Chapter 13: Intelligence Beyond the Ordinary

Since the accident, they suddenly became very close, even Deep Dive gathered with them... I know how many there are in total—they must be hiding something."

The young hacker, facing the gaze of Messer and the others, first glanced evasively at the ground, then summoned his courage to look at Agent Arisaka:

"I think they’re definitely plotting something, because before, Lucy, Kyoko, Daichi, and Leon all got along well, but Messer only joined after the accident. And Messer has changed a lot recently! There’s definitely something wrong! I stand by what I say!"

His heart was pounding wildly. He knew that after revealing this, he’d be seen as a traitor by the others. But if his accusation succeeded, maybe he could survive! Escape this project—or even leverage this merit to become a senior employee!

With that thought, Yuu Sakata’s expression hardened.

He was nearly certain this group was hiding something—before, everyone looked like they were on the brink of death, yet lately, these few appeared to laugh and chat freely...

He had secretly asked Kyoko before, but even she said it was just because things had been safe recently, no AI encounters.

That didn’t make sense; Kyoko was naturally timid, and even he felt more fear during Deep Dives than before—so why had Kyoko suddenly become braver?

"I have plenty of evidence proving they’re conspiring or hiding secrets!"

The more Yuu spoke, the clearer and more excited his thoughts became. "Yes, that must be it!"

But Agent Arisaka remained indifferent.

If even a kid could see it, did Arisaka’s staff just sit around doing nothing?

Every conversation between Lucy, Messer, and the others was recorded, along with 24-hour monitoring of their communication signals, biometric data analysis, and all sorts of packages already in place.

Though the data occasionally fluctuated, nothing reached abnormal levels. Isn’t this what the review was for? Why should you tell me?

"Any other evidence?"

Agent Arisaka coldly stared at Yuu.

Yuu hesitated. "Evidence? I mean... if you interrogate them strictly, you’ll definitely find something..."

"Idiot! Go line up for the review! Don’t waste my time."

Agent Arisaka cursed angrily. If he had the authority, he’d have already locked this brat’s cybernetic implants and overloaded his neural interface.

He didn’t need hacking skills—his clearance as a senior agent at Arisaka Corporation was enough.

Yuu opened his mouth to protest, but reluctantly slunk to the back of the line.

Messer didn’t even bother to glance at him, calm as ever, putting on the jacket beside the hacker chair as Yuu faltered.

He walked easily to the elevator, while the others showed mixed expressions.

Kyoko looked furious—she’d been pushing to recruit the remaining two young hackers inside the facility into their escape group. Messer was just about to agree, but now with this incident...

She didn’t even know how to speak to him.

For a moment, even she felt afraid. Luckily, Messer hadn’t agreed before; if Yuu leaked the plan...

Lucy’s expression remained cold.

She wasn’t a bad person, but honestly, as long as she could get out alive... no, as long as they all escaped together, she didn’t care about anyone else.

Daichi Tetsuya and Leon exchanged a worried glance. If things really reached the final step...

Escape now? But they weren’t ready yet...

Still, seeing Messer walk at the front of the line, hands in pockets, calm and collected, eased their anxiety.

It’s okay. With Messer here, they’d be fine.

As for the silent little girl hacker, she quietly observed everything with an impassive gaze, like a soulless doll mechanically following the group forward.

...

Entering the elevator and descending to the basement level, Messer naturally was the first to enter the infirmary for a cybernetic inspection.

Leading the way had its benefits—if something was wrong, he could immediately use the fast decryption program burned into his network access pod’s co-processor to act.

Doctor Oda stood by the surgical chair, visibly a little annoyed. “Come on, lie down. We need to run a full scan of your cybernetic software.”

Seeing her expression, Messer smiled teasingly. “Looks like Doctor Oda’s working overtime this time.”

“...At least two days minimum without sleep. Anyway, if you can save me some trouble, that’d be great.”

With a blank face, she waited for Messer to lie down, then quickly plugged the diagnostic machine’s data cable into the slot behind his ear. As the data connected, her fingers flew over the cybernetic data.

“Hmmm... brain-computer interface readings are high. What have you been doing in cyberspace lately?”

“Just digging through some data while bored, also used server power to write some programs. You can check the co-processor yourself...” Messer started, but Doctor Oda cut him off.

“I see... Hah, device takeover, cybernetic overheating, cybernetic malfunction, electromagnetic short circuit, target tracking...

Hmm, structure needs optimization. Just a few programs and you’ve used up all your memory?

The tech team will check your software data soon. After the checkup, report directly to the tech department.”

Messer nodded—no wonder it was bloated.

He’d even hidden ‘Synaptic Fusion,’ which could burn an enemy’s brain, ‘Quick Decoding’ for rapid password cracking, ‘Memory Erasure’ and ‘System Reset’ for silent assassination.

With so many programs buried in the code, could the memory hold it all?

