"The fuck!"
V whipped out her gun, almost pulling the trigger on the bot in front of her as it suddenly began to twitch bizarrely.
Just a moment ago, Lilith had everything under control, but now her voice had vanished. In its place, the bot she had been controlling began to convulse violently.
It was hard to imagine a robot twitching nonstop like a human being electrocuted, but what was even more terrifying was that after the convulsions stopped, the bot stood unnaturally straight.
The camera on its head stared intently at Mercer and the others, as if analyzing and judging something. But soon, it gave Mercer a salute. Then, as if it had received a command, it turned to look at the other bots beside it.
The next moment, the other bots also began to twitch.
Not only that, but the computers, screens, and all the electronic devices in the room began to flicker erratically, like they were having a seizure.
The bots that had been standing on either side of the room, after their convulsions, all took a step forward in unison. The indicator lights on their foreheads glowed a bright red. They raised their weapons, disengaged the safeties, and suddenly began to march in perfect sync toward the door.
"What is this..." V didn't quite understand the situation, but she still looked at Mercer instinctively. "Did you hack them all? What about that Lilith? Is she taken care of?"
"It's a tug-of-war, but Lilith isn't getting away."
A look of surprised delight appeared on Mercer's face. "She subconsciously tried to isolate and back up the infected area, never imagining that my Blacklight virus could bypass her ICE and network protocols. By the time she realized this virus was far more tenacious than she'd imagined and tried to cut her losses by abandoning this server... she had already brought Blacklight back to her home base."
"Home base?" V asked.
"The other servers on the moon, maybe even Mars, in any case, Lilith is now fighting for her life with everything she's got. And according to my calculations, she won't last. This time, she's facing a catastrophe."
Mercer knew well that the essence of an AI was similar to a program, but a program needed to run on computers and servers. Blacklight's corrosion, however, was all-encompassing.
Blacklight not only targeted the AI's core program but also infectiously hacked and controlled any device that could provide computing power.
If Lilith had recognized the terrifying nature of this virus the moment it started running and had immediately cut her losses, abandoning the entire infected server and severing the connection between her AI core and it, she might have had a chance to survive.
But Lilith's mistake was this, she tried to fight back.
This wasn't due to arrogance or hubris, but an instantaneous decision based on experience. She, or rather, anyone, could not have imagined just how terrifying the Blacklight Mercer had developed was. It was a virus program that had long since surpassed conventional ones.
Until a new network protocol and a dedicated anti-virus program were developed, Blacklight, a super virus that could bypass ICE programs and attack directly from the local protocol level, was virtually indefensible.
This was especially true after Morning Star mobilized its computing power to assist in the attack. This terrifying amount of computing power wasn't just from Mercer's servers in Dogtown, but also the Super Server in Busan's Ghost City that Alt had lent him.
The combination of the two was almost equivalent to a super AI, with no disadvantage in computing power, planting a virus-infected USB drive into the opponent's server before launching a sneak attack.
With almost no resistance, Lilith was taken down by the combined forces of Blacklight and Morning Star. The battle skipped the intense fighting and went straight to the endgame.
The only reason Mercer couldn't declare victory yet was that Lilith was still putting up a desperate struggle.
She had deployed all the rogue AIs attached to her servers and was mobilizing every bit of computing power and every program she could to try and delete the Blacklight program, write a temporary anti-virus program on the fly, and slow Blacklight's corrosion.
At the same time, she was also trying to counter-attack, for example, by throwing viruses at Mercer's servers, triggering other defense protocols, and even attempting a mutually assured destruction-style retaliation against Mercer...
"So..." V watched the group of bots walk to the door. The double-reinforced door, however, strangely remained shut, and the bots began to try and pry it open manually, like madmen. "We... succeeded?"
Songbird's face was grim. She whipped her head around to look at Mercer. "Are we in deep shit?"
"Hard to say... but wasn't our purpose in coming here to eliminate the hidden threat completely?" Mercer smiled, then pulled a folded Octopus Arm from his suitcase and tossed it to V.
"Don't just stand there. Get ready to run." As soon as Mercer finished speaking, the room they were in began to flash with a blinding red light.
"Emergency protocol activated!" A cold female voice, accompanied by the crackle of static, echoed through the base.
While V deftly caught the Octopus Arm and started installing it on Mercer's shoulder, she asked, still a bit dazed, "What the hell is an emergency protocol?"
"It means this place might fucking explode!!!"
Songbird shrieked. Without needing to be told, she took three steps in two bounds, rushed to the door, opened the electronic panel, and pulled out her data cable, attempting to breach the door.
"Don't waste your energy. If it needed hacking, would I need you... Move."
As Mercer spoke, he walked to the door, brandishing the newly assembled Octopus Arm.
The hand of the Octopus Arm wedged into the seam of the door. Then, with a sudden exertion of force, a gap was actually torn open in the massive door.
Then, the other bots all pushed together, and just like that, they slowly forced the door open to both sides.
