Corporate Intrigue 2
After the hacking code fiasco, the entrance ceremony was halted, and ImmuneWire was turned completely upside down.
"Find them! We can't just let this slide!"
"Do you have any idea how sincere our company is toward talented individuals? And they pull this shit?!"
When the 'higher-ups' start chiming in on matters like this, it's always a bit annoying. Pretending to care about the company or the kids while raising their voices—it was quite the spectacle. Did the headquarters security team actually listen to their 'advice'? Probably not; pros like them would ignore it. Office-dwellers buried in paperwork giving pointers on security? Yeah, that doesn't fly...
Most of the new students, including me and Clea, were stuck sitting in the auditorium on indefinite standby. The adults were rushing around, conducting a massive check on not just cyberspace but the entire building's security status. But despite the efforts of Secretary Office 3 and the headquarters security team, there was nothing beyond the hacking code. The intruder had planted it and slipped away clean. A perfectly stealthy operation. This was the biggest reason people feared bitmancers.
If it had succeeded, no one would have known. We only found out because it failed. How many bitmancers out there were pulling off 'successful' operations right now? Even I got a little chill thinking about it.
If the info on V and Alphabet had leaked, it would've been game over that day.
Good job.
o(≧▽≦)o ♡
No matter who the culprit was, I had to acknowledge their skill in toying with a megacorp's headquarters. On the flip side, ImmuneWire's pride had taken a serious hit. A world-class cyber security firm, picked clean by a single slippery eel.
"We'll send all the students to their assigned dorms."
"You want me to leave my kid in a place where security's been breached? You joking? If something happens, you taking responsibility?"
"We'll maintain maximum security levels until the situation is resolved. Are you implying you doubt ImmuneWire's systems?"
"Well..."
I overheard the exchange between the security staff and the higher-ups. Their faces twisting under the staffer's pressure was almost amusing. Those people were just cogs in the ImmuneWire machine too. Whether genuine or not, showing loyalty and trust toward the company was part of the game in society.
Turning my head, I saw the professor who'd been flirting with me earlier, now arrested by the security team. They'd probably drag him off somewhere, poke around in his brain, and see if anything turned up. If they didn't catch the real culprit, he might end up as a scapegoat to save face... Unfortunate, but not my problem to solve.
On the other side of the auditorium, they were removing the hacking code from the kids' heads. Clea and I had deleted ours ourselves, so we were exempt. All we could do was hold hands, sit in our chairs, and kill time blankly. While idly people-watching to stave off boredom, my eyes met Clea's. She grinned brightly, so I smiled back.
Of course, I wasn't really doing nothing.
> Copy complete.
> Original preserved, machine learning initiated.
I'd kept a duplicate copy of the hacking code. Activating my ocular cyberware, I could see the small, red data block resting in my palm. I planned to analyze it.
If this incident originated from ImmuneWire's upper echelons as I suspected, the security team's investigation would be pointless. You can't expect honesty from cops investigating themselves. Of course, I might be overthinking it. There were big shots everywhere here. It wasn't necessarily targeted at me—someone else could have been the mark. If the analysis showed that, great.
As I fiddled with the block, lost in thought, the situation seemed to settle somewhat, and Svetlana approached me.
"Miss, it looks like they couldn't find anything. Not even a tail."
"Yeah?"
"Headquarters techs are analyzing the hacking code, and the case is being handed to security. It'll take a while for results."
Secretary Office 3 answered to the chairman and were assigned to assist me. Security handled incidents like this by rights, but someone at HQ burying it didn't seem far-fetched.
"It's our job to protect you... but you handled it yourself this time. We're ashamed."
"These things happen."
I got it. They couldn't monitor every ID card handed out by the academy.
"We'll escort you. There's a special dorm prepared for you, miss."
"Do the other kids have assigned dorms?"
"Most are VIPs... so they stay in private dorms, with a few in shared facilities."
Meaning the dirt-poor kids get lumped together.
"Then take Clea to my room too."
Clea, who'd been quietly listening, jumped in surprise.
"Really? I can come too?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Yay!"
Svetlana, on the other hand, looked troubled.
"Are you sure, miss?"
"Security concerns? It's Clea. My childhood friend."
"It's not that simple. Your friend could become a 'vulnerability' against you."
Like how the ID card had been used in this attack. Clea, offended by the implication, shouted:
"I would never betray Neige!"
"That's not what I—"
As Svetlana struggled to explain, I cut in.
"Having Clea out there in this mess makes me anxious. I'll trust you to protect us, sis."
"If you put it that way... we'll do our best. Miss Clea, please come with us."
Svetlana extended a gentle hand to Clea, but Clea slapped it away, clearly displeased, and turned her head.
"...Is something wrong?"
Staring at the flustered Svetlana, Clea snapped:
"Why's Neige 'miss' and I'm just 'friend'? Call me 'miss' too!"
"Pardon?"
Svetlana glanced at me subtly. I just shrugged.
"...Understood. Miss Clea, we'll escort you."
"Ehehe."
Clea wriggled happily at the title, dopamine flooding her system. She'd been like this since we were kids. I remembered when she tried to pass off chocolate as 'repaying a favor'—I accepted, and she threw a fit saying it wasn't enough. Stubborn as hell when things didn't go her way. The secretaries were in for it. Not my problem, though.
