[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer":3,"chapter-cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-561":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Cyberpunk: Cross-dimensional Science and Engineering",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},1152518,1495,"Chapter 557 - 528: The Web Monitor Agent in Pursuit of the Truth","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-561",561,"\u003Cp>[Lille: I need to restore communication and investigate some places I find highly suspicious.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Lille: Hack into the Voodoo Gang’s equipment.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey,\" Lille patted Matt, \"You’re Matt, right? Relax, just lead the way. You’re pretty brave for a kid, surviving in Taiping State at such a young age, aren’t you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Matt’s smile was uglier than a cry—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, big brother, you’re asking me to lead you into Voodoo Gang territory and you expect me to smile?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In reality, the Voodoo Gang is like the local overlords of Taiping State, a hybrid of Night City gangs and NCPD, secretive and cruel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For those who don’t follow the rules or attempt to challenge them, they wield Night City’s top-notch network technology to strike, causing mysterious deaths akin to witchcraft, impossible to guard against.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They are repelled by the people of Night City; in a sense, much like street hustlers dislike corporate stooges, they dislike city dwellers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite their xenophobia, they do make some contributions, such as occasionally providing food for the kids at fixed spots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wherever the Voodoo Gang is, there are network devices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Big brother... just kidding... this is the place...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Matt pointed tremblingly at the ramshackle food cart in front of them, mentally apologizing like mad to the Voodoo Gang and cursing himself for his loose lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Survival is key.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the food cart was a small building where the Voodoo Gang sometimes sold things, and incidentally gave these kids some worthless food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, this was not the core control area of the Voodoo Gang. Gang members were holed up at home repairing equipment, and others wanted nothing to do with them at this time, so the place was deserted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille stepped forward, pointing at the camera on the roof, and Jack leaped up, tearing down the device in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Lille and V suddenly realized that Jack seemed a lot thinner—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was already slim, but now... he looked a bit starved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not bad...\" Lille pulled out Matt’s personal link to jack into the machine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bro! You’re my bro!\" The 10-year-old unleashed tremendous strength, retreating back furiously and crashing to the floor, nearly pulling the frail Lille down with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The youngster’s face was the color of liver: \"Hacking into the Voodoo Gang will get you killed! No one can hack them! I don’t want to die!!!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Voodoo Gang is the strongest cyberpower in Night City, even a bit of a headache for the Net Watch. They are like cockroaches on the net, no real threat to the Net Watch, but...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like cockroaches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Lille, it’s pretty much the same—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Voodoo Gang is desperate to gain knowledge from the other side of the Black Wall, to master AI technology, but Lille isn’t lacking in that department.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jack lifted Matt up by the scruff of his neck, his feet dangling, terrified: Holy shit, I’m not going to die, am I?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All Lille said was, \"Don’t be so absolute, kid.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Voodoo Gang’s so-called expertise is nothing but child’s play, a reputation merely meant to scare the culturally ignorant, like vagrants, mercenaries, and fugitives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, before entering Dog Town, Lille wanted to confirm all the suspicions surrounding the situation. It’s best to proceed discreetly to avoid startling the snake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Lille’s words, Matt was stunned for a moment and, before he could resist any further, was hooked up to the device.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Lille thought, breaking into the Voodoo Gang’s system with Munemasa was a matter of moments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The building’s damaged circuits were selectively bypassed by Munemasa, the current reaching the signal devices in the room, and the roof’s dish antenna began to operate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the networks between Night City and Taiping State were nearly incommunicable due to nuclear radiation and geomagnetic disturbances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille had just frowned when he noticed a covert and familiar communication frequency appearing in Taiping State.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Net Watch had someone on their way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[hQEMA5n\u002FYT8YyV\u002F7AQf+R3cFOS3s7v5...]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Zzt...]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Zzt—]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When electricity was first discovered, those who relied on it learned its basics and generally knew where it came from.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as electricity became cheaper, people cared less about how it was generated and focused more on what it could do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 2077, ask a child from a region with well-developed infrastructure where electricity comes from, and they might point to the air and say:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Isn’t electricity everywhere?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Communications signals are another kind of convenient technology that’s hard to notice; many people don’t understand it, nor do they need to. So when the Electromagnetic Pulse thoroughly decimated Night City’s communications systems and long-distance power grids, many panicked, while others saw it as an opportunity—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time for a free-for-all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wealthy holed up indoors while the hard-working denizens of Night City and some shadowy figures in the dark plotted deeds far worse than just looting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tonight would surely not be a peaceful night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blais drove the Net Watch communications van over the flyover, passing the chaotic streets. Those bold enough to try and rob him mysteriously fell to the ground, none wiser to how the van did it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Headquarters had ordered him to re-establish a base in Taiping State, and this time with higher equipment specifications:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had to be able to withstand the geomagnetic disturbances caused by nuclear radiation and the Electromagnetic Pulse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At close range, such sophisticated equipment could effortlessly fry a person’s Prosthetics and electronic devices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feeling the chaos outside, Blais’s thoughts were a whirl as he slowly made his way over the overpass and entered the Taiping State area through the communication dead zone created by the nuclear radiation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Signal transmission initiated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[hQEMA5n\u002FYT8YyV\u002F7AQf+R3cFOS3s7v5+alMhMI1nUVY\u002FGT1CM1tkKpR5H1FvGy+jWBBuB4ybp5FN3G5FykJvAiO5k8YZcOOhJmOrBbSj3wOVo5afBl5E45JJbECYNtK9STvIY\u002FAJcZYWkaO9p5WYlNdpJ0MTgjyTO6EOw3Q4tQCTAvXSPic2RjtANQ===Xz4k]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was an encrypted code, on the communication channel he had used previously with Lille.