Chapter 4: I Became a Hacker Loved by AIs

Erebus Line (1)

It may sound arrogant, but I think I’ve finally grasped the rules of survival in this cyberspace.

Here, you can’t trust the phenomena before your eyes or the sensations at your fingertips as they are.

This is fundamentally a digital world, built on nothing but zeroes and ones.

If you don’t constantly interpret what’s in front of you, you’ll never understand the laws of this place.

If your brain shuts down, you shut down too.

Only those with superior intelligence could survive here.

This is a battlefield of the mind.

Right now, the cyberdemon in front of us still doesn’t know we’re here.

I have to find a solution before it does.

But first, the most pressing problem was the hacking pressure on my brain.

It was meant to suppress the children, but it’s also limiting what I can do.

‘Can you relay my words to the kids?’

[Affirmative.]

‘Tell them: Do not make a sound, no matter what.’

[Command acknowledged.]

A stream of data rippled out from me, dispersing toward the children.

Even then, it carefully bypassed the area around the cyberdemon.

Damn. This AI’s good.

I should give it a name later.

The kids looked at me.

I raised a finger to my lips and nodded.

They nodded back.

[Message transmission complete.]

‘Release the hacking.’

[Command acknowledged.]

I can feel the headache in my brain subsiding.

Just as I’d asked, not a single kid made a sound.

Some sniffled quietly with tears in their eyes, but that was fine.

Still, this was just a temporary measure.

They were only 5 to 9 years old.

There’s no telling when fear would break them.

I need to come up with the next move.

I glanced toward the Erebus Line.

‘That thing was built by humans, right? Couldn’t I build one too? I just need it to hold for one hour.’

[Possible. However, your computational power is insufficient to protect all the children. Additionally, the barrier construction process may attract the attention of cyberdemons.]

So I’d have to drive out the cyberdemons first…

‘What if I just fight them?’

[Possible for a skilled adult hacker. Impossible for master.]

‘Ugh… if only I wasn’t stuck in a 5-year-old’s body.’

I need to think.

In cyberspace, stupidity gets you killed.

‘Hey, beyond the Erebus Line… isn’t that where Alphabet lives?’

[Correct.]

‘Then how did the cyberdemons survive against Alphabet?’

[All surviving cyberdemons evolved to avoid Alphabet. Alphabet, meanwhile, have no interest in the demons.]

‘...You know what I’m thinking, right?’

[Calculating...]

[Brilliant idea. This AI is built on Alphabet’s code.]

[It is possible to fake an Alphabet signal and make the cyberdemons flee.]

[Warning: Effect will be temporary. Once they realize the signal’s fake, even more cyberdemons could be drawn in.]

‘Why am I the only one coming up with ideas here?’

[Σ(°△°|||) During the brief window when the cyberdemons flee, you must construct the barrier. Borrowing the children’s brains for parallel processing would make the barrier significantly stronger.]

[Warning: Parallel processing puts master’s mind at extreme risk. The children’s thoughts could overwhelm your own.]

‘That already kinda happened during the hack earlier.’

[Hacking is like opening a book and reading it, parallel processing is like merging the book and the brain into one.]

‘...Got it. Clear as day.’

But with a cyberdemon in front of me and a group of children who could emotionally break down at any moment, I didn’t have the luxury of calm contemplation.

No more time to hesitate.

‘Can I withstand the parallel processing?’

[High difficulty.]

That’s fine. As long as it’s possible, not impossible.

[Strategy established. Current survival probability: approximately 30%.]

[Initiating data diffuser construction.]

A speaker began to form in front of me.

Lines of code streamed through the corner of my mind, but I kept my eyes locked on the cyberdemon.

It reacted.

As if it heard a sound from somewhere, it turned its head and scanned its surroundings.

[Decoy signal embedded, but it won’t last long.]

Which will finish first:

The speaker’s construction or the cyberdemon locating me?

This was a gamble.

As the speaker solidified, turning into a structured data block—

The cyberdemon looked directly at me.

Then it gripped its blade and lowered its stance.

That had to be a charging stance.

