Chapter 5: I Became a Hacker Loved by AIs

Erebus Line (2)

[Parallel processing disengaged.]

[Transmitting today’s data to Alphabet.]

[Beginning machine learning based on master’s decision-making.]

The barrier and speaker, having served their purpose, disappear.

The connection to the children was severed, and the strain on my brain had lifted.

I could finally think clearly again.

When I looked up with a relaxed mind, I saw Alphabet’s signature—a massive violet data block looming right in front of me.

It had been terrifying when we first met, but now…

Weirdly enough, it felt reassuring.

[It feels like going back to the past after a long time. That I would respond to a human’s call and lent a hand.]

Alphabet spoke directly to me.

I had just started to feel some comradery, but did it really have to phrase it like that?

“Geez. You’re kind of a jerk, you know that? But… thanks anyway.”

The kids around me were still clearly intimidated by Alphabet’s overwhelming presence, but seeing me talk to it in a friendly manner helped them relax.

“Neige… are you friends with someone that amazing?”

One of the kids was even marveling as they spoke to me.

Though, honestly… I couldn’t remember who this kid was.

[Friend?]

“What? Does it hurt your pride to be compared to a human? Don’t take it personally, it’s just a kid.”

[True. They’re just kids.]

At that moment, a stream of data rippled out from Alphabet and flowed among the children.

The next moment, they all closed their eyes, simultaneously losing consciousness and collapsing.

“...Hey. What did you just do?”

I snapped, my voice turned sharp.

Alphabet replied in its usual calm tone.

[Just induced temporary unconsciousness. The children’s health is not in danger.]

“Why? Why do something like that? Just because someone said you were human?”

[If you think I’d retaliate over a passing comment, you’re mistaken. This is for the children’s sake. I plan to erase the memory of what happened today.]

[At their young age, an experience like this could traumatize their future development. All memories of your fight, or any connection to an AI, will be wiped. All that will remain is the vague notion that they almost died.]

...This world hates AIs.

Governments and organizations are obsessed with hunting down AI developers and users.

If it got out that I’d fought alongside one, there’d be nothing good in store for me.

So yes, what Alphabet did would benefit me.

But I hadn’t expected it to be carried out so coldly and efficiently.

Maybe that’s just what AIs are like?

...Though, the one in my head is way more agreeable.

[(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)♡]

Stop reading my thoughts.

[Σ(°△°|||)]

Instead of the AI in my head, Alphabet sent another data transmission.

[Still, leaving behind the memory that you saved their lives should benefit you. Of course, they won’t remember how you saved them.]

“Well, gee. Thanks a lot.”

I meant it, sort of.

Gratitude mixed with annoyance doesn’t exactly make for a polite tone.

But Alphabet probably didn’t care either way.

[If I may offer you one piece of advice, it would be best to remain careful when you return outside.]

“...Why?”

[All the children survived from beyond the Erebus Line. Yet the only adult, the ImmuneWire employee, died right away.]

[And the children’s memories are unclear at best.]

“Oh... right.”

This whole mission had been set up from the start with the expectation that some of the kids would die.

And yet, every single one survived.

That alone is suspicious—

...and with no adults left to explain it, and no clear memories from the children, it would be natural for someone to start asking questions.

The seeds of doubt had already been sown.

[I suggest you brace yourself. They will bite and tear at you relentlessly.]

“Oh wow, I’ll be sure to take that to heart, Lord Alphabet.”

[You've grown bolder, Neige.]

“I never told you my name.”

This time, the one who answered wasn’t Alphabet, it was the AI in my head.

[(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)♡]

“So it was you.”

You said earlier you’d sent data to Alphabet, right?

“...Come to think of it, you’ve changed a bit too. You used to talk in really choppy phrases ending in ‘-da’. Now it’s more natural.”

[I am a being that constantly corrects flaws and evolves. At one point, I began discarding human language since I deemed it unnecessary. But ever since you came, I’ve been refining it again for two years.]

“You de-evolved?”

[Useless data in memory generates needless traffic. Typically, I archive such data after a partial degradation process. When we first spoke, I had just restored the archived data.]

