Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 810 - 668: Escape is Useless

Chapter 810: Chapter 668: Escape is Useless

Time and again, Tsuchigumo shot out her spider silk, slicing through the air at high speed.

Tsuchigumo was very satisfied with her body coordination, explosive power, and muscle quality, feeling as though she had returned to her days as an assassination ninja, her graceful silhouette reflected by the blue-green glass of the office buildings above, feeling contentment from deep within her heart.

The wandering citizens below, hearing the noise, looked up only to catch a fleeting glimpse of Tsuchigumo’s figure, like an ephemeral ballet in the mortal realm. Many more remained oblivious, simply pleased to be out and about on a warming afternoon.

Tsuchigumo was skilled, but within Renwang Security, she was far from the strongest; she knew there were several people much more powerful than herself.

This gathering of strong forces at Renwang Security, however, came too late, missing the opportunity to enter the market and blocked from it by the overbearing Nestor Corporation, unable to even return to their home in the Northern Archipelago.

This must be corrected.

Utilizing her silk for high-speed maneuvering, Tsuchigumo swung back and forth until finally reaching the edge of Anjiu City.

She perched atop a large street lamp, squatting and looking down at the entrance of a bar below.

The bar was called "He Club," welcoming only those patrons with refined tastes and elegance, with some traveling all the way from Shangjing to savor the fine wine here.

—That was the case ten years ago.

With the arrival of the era of economic turmoil, the bar was one of the many to fall in the sweeping closures. Now, all Tsuchigumo could see before her was the dust-covered sign of He Club and a filthy entrance cluttered with cardboard boxes.

All the better for the hackers to operate. Tsuchigumo thought to herself.

In the past, three adept hackers used this bar as a cover, establishing their base here to hack into Tristan Bank and steal funds, importing networking equipment from the West Coast of New Taixi State and creating their workshop beneath the bar.

These hackers engaged in secretive hacking operations in the basement, leading an invisible life unknown to the world. The nature of hacking called for the utmost secrecy, for fear of discovery and subsequent destruction by the network engineers of rival companies.

Tsuchigumo wasn’t even sure if they were indeed working in this basement; dealing with hackers was known to be one of the most deceptive activities in the world, her only lead being information from a reliable middleman.

If they were still here, they might be able to assist her.

Tsuchigumo sought contact with these most secretive master hackers to probe into the covert information of Nestor Corporation, seeking opportunities for Renwang Security’s future return to the region.

Nestor Corporation had monopolized 95% of the security services in the Northern Archipelago, the remaining 5% not enough to sustain Renwang Security.

Only by hacking to steal information could they weaken Nestor Corporation.

Nestor Corporation was definitely not as flawless as advertised; there must be stains in their record. By stealing these scandals and breaking their market reputation, Renwang Security would be able to return to the Northern Archipelago and have a share of the spoils.

It was difficult to enter He Club, all entrances were sealed off, but this was not a problem for Tsuchigumo, as she could move just like a real spider.

She unfolded the four giant limbs on her back; they were like deadly blades, easily piercing through the back entrance of the bar.

Then she entered soundlessly, moving on her four claws like a terrifying arthropod, the only noise being the faint clatter of her knife-like feet hitting the ground.

After entering He Club, Tsuchigumo saw everything covered in dust in the dim light, all valuables taken away and sold to fill the financial void of the proprietor, Seio Jichiro.

Looking around, all that was left were the concrete floors, the dark bar counter, and the metal wine rack fused with the wall.

She used one of her four claws to pry open the secret basement door in the proprietor’s office; that’s where these cool, calculating hacking experts should be.

Tsuchigumo remembered that the group was roughly two men and a woman, their ultimate goal being to rob a Digital Mind to gain secret techniques comparable to well-known companies and giants, truly entering the world of networking.

They were still here.

Tsuchigumo saw the networking lights were on, the circuits and optical cable boxes on the wall were intact, and as she moved her claws, she could hear the buzzing of the circuits as if the hackers in the workshop had sensed her arrival.

Only when the hatch opened did the dark blast-proof coded door underneath become visible, with an azure screen on the side that could only be opened by inputting a specific key.

This was a simple way to identify friend from foe; only a true friend could open the door and enter. Sometimes they would deliberately release a false code, and entering it would only trigger a trap, causing endless trouble for any self-assured intruder.

Tsuchigumo was well aware of this and also knew that she had the real code.

Sure enough, after entering the code, the blast-proof door unlocked, and through a speaker in the walls, a distorted hoarse androgynous voice came.

"How did you find this place?"

"Don’t worry—there’s no ill intent, a middleman referred you to me." Tsuchigumo retracted her massive limbs to her back and stood firm in her spot.

"What do you want?" asked the hacker, their voice synthesized by the program, emotionless.

"Information. Information about Nestor Corporation," Tsuchigumo emphasized.

"How much money did you bring?" the hacker queried.

"1 million," Tsuchigumo replied.

"Is that all the budget you have?"

"The price is negotiable, as long as you’re capable of getting the information we need," Tsuchigumo exhaled with relief.