"Let's go. We need to find the real server room as quickly as possible and terminate the emergency protocol." As Mercer finished, V cursed, "I knew this guy was up to no good..."
—--
Yes, the room they were in wasn't a server room at all. The so-called server room visible behind the glass was also completely fake.
It wasn't glass at all, but a display monitor in an offline state, disguised as glass, the images it showed were, naturally, all fake.
Lilith wasn't stupid enough to leave a group of netrunners to talk alone right next to her servers.
But the one thing she hadn't anticipated was the existence of something as monstrous as the Blacklight virus, nor had she expected Mercer to have a super AI on par with Alt, as well as a Super Server from Earth providing computing power.
Still, one had to admit she had some skill. After realizing the danger of the Blacklight program, she had immediately responded. One of her responses was to activate the lunar base's emergency protocol and take the local servers completely offline.
All equipment was switched to offline mode.
At this moment, every computer, every device, even the doors in the entire lunar base had lost their smart network connection. Only the locally running programs were still working.
This was because Lilith had quickly determined that the Blacklight virus's infection was indiscriminate; it would even grow stronger by infecting more devices. So she immediately cut off the local area network to prevent Blacklight from spreading wantonly through the network to other devices.
But she herself wasn't so lucky. The moment the Blacklight virus hacked her, it had already embedded itself into her program's local protocol. No matter where she fled, Blacklight followed her like a shadow, even guiding Morning Star and maintaining a constant network connection with Earth.
Pushing open the first massive door, they were met with another security door. But this time, Mercer didn't go over to pry it open with his bare hands.
Instead, he took out several powerful bombs from the suitcase, handed them to the bots, and retreated behind the first security door himself.
"These morons actually used two security doors to make a death cubicle?" V, who was well-versed and battle-hardened in such matters, saw the setup at a glance.
Between these two ultra-thick metal doors that could be completely sealed was a corridor only five or six meters long. If both doors were shut, this small five-or-six-meter-long cubicle would be completely locked down.
Mercer nodded, warily eyeing the ceiling on both sides of the corridor. "I'm just not sure what kind of attack it is. A death laser corridor? Poison gas? Or flamethrowers? In any case, safety first."
"We have to hurry! Mercer! This emergency protocol is on a countdown! There's only... only 180 seconds? We'll never make it in time!"
Songbird's voice was urgent and tinged with fear as she looked at the data appearing on a computer screen.
Considering how deep they were inside the base, even running in a straight line might not get them to a safe area, not to mention they were now most likely surrounded!
"Don't be nervous. As far as I know, there are no nukes here. At worst, it's just a big bang."
Mercer's words almost made Songbird laugh in exasperation. "Fine. Let's hope this 'big bang' doesn't blow our oxygen backpacks to bits. I really don't want to find out what the air on the moon tastes like."
V, on the other hand, seemed as calm as Mercer. She even had the presence of mind to joke, "The moon has air? I thought it was a vacuum, just like space!"
"V, that was sarcasm!!" Songbird said, frantically rummaging through the suitcase. She finally found an emergency survival pack inside, which contained three days' worth of water and food, and... a small oxygen tank.
Mercer and V exchanged a glance, shrugged, and shared a knowing smile. Then, a violent explosion suddenly roared in their ears.
The intense shockwave from the explosion nearly sent Songbird sprawling. Mercer reached out and steadied her, joking, "If you don't want to find out if the moon has air, or what it tastes like... we need to speed up."
"Fire!" At that moment, a loud roar echoed from outside the door.
It was the voice of Wade, the head of this lunar base.
As the voice fell, a series of gunshots rang out. Listening to the clanging sounds, Mercer, V, and Songbird hid behind the first door. Mercer raised his voice, "What exactly is this emergency protocol? Aren't you in a hurry to run?"
"Fuck you! I knew I shouldn't have made a deal with you fucking Earthlings!"
Wade's furious reply made Mercer turn to look at V.
"Why'd he call us Earthlings?"
"Who knows where these asshole off-world colonists' loyalties lie?"
The conversation didn't slow their actions.
The very instant the exchange began, V's figure started to flicker.
The custom-built mech for this trip to the moon handled very differently from her previous armor. The biggest change was the weakened thrusters, but this didn't affect V's godlike speed in the slightest.
She weaved effortlessly through the hail of bullets. The next moment, a black shadow shot past her, arriving first. In the squad comms, Mercer's voice held a hint of amusement.
[Mercer: I think this is the first time we've fought side-by-side like this?]
[V: Ha, wanna race to see who's faster?]
[Mercer: You'd definitely lose. I'm the real cyberware superman now.]
The two speedsters, both having activated abilities surpassing a normal Sandevistan, exchanged words at an astonishing speed. Even so, by the time the three sentences were spoken, Mercer and V had already charged through the storm of bullets and were upon the Orbital Air soldiers outside the door.