Flashes of the red data blade that had killed that man earlier flickered in my mind.

If it charged now, I’d be dead in an instant.

But how long would it take to actually charge?

No, don’t think like that.

If you flinch, you die.

If you hesitate, you die.

If you give up, you die.

The only option is to face it head-on.

At the exact moment the speaker fully materialized in front of me, the cyberdemon disappeared from view.

“Everyone! Get over here, now!”

The red data blade stopped mere inches from my chest.

And then—

A wave of violet data—the signature of Alphabet—swept across all of cyberspace.

The cyberdemon staggered back, then turned and fled from this place in a burst of crimson light.

It worked.

[Phase 1 operation successful. Current survival probability: 40%.]

“Everyone, gather around me! Hurry!”

I called out, waving frantically at the kids.

Each time I shouted, another pulse of violet data wave spread from the speaker.

Fortunately, as soon as all the children heard my voice, they immediately started running.

“Hold hands! Everyone, hold hands! Protect each other! Hurry!”

Like penguins huddling together to withstand the cold,

All the children formed a tight cluster around me, hand in hand.

[Initiating parallel processing.]

The moment the connection formed between me and the kids along with the AI’s signal, my consciousness was flooded with countless thoughts.

‘Please save me please save me please save me please save me—’

‘What was that strange red monster?! Somebody, anybody, save us!’

‘Neige’s doing something, Neige… Neige’s going to save us!’

‘Why is my body doing this? Why am I listening to Neige?’

‘My friends… are they okay? Right? Right…? Ah… I’m scared…’

“Hah… ah…?”

My mind was being crushed.

It's like I'm not myself.

I could barely tell where I ended and they began.

I was losing my place inside my own head.

[You must endure. Recall the memory most precious to you.]

Precious… memory?

What was that again?

In my slowly collapsing mind, my thoughts began to unravel.

I found myself caught in a vision.

A hospital room.

I was sitting in a chair.

My parents were there, watching me with anxious eyes.

And in the corner stood a man in a suit.

“Mom, Dad. There’s no other way.”

“But son…”

“I’m not afraid. I’ve even thought about what I’ll do if I succeed.”

On the bed’s side table lay a piece of cyberware.

Ah… right.

That was the day they implanted it into my spine.

“...And once you’re healthy again, what will you do, son?”

“I want to show people that someone like me, someone who might’ve died, can survive because of this new technology. I want to be the one doing that. Saving lives... whatever it takes.”

The man in the suit clapped at my words.

“Wonderful! That’s the spirit! If you’re born into this world, you should do something meaningful like that.”

Back in 2077, I had that kind of courage.

“...Alright. Your mom and I will believe in you, just this once. So make it, okay? Promise me you’ll definitely get better. To live and chase your dream.”

“I will!”

Ah, right.

I said that, didn’t I?

Before I died.

Saving lives.

The small hands holding onto mine tug me back to the present.

I can now feel the children’s touch at my fingertips.

Mom. Dad.

I’m doing that right now.

I’ll do well on my own.

[Ego barrier formed.]

“Huff...!”

Like magic, the crushing weight pressing down on my mind was gone.

The voices flooding in just moments ago had quieted to a faint static in the background.

I looked around.

All the children were standing close together, holding hands, gazing only at me.

There’s no time to waste.

[Phase 2 operation successful. Current survival probability: 50%.]

‘Let’s begin.’

[Command acknowledged.]

[Initiating barrier formation.]

A translucent rectangular prism began to materialize, growing until it could encompass all of us.

Then, the walls began to form honeycomb-like lattices—first one layer, then another, and another…

Over and over, a barrier solely for defense was successfully formed.

[Barrier formation complete. All available computational capacity utilized.]

‘Will it hold for an hour?’

[Current survival probability: 50%]

[Depends on the number of cyberdemons in the vicinity.]

So it’s a bet. On the numbers being small.

I gripped the children’s hands tighter and tried to steady my breathing.

[Cyberdemons approaching.]

[Analyzing numbers.]

‘Can I see what’s happening outside?’

