Although Feng Xue speculated that the entry might have come from the antivirus software embedded with the virus, he did not get careless. Instead, he copied the data on the chip several times over, then found several kinds of storage chips and tested them one by one.
For example, importing identical data into different chips, importing the antivirus software into different chips, importing only the antivirus software into identical chips, making complete copies, and so on.
After finishing the copying work, Feng Xue touched each chip in turn. In the end, he discovered that as long as the data for this antivirus software had been written in, it could be recorded. What was worth mulling over, however, was that the antivirus program Feng Xue had optimized—despite having exactly the same functions and even fewer bugs—had no recording value whatsoever.
This made Feng Xue realize that the recording function of this golden finger was probably truly highly random.
“But at the very least, it means entries can be mass-produced through data copying.”
Feng Xue was not merely consoling himself like Ah Q. As the value of entry carriers rose, the production cost of fodder was also increasing. For example, the three-piece set of Benevolent Chest, Talented Shoulders, and Virtuous Back required three three-star cybernetic bodies to produce, and he could not use [Cheap Goods] either—lightweighting itself was what produced cheap goods—otherwise, just like this optimized program, it would be impossible to record.
By comparison, the cost of program fodder was only an old chip sold by weight and a string of code that could be copied at will. That cost-performance ratio could not be called anything but high.
“Looks like I’ll have to pay attention to those so-called hacker exchange boards on the dark web from now on. That bunch of self-taught amateurs may have mediocre skills, but who knows when they’ll come up with some bizarre idea! At the very least, I never would have thought of this kind of counterattack-type virus.”
After sighing a few words, Feng Xue finally activated recording on a chip into which he had written the data himself…
Entry: Plague
Type: Trait
Quality: Purple Rare
Effect: Can only be granted to head cybernetic bodies/plugins. Triggers when attacked by a virus, repackaging the virus and infecting the attacker in return.
Remark: Return unto them what they have done unto you.
……
“Damn, this thing’s kind of interesting!” Feng Xue’s eyes lit up. Although flesh-source energy did not consume electronic viruses, it did consume mental plagues!
He had heard on the dark web that some mental-source energy ability users could use source energy to encapsulate electronic viruses into mental plagues, thereby affecting natural humans and flesh-source energy ability users who had not undergone brain-bridge modification.
With this trait paired with the newly obtained [Human] entry, what hacker wouldn’t have to give him a wide berth? Viruses? Eat my reverse infection!
However, as a veteran card player, Feng Xue very quickly realized how this entry differed from [Jealousy] and [Hatred], which seemed to belong to the same counterattack series.
“‘When XX happens,’ not ‘in the event of XX’—does that mean it might miss the timing? But how would this thing… Oh, I get it. If the other side disconnects from the network at the same time as they attack, then the timing gets blocked, right?”
Feng Xue curled his lip and wasted no more words. He made several sets of chips on the spot. The rest could wait, but the combination of Plague plus Human had to be equipped on his main body as soon as possible!
……
Yellow Flag Tavern. The faux-wood metal door was shoved open with force, and John, whose looks were superb, swaggered in with a posture that utterly failed to match his appearance. Before he could reach the bar, however, a figure had already blocked his path.
“Oh, Gladys. I was just looking for you.”
“If you like settling up day by day, that’s up to you, but I want—” Before Gladys could finish, John cut her off:
“It’s not a renewal. What I mean is, you can help me find a single room now!”
John took out his terminal and transferred fifty points to Gladys. Gladys glanced at it, then said:
“Not enough.”
“Didn’t you say before that a single room was fifty a day? Raising the price on the spot like this isn’t very nice, is it?” John’s expression darkened, but Gladys replied coldly:
“You have to check out in the morning. It’s already nineteen forty-three. If you can’t find a new tenant within four hours, then settle tonight’s payment too.”
“OK! OK!” John raised his hands in a Gaulish military salute and transferred another ten points, ignoring the teasing laughter of the customers as he made his way to the bar.
“Nice work.” Paul, who had already seen John come in, transferred 450 credits to him. John, however, seemed somewhat puzzled by his words.
“It was just collecting a debt. What’s there to do well or badly?”
“You followed the rules. That’s good enough.” Paul did not speak in riddles. Long before John had entered, he had already received the news. Or rather, for everyone who came to him looking for work, their first three jobs were inevitably finding someone, seeking revenge, and collecting a debt.
Part of this was naturally because those were the three most common kinds of jobs in the district, but at the same time, it was also to confirm a newcomer’s temperament.
Finding someone was to confirm technique. At the same time, the process could reveal the newcomer’s background. Someone good at investigating through the net and someone good at finding local snakes to question were clearly not suited to the same kinds of jobs.
Seeking revenge was to confirm combat strength. It could also show whether the newcomer knew how to exercise restraint. If you were told to break someone’s arm and ended up beating them to death, then delicate work could never be entrusted to you.
As for collecting debts, what it tested was whether one followed the rules. A debt-collection job that required a middleman to place an order naturally would not involve a small sum, and someone who could owe such a debt was naturally no ordinary commoner. If you could get money out of that sort of deadbeat debtor, then of course you had the ability to squeeze out a little extra. Whether you took that extra cut on the side was part of the test.
It was not that you would never be used if you skimmed some. It was just that when assigning jobs, some would no longer be quite so “suitable.”
The kid before him looked unreliable, but he was measured in his actions. He clearly had to pay for even the lowest-grade lodgings by the day, yet he could restrain himself. No matter what his private style was, at least during a job, he had sufficient self-control. Such a person could not yet be called trustworthy, but he was already a good prospect—usable, and unlikely to smash the signboard.
However, John seemed not to understand his praise at all, merely saying indifferently, “If you really think I did a good job, then instead of verbal praise, why not introduce me to some higher-paying work? Those three jobs took me seven days, and the money I earned isn’t even enough for half a month’s rent!”
“That works too. But high-paying jobs aren’t easy.” Paul put the menu he had already placed on the table back under the counter and swapped it for another. Although the contents of the two menus were the same, since John had spoken up, Paul did not mind giving him a little emotional value.
“Heh, as long as you don’t make me look for rats in the sewers!”
John took the menu and glanced at it. Suddenly, a somewhat surprised look appeared on his face—
“You didn’t take out the wrong one?”
“No. If you fancy any of them, go ahead and take it. But the same rule applies: even missions you don’t accept can’t be leaked.”
Paul’s expression was relaxed. John frowned for a moment, then reached out and pressed down on one item.
“This one, then?”
“You sure? This is a house-painting job!” Paul’s tone was playful. Hearing this, John laughed.
“In my eyes, being a cleaner is much simpler than a bone case! After all, I’m very good at ‘removing stains’!”
Note: “Painting houses” is European and American underworld slang, like “ICE,” referring to killing a target. However, “ICE” generally means quietly taking someone out—in other words, as the name suggests, cold handling, minimizing the impact, such as a gang silencing someone. “Painting houses,” on the other hand, usually refers to revenge killings. The term itself carries the meaning of getting blood everywhere, to the point that the place needs repainting. This is also why “cleaner” is often used as a code word for hitman.
As for the “bone case” the protagonist mentioned, it refers to the troublesome kind of debt-collection case where the debtor has the ability to repay but deliberately refuses, and may even violently resist collection. By contrast, a “fresh case” is a debt that is easy to recover, while a “rotten case” is a bad debt where the debtor is unable to repay, has already fled, or has even gone missing—possibly dead.