5: Chapter 5 The Monster Awakens in the Pigeon Cage
Lin Yi's gaze was locked firmly onto that line of numbers representing RAM bandwidth.
His brain felt as if it had stopped thinking, struck by this massive amount of information.
32PB per second.
This was a performance monster that simply shouldn't exist in this era. It lay quietly dormant at the nape of his neck, like a sleeping dragon—the power it contained was enough to stir up a tsunami in the ocean of the network.
The euphoria lasted only for a fleeting moment.
It was then replaced by an even greater, chilling cold.
This power was a gift, but even more so, a curse.
Kang Tao would never give up on tracking down the whereabouts of "Bai Ze".
He was now like a child holding a nuclear-powered flashlight—the light could illuminate the path ahead, but it was even more likely to attract every bloodthirsty beast in the darkness.
"Kid? You okay?"
Viktor's steady voice pulled him back from his shock. The doctor looked at his pale face, brows furrowed: "The implant was a success. The neural adaptability... it's shockingly good, almost as if it were custom-made for you. But this thing... I'll say it again—it's extremely dangerous. How do you feel?"
Lin Yi took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
The golden [Insight] character in the top right corner of his vision was flickering steadily, a reminder of the power sleeping within his body.
"I... I'm good, Viktor." He slowly sat up, feeling a hint of coldness radiating from the nape of his neck, "Better than ever. Thank you."
He paid the surgery fees.
This expense almost emptied the last of the balance on his transaction chip.
Now, he was destitute in the true sense of the word. Yet, within his body, he carried an ultimate creation worth a fortune, enough to trigger a war.
Leaving Viktor's clinic, Lin Yi moved at top speed to rent a pigeonhole-like room in the most chaotic, cheapest district of Watson.
It was a mixed bag of people here. Signal interference was severe.
It was the perfect place to hide his tracks.
He locked the door. Drew the curtains. Completely cutting off the clamor of the outside world.
For the next few days, he barely stepped outside. All his energy was poured into getting accustomed to "Bai Ze".
He carefully activated the [Insight] function, keeping the power level at the lowest setting.
In an instant—
The world in his eyes became different.
Faint, translucent golden data streams appeared in his vision. They marked the weak network signals of the old appliances in the room, the routing of the lines within the walls, and even the basic models of the cybernetics belonging to his neighbors next door. When he focused his attention on the door lock, several pale golden path diagrams appeared instantly, with the approximate RAM consumption and success rate estimate for hacking marked beside them—
[~0.2% load, 100% success rate]
"Too strong..." he muttered to himself.
He found the most basic hacking chip tutorials and software packages he could buy on the black market and began to study frantically.
With the assistance of [Insight], those complex codes and protocols became as clear and easy to understand as disassembled building blocks. His learning speed was shockingly fast.
"Basic hacking protocol 'Cyberware Malfunction' mastered. Simulated execution success rate: 100%."
"Advanced protocol 'Synapse Burnout' parsing complete. Optimization suggestion: Adjusting neural signal injection frequency can reduce power consumption by 3%."
"Malware 'Contagion' logic chain analysis complete. Can perform targeted counter-coding."
"System core hack 'System Reset'... Warning. Required power call exceeds current user's safe threshold. Suggest delaying practice."
"...Damn."
Lin Yi felt a bit down, "It's still not enough relying solely on this access deck. It seems the ceiling is high, but the floor is lagging."
Bai Ze was not just a tool, but a top-tier mentor.
It processed massive amounts of information efficiently and presented the optimal solution directly into Lin Yi's consciousness. He absorbed knowledge voraciously—from the most elementary device hacking, to attempting to run multiple quickhacks simultaneously, and finally to using [Insight] to predict the defensive reactions of network nodes.
The process was not all smooth sailing.
When attempting complex calculations that exceeded the load a few times, a violent, needle-piercing headache would suddenly strike, forcing him to stop immediately.
Beneath Bai Ze's gentle exterior lay a violent power capable of destroying a mortal brain.
But he endured it.
Relying on the "Twin Synchronization" brainwaves that were highly compatible with "Bai Ze," brought about by the fusion of souls after his transmigration, he struggled to tame this beast and initially mastered its power.
A few days of secluded training, forgetting food and sleep, allowed him to shed his initial rawness. His eyes gained a touch of the sharpness and calmness unique to a Cyberspace hunter.
Just as he had finished a successful quickhack chain simulation of "Synapse Burnout" stacked with "Cyberware Malfunction" and was rubbing his throbbing temples—
The door was knocked upon.
The knocking was heavy and rhythmic. Full of a familiar sense of power.
Lin Yi's mind stirred.
[Insight] operated silently—power consumption ~1%.
His vision penetrated the door. A blurry thermal imaging outline was sketched out, with minimalist data analysis appearing beside it:
[Male. Burly build. Identity high probability match: Jackie Welles.]
[No weapon thermal signature.]
[Emotional state: Excited/Anticipating.]
He turned off the function, got up, and opened the door.
Outside the door was none other than our Jackie Welles.
He had changed into a flashier jacket, wore a brilliant smile on his face, and threw an arm around Lin Yi's shoulder.
"Mano! Haven't seen you in a few days, what have you been tinkering with at home? Why do you look a bit drained?"
Jackie patted him hard, then lowered his voice, a mysterious smile appearing on his face: "Stop tinkering! The opportunity is here! There's a job, a fat one! Just the thing to take you out to see the world and earn some pocket money!"
Lin Yi's heart stirred.
He knew that what Jackie called a "fat job" often meant trouble and risk.
But this was exactly the opportunity he was waiting for—the first step to test the power of "Bai Ze" and truly step into the vortex of Night City.
A perfectly measured smile appeared on his face. With a bit of curiosity, with a bit of eagerness to try.
"What kind of job?"
Jackie grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth:
"Helping a fixer 'retrieve' a little 'trinket' they accidentally lost. Don't worry, the plan is foolproof! Just come with me!"
Looking at Jackie's confident appearance, Lin Yi seemed to see that night a few days ago in Heywood when the car theft failed.
He activated [Insight] without a sound—power consumption ~2%.
In his vision, Jackie's micro-expressions and body language were rapidly analyzed.
[Analyzing: Pupils slightly dilated. The upward curve of the corners of the mouth slightly exceeds the baseline. Body movements slightly excited.]
[Conclusion: Speech authenticity is about 78%, contains exaggeration. Confident in the plan, but assessment of potential risks may be insufficient. Suggest maintaining vigilance.]
Lin Yi understood.
He nodded and closed the door.
"Alright, let's go. I happen to need to stretch my limbs."
He followed Jackie's footsteps, merging into the blurry and dangerous neon lights of Watson.
"Bai Ze" at the nape of his neck lay quietly dormant.
Like a sharp blade about to be unsheathed.