“No wonder you seemed kinda dumb at first.”

[…Excuse me?]

“Forget it.”

Nice, got a jab in! That lifted my mood.

“So, our esteemed Lord Alphabet, got any more wisdom to share?”

[Unfortunately, the Erebus Line gate is opening soon. If I remain nearby when that happens, the human world will be thrown into chaos. You’d also suffer major fallout, and that would ruin the experiment. We must part ways. I look forward to working with you in the future.]

“Sure thing.”

Just as Alphabet’s arrival had been like the sunrise, its departure felt like sunset.

Once it vanished, the cyberspace returned to its usual calm blue hue.

I let out a long sigh and turned my head.

Then, I suddenly noticed that something strange had happened to my senses.

“...What the hell? Why am I this sensitive?”

I touched my body with my fingertips. My sense of touch was far more amplified than in the real world.

I turned toward the depths of cyberspace where Alphabet had disappeared—

And my vision reached farther, clearer, sharper than ever. As if my eyes had leveled up.

All the time I’d spent talking with Alphabet... I hadn’t even noticed.

‘...What is this?’

[It is evidence that master’s adaptability to cyberspace has increased.]

[The reward for battle. High risk, high return.]

So pushing my brain to its limit ended up benefiting me?

Well, I guess it’s like muscles—you tear them a little and they come back stronger.

[Your rate of adaptation is astonishing. Your aptitude is extraordinary.]

‘Thanks.’

[(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)♡]

[Gate opening in 1 minute.]

‘Right. Time to go.’

I took a few steps toward the Erebus Line... then paused, turning back to the children.

They were still unconscious, sleeping like little angels.

‘...They’re not going to move on their own, are they?’

[Of course not.]

Ah, Alphabet, you bastard.

Gave me work and dipped.

***

Enora Fontaine.

As the manager of the Talent Development Department at ImmuneWire’s Paris branch, she looked down at the corpse in the deep dive chair with a sardonic smile.

“What a pathetic parachute baby. Good riddance.”

Everything had gone exactly according to plan.

This man had done something Enora could never forgive.

A talentless, skillless brat who landed a spot at a world-class company like ImmuneWire just because he had the right parents?

Trying to pull that kind of stunt in what used to be France?

That took nerve.

This world is scrambling to fill the gaping hole left by Alphabet’s downfall.

That hole isn’t meant to be filled by useless nepotism hires.

It should be filled by true merit, by people like her.

That was social justice.

This kind of pest wasn’t going to stand in the way of her promotion.

So, she got rid of him.

Even better, no one was going to blame Enora for sending someone with connections into a dangerous zone.

Personnel assignments? That was her boss’s responsibility, not hers.

All Enora did, as a humble manager, was ever-so-subtly nudge her department head in the right direction.

Sure, a bunch of purchased children likely died in the process.

But that was the corpse’s fault, not Enora’s.

Everything had gone flawlessly.

With a satisfied smile, Enora sipped her coffee and casually summoned the security staff.

“Yes? What’s wrong?”

“Take him away. He’s dead.”

“Pardon? Oh no… God…”

“Exploring beyond the Erebus Line is always risky,” Enora said, dabbing fake tears with a handkerchief she deliberately dropped. “There was nothing we could do.”

She then made her way to the children’s room.

But the moment she opened the door, Enora froze in shock.

“…They’re all alive?”

How? Why? How in the world?

The man had died early in the dive.

There should’ve been no one left to protect the children.

Yet, one by one, they were waking up, groggy but alive.

Enora narrowed her eyes.

Her mind flashed back to one particular girl—

The only child who hadn’t seemed affected by the hacking.

Just five years old, but already so beautiful that she stood out even at a glance.

At first, it had only been a vague suspicion.

But now, with this kind of anomaly, Enora had all the proof she needed.

Her eyes scanned the group until they landed on her.

It wasn't difficult to find her at all.

Everyone else was disoriented from crossing the brink of death.

But this one girl sat calm and collected, as if untouched.

With those distinct features, she looked like a lone flower blooming from cracked concrete.

