The Creators: From Night City

Page 327

Her long period of decadent lifestyle severely damaged her body, but due to rigorous training from a young age and extensive genetic modification, the prosthetic body still left her with a good physical foundation.

"Oh!"

A slender, black hand precisely pressed against the other person's forehead, directly pressing Julia Young, who had jumped up, back onto her hospital bed.

The immense force overwhelmed the bulk-purchased ordinary patient bed, causing it to buckle and collapse.

It was quite a commotion, but very effective; the addict's still somewhat cloudy eyes on the bed immediately became crystal clear.

Raven's eyebrows shot up, and her small face immediately adopted an imposing and dignified aura.

"I ask, and you answer, you self-destructive coward." Due to its own history, Raven naturally harbors a subtle resentment towards this dissolute girl and all humans who willingly degenerate.

“I’m not a coward!” Julia Young struggled to get up again, but Raven pressed her back down. However, she was clearly defiant at this moment, her hands gripping the bed frame so tightly that it creaked, and she tried to push her head back up.

But even a young girl has her limits, and the contest ultimately ended with Julia Young paralyzed in bed.

To be precise, it was after Florence forcibly shut down her prosthetic body, leaving her paralyzed in bed.

“The patient has a large number of custom-made prosthetics in her body. These prosthetics have not only been neglected for a long time, but their age is also significantly out of sync with the patient’s current physical development. She should avoid strenuous exercise,” Florence explained.

However, after this "friendly exchange," the other party clearly recognized reality and finally expressed their willingness to cooperate while lying on the collapsed hospital bed.

How much do you know about it?

Raven pointed to the trophy in the corner of the ward.

"This is all the honor I have. I endured ten years of hard training and countless punches and pain to win this runner-up trophy. It represents the honor of a lightweight boxer and is the stepping stone to becoming a future champion."

"I've never seen a boxing champion hiding in a garbage dump smoking Dumbo." Raven unleashed his sharp tongue, interrupting the other's endless self-praise.

Chapter 663, Research Institute 341

The trophy was presented to Julia Young, and Raven tapped the black and blue olive leaf logo on the corner of the trophy with his finger and asked, "I'm asking you, how much do you know about this organization?"

Julia Young's gritting-teeth reply served as an answer to Raven's question.

"How much do I know? I spent seven years at this fraudulent organization. I know everything about it better than I know my own New Zealand. How much do you think I know? I'm the way I am today because of it!!"

Due to her extreme emotional state, Julia Young also experienced the aftereffects of the drug "Dumbo," causing her to convulse uncontrollably as if she were having an epileptic seizure.

"very good"

"Director Florence, thank you for your help, but please increase the dosage. I need to get more information from her."

"no problem"

Florence waved his hand and approved 5000cc of 'Level III Concentration Treatment Solution', instructing his team of medical professionals to begin administering it to the patient internally, externally, and via injection.

This treatment method, which resembled that of a Mongolian medicine master and seemed to disregard human life, was remarkably effective. The efficacy of the treatment liquid was even more exaggerated than the legendary "Xiong's Old Formula," and Julia Young's condition quickly stabilized.

“Speak,” Raven crouched down and stared at the other’s green face.

"If you tell me, you won't be in so much pain..."

…………

"The Neuromotor Development Center 341 welcomes you to visit and provide guidance. We are committed to selecting and cultivating the best young athletes and are one of the most advanced training institutions in this field."

On the 60-inch large promotional screen, advertisements for the 341 Research Institute were playing continuously, with the black and blue corporate logo wrapped in olive leaves appearing repeatedly.

Because of Valerie's complaints, Raven finally had a brainwave and asked Valerie for an assistant to help her with necessary but less important interpersonal tasks.

Vincent was honorably assigned to assist her on this mission.

To be honest, this job would be most suitable for Jack, the 'social thug,' but Jack is always busy with meetings every three days and big meetings every five days, and he also has to go on tours to some outstanding companies in Night City to provide guidance. He simply can't find the time.

A single gate separates the filthy, chaotic streets of Dogtown from the exquisitely decorated interior of the research institute; a mere step apart feels like the difference between heaven and hell.

Vincent was dressed impeccably, with a floral suit, a red tie, and gold-rimmed glasses. Accompanied by his beautiful secretary Raven, he looked exactly like one of the famous scouts attending the meeting today.

"Sir, do you have an appointment?"

“Of course,” Vincent straightened his tie and announced his two identities: “Hausen Villama, and my secretary Vivia.”

A sophisticated and beautiful businesswoman, a receptionist, pointed at the control panel in front of her and quickly confirmed that there were indeed two people on the invitation list for the athlete selection event. A warm and sweet smile immediately appeared on her face.

