COI C140
The archscientist hears the subliminal message as her transmission is going haywire. The sounds of the beep going on and on in a fast pace. Her eyes were in shocked and the presence of the other Enders sense her fright. Lilith feels her shock and her husband is already packing up the field computer. Inside the station, Spokesman had done what it is to do as he carries it with his magic item. A bag took in the massive equipment inside whereas Lilith jumps in on him.
Lilith kisses him on the cheek, many times, then takes the bag. Wearing the same uniform as the Dexter Guild, with her oval glasses and with her lab coat. She gives her farewell to him and goes to the archscientist. The archscientist sees her in the instant as she changes her expression. Lilith’s aura is starting to feel a familiar threat, she said to her.
“You’re bringing him back, aren’t you?”
“You’ve done enough to act like one of us, a free agent shouldn’t be part of us”
“Sigh* Anyway, give me the coordinates so I can find him”
The archscientist looks at her in the eyes as if she knows what is going to happen next. Their equipment is good enough to fight against their servers, but Lilith’s own computer belonged to one of their own predecessor’s super computer.
The archscientist keeps hearing the beep with subliminal messaging. The probe is reaching deep inside of the targeted area. This is the matter of time they need to get inside manually into their servers while theirs are shutting down. This time, this virus can’t retreat back inside the Rune Isles server. At the same time, free to in this city’s server. Then be sealed in the unidentified server from Isekai City. Her colleague had transferred the data to keep a powerful restricted zone as its new constriction.
Lilith’s patience grew thin as she forced her magic through her mind. The archscientist oval glasses screened out in view from her lens as she sees Lilith is getting through her head. She tells her right away before she digs in too deep.
“. . .”
She didn’t say anything and let her read her mind. Lilith wasn’t too kind for holding her off from an important and dangerous individual. The archscientist’s oval glasses starts to crack as she held strong. The time is wasting as she keeps her mind away from her involving such personal guild matters.
Spokesman sees the two eye-to-eye to each other, and their presence of magic around them is weak to the sense of danger. The people around them, all citizens, didn’t sense the threat as it feels like needle to each of them staring against each other. A needle from them is equivalent to the point to where it lethally hits. Like acupuncture, if it hits the wrong spot, it will lead to uncomfortable to dreadful experience. He had enough for them to act like this and picks Lilith’s bag away from her magic. The powerful spike raging out from her presence, the archscientist’s glasses cracked and fell. Lilith turns around almost bursting in rage, then quiets down when she sees her husband.
“I thought it was urgent when I sense your . . . worries, dear”
“Dear . . .”
The archscientist responds “She may have her past involved with us before. I know why, because she traces an old familiar magic. But you must understand that this threat is our matters. We must not interfere each other’s works when it comes to this, for everyone’s sake, mind your own business”
Spokesman didn’t believe her “I guess Haw was right about your guild. Some projects are better be on hold and private. That’s why my dear has your equipment”
The archscientist knows about the situation in their servers. This computer, however can also regain their old server back and well-adjusted enough to fend off against their opposing side. They can manage it without Lilith’s help. However, Lilith is interfering once again. She remains persistent to Lilith and her intimidating presence.
“You already done enough as you tore that virus apart. Your enemy is a demon now . . .”
Lilith held herself back to hear to someone that her enemy becomes like her own kind. It is sad enough of her own race to see those ascendances reaching the same likeness as hers.
Her magic blurred the view of the eyeing people around them. This is clearly something she wants to do so and willing to commit even she had to do it by force. Spokesman held firm on the bag and gives his hand to his wife. He said to Lilith
“Honey, there are more people to bent on your wrath. Let’s just wait and see what’s going on to their side, if they fail, you could see the obvious power flowing to the sky”
“Dear, I am sorry for not being your perfect wife. But they take you away from me”
The archscientist knows who Lilith is. She had done too much to gain so little and trying to pay the debts from the souls of the afterlife.
Lilith left to calm herself down while the two of them have their conversation. Her magic remained sealed and silent from the outsiders to hear. Archscientist thanked him
“I apologized not going to cooperate with her, but she alone shouldn’t be exposing herself among the Fuku City residence. We already found out of their rumors”
“Me too, I don’t have the prior knowledge about your situation. I honestly expecting myself to meet this enemy of hers”
“As always, she always sends her mind into your head”
“We are as one, by oath as I have faith with her. She has her debts”
Spokesman leaves, as the archscientist still receiving the subliminal message through her transmission. She must not waste time as she uses her runes to teleport herself into their hideout. Hearing what he said to her, she immediately stripped off her clothes during the teleportation commenced. All of her clothes left behind as she beamed out from the area. Lilith’s eyes look at the clothes left behind, as she left bewildered. The Dexter Guild had managed to escape another trick of her sleeves. Spokesman plays well to help the archscientist against the demoness’ wits.
