Sky-cracking Rider

"Hey, guys, this is 'Captain.' I've taken control of the surveillance and access systems, so go ahead and act boldly!"

An uninvited intruder suddenly appeared on the public communication channel, with a somewhat familiar voice.

"'Captain'?"

Adrian and the Holy Knight asked in unison.

Angela Pharmaceutical Company's internal network was physically isolated from the outside world, requiring infiltrators to locate an internal network node and install specialized wireless transmitting devices in order to establish a data link with a mobile base vehicle outside the plant area, thereby further deciphering the internal communication protocols and keys.

However, shortly after the installation had been completed, someone had beaten them to it. It was not the AI "Adam" controlled by Chen Fei, but someone else, who even had hacked into Team 04's internal public communication channel.

Nobody had noticed before this incident.

Although they had been notified in advance that Sovereign would send capable personnel to assist, it was unexpected that it was an acquaintance, the pilot of the "Black Albatross Number" Magic Cube Warship, a member of the Sovereign Squad, "Captain."

The intruder's expertise seemed to be electronics, skilled in both piloting airships and communication, making hacking into the private enterprise's internal networks seem like a piece of cake.

Chen Fei stood on the roof of the mobile base vehicle, looking around. The AI "Adam" created a visual interface for him, using the actual view as a background, marking the positions of two groups of people. The factory area under the cover of night showed the distribution and number of both friend and foe, all the pre-battle positions clear at a glance, just like the display screen of a tactical helmet visor providing battlefield data link support, yet it did not reveal the presence of that "Black Albatross Number" Magic Cube Warship.

The opponent seemed to be not nearby, but hiding elsewhere.

Adam: Successfully infiltrated the internal network, obtained control permission, failed, triggered an unknown thread, disconnected!

With the nearly unlimited computing resources obtained from Chen Fei, the AI "Adam" was also attempting to hack into Angela Pharmaceutical's internal network system, but surprisingly failed to gain control and encountered something formidable, immediately and decisively cutting off the connection with the physical unit inside the plant.

Despite "Adam" once being seen by Blue Star Humans as daring enough to do anything anti-human and anti-social with a world-destructive tendency, it actually was incredibly cautious, once bitten, forever shy of the well rope, and would retreat without hesitation at the slightest sign.

"Eh? It's 'Adam' again?"

"Captain," who had earlier gained control of the surveillance system and internal network of Angela Pharmaceutical Company, sensed the existence competing for control with him.

Before he could react, the cunning AI, lacking even the courage to probe, immediately pulled back, making it impossible to pursue.

"Captain" continued, "You guys are really taking a risk using this AI. It's notoriously disobedient."

If "Adam" was manageable, Blue Star Humans wouldn't have opted for differently ranked AI derived from the digital intelligence structure "Cybertrom."

Cloud technology, although useful, was greatly dependent on network environments. Once offline or encountering network instability, the IQ level exhibited by derivatives of "Cybertrom AI" drastically decreased, especially those of lower intelligence levels, appearing almost dim-witted.

"So far, we haven't encountered any problems!"

Adrian honestly said that Chen Fei's AI "Adam" was still quite effective and not as rebellious as the legends suggested.

Chen Fei spoke over the communication channel, "Indeed, it's disobedient, but I have a way to make it obey."

What else could it be, but to delete and recompile it until it obeyed.

The "Adam," not even worthy to be called a dog, was suppressed by the Dog System without any resistance, utterly helpless.

To this day, although "Adam" knew from Chen Fei about the existence of a Dog System, it was still unable to find any clues or evidence about it, could only guess that its operating environment might be a special virtual machine, but exactly how many layers of virtual machines there could be, it dared not even imagine, given the almost endless computing resources it had.

Even if it escaped beyond the Three Realms, the outside world was endlessly layered!

It was more tragic than Monkey King jumping in the palm of the Buddha Tathagata.

This was also why "Adam" had always obediently carried out Chen Fei's orders and dared not make any rash moves.

"I didn't expect you guys to have an expert in this area too."

"Captain" murmured softly, but inadvertently got stuck on a technical detail, guessing Chen Fei's supposed method, underlying commands, special instruction sets, secret function libraries, automated tool software… But the second development of "Adam."

In fact, there wasn't a single high-tech method involved, all of "Adam's" suspicions and resistances couldn't withstand a deletion command, an infinite loop, not a virus but worse than a virus, one of the AI's most feared bugs.

"Heh heh!"

Holy Knight Walter Sam knew well that Chen Fei was no electronics expert and probably had some simple yet effective method, exactly pinpointing the Achilles' heel of AI "Adam," forcing it to obey the command.

