Chapter 87 Exposed and Qualified Hacker!

Arthur touched his chin and pulled a chip from his pocket.

"I suggest you move faster," he said, glancing toward the deeper part of the tunnel. "Because any second now, a little black guy might walk in from the side."

He tore a strip from his shirt and tied it around his face like a bandit.

"You're basically playing the mayor of Night City doing a secret inspection," the network monitor mocked through the earpiece. "It's useless."

Arthur rolled his eyes. He knew the Voodoo Gang's scanning systems were connected directly to NCPD's database. Covering your face? Useless. Even without a head, they could still ID you from your biometrics.

"You don't get it," Arthur said casually. "As long as they don't get a full visual, I can bluff my way through."

The network monitor fell silent for a second before muttering, "Honestly, you should've been working at a big corporation instead of living in the gutter."

Ignoring him, Arthur moved stealthily forward through the dimly lit tunnel.

The computers the Voodoo Gang used weren't homemade in the hardware sense—no way they could afford that. They just wrote their own janky software on top of it.

Actual chip manufacturing? Please. That needed serious cash and R&D. The Voodoo Gang was tough, but they were still small fry.

Finding a clunky terminal stacked against the wall, Arthur crouched down, jammed the chip into the port, and immediately started backing away.

"You won't screw me over, right?" Arthur asked cautiously.

"You called me your good brother," the network monitor said innocently. "How could I lie to you?"

Arthur almost cursed out loud.

Still, he had no choice. He ran like hell toward the cave entrance without looking back.

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

A violent red light flooded the underground base. Sirens screamed through the tunnels like a banshee choir.

Arthur sprinted harder. Four or five hundred meters had never felt so far in his entire life.

Every nerve in his body screamed at him to move faster. He even activated neural acceleration, stretching his reflexes to their limit.

He almost slipped as he cursed the network monitor under his breath.

"You company dog! You screwed me!"

Just before he reached the exit, gunfire erupted ahead of him.

Bang bang bang!

Bullets tore apart the concrete around the cave entrance, forcing Arthur to dive sideways.

In one fluid move, he triggered his optical camouflage skin, blending into the shadows.

But he knew it wouldn't last long. The Voodoo Gang weren't idiots — they'd have infrared gear scanning soon enough.

"I thought you said you'd kill them already!" Arthur typed furiously into the chat window.

"About that," the network monitor replied while clearly typing and hacking frantically. "The terminal you plugged into... was a fake. Their real data fortress is somewhere else. Pull the chip and find another!"

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose, veins throbbing.

"You say it like it's easy! I'm practically swimming in cockroaches here!"

"You can always fight your way out," the network monitor said lightly. "If you survive, we'll honor the deal. If you die... well, I'll send flowers to your funeral. Good luck!"

"...Screw you, company dog!" Arthur muttered.

No choice now.

Arthur cracked his knuckles, took a deep breath, and jumped down from his hiding place.

With a flash, the Mantis Blades deployed from his arms, gleaming crimson in the tunnel's emergency lights.

Shink!

Arthur descended like death itself.

The first Voodoo Gang member didn't even see it coming — Arthur plunged a blade into his temple, dropping him silently to the ground.

"Young people these days," Arthur sighed. "Can't even stay awake when it matters most."

Without wasting a second, he retracted one blade and extended the other, slashing two more gangsters across the chest.

They crumpled like paper.

For a moment, it was smooth. Almost too smooth.

But the Voodoo Gang weren't amateurs — some of them had neural acceleration too.

A second later, more gangsters reacted, opening fire.

Bang bang bang!

A steel rainstorm exploded through the tunnel. Bullets ricocheted wildly, sparks flying as they chewed through computers and walls.

Arthur zipped between them like a phantom, grinning when he noticed something:

Several of the bullets smashed into equipment racks.

Sizzle!

Pop!

Smoke poured from the racks. Data cables short-circuited.

On one side of the room, a hacker screamed as his entire deck lit up, sparking and burning out. White smoke puffed out of his cyberdeck implants — probably fried his spinal cord too.

"Congratulations," Arthur said under his breath. "You'll never log out again. Welcome to permanent cyberspace, my guy."

More Voodoo Gang members tried to surround him.

Someone shouted desperately, "Don't shoot, you idiots! You'll destroy the servers!"

Arthur laughed as he darted between cover.

It was too late.

The more panicked they got, the more they destroyed their own systems.

Every equipment fire, every burnt hacker meant less resistance for Arthur.

Now the only question was — how many Voodoo Gang members were willing to die in this rat trap for nothing?

Arthur smiled wickedly and spun his Mantis Blades.

"Come on then, you clowns. Let's see who logs out first."