surrounded by Japantown's inner defenses, he couldn't shake the high it gave him.

This wasn't just a system; this was a kingdom of data, and to familiarize himself with the deep Net, he made claiming the kingdom of Japantown his first target.

There were, however, necessary parameters that he needed to abide by, staying away from any Tyger Claw businesses, properties, and Jig-Jig Street, the latter being Wakako's territory.

They are most definitely many Netrunners overlocking those areas. Therefore, he only targeted small businesses, and 'nobodies'.

X wandered through the Network of camera nodes, cautiously picking his targets, some he could break through in seconds. For most, it took minutes to dozens to weave through their ICE.

Without using his premade scripts and daemons, it was an arduous process, a primitive process.

That's exactly what X wanted, a challenge to adapt to this world's level of tech.

Moreover, in the heat of the moment, when things come to worst, what he will have to rely on is his mind to adapt to unexpected circumstances.

X can not expect to have daemons and scripts for every scenario. He has to learn to adapt to all circumstances quickly.

He didn't want to just be a great Netrunner, he wanted to lord over the Net.

If the competition is AIs, then that's going to be a nigh impossible task.

Even if he can now achieve very inhuman things, such as seemingly reading through three HUDs at the same time as if he has three brains; that still doesn't amount to even a percentage of the capabilities of AIs.

X started with the apartment complex he lives in, attacking the camera nodes within, slowly but surely.

Then, he just settled in and listened. Like a god, he manifested a comfy chair and sat down, several HUDs appearing before him, all showing a live feed from the cameras he now controls.

It isn't difficult to create things in the Net Architecture. It may seem like a thing only a god could do, but it's in fact very simple. The chair is just a piece of code.

X watched and through some of the cameras' audio captures; listened to the whispers of Japantown's residents.

He filtered the information he didn't want to hear or see, and just enjoyed the process.

"Fuckin' finally, son of a bitch deserved it!"

"Hey, don't be so harsh. At least he gave free services sometimes... Certainly not preem services, but ay, good enough."

"Shut the fuck up you fucking retard! The bitch wanted me to loan him ma wife for a fuckin' broken shoulder! Greedy bitch."

"Ya, you know nothing choom. I heard once that he 'helped' a Joytoy for some sexual services. The problem is he fucked it up, he fried the Joytoy, and sent her to the Tyger Claws to be used as a fleshlight."

Joy toys are humans. They are sex workers. The word Joytoy is merely street slang.

"Didn't know that, fuck him then. By the way, who killed him?"

"It's... It's actually an ironic story. It was someone he fucked up, leaving him in pain and weakness. Hachirou, I think is his name. Heard X fixed him. Hachirou then put a bullet in Fingers' head."

"Fuckin' karma, exquisite!"

"Now, you'd think he's done after that... No, the motherfucker survived!"

"How? Fingers have connections to the Tygers, no?"

"No idea? With how much of a sewer pipe Fingers is, would the Tygers want him?"

"Got wind of how. A new gang, or I think cult? They helped him disappear! They're like the Mox, ya know?"

"Oh? What gang?"

"Little Monsters, they call them!"

"One of those edgy gangs?"

"Ya, they're usually very peaceful though."

X raised a brow, surprised by the news. The death of Fingers is an anomaly, something he seemingly indirectly participated in.

What attracted his attention most, however, were the Little Monsters. He'd heard of them before, a newly rising cult, "Z, make a note to investigate them later."

X listened a bit more before Steeling himself, launching a counter-attack program to pierce the security on one of the mid-tier nodes, initiating his first real challenge of the dive.

The challenge was taking over the apartment complex's security systems, a very difficult task.

The moment he made contact, the ICE bristled to life, spinning and warping into razor-edged barriers around the node.

He marveled at its complexity, the deadly elegance of its form. Each strand of ICE moved with fluid precision, weaving through the code with a predator's grace.

He carefully deployed a decoy program, sending a flickering copy of his avatar sprinting down a virtual corridor.

Some of the ICE peeled off in pursuit, clearing the path just enough for X to slip through and access the node's feed.

That's only the start, however. To rummage through the node's systemic code is the challenge.

He'd to look through hundreds of lines of codes to even thousands and more, seeking vulnerabilities that he could exploit to gain deep access.

Most Net Architectures are compromised of floors. X just scratched the first floor of a well-built system.

He didn't need to go deep through. X's target was only the building's surveillance system.

X had to do so fast before the ICE restructured itself. It did before he finished the job, forcing him to slip away and restart the process... Till he finally saw it, the vulnerability, upon which he injected his script.

His HUD bloomed with new video streams; angles from even the apartments within, the hallway, elevator, and quiet corners of the place.

Each feed appeared in a small, translucent window overlaid on his vision. He could practically feel the power growing with each one he captured, the sense that he was weaving the building's very fabric into his own private network.

He had only begun to scratch the surface of what he planned to achieve.

Japantown's inner core; a maze of corporate networks, private feeds, and encrypted data servers; was still beyond his reach, its defenses too heavily fortified for a single dive.

With every dive, every captured feed, he'd wrap Japantown tighter and tighter in his own network, if that's possible.

Sensing that he was reaching the limit of what he could safely accomplish tonight, X withdrew, moving back through the shadowed corridors of the Net.

The nodes dimmed behind him as he severed each connection, but not before he left his mark; code signatures embedded in the captured nodes, giving him a foothold for future dives.

As he moved back, he took one last look at the glowing architecture around him, marveling at the surreal beauty of it all.

Each step back felt like leaving a palace of light and power, a kingdom that he felt more like home than the real world.

Finally, he broke free, disconnecting from the Net, the digital world dissolving in a shimmer as he returned to the quiet, dim stillness of his apartment.

The thrill of the dive lingered, leaving him feeling more alive than he had in a long time.