Chapter 162: Spider Murphy
Time ticked by, second by second.
This partitioned consciousness could not linger within the Blackwall for too long. Not only did she risk detection by the Blackwall AIs, but prolonged separation from her main body would also lead to data decay and logical corruption.
"Must increase input..." Spider Murphy's core consciousness made a decision.
Although the risk was immense, she couldn't give up.
Rache was right there.
She began mobilizing more computational power, transmitting a larger portion of her core data sequence through the Blackwall's hidden channel toward the Badlands manufactorum.
The process was like walking a tightrope. She had to precisely control the intensity and signature of the data stream to avoid triggering an extreme reaction from the Blackwall.
As more data poured in, Spider Murphy's "presence" outside the firewall grew significantly stronger.
She began attempting more aggressive measures.
No longer satisfied with finding vulnerabilities, she tried to directly parse the underlying construction rules of the firewall.
Her data stream dissolved into countless tiny parsing units, like nano-scale probes, attempting to decompose and understand the material basis of this barrier.
Inside the workshop, Joric immediately sensed the change in pressure on the firewall.
"Intrusion intensity increased by 47.3%. Strategy shift: from tentative infiltration to active architectural parsing." He recorded calmly, his crimson optical lenses glowing slightly brighter. "The 'guest' is committing more core resources. Decision logic leans toward risk acceptance. Target priority is extremely high."
He noted that this parsing attempt wasn't a blind brute-force crack but carried an intent to "understand."
The opponent was trying to reverse-engineer the firewall's mathematical foundation and information coding methods.
In Joric's view, this behavior held more value than a simple attack.
It demonstrated that this "guest" possessed advanced cognitive capabilities and a desire to learn, rather than merely being a tool executing preset instructions.
Joric still did not stop it.
He even slightly relaxed the firewall's countermeasures against this parsing attempt, allowing the opponent to acquire some strictly filtered "noise" data regarding the firewall's basic logic units.
He wanted to see if the opponent could glean anything from this fragmented information. This would be key to assessing its intelligence level.
Spider Murphy immediately caught these subtle changes.
The firewall's feedback was no longer complete dead silence. Occasionally, it returned snippets of data that appeared chaotic but hinted at underlying patterns.
This invigorated her, like seeing a glimmer of light in endless darkness.
"Is it... responding to me?" The thought sent a chill through her, but mostly it ignited a fighting spirit fueled by the challenge.
She focused all the transmitted computational power and began analyzing this feedback data with full force.
Her mind raced at high speed within the data ocean, trying to piece together the firewall's blueprint from these fragments.
It was a silent, fierce contest waged at the microscopic data level.
On one side was a creation of the Mechanicus from another era of peak technology; on the other, a legendary consciousness evolved to the apex within the local network environment.
The former sat securely on the fishing platform, observing calmly; the latter exerted every effort, trying to pry open a sliver of a gap.
Spider Murphy felt an unprecedented exhaustion. Such high-intensity parsing was a massive burden on her data structure.
But she couldn't stop. Rache's face flashed continuously within her core, supporting her to continue.
She began attempting to construct targeted cracking algorithms, adjusting attack strategies in real-time based on the feedback data. Her reaction speed and adaptability had already surpassed any known human netrunner or ordinary AI.
Joric calmly recorded all of this: "Parsing speed accelerating. Adaptive algorithm generation efficiency exceeds local baseline by 389%. Target demonstrates extremely strong environmental adaptability and learning capability. Consistent with high-level rogue AI or deeply modified consciousness-construct from the Old Net era."
His evaluation of this "guest" continued to rise.
To achieve this level before his firewall proved its extraordinary value.
Whether as a research sample or a potential tool with special abilities, it was worth investing more attention.
However, the firewall remained solid.
Spider Murphy's efforts were like tides crashing against a reef—intense, yet unable to truly shake it in the slightest.
The more computational power she invested, the more she felt the unfathomable depth of this barrier.
Its defense seemed multi-dimensional. Even if she made seemingly breakthrough progress at a certain logical point, it would immediately trigger deeper, more complex defense mechanisms.
Despair began to spread quietly.
She realized that with her current methods, she might never breach this defense.
The opponent's technological level completely exceeded her scope of understanding. This wasn't a contest on the same level.
Just then, Joric decided to end this preliminary observation.
He had collected enough data to assess the current value of this "guest."
Continued probing was unnecessary. It was time for the next step.
He manipulated the firewall to emit a clear, stable data pulse. It contained no aggression but carried an absolute sense of authority, directed straight at Spider Murphy's consciousness attempting futilely outside.
This pulse carried no complex information, only a simple, repetitive binary instruction sequence. Translated, its meaning was equivalent to: "Halt. Identify yourself and state your purpose."
This instruction was not an invitation, but more like an order that must be executed.
It transmitted backward along Spider Murphy's data connection, carrying unquestionable power.
Spider Murphy's data stream froze instantly.
All ongoing parsing and attack attempts were forced to halt.
She felt an indescribable, cold, and massive will lock onto this portion of her consciousness.
There was no anger or threat in that will, only a pure sense of scrutiny, like looking at an experimental specimen.
She realized she had been under the opponent's complete control from the very beginning.
The previous stalemate was merely the opponent observing and testing.
Now, the observation seemed to have concluded, and true communication was about to begin.
What should she do? Obey the command, revealing her identity and purpose?
Or sever the connection immediately, abandoning this operation and accepting the risk of partial consciousness data loss?
A brief struggle flashed through her core.
Looking at Rache's life signal so close yet so far away, and thinking of the opponent's unfathomable technological power, Spider Murphy knew that forceful resistance or flight might both be futile, and could even anger the opponent, leading to worse consequences.
She made her decision quickly.
Retaining this part of her consciousness and attempting to establish communication was the only possible way to get close to Rache right now.
She stabilized her own data structure, preparing to respond to that cold command.
Simultaneously, she began secretly executing a backup plan.
Packaging all data encountered here—including the characteristics of that firewall, the code fragment of that command, and the sensation of that terrifying will—she prepared to send this critical information back to her main body beyond the Blackwall at any cost if the situation turned sour.
Inside the workshop, Joric awaited the response.
His mechadendrites hovered silently above the console, ready to activate corresponding protocols based on the opponent's reaction—possibly further communication, or perhaps... a capture program.
This uninvited "guest" had piqued his interest sufficiently. Now, he needed to judge whether it was worth adding to his collection or research queue.
In the invisible data space, the brief silence was broken. Spider Murphy's response data stream flowed cautiously toward the massive will inside the firewall.
(End of Chapter)