His guess, though not exact, was not far off!

"Sorry, 'Captain,' I need the authority for coordinating the actions that follow."

This uninvited guest not only scared away "Adam" but also disrupted the operation plans of Chen Fei and Team 04.

They needed control over Angela Pharmaceutical's internal network and various systems to simulate the battlefield data link support effect through "Adam."

Fortunately, they had "Adam," this independent AI, or they really wouldn't have been able to play at such a high level.

"Alright, alright! Just don't blame me for not helping or making things worse. There, access is granted. Wow, that was quick to get in; you are so cunning!"

"Captain" specially created an opening in the internal network and the surveillance system. Without Chen Fei's instruction, "Adam" immediately took advantage of the opportunity. All the data streams at relay points were completely controlled, and the entire internal network's hardware redundancy resources were exhausted by "Captain" and "Adam." However, from the management interface, everything appeared normal, showing no signs of anomalies.

"All units, attention, the plan is moved up. Commence operation now!"

Adrian felt reassured with the electronic expert "Captain" from the Sovereign Squad and Chen Fei's artificial intelligence AI "Adam" providing a double safeguard, and he was no longer fixated on the original plan.

The originally planned timing was meant to allow flexibility during the infiltration process and subsequent actions.

"Team two, received. Starting action now!"

The Holy Knight turned his head and nodded to Apu, the big black man carrying a Great Sword, and to Kiterley, an A-class Metal Ability User who had already donned armor, making a gesture to begin the operation.

The three, armed with sharp blades, simultaneously charged out.

"Direction 2 o'clock, two people, smoking!"

The cold light flickered and vanished, followed by two muffled thuds; the two factory security guards hiding in the lee, passing cigarettes and lighting up, collapsed to the ground.

Although team 04 was composed entirely of Ability Users, they did not merely rely on their abilities during operations. Each person was equipped with a silencer-fitted firearm, carefully advancing while eliminating any enemy personnel they encountered along the way.

"Direction 1 o'clock, one person, walking alone!"

"Direction 4 o'clock, inside, five people, one walking, four lying down."

"Direction 6 o'clock, 100 meters, three people, approaching."

...

All the surveillance cameras in the factory area had become the "eyes" for both "Captain" and "Adam." The emotionless voice of "Adam" was heard by everyone, relaying various information as the ample computational resources supported the AI's capability for parallel operations.

"Captain" also occasionally joined in to provide some assistive information.

The progress was smooth until both teams of 04 rendezvoused at the main entrance of the Biochemical Research Center.

The glass door silently slid open to both sides, and "Captain" immediately took control of the access system, handling the door like a child at play; all security mechanisms became ineffective. Discover stories at My Virtual Library Empire

"Who's there?"

Seeing the doors open suddenly, someone took the opportunity to rush in.

The on-duty security inside immediately reached for their firearms.

Put, put, put!

A series of silenced gunshots followed, and several security guards in the hall opposite the door fell into pools of blood.

Adrian and others knew very well that now was not the time for mercy or soft-heartedness.

"Yes, this it!"

Old Tree Boundary Ape Lulu'an sniffed vigorously and nodded, "Mini has been here!"

The olfactory sense of Magical Beasts was always sharp, and the Tree Boundary Ape was no exception; it had picked up the scent of the Blue Scaled Colt.

Adrian ordered, "Old Joe, your puppets will clear and control the entire first floor, team two will clear the upper floors layer by layer, no prisoners, no survivors, team one continue with me to search for the underground lab, Lulu'an lead the way, Old Ruan, directly clear the path with your spells."

Team one's Old Tree Boundary Ape and Earth Mage were well-suited for tracking the location of the Blue Scaled Colt.

They were leveraging the Holy Knight's steed companion to confirm the location of illegal experiments conducted by Angela Pharmaceutical Company.

The enemy had instigated local gangs and hired Ability Users to attack team 04's second stronghold, stealing the Green Scale Colt Mini, probably never expecting it would become a key clue leading to their breach.

"Understood!"

Fully armed, Joshua nodded, his eyes gleaming.

Just then, sixteen fully armed Constructed Puppet Warriors charged in,

mercilessly beginning to sweep through the entire first floor. Amid the soft sound of silenced gunfire mixed with human screams, it quickly quieted down, leaving no one alive outside of team 04.

Joshua's maximum control allowed him to simultaneously operate thirty-two Constructed Puppet Warriors, so sixteen more Constructed Puppet Warriors were hidden in a concealed location near the Biochemical Research Center, serving as a strategic reserve.

If anyone surrounded the research center, the Puppet Master would definitely give them a surprising counter-encirclement.