The list naturally included the information of two people, since both were genuine invitees. However, they were currently stuck at the gates of Dogtown, being 'friendly' arranged to have tea in a 'reception room' with signal jamming capabilities.

"Welcome, Mr. Hausen. Please come forward and sign this confidentiality agreement first."

"Seriously? This place is so mysterious, what secrets do you have that you have to take so seriously?" Vincent complained, then signed his name without hesitation—Hausen Villama.

"Our institute has always been at the forefront of cultivating world-class athletes. All their information has extremely high commercial value. In order to ensure that it is not leaked, we need to keep it strictly confidential. Please understand."

Vincent's "I understand, I understand" perfectly embodies the attitude of an industry insider.

"This way, please. The athlete selection will start in a while. I personally suggest you go to our deluxe bar for a drink first."

"The drinks are all free," the other party added, making it the most important last point.

Vincent naturally agreed.

Following the reception corridor, the two [Anti-Entropy] special envoys entered a spacious hall. In the northeast corner was the luxurious bar that the receptionist had mentioned.

The bar was indeed luxuriously decorated, with a synthetic wood counter inlaid with rare raw wood veneer. A whole wall was filled with various common alcoholic beverages. An English bartender, wearing a drab gray vest, greeted everyone with, "May I help you, sir?"

He speaks with a perfect London accent, which is very impressive.

Unfortunately, one of the two people at the bar was a seasoned diner at the No. 2 canteen of [Anti-Entropy], known as the terminator of meal card balance and the devourer of wheat juice. No matter how luxurious the decoration or the extravagance, it was all commonplace for him. The other simply had no need for such things.

This led to the two of them sitting at the bar and ordering two drinks, but they were quickly drawn to the humanoid robots that were running around the area.

"What are these robots for?" Vincent simultaneously activated social engineering and obtained intelligence information from the bartender.

"Sensory synchronization robots, for scouts and club agents who can't be there in person," the bartender said casually as he poured Vincent a glass of Hundred Spirits tequila.

"As long as they are connected to the internet, these robots can immerse them in the experience, as if they were personally participating in a talent show."

"This gentleman looks unfamiliar. Is this your first time here?" the bartender casually remarked to Vincent.

"Yes, I was just assigned to this area."

Which team are you recruiting for?

But the casual questions that followed stumped Vincent. He was usually too busy with fighting and romance, and in his earlier years he was involved in the ruthless smuggling business. He had no opportunity to delve into these things in the sports world.

However, his advantage lies in his high level of social engineering skills.

"It's really not convenient to reveal this, it's a trade secret, you know," Vincent said, downing his drink in one gulp and shrugging mysteriously.

Fortunately, a reason that even he himself didn't understand successfully convinced the bartender, who then wore a mysterious "I understand" smile and went to attend to other customers who had called him.

Vincent quickly seized the opportunity to urge Raven to leave the bar, fearing that another inadequate response might turn the "infiltrate" mission into an "infiltrate the enemy" mission.

"Distinguished scouts and agents from Asia, Europe, and Africa, welcome to the 2077-2078 Spring Youth Athlete Selection Meeting. First, I would like to introduce the most outstanding and promising basketball player from Research Institute 341 this year."

As the host delivered his impassioned speech, a person rose from the center of a circular glass-covered stage, less than ten square meters in size, in the middle of the hall.

A little girl who was almost too strong.

Chapter 664 Talent Auction

"Our star player is named Emma Leigh, 11 years old. Please see the big screen behind me for her specific physical data. She has completed all the limb enhancement and modification surgeries, and her overall psychological and physical development assessments are both good. She is an excellent pitching seed."

As the host explained, the little girl inside the glass case tried her best to perform basketball dribbling, ball control, sudden stops, and changes of direction, trying to express herself.

Although this action has little effect, as scouts and agents are more concerned with the data on the big screen behind her and the overall evaluation from the host, she still enjoys it, since any increase in the probability of being selected is good.

"Dr. Fiona Vargas rated her development prospects as excellent, especially after the addition of the latest athlete-specific S.A.W.S ...

As the host announced, the little girl inside the glass case gritted her teeth and activated the S'anwestan within her body. Her movements instantly increased dozens of times, and her dribbling became almost a blur. She continued for several seconds before stopping, panting, and standing still.

Vincent couldn't help but curse out "C".

"Are these people crazy? How dare they put S.A.S.S. on such a young child?"

It's important to know that as the most advanced niche equipment among prosthetics, the Sianwaystein prosthetic is something that even many strong adults cannot adapt to. Many people experience various adverse reactions after being equipped with it, let alone this little girl who is only 11 years old.

"Okay, someone has already expressed interest in signing him. It's Mr. Hols from Atalanta Wolves. His offer is double the starting price, at 2.2 million euros. Those who are interested should hurry up."

