NOVEL WEB Chapter 49: 41
ADVANCE CHAPTER IN PATREON
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"Welcome to Clouds, where you can discover what your heart truly desires."
"Would the three guests please access our terminal?"
As soon as Alex Carter, V, and Jack entered Clouds, the front desk greeted them politely.
Thanks to Alex's prior briefing, V and Jack kept their true purpose under wraps.
After Alex connected to the terminal, the screen buffered momentarily before presenting two options.
Yes, two women.
This scene caught Alex a bit off guard.
In the game, due to Johnny's influence on the chip, the options were indeed gender-specific: one male, one female.
Alex had always thought Johnny might have been a bit flamboyant.
Even now, he was prepared to endure the front desk girl's curious looks.
Until he saw these two "normal" options for himself.
Only then did he realize...
Turns out, the flamboyant one was actually male V!?
He suddenly recalled the macho magazine on male V's bedside and Kerry's storyline...
Everything seemed to make sense now.
After selecting someone at random and setting a security password, the trio finally entered Clouds.
"According to the plan, you head to the private room first. I'll head to the VIP section."
"Alright, stay safe. We'll..."
"Zzzzz..."
Before V could finish, a burst of static interrupted their communication.
Then T-Bug's voice suddenly came through.
"I see your signals at Clouds. Already on the job?"
In a short span, T-Bug had established a secure communication channel.
"T-Bug? How did you..."
The three of them shared puzzled looks.
They knew T-Bug was skilled, but how did she know what they were up to without any notice?
"Don't be surprised. The braindance editor contacted me beforehand and hired me to assist you."
Judy?
Alex frowned slightly.
Judy reaching out to T-Bug was indeed a significant change.
But it was beneficial.
With T-Bug setting up a secure communication channel, they could coordinate more effectively.
After briefly explaining the mission to T-Bug, the three split up.
V and Jack entered the pre-arranged private room, trying to gather intel through the dolls.
Meanwhile, Alex discreetly eliminated a Clouds security guard and obtained a clearance card after T-Bug hacked all the cameras.
Striding confidently upstairs, V's voice came through the comms.
"I just checked Evelyn's private room and found her behavior chip seems compromised."
"Hold on, let me take a look." T-Bug shifted her focus from Alex to V.
Soon, she came to a definitive conclusion.
"She was remotely hacked."
So it was true?
Alex's eyes narrowed slightly.
In the game, V and Johnny knew little about Evelyn's hacking incident.
They could only make rough guesses, which were sidelined by the main storyline.
But having played multiple times, Alex had his theories.
It's known that the Voodoo Boys hired Evelyn.
The Voodoo Boys are essentially Night City's hacker hub, though they have little external interaction.
Their hacking skills are top-notch.
From the game's content, it's evident that Evelyn eavesdropped on the Voodoo Boys' conversations.
And upon realizing the chip's significance, driven by ambition, she reached out to the Voodoo Boys' rivals: NetWatch.
She wanted to capitalize on this.
Moreover, Arasaka's wrath over the chip theft was immense.
To retaliate and distance themselves, the Voodoo Boys had every reason and the means to deal with Evelyn using their methods.
Of course, up until now, these were just Alex's speculations.
But with T-Bug confirming Evelyn's behavior was indeed the result of a remote hack, Alex felt more confident in his theory.
Thinking this through, he asked softly, "T-Bug, can you trace the attacker's information?"
"Let me try."
"The attacker likely used the building's local network as a springboard to hack Evelyn. I can trace some cached data."
"Hmm, the general location seems to be in Pacifica... damn!"
T-Bug exclaimed, and then the communication channel abruptly cut off.
Alex's heart skipped a beat.
He didn't know much about hacker tactics.
But it was clear T-Bug had encountered a problem!
"Zzz..."
"Damn, that was a close call."
The communication reconnected, and T-Bug's voice brought relief to Alex, V, and Jack.
"T, what just happened?" Jack asked, puzzled.
"I tracked the cached data to Pacifica, but the attacker noticed me. Luckily, they didn't break through my ICE."
T-Bug's voice was filled with relief.
The hacker duel was fraught with danger.
If the opponent had broken her ICE, she might have ended up like Evelyn.
Hearing T-Bug's conclusion, a sneer crossed Alex's face.
Pacifica, just as expected!
The Voodoo Boys' base is in Pacifica.
In other words, there's a 99% chance the hackers who attacked Evelyn were the Voodoo Boys!