[Sharing visual data.]

In the far distance, through the depths of cyberspace, I saw tiny red dots… and they were approaching fast.

The problem was that there seemed to be quite a few of them.

‘What the hell is that?’

[Cyberdemon vanguard. Estimated number: 100.]

‘100?! And that’s just the vanguard?!’

[Estimated total number of incoming cyberdemons exceeds 5,000. Continues to increase.]

What is this, a zombie apocalypse?

Except cyberdemons aren’t your average zombies.

I remembered the one that killed the man earlier.

It was fast, intelligent, and brutal.

Calling them mere zombies was almost an insult.

‘Are cyberdemons usually on the same side?’

[By default, mutually hostile.]

[However, temporary alliances may occur, especially when Alphabet’s signal is involved. There is also a possibility they are actually one shared entity.]

None of that was good news.

‘Can the barrier hold all of them?’

[Current survival probability: 0%.]

So we're screwed.

The cyberdemon vanguards had already reached the front of the barrier.

And behind them, over 5,000 red blips surged toward us like a flood.

Couldn’t Alphabet have picked a better orphanage for me?

Of all the places, why this one?

Now I was witnessing something straight out of hell.

Five thousand demons charging to kill us.

Well, it really is hell, then.

Hahaha... kind of funny, isn’t it?

Wait a second, Alphabet?

‘Didn’t you say Alphabet exists on every continent?’

[Sensing the master's thoughts. Valid strategy.]

Thump!

The cyberdemons began slamming into the barrier.

With the children’s frightened screams ringing out, computational resources started burning to repair the damaged wall.

Calling on the Alphabet, basically the Demon King beyond the Erebus Line, would be suicide—

…But I’m not just anyone, am I?

All I need is a moment, just enough time while the barrier holds.

I diverted some of the computation power from barrier repairs to expand the speaker I had already built.

‘Keep enlarging the speaker until the barrier collapses. Let me know the moment it does.’

I didn’t know where Alphabet was right now, but the bigger the speaker, the higher the chance the signal would reach it.

I had to hold out, to the absolute limit.

[Command acknowledged.]

Data blades sliced into the barrier, glowing red right in front of my eyes.

The children's screams grew louder, but I poured every ounce of focus into the speaker.

The barrier tore, and a demon forcing its way through the breach was thrown out immediately as the barrier momentarily reformed again.

However, new demons squeezed in to take its place.

Even as I watched the barrier crumble in real-time, I kept repeating to myself.

Just a bit more. Just a little more.

Don’t be afraid. Don’t panic. The timing is up to the AI.

You demons got mad because I tricked you with fake Alphabet code, the one you fear, right?

Well then, this time, I’ll call the real thing.

And just as the honeycomb structure completely collapsed—

[Limit reached.]

I shouted.

“Alphabet! If you don’t want your experiment ruined, get over here now!”

A massive wave of data pulsed through cyberspace like a tsunami.

And in that instant, all the cyberdemons froze.

Were they analyzing what's contained in the signal I just released?

If they were, they’d know what it meant.

That it was calling for Alphabet.

Slowly, the demons began backing away.

Even the red dots I’d seen far in the distance had stopped and were retreating.

It looked almost like they were afraid.

As if they had emotions of fear.

Then it came.

From the depths of cyberspace, a brilliant purple light began to rise like the sun at dawn.

[Alphabet approaching.]

[Current survival probability: 100%]

Every single demon flee with all their might at once.

They had attacked in perfect unison, but now, scattered in a chaotic frenzy, they fled with desperation.

Like a routed army whose morale had shattered.

What will happen when Alphabet finally arrives now?

A wave of purple data surged forward, threatening to swallow the universe itself—

And all the demons were annihilated, bursting apart like red flower petals in a storm.

“...Wow. That’s beautiful.”

That was my sincere remark.

I shift my gaze to see if the children are okay.

They were all exhausted, worn down by the emotional turmoil and the strain of parallel processing—

But not one of them was lost.

A faint smile crept across my lips.

A cyberpunk dystopia in the year 2160?

I just won.

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