Cyberpunk: XYZ

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Chapter 15: Guided To The Abyss II

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[Ready] X saw her response in his computer as he eyed his target, the largest building around which he could see through the window.

The large building is exactly the Tyger Claws' base of operation in Old Japantown, and there lies Johnson, the unsuspecting prey.

Johnson is the man's English name as it is easier to pronounce than his original name.

He's well regarded in the Tyger Claws, although his influence mainly revolves around this side of NC, Old Japantown.

There is a reason he set his eyes here, in contrast to the top brass of the Tyger Claws who prefer business.

He's not good at business, and his philosophy is quite different than theirs, favoring force over anything else.

The top brass of the Claws believe business is preferable to war in the long run, but many of the rank-and-file gangers are sadistic brutes prone to violence.

Abduction, torture, sexual assault, and cruel or unusual killings are just a few examples of their depravity.

Therefore, many of the Tyger Claws prefer his ruthless methods. X knows because he studied him thoroughly.

In fact, X had studied the entire gang thoroughly, at least as much as he could before going forward with his plans.

X first made sure there were no hidden surveillance devices in the broken room before getting to work.

[We have at least thirty minutes after connecting to their Net before we are detected, so let's consider it at most thirty minutes]

X typed in his computer as he started his work, just in case there were any covert listening devices around, although unlikely.

[If there is no opportunity, then consider the operation a failure, and immediately clear our traces] X ordered.

[I understand... 1... 2... 3.... Connection initiated]

[If necessary, you can overload this computer's hardware... It will be useless after today]

All X needed was to connect to the Tyger Claws' private network, and he's now close enough to do so.

That would normally be something that's very difficult if he didn't have Joi to help.

Thankfully, Joi is a capable artificial intelligence, a bit backward but still more than enough to infiltrate the Tyger Claws' network and send a simple code in.

The base of operation of the Tyger Claws in Old Japantown doesn't have Net security strong enough to cause Joi much trouble.

It would've been a different story if they had targeted the Tyger Claws' headquarters.

Moreover, the infiltration didn't involve any malicious access as all X needs is a way to send a specific code to Johnson.

Johnson was Vik and X's client, and the latter personally saw the installation of the Berserk implant which is basically an operation system.

It takes the place of what was previously your spine, thus it needs an operational code by which it functions.

X used that to sneak in some harmless pieces of code in the refilling sessions, and all he needs now is one last piece of code for all of those codes to assemble and form malware.

Joi's job is to help deliver that piece of code to Johnson's internal agent, the latter being the modern-age phones.

Normally, the implants would have some security system in place, but X made sure to leave holes in most of Johnson's implants, especially in his Berserk implant and Internal Agent.

Therefore, the moment that X and Joi had access to Johnson, they also acquired access to the Tyger Claws' Net through him.

Johnson was unaware, but at the very moment, anything he saw through his cyber eyes, X could also see.

However, he soon became aware. The moment he sat down and finished his Cuban cigar and put it down, he found himself paralyzed.

Even if he wasn't alone in his office, people would still find it hard to notice as Joi picked the perfect moment as X instructed.

The man's arms fell naturally on the chair's arms. He was unable to move even a muscle, completely paralyzed.

That loss of control was horrifying, especially for someone of his stature. Dread slowly took over him, realizing that he had just become a lamb for slaughter.

The Berserk cyberware replaces the spine, and most importantly, it replaces the spinal cord.

And considering that the spinal cord is the column of nerves that connects your brain with the rest of your body, allowing you to control your movements; that would mean complete paralysis if Berserk stopped functioning.

X not only got to see with his own eyes the danger of chroming up, but he also was the one to cause it.

[Hello. My instructions will be clear and brief. If you do not follow my instructions, I will deactivate you. Blink if you understand]

"... Y... Y... Yeah," Johnson didn't blink but tried to speak, taking the opportunity to see if he could scream and alert someone... He could barely talk.

A complete spinal cord failure typically does not directly affect speech or voice.

However, it can affect the diaphragm and other muscles involved in breathing, which is what happened, or rather, what Joi, calculated.

Thus, Johnson could barely breathe, let alone scream, but he could think, although the shortness of breathing was starting to make him a little dizzy.

Whoever was targeting him is powerful. Hell, they were able to completely shut off his operation system, Berserk.

The identity of the attacker must be a corpo. The only other possible option would be his Ripperdoc.

However, the problem is that he sought an outside Ripperdoc to install his personally handpicked Berserk implant... Could he have done that?

How? Johnson did regular checkups with people to make sure the outside Ripperdoc didn't mess anything up, and there were no problems.

That leaves corpos... Some kind of corporation has targeted him, but why? Unfortunately, Johnson didn't have more time to think about it nor did he need to as the female voice stated the answer for him.

[In a moment, I will restart your spinal cord. You will get back control. Then you will link to the computer before you]

'I will get back control,' Johnson was stunned.

[I'm an AI. I can process things faster than you do. Now, I'm in your body, so everything you attempt to do, I will know before you do it, and I will paralyze you again... Follow instructions]

[After you link to the computer, I will proceed with my job. Your job then would be to invite Hamada here and have him link to any device in this building... We'll then deactivate him]

[We know he's your enemy, your competitor in the Tyger Claws for Old Japantown. Therefore, after his death, you should have more control]

[And sometime after which, someone will contact you with a business deal for a specific area in Old Japantown... You'll accept that deal, and you'll forget we ever made contact... Understood?]

If Johnson could let out a sigh of relief, he would've done so. However, he couldn't, not when he was starving for more oxygen. He could only blink as an affirmation.

Johnson finally got back control over his body, sweating profusely out of dread.

He hates corporations, and he hates them exactly because he knows how powerful they are.

The Tyger Claws isn't strange to business with Corpos either. It's in fact a very common occurrence.

However, Johnson has never faced something like this, ever. Whoever has eyes on him is very powerful.

Normally, he would be happy to get rid of his enemy, Hamada. That's why he was chroming up so much lately. He was planning on getting rid of him, and he had to go quickly.

Not this time though, Johnson wasn't happy. He didn't want to fall into the hands of corporations' webs of deception and control.

However, he could do nothing now but obey. He has no choice. The corpos have targeted an area in Old Japantown, and they will do everything to get it.

Hamada and Johnson's conflict was merely the easiest way to get it discreetly. That's how the latter interpreted the situation at least.