Usually, the Arisaka Mk.3 network receiver paired with a co-processor has six default fast decryption slots.

He had managed to cram in so many by optimizing program memory exceptionally well.

“Hmm... almost done. Any recent use of the monofilament wire?”

Doctor Oda kept questioning.

“I practiced in my room. It’s been a while since I last used it. If I don’t get familiar again, I’m afraid I’ll cut my own fingers when I use it.”

“Good, preparing is a virtue.”

Doctor Oda squinted, staring at the data a while longer, then said:

“Your neural recovery... is almost complete?

No, not just recovery—your ‘Intelligence’ attribute has increased too!

Unbelievable...

Wait, I need to update your data and upload it to your medical log.”

Messer suddenly grew interested.

The ‘Intelligence’ Doctor Oda mentioned was just like a video game stat, used to evaluate a person’s physical attributes, potential, and strength.

Generally, physical aptitude must be at least 12 points to accept heavy cybernetic arms like the Gorilla Arm or Berserk System.

Programs like Steinwstein require not only physical aptitude but also reaction aptitude above 12 to use.

Intelligence determined the hacker’s computational capacity and reaction speed in cyberspace.

Cybernetics like the ‘Krenzkov’ or ‘Synaptic Accelerator’ that speed up nerves correlated with intelligence and reaction attributes.

Calmness determined one’s tolerance to cybernetics.

The higher the calmness, the less prone one was to cyber psychosis and the more cybernetic implants one could bear.

“After the checkup, can you tell me all my current attributes? I haven’t checked for a long time.”

“Sure. Have you studied the cybernetic medical course? If so, I can send you the report so you understand yourself better.”

Seemingly amused by something, Doctor Oda’s mood visibly brightened.

“Currently studying the intermediate course,” Messer said.

“Not bad...” Doctor Oda raised an eyebrow. “My assistant just graduated the advanced course... You still have time to study?”

“Been cramming lately, considering what’s happened to me.”

Messer’s answer was flawless.

“Hmph... okay, results are in. Physical... 11?

You’re only fourteen, right? That’s a great score.

Reaction... 16? Young people are impressive.

Calmness... 19?

Intelligence...”

Doctor Oda fell silent, replaced by the glow from her cybernetic eye.

Messer guessed she was making a call.

He calmly sat up and peeked at the screen, which displayed a line in Japanese:

[Detected Intelligence attribute exceeding normal evaluation range. Subject ‘Messer Han’ information automatically saved and sent to Arisaka Talent Reserve List.]

Hm, this guy really is a genius among geniuses.

Messer waited patiently before Doctor Oda turned to him: “Alright, you don’t need to go check the software. Go see the director first. His office is on the top floor.”

“Understood.” Messer asked curiously, “What does that mean?”

“It means that as long as you don’t make any fundamental mistakes, you’ll soon become a formal senior agent and receive senior agent training.

After training, depending on your results, you could be assigned as assistant director, deputy project manager, or to a special department.

Messer, I might even have to rely on you someday.”

Doctor Oda’s expression grew even friendlier.

“Well then, please take care of my friend... that agent director looks unfriendly.”

Messer finished, and Doctor Oda nodded crisply:

“No problem. You’ve just been reviewed anyway. They’ll probably just ask about your Deep Dive experiences and implant a lie detector chip. I’ll tell them not to make it unpleasant.”

Messer couldn’t help but smile wryly—no wonder everyone in the company was desperate to climb the ladder...

If he didn’t already know what kind of place Arisaka was, he might not want to leave.

But his mind was made up.

What came next...

As he stepped out, thinking about how to rake in a hefty sum from Arisaka before running away, the possibility seemed much greater.

As he exited, Lucy, second in line, looked at him with concern. Messer merely smiled: “Just a quick check. No need to worry.”

Agent Arisaka’s sharp gaze locked onto him, blocking his way. “That’s not the way to the software department. Where are you going?”

“To the top floor, director’s office. You can verify.”

Messer met the gaze of the agent—though only about 1.6 meters tall, facing the taller agent over 1.8 meters, he showed no sign of backing down.

Though he used polite Japanese honorifics, his attitude made the agent’s fingers itch.

What kind of upbringing did these kids have? No respect for seniors, not even remembering to respect their superiors?

The agent was annoyed but obediently messaged the director and, after receiving confirmation, stepped aside.

“Watch your attitude, hacker.”

“Oh, truly sorry.” Messer mockingly bowed in a typical Japanese manner before striding off.

The agent narrowed his eyes and turned to Lucy. “What are you staring at? Go in and check!”

“Don’t let me catch you slacking off.”

Agent Arisaka ground his teeth in frustration.

Messer entered the elevator, pressed the top floor button. The display quickly verified his clearance, and the elevator accelerated upward.

When the doors opened, a luxurious office came into view. Messer walked in and saw Ena Tano, sitting in her chair with eyes closed, resting.