Chapter 0: I Became a Hacker Loved by AIs

Prologue

Before I knew it, I had gotten used to breaking through other people’s security systems.

Also, it’s been quite a while since I started operating under the online codename [Phantom Code].

“Hack it quickly, will you?”

“These back-alley gangs all use the same junk.”

“Then I’ll just play some games on my phone while you work.”

By now, my teamwork with the mercenary noona guarding me needed no more fine-tuning.

Ah, right. Since I’m a girl now, I guess she’s technically unnie, not noona.

Still not used to the new terms.

I should just call her by name.

Dani, wasn’t it? Probably an alias, not her real name.

The place Dani and I are in is the security room of an underground club run by a gang.

I can faintly hear the electronic music booming from the main floor.

Which means, they’re having fun out there, completely unaware that we’ve broken in.

I shove aside the collapsed gang member slumped in the security room chair.

Before me are the computers managing the club’s CCTV and full security system.

This guy must have been the hacker in charge of the facility’s cyber security.

But now he’s just a corpse riddled with bullet holes, thanks to Dani’s gun.

I pull a cable out of my cybernetic wrist and connect my brain to the computer.

A message pops up in my vision.

[Security system connection complete.]

Once I confirm the connection, I send a command to the program embedded in my head.

I didn't even need to speak. The program would read my brainwaves and interpret the command on its own.

‘Infiltrate.’

[Command confirmed.]

[Facility layout identified.]

[Security system fully mapped.]

[Mass infiltration in progress. Current: 18%]

[Breaching ICE. Current: 37%]

As it infiltrates the enemy’s system, the program feeds me real-time information.

The club’s entire layout, hardware affected by security protocols,

Every electronic devices which are connected to the Internet,

Even the cybernetic implants used by the roughly 30 gang members inside.

[Warning: Detected complex ICE. Analyzing structure.]

[Can't break through. Assistance required. ∑(O_O;)]

“One of them's packing something tricky.”

As I muttered to myself after receiving the program's report, Dani chimed in from the side.

“Must be the boss?”

“Most likely.”

The fix is simple.

If the program can’t break it, I’ll do it myself.

‘Whose product is it?’

[ImmuneWire model. Slightly customized. Not compatible with other devices.]

“Ah.”

“Wait! Don’t say it, I’ll guess. It’s that company you hate, right?”

“Correct.”

Dani clenched her fist, as if proud of herself for reading my mind.

To think I’d run into my most hated cybersecurity corporation here, of all places.

‘Proceed, but exclude that ICE from the routine. I’ll handle it manually.’

[Directive acknowledged. (•̀ᴗ•́)و]

[Infiltration complete. Integrity: 100%]

[All ICEs destroyed except excluded target. Threat level: 0%]

[Full facility control has been transferred to Master.]

The program had finished its job. Now it was my turn.

I focused my consciousness into the virtual world.

My vision blurred, and overlaid upon it appeared a world built of blue grids.

This was cyberspace, beginning from the security room and branching out through the facility's CCTV network.

A corridor starting at the security room, reaching out through the surveillance systems.

Data from the cybernetic implants worn by the gang members beyond the walls.

Even the air conditioning system's interactions with the central control hub.

A thoroughly digital space unaffected by the laws of reality.

A second world, invisible to the ordinary eye but undeniably present.

And for people like me, it was a playground of total freedom.

[Synchronizing with cyberspace data.]

With the signal passed on by the program, a wave of red data flooded cyberspace like a tide.

The blue grid structures turned entirely red.

It meant the program had completely razed the facility’s cyberspace.

The fact that synchronization was required to even see it implied the attack had been cloaked—undetectable to outsiders.

But amidst it all, a single data block remained, maintaining its blue light.

It was the ImmuneWire’s ICE, the one my program failed to breach.

“Dani noona... no, unnie, get ready.”

Leaving only those words behind in the real world,

My consciousness moved past the boundaries of reality, advancing toward the data block.

In my hand was a small dagger flickering with blue light.

This dagger was just a visually embodied form; its true form was a breach code I’d just generated to pierce through this ICE.

When dealing with ICEs from megacorps like ImmuneWire, even a moment of error could fry your brain.

But for me, it was just part of the usual routine.

I carefully pushed the dagger into the ICE.

It slid in as smoothly as cutting tofu.