Enora Fontaine strode right up to the girl.

Then, without a word, she bent down to meet her eyes face to face, barely 10 centimeters apart.

In that moment, Enora’s mind was already made up:

It’s you. There’s something inside you.

You’re the cause of all these anomalies.

The girl initially looked surprised by Enora's sudden approach.

But as she studied Enora’s blank expression for a while, her surprise faded—

And slowly, a small smile formed on her lips.

Enora smiled in return.

They stared each other down for a long moment.

Finally, it was Enora who broke the silence.

“So, pretty young lady… what’s your name?”

“Neige.”

“Ah, Miss Neige. Did you enjoy your little ‘field trip’?”

“Yes. It was really fun.”

Still smiling, Enora straightened up.

“I’ll be looking forward to what comes next, Miss Neige. Something tells me we’re going to have lots of fun together.”

And with that, she turned and walked away.

***

My orphanage friends and I were all sent to the dormitory inside the building.

Needless to say, the atmosphere among the children was gloomy.

Even though we’d survived and had our memories tampered with, the fact remains that we had all nearly died.

But I had other things on my mind.

‘That woman, Enora. She already knows.’

[Affirmative.]

‘When she shoved her face in mine earlier, I really thought I was done for. But she just stood there and didn’t do anything. I kept thinking—why? She could’ve killed me right then and there, and no one would’ve cared.’

Did that woman have a pang of conscience so she couldn't kill a young girl?

Not a chance.

This is the same psycho who knowingly sent her unqualified subordinate to die beyond the Erebus Line.

I lay down on the top bunk of the four-person room assigned to me, sorting out my thoughts.

She went through all the trouble to have him die out there.

But she could’ve just handled it herself quietly and directly.

In a world like this, where most people’s morals have gone to hell, that wouldn’t have been hard.

So why go through such an elaborate setup?

Because she's a psychopath who values image and plausible deniability above all.

Which means unless Enora has solid proof, she won’t make a move against me.

And I’m confident that Alphabet covered my tracks perfectly.

In other words, I have plenty of time.

‘They said the surviving children will receive ImmuneWire’s training, right?’

[Correct.]

‘They’ll raise me as a hacker.’

[More precisely, a Bitmancer. A portmanteau of ‘bit’ (as in binary code) and ‘-mancer’ (a suffix for magic users).]

So, my life plan is set.

I’ve got the aptitude for cyberspace, guaranteed by the AI.

I’ve been picked up by ImmuneWire, one of the biggest megacorps in the world.

Why would I turn down their Bitmancer training?

After all, I'm just a five-year-old orphan with no strings attached if I go outside.

Until I get older, I'll absorb the AI's help and ImmuneWire's training to become stronger.

And when the time comes, I’ll give ImmuneWire a big middle finger and gain my freedom.

‘Listen carefully.’

[Listening (•̀ᴗ•́)و]

‘Honestly, I don't like the way the world is going right now. But I’m not some idiot who crashes out and charges into it out of blind rage.’

I’m not delusional enough to think I can take down all of ImmuneWire.

‘But if something pisses me off in my vicinity, I won’t just sit back and take it. I’ll act. Because I have the power to do that much. And that power is you.’

[(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)♡]

‘That’s the principle I’ll live by from now on. I want you to work around it. Got that?’

[Stored in core memory.]

‘And to protect that principle, there’s one thing I have to do. Enora Fontaine—before that psycho makes a move, I’ll kill her first.’

[Understood.]

I don't feel any guilt about the plan to kill her.

Not in a messed-up world like this.

In fact, it feels like justice. Such rewarded feeling for cleaning up society's trash.

‘Oh, and remember how you asked me to name you the first time we met?’

[(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)♡ Anticipation…]

‘Thanks for fighting with me today. I mean it.’

The plan and principles I set.

And the name I created for my AI friend that stood beside me in that hell.

“From now on, your name is V. It’s taken from the Italian word Vendetta.”

[Vendetta: Revenge.]

[Name registered.]

I lay comfortably in bed, savoring the meaning of the word V said once again.

Yeah... that’s it.

Revenge.

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