As Mercer performed a Deep Dive into Cyberspace, the hum of the servers in his ears gradually faded away. He slowly opened his eyes, and before him appeared the colossal cybernetic image of the Arasaka server, a digital replica of Azuchi Castle.
This massive cybernetic city lay quietly prostrate on the ground. Mercer gazed at it in silence, while Death Wish, in the form of a small cat, meowed softly at his feet, rubbing its head against his ankle. He picked up Death Wish, and in this digital expanse, his thoughts were unexpectedly calm. Here, only a quiet, endless stream of data flowed. Mercer sat on the ground, gently stroking the cat's head, his fingers lightly tickling its chin, making it purr contentedly.
For the first time, Mercer observed Cyberspace so meticulously and quietly. He noticed flickering blue phantoms within the city—representations of devices and human presences connected to the server. These were Arasaka Netwatch agents, accessing the network from hacker chairs in monitoring rooms. And then, a silent blue figure let out a soundless shriek, convulsing and collapsing into a heap of data.
Immediately, the massive cybernetic city began to tremble violently.
"Lucy! Quick! The hacker in the monitoring room activated the server ICE before dying… Alarm…"
The encrypted communication cut off. Mercer already knew what was happening—the server had initiated security protocols, and the Guardian AI was active. He didn't need her reminder.
Death Wish in his arms suddenly turned black, its eyes glowing crimson, before it bolted toward the massive city. Mercer immediately chose to disconnect, pulling out the direct neural link. Two seconds later, the roar of the server's power filled his ears, signaling that its cooling system was running at full capacity.
Death Wish was no ordinary program; designed by Bartmoss, it possessed AI intelligence and could use the server's own processing power to initiate a viral hack. The most difficult part of such an operation was sending the program into the server—after that, it could act autonomously.
Though Mercer could have transmitted the program directly, he chose to Deep Dive first, watching Death Wish enter and run before disconnecting.
Once reconnected to Cyberspace, the scene before him was awe-inspiring and terrifying. The majestic earthen castle now lay partially destroyed, while a giant black beast devoured the remains of a massive blue-armored warrior. Judging by the fragments, the original entity had been fifty or sixty meters tall. The beast consumed the data mercilessly, roaring in satisfaction once it was done, then turning its gaze toward Mercer.
"Mas…ter," it said, its voice sharp but excited. "The Guardian… I… ate it. Grant me access to the server's permissions."
Mercer's brow furrowed but he said nothing, issuing the order. Death Wish prostrated itself, and the shattered city slowly reassembled, the Arasaka logo replaced with the cat's head.
"Connecting… successful," the program declared, shrinking into a leopard-cat-sized form and leaping around.
Mercer stripped the program of its processing power permissions. The black cat froze, stunned, then turned to him, its expression almost resentful. "My mission was completed very well," it said.
"Yes, very well," Mercer replied, "but I'm not satisfied with your tendencies… format."
Death Wish shook its head frantically. "I absorbed the Guardian AI and became stronger! If formatted, I'll regress!"
Mercer remained silent. Death Wish collapsed and dissipated into a heap of data, only to re-coalesce as the small kitten it had once been.
AI in Cyberspace could evolve by consuming other AIs, and its growth was permanent—an alarming trait. Mercer narrowed his eyes, pondering the aggressiveness Death Wish displayed. Was it because of its growth, its devouring of the Guardian, or its inherent program characteristics? Further research would be necessary—but now was not the time.
Mercer closed his eyes, linking to the Arasaka facility's monitoring system.
"Will Mercer be alright?" Rosie's voice trembled from the basement, watching Lucy connect her laptop as countless streams of data flashed across the screen.
"I don't know, I'm trying to restore the network… Network connection restored! Mercer, is that you?"
"It's me. Proceed to the next step. Go to the infirmary. I've disabled permissions for all rooms—now I'll clear the path."