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As two people equally skilled in network technology, the frequency bands they used for communication could be divided into three categories by direction:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first category was one-way transmission from network surveillance, the second was one-way transmission from Burger King, and the third was two-way instant communication.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the first category.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The encrypted message contained the coordinates and the key to the communication base vehicle Blais had previously left in Taiping State.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After decoding, it revealed the location of the Great Empire Mall where the communication vehicle was stored, and made it possible to take over the network surveillance equipment without triggering self-destruction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only difficulty in getting this device was the Animal Gang enforcers he had hired who were guarding the site, a bunch of muscle-headed dimwits, but...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bulging muscles were the greatest advantage tonight, with everyone’s prosthetics malfunctioning, what’s left was well-exercised muscle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything he was doing was based on the premise that Burger King was still alive: that was the nuclear bomb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a night of high-intensity combat, could they really have survived the nuclear explosion?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blais gripped the steering wheel, listening impassively to the sounds of gunfire, shouting, and cursing from all over Taiping State.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two-way communication came faster than Blais had expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Zzzt...]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Network surveillance signal accessed\u002Fspecial communication protocol\u002Fcutting off long-distance communication mode\u002Fenhancing communication mode.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Zzzt——]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[zY2o#E: You’ve got guts, huh? Selling off company property? You’re not here to set a trap for me, are you?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Lille: This device is not bad.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blais pounded the steering wheel hard, and the car’s horn blared, startling the vagrants cursing at him to take off running!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Blais: I thought you were dead, just like those idiots who set off the nuclear bomb in Arasaka Tower fifty years ago.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Blais: Don’t you owe me one... a lot of explanations?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Lille: If you’re asking about the Ye Group, I have some news, but I’d rather you didn’t report this to network surveillance just yet.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Lille: The actual controller of the Ye Group is a rogue AI with the ability to directly influence human minds, and Perares is a victim. The brainwashing probably started from the moment he received his first scholarship from the Ye Group.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Blais: ...]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Blais: What evidence do you have?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Lille: I guess your files have records, Perares had an older brother who supported him through college and died from overwork, buried in the digital cemetery of Night City.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Lille: But he has not visited there in a long time, nor has he mentioned this brother.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Lille: Yet he used to emphasize their closeness—this doesn’t add up, and it should paint a striking feature in your character profile of him.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An older brother who worked himself to death to fund his education, often emphasized their close relationship, but seemed to forget about him once he climbed into high society.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such behavior was either utter ingratitude or extreme hypocrisy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blais immediately pulled up the company’s profile on Perares, which was also why he disfavored this seemingly better mayor and preferred Ryan:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The man is indifferent, two-faced, and deeply calculating, a politician as ruthless as a computer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was this the doing of an AI?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blais was completely stunned:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without concrete proof, Lille’s words hit the mark accidentally, because that very night, just moments ago, Perares went down to the cemetery with a newly hired security team!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For many years, he had never visited, but he chose tonight of all nights!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that’s the case... perhaps there’s a lot more about Burger King’s actions that could be explained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time, Blais felt that sensation of grasping at the veil of truth, that feeling of being just one step away from completely lifting that veil and uncovering the truth...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before that, he had one more question, a question that needed an answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Blais: You... I’m coming over now.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Lille: Forget it, I know what you’re up to, I’m not AI, if you want to see me, go to Dog Town.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Lille: I’ll be there, and you can still claim your intelligence gathering was a success, catching my trail.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Lille: I took the car with me, don’t come.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Blais: Fuck you! Don’t run! I still have things to deal with!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Blais: Dare to hang up and I’ll rattle you right now!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lille’s hand, about to shut down the communication, paused and shook his head slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No way to deal with this superficially savvy, but actually green Agent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Lille: Make it quick.]\u003C\u002Fp>",1693,"2026-06-03T12:33:32.470Z","2026-06-03T12:33:39.371Z",1,"novelbin.me","c4dfcc22e8962281e5858aa9cf4e81a935a798e50d3b7f0511a10c55d6f0782e","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-717","cyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-chapter-716",1068,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcyberpunk-cross-dimensional-science-and-engineer-cover.jpg"]