CHAPTER 155: CHAPTER 101: PANDORA ALGORITHM

Oulos reclined the seat and stretched her long legs up onto the windshield.

"The witness protection plans of major corporations, also known internally as corporate prisoner plans, always keep certain valuable criminals under close watch, ensuring they can control and eliminate them at any time."

She was both a hacker and a politician, middleman, and conspirator.

Therefore, though not as skilled as Hugo, Oulos held the upper hand at the negotiation table.

John finally understood the saying.

[It’s better to have others beg you than for you to beg others.]

The armored vehicle pulled over to the side of the road.

The sunlight was not bright; the air was dry and hot.

The day-night traffic gap was widening, even criminals and gang members were reluctant to go out.

Hugo Pa stood smoking in the shadow at the mouth of the alley.

He squatted in the corner, his eyes brooding, yet possessing a face only somewhat similar to the one in the official files, even his hair color had changed.

John opened the car door, revealing his gun holster.

[What a f*cking misfortune.]

Hugo raised his hands against the wall.

John, under the old, filthy, faded coat, felt the frail frame and the long-untuned implants.

In Hugo’s inner pocket, he found paper coupons — the kind doomed brick-and-mortar stores loved to use to attract the destitute.

John shoved Hugo into the back of the armored car and followed him in, only to see Oulos smiling in the passenger seat, nodding for him to speak up.

[Updated mission objective]

[Convince Hugo to cooperate. (Not achieved)]

Hugo glanced at the "kidnappers" duo, growing more agitated.

"Who are you? What do you want! I’m so broke I can’t afford food, yet you find me worth extorting?"

"Listen, I know you’re Hugo Pa, and I know you used to be the Cyber Enforcement Unit leader. Have you ever dealt with the Demon Black Ice Program?"

John was concise and to the point.

Oulos closed her eyes for a moment of rest, before speaking.

"Anti-Program BLACK ICE, Demon."

"Oh, f*ck."

Hugo slumped back in the rear seat, swearing as he frowned and sighed, all the while observing the casing of Oulos’s network access rig.

"Were you arrested by the state police?"

"Not her, it was me..."

John waved a hand. "This stuff’s been affecting my life."

"You have contact on the other side of the Black Wall? Impossible, the altered Demon Program only targets AI infections, if you haven’t crossed over, there wouldn’t be any side effects. If you had data transfers with the Black Wall, your brain would be frying. You wouldn’t even have a chance to talk to me!"

Hugo sighed despondently.

He groped around his pocket, pulled out a crumpled traditional cigarette pack, and shook out a wrinkled hand-rolled smoke.

This information seemed like secrets deeply buried in a warehouse.

He was forced to lift the lid on his memories, choking on the recollection yet realizing he hadn’t forgotten any details.

"I’m so damn pathetic."

Hugo crumpled the cigarette pack, panting, as he felt around his body.

Click.

John turned his head and handed over a lit lighter.

Hugo seemed to hesitate, clamped the cigarette between his lips, and squinted as he leaned closer, examining him meaningfully.

John waved a hand.

"My situation is complicated, if there’s no way to lift the Black Ice Program, I probably don’t have many days left..."

He gave Hugo a wry smile.

"Hey, man, you should know that feeling... Just when a wretched life is beginning to see hope, it starts to crumble. Look at you, sir, about to head to Plato as a respectable corporate lackey, hovercar and high salary, I don’t want to impact your future, just do me a favor and give me a way out."

Smoke rose within the armored vehicle.

"I don’t have sympathy, young man. If this deal can be negotiated, I have my own conditions too."

Hugo glanced at John, then at Oulos.

"First, cause trouble for the Cyber Enforcement, if you’re scared, this is where it stops. Second, I’ll help you solve the Black Ice Program, but for the rest I need to take it with me, as leverage for joining Plato."

John, of course, had no objections.

Last night, he nearly wanted to drive into the state police.

Oulos nodded with a smile, without speaking; this counted as forming a temporary criminal partnership.

Hugo actually had been planning for a while too.

"I have a plan, to get my hands on the Pandora Algorithm."

"Wait a minute." John seemed to hear something familiar. "What is this Pandora you’re talking about?"

"You’re not a hacker, you might not know."

Hugo turned to speak with Oulos. "Before Serum disappeared, she left something in the cyber maze. The access keys have been released, and several super hackers have already gotten hold of what’s inside, called the Pandora Algorithm, supposedly related to AI control theory..."

The armored vehicle fell silent.

That string of keys must have been what Tinfoil put online.

Cyberspace was the visual representation of the network, in a deeply linked state, data within the subnet appeared in various understandable forms, allowing the human brain to process and react quickly.

The maze Serum left was treacherous beyond compare.

Inside were all sorts of lethal algorithms, as well as rogue AI she had captured, and countless technological puzzles.

The Pandora Algorithm lay at the deepest point.

Any hacker who reached the end had the right to replicate it; currently, major corporations have mobilized resources to tackle it.

Meanwhile, a multitude of auction information exists online, all attempting to spend hefty sums to buy it from successfully clearing hackers.

Some organizations that succeeded in obtaining it have attempted to completely destroy it.

They are unable to annihilate the maze Serum left behind as the server terminal is in the most dangerous Asian District.

Then more organizations appeared, starting to add even more dangerous lethal traps into the maze, trying to cut off others’ chances of acquiring the algorithm.