The teleportation was a success as the room automatically discovered the user’s condition. The archscientist spared uniform sets in as it worn to her as fast as possible before materializing. She checks on the scanner from the location she left behind her clothes. The scanner shows contamination of magic presence on her and Spokesman’s involuntary magic flows with Lilith’s magic. She almost brought the computer with her adding and might cause an auto start when it interacts with the other computers. Spokesman had given himself another respect to the guild.
The hideout sees that everyone is ready themselves to sneak into Fuku City. The next phase of the operation to fully enclose the virus is on their way. Lady Coheld on screen sees her entering the room.
“All of the volunteers used of all of their efforts for this event to happen. You are here to bring these two soldiers inside the city for the client who entered our city before. Ignore their profiles and proceed with caution. I have already sent them one of you to enter their city. Here”
The archscientist receives a card pass and a letter from Fuku City. She responds “I can’t believe we could actually justify our action for once”
X2L turns his gaze to Lady Coheld’s hand gesture, down, and he said to the archscientist
“Affirmative, we apologize for your indirect involvement”
“I don’t care, I have my main goal from our head archscientist to research on the state of Taiyou Industries rebuilding effort. Just follow your roles within the department as I represent to Archscientist Coheld”
Lady Coheld sees her acting confident. Already know in her head that she is already being stressed out being with the specific companion. Watching how the life in this world made her sick to the bone. A professional hiding the real feeling in her heart. The archscientist is going in the society of the depraved communities, and more so with their client. The woman who works inside the hideout joins the archscientist with the other two soldiers. The last mission in the internet, they must complete it all to fit the agendas they have secretly plan since the invasion of the hackers from Fuku City.
The people who still are inside the website. Their systems are being corrupted then their UIs, controls, and even their own screen slowing down causing the worst lag they could ever see. Their sight can’t see clearly as it is endlessly loading, others receive failed input and output to every button in their controls as they press. The last thing is functioning is the warning sign to all of them that the computer virus is detected. Their own system firewall was able to resist it, but this virus quickly adapted once it touches it.
They started leaving by removing their equipment, either turning it off or lucky enough to logoff while severely slowing down. The digital environment is popping out from the neutral zone of the websites. The place they were teleported into wherethey finally defeated Tea. Their distorted dialogue is trying to reach one of them as it gives misunderstandable and confusing tone.
“What bzzt on bzzt?!”
“This bzzt out like crazy. Can bzzzzzt us?”
“We are losing control bzzzt, something is bzzt to the server”
“Not good, I can bzzt few words here and then”
“I can’t bzzt you’re saying”
“What some shit bzzzzt? Look!”
Across the distance as the website is being shattered and reformed into a different platform. The area turns into a landscape into a dystopian environment. High rise platforms floating to the air where the platforms give a scifi futuristic look to it. The platform is turned into a portal to some sort, and lights beaming towards them in red colors. Their distorted screen warns them is slowly consumed by the virus as they slowly escaping the area. The administrators started leaving, letting the remaining brave fools to watch it to the very last end. They are not ready to face. The neutral zone is surrounded by borders between the Dexter Guild and them as the barrier blocked the unknown threat.
The users who watch in point of view, suddenly left as the sudden burst of disconnection. The appearance what they say is matching the files they get from the Enders server. Identical pieces of its limbs and body, the static impulse moving into the source of the problem, and feasting it all the internet speed. A sudden movement going through to this virus, everything around it starts to corrupt as it being reoptimized under its own existence. The people who are in the zone are all left. The last remaining administrators watch it change the zone completely.
The administrator room was able to withstood the corrupted red virus. The man looks around to see any changes going around here. There is none, the users use him to check his surrounding as the cover frame is clearly from the social media website, but the entirety of its functions are in tuned with Dexter Guild’s software. To the last moment where the red light finally breached the room. The administrator room itself turned into a trap and chained the red light, surging back to the portal. Holding the incoming threat in place, for a time. Because of that, it causes the programs to become disoriented from the interaction. It shows the data that is converted from digital to magic.