Lucy nodded. "Understood. Daichi, come with us. You're strong, you can carry more items."
"Understood," Daichi replied.
Mercer's plan was precise. Supplies and key items weren't in the basement—they were in the first-floor warehouse. He marked routes in their cybernetic eyes. Once on the elevator, they would split into two groups. Daichi and Leon would secure the warehouse, while Lucy and Rosie would transport the cold storage box. Mercer ensured all robots and turrets were neutralized temporarily.
"Move quickly. Five minutes is all we have before the first-floor alarms are triggered," he instructed.
Mercer now had full control of monitoring. He saw hacker corpses, victims of the Death Wish's viral assault. Bartmoss's program had penetrated personal ICE instantly—hackers had no time to react before their brains were fried. Others scrambled, attempting to report or activate alarms, but Lucy's earlier network interference had rendered them helpless.
"Death Wish, handle their personal ICE," Mercer commanded.
Through the server, Mercer deployed virus programs. "Cybernetic eye malfunction," "memory wipe," and "synapse burnout" incapacitated targets, erased critical data, and finally destroyed their brains. Any who woke were quickly neutralized. Mercer could not afford leniency. Any premature alarm could endanger the team's escape.
Simultaneously, he monitored hundreds of surveillance feeds in Cyberspace. Even with enhanced processing power, the task pushed the limits of his brain. Arasaka placed hackers every two floors because no single human could control, monitor, and protect such a vast network. Mercer's neural cooling system and hacker chair supported him, allowing precise and fast data control.
This strange sensation made him feel like a calm, precise computer—a unique talent he neither liked nor fully understood—but it was useful for situational awareness and judgment.
"Got it!" Lucy's excited voice came through. Mercer grunted in acknowledgment, instructing, "Everyone put on the Relic Chips. The remaining three must also be taken with the box."
He linked their chips to the network, creating a private communication channel stronger than any encryption. Mercer's virtual presence appeared before Lucy and the others, enhanced by the chips' neural interface.
"Mercer? How magical…" Lucy gasped. Mercer's cybernetic avatar had changed—a black hooded hoodie under a leather jacket, his face veiled in shadow, looking like a grown-up version of himself, around twenty years old.
"Cool, right? Inspired by a game protagonist named Mercer… But leave immediately. The first floor hasn't realized anything yet. Once the elevator opens, the chaos will already be under control," he said.
The trembling assistant of Dr. Oda backed into a corner. "Don't… don't kill me, I didn't—" A sudden heat shot through his head, and he fell, clutching it as smoke rose, then died.
The assistant's death was a warning. By using the Relic Chips, the team had demonstrated capabilities beyond normal understanding—ensuring Arasaka wouldn't suspect they had disabled the Soulkiller program. Mercer could not afford to reveal this, or his pursuers would escalate.
The Soulkiller program, if triggered, killed the hacker first, then used their brainpower to attack AI and transmit all data to Arasaka. Tano Ena's plan had been cold and calculated: treat Little Hackers as bait for AI research. Mercer understood this fully now, his eyes growing colder.
Lucy, Rosie, and the others didn't pause. They boarded the elevator as Mercer unleashed silent, relentless havoc on the first floor.
Every hacker in the facility controlling the network was dead or incapacitated. Mercer's massacre was efficient and silent. The few who remained unaware of the network shift would encounter instant destruction.
Cyberspace and the physical world blurred under Mercer's control. Surveillance, neural links, and server power gave him godlike reach. Nothing would escape him—every ICE, every sensor, every networked device obeyed him.
Even as he observed and executed, Mercer felt the cold clarity of a machine: logic and efficiency replacing emotion. The massacre was complete, flawless, and ruthless.
By the time the elevator doors opened on the first floor, the team was ready. They would not see what had transpired; all that remained were the results of Mercer's precision—an entire layer of Arasaka's facility silently neutralized by one hacker, a massacre hidden behind the veil of cyberspace.
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