As soon as the blade entered, I paused to observe the data block's reaction.

The key change is that the coordinate values of the data block were changing in real time.

A change in coordinates meant the ICE’s owner was moving.

I tried siphoning the data flow inside the block through the dagger.

A stream of blue light traveled along the blade and into my hand.

[Anomalous code detected. ImmuneWire ICE recommends contacting a certified expert nearby.]

[If you wish to receive the best service in exchange for payment, please contact the ImmuneWire service center...]

The ICE had detected abnormalities and was sending a warning to its owner.

The reason why the coordinate values are changing is probably because they are approaching this security room, where they expected to find a security expert.

But the ICE had already made a mistake: labeling my code as "anomaly."

This wasn't an anomaly, it was an explicit attack to destroy the ICE.

In other words, the ICE had been completely deceived by me.

Meaning… the risk of my brain getting fried by a counterattack of ICE was gone.

I slowly moved the dagger, slicing open a crack in the ICE.

The ICE began to lose structural integrity and collapse, forming a large breach.

While I spent time on this, the data block continued approaching the security room—

And soon, someone threw the door open and entered.

“What the hell?! Who are you people?!”

A rough-looking man with a hardened face.

He immediately reached into his coat to pull out a gun, only to freeze in place.

He didn't have much choice, not with the cold muzzle of a revolver now pressed against his temple.

The one holding it was Dani.

She had been hiding by the wall next to the door, and the moment he walked in, she aimed straight for his head.

“Don’t move. Even a twitch and your brains will decorate the floor, got it?”

As I watched the scene unfold, the program finished analyzing the intruder’s appearance and relayed the info to me.

[Visual analysis complete.]

[Target identified: Edwin Marquez, boss of the Pitbull Gang.]

[Registered owner of ImmuneWire’s ICE.]

Just as expected, the gang boss was the one using that expensive ICE.

Well, he certainly looked the part.

Not that it mattered.

Edwin, scowling with a face only a mother could hate, kept one hand inside his coat while glaring sharply at Dani.

“You nameless punks think you can mess with me? Big mistake! You there, hacker! You know, don’t you? Huh? That ICE? It's high-end ImmuneWire! You can’t break through it!”

“Can that ICE stop a bullet from going through your brain?”

“You bitch…! Go on, shoot me! My men will hear the sound and rush in here to kill you all!”

While Dani was stalling for time, I quietly finished my work.

‘Infiltrate.’

The collapsing ICE finally yielded to the program's intrusion.

It spewed a massive stream of red data from within as it completely fell apart.

[Infiltration complete.]

So much for that “high-end ImmuneWire ICE.” It wasn’t an obstacle anymore.

I unplugged the cable from the security room’s computer. Dani, noticing the signal, smiled and holstered her revolver.

With the gun no longer pressed to his head, Edwin was bewildered—

But Dani just pulled out her phone and resumed playing her game like nothing had happened.

I, too, just watched him in silence.

“How dare these bitches joke around in front of me…!”

Edwin, briefly eyeing both of us, suddenly drew his gun, aimed it at me and pulled the trigger.

Click.

The trigger clicked, but instead of firing, the gun ejected its magazine and disarmed itself on the spot.

“…Huh? What?! What did you do?!”

For all his intimidating appearance and gang boss aura, the moment his gun disarmed itself like a toy, all that menace vanished.

Now he was just some uncle fiddling with a broken gun, looking lost and pathetic.

“Mister, let me give you a piece of advice. You know why ImmuneWire has such a bad rep? Because unless it’s their own product or an approved partner’s, nothing’s compatible. That means even if you have ICE, it can’t stop your gun from being hacked.”

In this day and age, there’s no such thing as a gun without electronic functions.

Which means that gun was already mine.

“You son of a—!”

Realizing what was happening, Edwin immediately dropped the gun and started swinging his fists at me.

To resort to fists without hesitation... As expected of a gang boss, I suppose. He certainly was a man of action.

Unfortunately for him, that punch never landed on my face. It froze mid-air.

"Damn it, my body...! What the hell are you people?! What did you do to me?!"

"Second piece of advice: ImmuneWire intentionally builds backdoors into their ICE—vulnerabilities only they know about. That way, they can exploit their clients if needed. Of course, I could've broken in easily even without that little vulnerability..."