The main room where the servers are. The people who are tried to stop the probe have failed. Flashes, the one who almost stops it before it transferring to the lone server, have left first trying to cooperate with the other software engineers about the situation. His companions follow him to finish their job. The man with the lump coal sighs
“I guess we are joining into the internet, huh?”
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Magnet doubts it “You can’t be sure, No one actually know how what to do inside. Fighting inside there I heard is like a videogame”
Their other companion responds “None of us know, let’s see how this turns out”
Inside the internet, in the main servers, the users are trying to go through the neutral zone. Everything they have done so far, it is useless. The data they have gathered, all the utilities and experimental test coding they have given them are near to useless under a short time. The computer virus they heard by the Dexter Guild under the name, Code Red. Its location is now at the neutral zone, as it is surrounded by borders between Dexter Guild’s abandoned dark web and the Fuku City’s protective firewalls.
It is clearly that the place they are transferred to. It is kind of remarkable how it sends it there, besides the lone server. One of them was able to see how the virus act. The traces of it going to them is just an assumption.
“Look at this Sir, we found something how it behaves. After being freed from the lone server, it immediately going through the internet to any sign of traffic going through the website. It was supposed to head to the main network but stops where one of the left-over traps made by Dexter Guild days ago”
“Left-over traps?”
“Yes Sir, where the areas remained neutral until our side took it over. They left behind some none functional hyperlinks. I mean traps . . .”
“Please, explain it directly. No more of the tech stuff and treated like this as magic”
“. . .”
“I am not a software engineer”
“Neither am I”
“Oh, shut up”
The other user comes in and explained it to him “What he is trying to say. They set up a trap specifically for that virus. We can’t clarify if it needed those people inside social media as bait, but objective is clear to bring it there”
He shows them the chart on their UIs. Tea’s last encrypted information before she fell. The rest of the data were corrupted when the red light enters the neutral zone. Only giving the message in such a broken state. The users read
“. . . Final mission complete, sending **** bzzt to all detail to . . . ****scientist”
One of them reacts “What is this?”
“It means they are not finished yet. To leave that virus revived inside of our servers will be free in the matter of time. We need to understand why they bring it there in the first place”
They begin to search any active users in the Dexter Guild’s side. None of them were active, others try the alternative with those large numbers of users during the time of meeting for the signing of the contract. Then they found inside the dark web. To the available users working inside the main servers, they were called out to find them. They need to know what they are goals are to bring it here. While the others who do know, plays along. They used their private chats to discuss about what they have brought into the internet.
“Oh fuck! Not even a week, they are advancing such an alarming rate”
“What on earth they have inside of their old computers?”
The chat turns absurd as a trail of comments with useless assumptions about Dexter Guild and other grievances they spout on the texts. The group chat has no collecting intake about it. Group of hackers speaking out after the other, until one person speaks out but passed by from the stream of comments.
One of the users who is not part of the hacking group was able to search that comment. While he checks on the private server, his community is all offline for the time. Carefully trying to mind everything he needs to know as the chaos is happening in the main servers. He found out the truth of the Dexter Guild’s involvement.
“If it wasn’t for the virus keeping the most important technology we have ever witness. You won’t even set foot inside the internet or better yet . . . Simulating the real world’s working methods to the digital space. You can’t see how advanced this world was if you can’t even find a single unrecognizable piece of equipment . . .”
The user finds the name of the commentor ‘Digidrimhak16’. Giving very important information “. . . Have you guys forgotten how their server slows down but still has functional websites? You even tried to intentionally ruined their catalogue of old files from within, and still failed to do so . . .”
He keeps scrolling as fast as the new comments buried the commentor’s post. Time after time, he is trying to look for the expected to be next post will be long. It finally appeared, and still no one is responding to him.
“. . . All of you don’t even read my damn post. If this keeps up, they will able to get all of us under these circumstances. One, the people who are engage with the hacking to their servers. They already keep track in each of every one of us. Two, this is not our fucking world here. They can do anything the fuck they want with us. Three, this is from Enders Bridge we’re messing with. This not some nation around the world, it is clearly next to the same massive region in the west. Four, they know how to operate their own fucking internet. Now you see we are in deep shit. Finally, five, what’s going to happen to us?”
The user continues scrolling down, as the commentator seem have to lost talking with the chat. The hackers are continuing arguing, until he himself stops reading it. One of his colleagues calling to them
“This is urgent. We are ordered to venture through the dark web to find them. Can anyone of you will be able to go there?”