"Damn it, what's the difference between this and blatant human trafficking?!" Vincent cursed again as he looked at the scene in front of him where people were being sold as commodities and openly auctioned off.

"Okay, Mr. Kent of Montana Firefox has offered 250 million euros and is currently in first place."

No matter how much Vincent cursed under his breath, the human trafficking business was thriving.

“We need to find a usable data connection point here, preferably one that is within a two-level interactive layer with the server.” Raven glanced at the little girl inside the glass case, who was cheering excitedly because she was being courted by many scouts, and brought the conversation back to the mission.

"It needs to be able to operate covertly," she added as a final sentence.

Vincent, though not particularly skilled in networking, possessed exceptional practical technical abilities. He merely glanced at the equipment layout inside the hall and immediately offered his suggestions.

"See those charging and maintenance stations for the sensory robots in the corner? I bet those robots, which need to maintain a high network speed connection at all times, are directly connected to the organization's main server."

Vincent gestured to his companion to look at the southeast corner of the auction hall, where a dozen or so circular platforms of varying sizes were set up and were being lit up.

An empty preparation station is lit up with a green light, indicating that the robot has left the station and the human-machine connection is normal. A station with a robot in standby mode is lit up with a red light, indicating that the network is connected and the robot is online and waiting.

"Please wait a moment."

Vincent took advantage of a scout who was remotely controlling a robot passing by, pretending to bump into him unintentionally, and then subconsciously helping him up.

“I took a look just now. These robots are high-end products from Zeta Technology. The real-time data exchange required by so many people can only be supported by a central mainframe. It is unlikely that an organization of the size of Research Institute 341 would be so extravagant as to prepare two sets of expensive mainframe-level servers.”

Having received accurate information from Vincent, Raven immediately moved towards the corner. In order not to attract the attention of the surrounding guards, Vincent, who was ostensibly the Raven's superior, could only follow closely behind.

"These high-end products all have anti-intrusion components. What are your thoughts on that?"

Raven is indeed a high-tech android, but as an Edos-type human dedicated to combat, she doesn't have much of a knack for cyber hacking. The devices built into her body aren't really related to cyber hacking either, since Nergigante doesn't surf the internet.

However, this does not mean that she has no means to deal with the network firewall of the 2077 world.

Under Vincent's watchful gaze, Raven reached out and tore a piece of fabric from her business short skirt. The fabric suddenly collapsed under Vincent's gaze, turning into a pool of flowing, fine gray sand. Raven then tossed it onto the maintenance station when no one was looking, and it instantly blended into the sand.

"What... what is this?" This scene left Vincent completely bewildered.

"The self-programmed polar nano-elements have a strong correlation with my body and can replace the body for remote connection."

"I previously assembled most of the communication protocols on the market from Valerie, so cracking it won't take long."

As they spoke, she synchronized a large amount of surveillance footage to their communication channel. This footage was captured by cameras from the 341 Research Institute.

Data powerful enough to overwhelm most hackers was filtered, reviewed, and processed by Raven in a very short time.

"No biotechnology-related data or surveillance footage was found on the server, but I think you need to take a look at this."

A short list was sent to Vincent's header panel.

Ethan Shaw (S-07)

Gender/Age: Male/11 years old

Training focus: Throwing athletes

Modification plan: Lumbar spine implantation of force feedback enhancer (X-3 type) + muscle fiber stimulant

Results of the modification: Explosive power increased by 3.2 times compared to normal children of the same age, but the patient experienced persistent lumbar nerve pain after the operation and needed to inject a small amount of nerve analgesia every day.

Assessment Conclusion: Poor psychological assessment, poor physical potential assessment. Training should be discontinued.

Estimated consequences: The risk of high-level paraplegia before the age of 18 is extremely high, and there is a possibility of analgesic addiction.

Luna Rossi (S-12)

Training direction: Football attacking player

Gender/Age: Female/9 years old

Modification plan: Titanium alloy lower limb bone reinforcement (knee/ankle joints) + accelerated nerve conduction

Results of the modification: 100-meter speed reached 10.98 seconds (average of 15.2 seconds for peers), but mild rejection of the prosthetic body occurred.

Assessment Conclusion: Psychological assessment is good, physical potential assessment is poor, and there is a risk of cyberpsychosis. Training is discontinued.

Estimated consequences: The implant will wear down the patient's own bone, with an 89% probability of causing osteomyelitis, and joint replacement will be required in adulthood.

Matteo Vargas (S-23)

Gender/Age: Male/12 years old

Training direction: Boxing athletes

Modification plan: Dynamic vision prosthetic eye implantation + adrenaline receptor activator