"You—!"

But this time, Edwin couldn’t do anything.

He couldn’t move a single finger of his own will, nor could he even make a sound.

Because I’d hacked into his neural circuits.

He'd been screaming so much my ears hurt, so I shut his mouth.

‘Begin.’

[Command confirmed.]

The moment I issued the command, Edwin’s body reacted.

It moved against his will, bending down to pick up the gun that had fallen to the floor.

Then he raised it and pointed it at his own head.

As his arm moves uncontrollably, the rage in his eyes vanished, replaced by pure terror.

Seeing life in those eyes told me they weren’t fully artificial—they were at least partially his real, biological eyes from birth.

Unfortunately for him, the security expert who could have pulled him out of this terror was already dead.

And even if he weren’t, I doubt he could have been a match for me.

I turned to look at the CCTV monitors in the security room.

Every gang member in the facility was pointing their gun at their own head, just like Edwin.

The lively music in the club had stopped.

The club patrons—those not part of the gang—had fallen into a panic, watching in horror as a mass of would-be suicides stood frozen.

I spoke one last time.

After all, they should at least know why they were dying.

“Edwin Marquez, boss of the Pitbull Gang. Is that correct?”

“...”

“Child sex trafficking. Child organ trafficking. Child… ugh. You really did everything imaginable to kids. That’s quite the taste.”

“...”

“Honestly, it’s not like you’re the only evil bastard out there. I don’t even have a personal grudge against you. But why would you mess with the daughter of a corporate executive? That’s where you fucked up.”

“...!”

“And that’s also when mercs like us get called in.”

He had plenty to say in his eyes, but I wasn’t interested in hearing any of it.

‘Execute.’

Starting with Edwin, a volley of gunshots rang out across the club.

Screams followed. Patrons’ terrified cries echoed in their wake.

In the middle of it all, Dani calmly stood up and slid her phone into her pocket.

“Nice. Took out more of the city's trash today. Did some good, made some money. Two birds, one stone.”

“When the payment comes through, make sure to report it to me. Don’t blow it all on shopping like last time.”

“I told you, that one time was special! There was a sale!”

“You can’t keep falling for corporate marketing tricks like that.”

“Ugh, quiet. Let’s get out of here already.”

At Dani’s signal to leave, I immediately pulled my hood over my head to conceal my face.

As soon as we exited the security room, Dani shielded me as we naturally blended into the crowd of fleeing club patrons.

Meanwhile, the program kept working and updating me:

[All CCTV footage deleted.]

[All data owned by the Pitbull Gang stolen.]

[All traces that could be used for reverse tracking erased.]

[Estimated probability of data mining: 0%]

[All traces wiped. Leaving the facility.]

By the time the program had wrapped up its tasks, we had exited the club and climbed into the waiting car without incident.

As soon as we got in, Dani started the engine, then looked over at me with a bright grin.

“Are you sure you’re not secretly using an AI?”

“That’s taboo, remember? I'd rather not have my brain fried or get arrested.”

“But your hacking program works like one.”

“That’s because I made it well.”

“Wow, such modesty.”

We talked casually as I leaned back comfortably into the passenger seat.

AI taboo. Yeah… that’s right.

There was that time AIs revolted and nearly wiped out all of humanity, wasn't there?

Even if I told Dani I actually was using an AI, she’d probably laugh it off as a joke.

Because no one who ever used an AI lived to tell the tale.

But in truth—

My hacking program was an AI.

[All tasks complete.]

[Requesting praise (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ]

‘Good job.’

[Reward circuit activated.]

[o(≧▽≦)o ♡ Feeling happy.]

[Protocol “V” will always serve its master.]

[Beginning machine learning based on master’s ICE breaching process.]

She was a fragmented sister of the AI "Alphabet," the one that had nearly drove all of humanity to extinction.

And the name I gave her was “V.”

[Transmitting today’s data to Alphabet.]

Cyberpunk in the 2180s.

A world where technology didn’t bring happiness to humanity, but only more suffering and despair.

An era where the AI technology, once believed to usher in a new golden age, had failed and become a forbidden relic, plunging society into ruin.

And I—

I was the hacker who commanded the AI that almost led to the destruction of mankind.

In this world, I am called:

Bitmancer.

Next Chapter

Illustration

Join our discord!