The user raises his hands “I will”
“Good, anybody in the crowd will come along?”
No one is raising their hands. One of the users see that the people won’t volunteer are clearly hackers. There is one woman trying to go through from the back to the front. An icon appeared above her head showing the punishment as she was muted from the group. The user sees her by small margin among the crowd.
“Her! She looks like she wants to come as well”
“Her! Oh her, it is better to find someone else. She is being punished for causing trouble in the middle of the crisis here. We don’t want you to be jeopardize in the special search”
She looks at them trying to come along as the others are pulling her away. Muted, she shows only her UI screen with emojis from her own personal pic. The chat box and the voice chat were removed for her to use. The user looks at her desperately, but she shows more being angry among her peers.
“Would it be much better that she could come along? You guys seem not to ban her from the main servers”
The other user leans to him and said nervously “It is because the executive of this main servers brought her here to check on us. That’s her daughter, you know, one of the big tech company CEOs”
There he looks at the UI, where there are the options to kick her out. The other users don’t dare to press it as the agreement had already settled to let her stay. The woman starts to get feisty as the calls from the real world is now desperately trying to fix the aftermath of the lone server. They hear the news back in Fuku City
“We are quarantined the lone server. The devices inside the room of the lone server are being pulled into the internet. We secluded the room, and the room eventually vanished. The virus is now trying to spread but there are traces of the probe’s interference . . .”
The user hears the news and changes their mind. “This is not what I wanted to hear. Fine! Bring her with you, if anything happened to her, you’ll be the one will be facing her mother later”
He nods, and the group was being pushed away from her. She runs towards them as the mute is being removed. The woman finally speaks, but forgot that her volume reaches max. A loud shout heard, and he endure it in full blast.
“I want to join . . . My bad”
She changes the audio settings as the other users are preparing to send them to the dark web. They don’t want to listen her annoying voice, and the two immediately send to the enemy side of the internet.
Without giving her a chance to complain any further, they go through the process loading their accounts into the unknown dark web. The two appeared into the emptiness of the void. The woman looks at the user, as if they already know each other. Yes, they were
“I just can’t believe the hackers won’t set foot into the dark web. How many users are there in the main servers as our real co-workers?”
“All of them went out and check the actual servers inside the core networks”
“I just can’t believe how they are now managing the internet service without knowing how the internet still able provide services without its origin”
They look around the void as it is as empty as it seems. They checked their UIs, the location they are in where the last sighting to the robot’s confrontation with one of the Fuku adventurers. It should be a platform like game, or even a game mention from their reports. Website game, that is not for them to be surprise about like the other web browser games. To what they are expecting it to be, there is nothing.
“For now . . .” Someone speaks from the dark void. They listen to the voice
“WELL NOW, sorry. It seems two visitors from the other side are coming to join us. It would be great if you guys should’ve invaded our territories than going through the social media. Sigh* I can’t believe you two, of all people, entering to our side where that jerk or worse the red guy entered the internet again”
The robot appeared before them while the room is materializing. The woman looks at the robot, mistakenly thought to be character she knows.
“Wheatley?”
The user pulls her arm “No, that’s an AI. I guess they are what are left after the other users disconnected from the internet”
“We both know that, but this AI is actually acted one of the games I played”
“Oh, a rich girl like you play videogames”
“Don’t be ridiculous, if you play games like this one. This little eyeball robot has some nice character expression”
The robot responds “I heard that, and also calling me Wheatley. I guess you’re right, that I pretend to be the guy who is charming, questionable, and passive aggressive. The only thing I could ruin your life is . . .”
The two sees their UIs are being hacked, as it already reaching through their systems without their protection even notice. The two look at each other if this is not the right time to lose here. The user needs to act quickly
“Wait!”
“Oh, I’m done waiting, I’ve never seen you guys in a long time and I am rolling my eyes for days to fight”
The room has done materializing as the two have to face this mad machine. Their systems are already open and the robot shriek.
“AAH!”
The robot shakes itself around the air like rotating ball keep spinning randomly into the air as the platform appeared as it holds it like a piñata.
The arm that attached to the robot breaks accidentally as it fell to the ground. “AAH . . . I mean AAH! FOR REAL!”
It drops dead, the woman comes to it and picks it up “Ow! Not even screaming at you guys not seem to work. You know, they told me that screaming like an animal or a coward will scare you to death. Sigh* What’s going on in this cyberspace. I thought we were ready to face the virus with that trick . . .”