Σ(°△°|||)
The room assigned to me wasn't a 'room'—it was closer to a ultra-luxury penthouse. One side housed the secretaries' quarters, the other a private lab. Bedroom, living room—all top-tier. This level screamed chairman's personal touch. The unspoken pressure to dive into Alphabet research was palpable. No wonder Cashian wanted out of the Erebus Core. With me as his hope, the old man must be desperate.
"Security's been triple-checked by Secretary Office 3. Please relax."
"Whoa... Neige, you've been living like this...?"
As Clea gawked, touring the place, I skipped the fun and got to work.
"Svetlana sis, mind if I use the puppet module?"
"May I ask why?"
"Open cyberspace."
I floated the red data block above my hand. She'd see it too.
"Copy of the hacking code from the attack. Gonna analyze it."
"Dangerous, miss. HQ's already on it."
"I found and deleted it myself. I can handle it. And... what if it came from HQ?"
"...I see. Using the puppet module to hide the results?"
Svetlana, convinced, inserted the module without hesitation. Her eyes went dull. I issued the command.
"Svetlana sis, keep everyone out of the lab."
"Yes, miss."
Confirming the module worked, I turned to Clea.
"Clea, give me some alone time. No one enters the lab, okay?"
"Huh? Oh, sure..."
Clea looked disappointed mid-tour, but I headed straight in coldly. For her safety. No second-guessing.
The lab interior matched the penthouse's quality.
"Supercomputer too, huh."
Amid cutting-edge gear, one corner held the body I'd built for V.
"V, move."
"You called, master?"
She opened her eyes instantly. The doll's edge: my language module let V speak like a human. Plus, the onboard computer boosted compute power beyond my brain alone.
With robot maid V operational, I booted another terminal and dove into ImmuneWire's intranet.
> A-1 code owners confirmed.
> Providing info.
It held troves of ImmuneWire data. I cleared out useless crap like 'someone got beaten to death somewhere' and pulled up their tech codes. Pure human ingenuity, no AI assist. Seven years ago, post-A-1 code, I'd fed them all to V for machine learning. Originally for Alphabet research, but handy here too.
Meaning: If ImmuneWire tech was in this code, V would know.
"Already analyzed? Spill."
"Not ImmuneWire style."
"Show me the internal codes?"
V unplugged, linked to the central table. Holograms bloomed, codes floating in air. I read them myself.
"Yeah... no tuning traces. Not based on ImmuneWire tech at all."
Not an inside job? Not necessarily—could be an insider masking with external tech.
Scanning deeper, I hunted anomalies. Found one.
"...This looks like you."
Human code is human-readable. Obvious, but key in an AI era. Human code has intuition: A leads to B, B to C. Follow the chain, grasp the structure.
This hacking code? Chaotic mess. Like spotting AI art from 2020s by human-unlikely errors.
"Agreed, master. But not Alphabet's."
"Yeah, you or Alphabet would've made it sleeker."
Not ImmuneWire, not human, not Alphabet—too inefficient. Left: AIs born to kill Alphabet.
"Cyberdemon."
Had one crossed the Erebus Line? Nah, it'd hide precisely in ID codes then.
Staring at V, I concluded.
"Someone beyond the Erebus Line subdued a cyberdemon, stole its data, ripped a chunk, and loosed it in HQ."
Cyberdemons numbered tens of thousands. During Alphabet War, humanity unleashed them indiscriminately against Alphabet. Failed to kill it, but they split, evolved, multiplied—Dead Sector became hell. Some weakened in the food chain.
A 5-year-old me survived one; a skilled bitmancer could take it down. Hell-survivor code? Easy to breach ImmuneWire.
But... who the hell unleashes cyberdemon code in HQ?
"Info-sniffing code, right...?"
Musing aloud. Attacker wanted something in the heads of us 100-ish new students. Besides me, whose brain was worth cyberdemon-level risk? Busy hunting Alphabet flaws already. Too risky to ignore, too chaotic amid research...
Clutching my overheating head, the lab door burst open.
"What? Sis, I said no one—"
"Even Svetlana can't stop some people."
Over 200cm of beefy frame, handsome to an annoying degree. Fellow A-1 holder. The chief secretary stood there.
"Nice to meet you, Neige."
"...Chief Secretary?"
"Yes, glad you remember. Know my name?"
"Not yet..."
"Time to learn. Klaus Richter."
"Got it, Chief Klaus. What brings you?"
Klaus was a prime suspect. Only other A-1 holder besides me. He didn't know how I got it. Info-sniffer code? Motive to probe.
A giant like him feared no backlash.
Klaus shut the door himself for privacy.
"Here to clear the air."
"Air?"
"You think I'm behind the attack."
His voice cut like a blade.
"Ha."
Threatening a 12-year-old? I scoffed deliberately—it didn't faze me.
Some looks backfire on crazies.
Klaus smiled apologetically.
"Never said I suspected you. Here to confess?"
"No, respecting your smarts. I'd suspect me too."
'Respecting intelligence'—odd phrasing.
"Smart people think from others' views. 'If I were chief secretary, I'd wonder about a 12-year-old with A-1.' Sound familiar?"
He sat in a lab chair—big one, but dwarfed.
Without waiting:
"Spot on. Curious who you are, what you do. But I'm not dumb enough to cause a scene over that."
He eyed V's body in the corner.
"Know that's the public lie. Truth's just you and the chairman."
"So? Get to the point."
"Neige, Chairman's Secretary Office thinks the culprit's among your fellow new students."
A peer? With cyberdemon code?
"We have evidence. Before going public, one check."
He leaned in, closing distance.
"Care to cooperate, A-1 to A-1?"