Wade, the leader, didn't hesitate to activate his own Sandevistan. But then, to his horror, he found that in his vision... these two bastards were still moving so fast it was impossible to react!
"Earthlings are a lot faster than you think, Moonie."
V's mocking voice came from under her helmet. Wade only had time to twist his body, trying to dodge the Mantis Blades that shot out from V's armored arm. But the next moment, an Octopus Arm smashed his skull to pieces.
"Dammit! My kill!"
V's complaint went unanswered, because Mercer had already charged into the crowd like a meat grinder. With a single spin, his Octopus Arm whipped out like a flail, creating a vortex of flesh and blood.
From a distance, Songbird watched, somewhat dumbfounded, but her reaction was by no means slow. Realizing her own armor was also bulletproof, she scrambled to follow at full speed.
Even if she couldn't see Mercer and V's movements, or even their figures, she could see where large groups of people were suddenly dropping dead... wasn't that enough?
The bots and armed soldiers waiting in ambush outside the door were annihilated with devastating force. Their original plan was to trap Mercer's group in the narrow corridor and eliminate them with overwhelming firepower.
But now, their decision to crowd the doorway had turned the area into the perfect killing field for Mercer and V.
An ambush of several dozen people was reduced to a gory mess of severed limbs in just over thirty seconds. V flicked her Mantis Blades clean, then automatically retracted them into her armor. "Which way do we run?"
"This way." Mercer didn't hesitate, sprinting at full speed down one side of the corridor. V followed without a word, while Songbird, carrying a survival pack, hurried after them. "Slow down! You guys are too fast!"
Mercer didn't hesitate, instead heading back the way they came. By the time Songbird, with her back thrusters on full blast, had knocked over a table and caught up to Mercer and V, the main hall they had passed through upon entering the facility was already a river of blood.
"Warning! Emergency protocol will be executed shortly. Current countdown, thirty seconds..."
The countdown, accompanied by alarm bells, sounded in their ears. Songbird looked at Mercer, who was now sitting at a computer desk studying something, and asked urgently, "What do we do! Where are we going now!"
"Don't rush..." Mercer was still unhurried. He simply raised a hand to Songbird, tapped his own head, then tilted his head, gesturing for her to observe their surroundings.
Songbird looked closely. In the room, not everyone had been slaughtered by Mercer.
In fact, some of the ordinary Orbital Air employees who hadn't been dealt with by Mercer and V were screaming and frantically trying to put on what looked like spacesuits they had found from somewhere.
In that instant, Songbird understood. "There's no bomb!?"
"Please, Lilith is an AI. What good would blowing up the base do her? Besides, this countdown can be heard throughout the entire base. You see these people aren't in a hurry to escape, can't you guess the situation?"
Mercer's words made Songbird say, annoyed, "You were the one who said there'd be a big bang..."
"Didn't I just say it was a possibility?" Mercer finished, then summarized the current situation.
"There's good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?" After speaking, he looked at the ten-second countdown on the screen, sighed, and turned to face them.
"Just spit it out!" V slapped his shoulder. What time was it for building suspense?
"The good news is, the base isn't going to explode."
Mercer shrugged. "The bad news... is that we're about to experience the real moon."
"The real moon!?" V was stunned.
The greatest threat from space was descending upon them in silence.
When the countdown ended, the entire base seemed to shudder, a feeling much like an earthquake. The next moment, a great wind seemed to sweep through the entire base.
The air in the room felt like a giant hand pushing them toward the ceiling. Mercer reacted instantly, grabbing Songbird and V and using his armor's counter-thrusters to stand firm as a mountain.
The other Orbital Air researchers weren't so lucky. At that moment, an employee who hadn't managed to put on his helmet was immediately swept up by the airflow, screaming as he was thrown to the ground. After tumbling a few times, the helmet in his hand rolled far away.
Before he could show much of a terrified expression, his face twisted in agony. He clutched his chest, lying prone on the ground. Soon, his mouth gaped open, unable to utter a single word.
The other Orbital Air employees were also sent rolling all over the floor by the sudden gale. Some were even blown straight up into the air, only to slowly fall back down moments later, their descent looking much slower than on Earth.
"Hello? Mercer? What the fuck is this?" V was startled, but then she realized her ears had suddenly gone quiet.
It seemed only she could hear her own voice; it couldn't travel outside her helmet at all.
On her helmet's visor, text automatically popped up.
[Vacuum environment detected. Oxygen circulation automatically engaged, Under no circumstances should you open the armor. Avoid internal depressurization, which will lead to bodily harm and death due to the vacuum environment.]
[Mercer: Stop shouting like an idiot. There's no air now, so sound can't travel. Use our squad comms.]
[V: How did it suddenly become a vacuum?]
[Songbird: The pressure valves were opened... The internal pressure is rapidly equalizing with the outside. Simply put, all the gas inside the base is being vented out onto the moon! The gravitational field generator has been shut down too! This place has completely turned into a vacuum-sealed lunar prison!]