The two continue to listen to it as its dialogue is actually reminiscence the loser version of Wheatley. She likes it better to be the loser villain instead, however.
“. . . There is something I could do. Holding me like this seems like you are listening to me. Care to listen when I starting to think of a plan?”
The woman asks “What plan?”
“First I need to save myself from this hostage situation”
The user can’t hold himself from laughing. The robot was not too happy, and sarcastically says to him
“Har, har, very funny. Why not let me remind you people that the troopers take your friends head are coming sooner than you think. Hah?”
The robot wasn’t wrong. But there is no telling when they going into the dark web as they are on their way into the city. Both of them thought was another of his charms. The woman says to it
“Uhm, your name?”
“I don’t care if you name me. I was called so many names; C down, Flashes, Miss, Morbid, Chelly, and . . .”
She shuts it up, and said “How do you know my name?”
“Muffled mouth* . . . I told you, they called me that. I can’t to seem to have someone getting screamed to death. That’s why they call me . . .”
The woman muffled its mouth again. The user remembers the names
“C down or C, Flashes, Miss, Morbid, and Chelly. I think it is about to say my name too”
“Let’s ignore the introduction and let’s focus first what we are doing. Hey, care to explain why you people are doing this?”
The woman let it go her hand from its mouth. “I was hoping the same thing with my team. I know from the start it is more like a revenge plot for us to go against certain enemies. I bet you two didn’t know about the clash between hackers. Ours has the virus and we are a bit dull. Now that you guys took it, we want it back”
After it answers, they start wondering about the lone server. The user says to it “The virus also contained special documents about going in and out in the internet physically. It is so powerful with such technology to go through to another realm”
“Oh yeah, that. Uhm well, it is the same goes with spheres and realms by the way. The cyberspace is different. Ah? It is more like a tool to program stuff through the brain. To physically entered it is the experiment on its own. The virus, however, is no mortal I tell you that. As normal races to ever goes through it let your entire existence into mana along with runes. When it comes to worse, if the servers break. Everyone dies except for the demons, and all realms never have that issue”
The same goes the fate of the virus. The two learns that the virus is actually a demon. They tried to contact with the main servers, but no network connecting to here. It continues
“. . . If you continue the formula that neutral mana doesn’t equate to runes. There is no possibility for the cyberspace to exist at all, unless . . .”
The user sticks his head closer as she starts to feel worried about it. “. . . Unless, you will go through forbidden magic. Where neutral mana and runes are actually harmonized together, but it will destroy all orders of mana with fictional means . . .”
“. . . All they have to do is to make their own runes and compatible with the neutral mana itself to work together. Like Archscience tries to combine all mana into one and still follow the magic laws, then that experiment would likely to turn into reality or another form of absolute law of nature. Anyway, could you let me go now?”
The woman asks it one last thing “Then the virus we are facing it. It is a demon, right?”
“Absolutely, no living being ever ventured through this cyberspace world. Wait a minute, did someone other than demons entered here?”
One last thing for the user to say before they have to leave. Chelly sees his face looking grim, but she raises his spirit with comforting smile. He thought something dire as the Dexter Guild or the virus will find their private server eventually.
“There is a special server which we made for private means. Do you already know about it?”
The robot stood silent for a bit, talking about the secret private chat. It responds with a sad expression
“I’m sorry, there is no important data to look over it. You seem to be scared. Me too, I don’t know either about them and . . . why are you two so relief?”
The two is more relief and thought the Dexter Guild might have known about it, for now. There are more things to talk about with this Robot. Chelly turns to the user as she didn’t know his name.
“That’s right, your name”
“Me, Oh I forgot it’s”
“It’s Sugawala Lyou, correct?”
“What?” Chelly looks at the user’s expression as he looks at him with dead eyes. The robot explains to him
“You know darn well I said it. I don’t need calling you ‘It3ch’ for nothing. I’m sorry to break it to you, but I need your help user”
His name is so close to expose. The threat of the virus is a demon is near to where he is frozen still. Knowing his true name will be fated for his life to be under control, he feels begging for this AI for mercy, and the robot sees it. He reluctantly said
“Why would you do this?”
The robot gives an angry look “I am not here to murder you, b-u-u-t. I have no obligation to fail here too. Let’s get to the point, let me talk nonsense for the entire time, while you guys need to learn how my people is. I know we are the most unredeemable group, but why do we need to be rational as we are the vast superior group”
They already expected it, but not like this. A threat coming from an AI.