Valerie couldn't help but curse: "Fuck, what the hell is this thing!"
She looked up incredulously at the signal light—at this moment, a strange green pixel smiley face suddenly appeared on the distant signal light, and then the green light abruptly turned red, changing into an angry round pixel face.
Is this a rogue AI?
The first word that popped into Valerie's mind was rogue AI.
Before Bartmos destroyed the Net, there had been rogue AIs that did similar things.
That rogue AI, when hunted by the 'Dragon Hunter' hacker, faked its own death by disguising data. After deceiving the hackers who came to hunt it, it controlled a city's subway system out of revenge.
It caused a bloody city subway accident, making two trains speed and collide at a turn, resulting in the death of a hacker's wife and child sitting on one of the trains.
The nearby agent, unaware of the cause, only knew he almost got killed crossing at a green light, and now, having narrowly escaped death, immediately angrily grabbed his gun and went to settle accounts with the truck driver.
However, before he could take two steps, suddenly another speeding van shot out from the side of the intersection, directly slamming him into the air.
The agent had clearly activated his Krenzikov and tried to dodge with a flying leap—but it was useless, because this vehicle bizarrely swerved, chasing him and ramming him again!
This hit sent him flying seven or eight meters, rolling until he crashed onto the sidewalk!
Valerie's pupils contracted sharply.
Because the car window was wide open, she could clearly see that there was no fucking driver inside!
And after the van arrogantly hit the person and drove away, Valerie felt her hands and feet turn cold, hurriedly backing up a few steps, moving onto the sidewalk, pressing herself close to the wall, and looking around the road with rapid breathing.
The usually normal road now seemed to suddenly transform into a terrifying battlefield, with every vehicle appearing to be a fearsome killing machine.
[Valerie: Who the hell are you!]
[?: Don't mess with me, Valerie, this is your final warning. I have personal reasons not to want to deal with you, but those 'personal reasons' are limited.
Don't let others' goodwill towards you be in vain. It's good for both of us, don't you think?]
Valerie gritted her teeth, immediately making a judgment. It took only a second or two for her to decide the attitude she should take with this damn guy.
[Valerie: Listen, A, even if I give up on this mission, Arasaka's pursuit of you won't stop. I'll report to my superiors that you've already sold the exoskeleton to Military Science.
But I guess Arasaka won't just let you go like that—being caught is just a matter of time for you!
How about this, although I don't know why you are... favorable towards me, since that's the case, you help me, and I'll help you.]
Valerie's mind raced, immediately coming up with a constructive suggestion.
[Valerie: Help me pinpoint the location of the exoskeleton, and I don't mean something as vague as Military Science, but the actual location of the thing. As long as we retrieve the exoskeleton, I can apply to stop the manhunt for you, how about it?]
[?: Valerie, you still don't understand. I'm willing to chat with you not because I'm afraid of Arasaka, but because I don't want you to be so pitifully used as cannon fodder.
Don't get involved. How much do you earn in a month, is it worth risking your life for Arasaka? Get a different job, don't trouble me, it's better for everyone.]
Damn it, how am I supposed to get a promotion and a raise if I don't do this job? In the company, if you don't have support from a faction, how can you get promoted?
Valerie stomped her foot irritably, glanced back at her agent partner who was still twitching on the ground, seemingly not completely dead yet.
She went back to the car, took out a powerful cardiac stimulant from the glove box, and, regardless of whether it was useful, jabbed it into him to fulfill her duty.
Pulled out a cigarette, Valerie bit it at the corner of her mouth, lit it, took a drag, and only after exhaling a puff of smoke did she suppress some of the anxiety and fear in her heart.
Since becoming an Arasaka agent, it was the first time Valerie had encountered someone so fearless, directly hitting an Arasaka agent with a car just to give them a warning?
Damn it, even Military Science would not dare openly attack Arasaka agents. How dare they!
But the fact is, they not only dared to do it but also dared to warn her: if she continues to investigate, she might be the next one struck by a car!
Valerie didn't dare delve deeply into the technical principles—she seriously suspected the other party possessed at least one high-intelligence AI, otherwise it would be absolutely impossible to achieve everything she had seen!
Standing by the wall in distress, Valerie fell into contemplation—should she continue to risk capturing this guy named A, or give up?
Currently, she was in the open, and that guy named A was in hiding. Given the terrifying level of surveillance and ability to use traffic accidents for murder demonstrated, if it came down to calculations, she had to be cautious even when using an elevator.
As an exceptionally skilled hacker Arasaka agent, no one knew better than Valerie how easy it was for a hacker to assassinate someone.
And if she gives up... damn, what about her career!?
Valerie anxiously paced back and forth until a trauma team's hovercar swooped in at high speed, urgently lifting the Arasaka agent on a stretcher into the hovercar, at which point she gritted her teeth and sent a message to Mercer.