11: Chapter 11 First Hacking Experience, Wanted Post Temporarily Downgraded

The piercing siren sounded like a rusty, dull blade, scraping against the night sky of Los Santos, and also scraping against Lin Fan's nerves, which were stretched to the breaking point.

The sewer was filled with a nauseating, fishy stench. Rotting garbage and turbid sewage converged into a winding stream underfoot, creaking when stepped on, the cold sensation drilling right into the bone marrow through the soles of his shoes. Lin Fan curled up on a relatively dry concrete pier, clutching the crumpled cash he had robbed from a convenience store in his arms, with Michael's heavy panting and Franklin's suppressed cursing in his ears.

"five-star wanted level, damn that five-star wanted level!" Franklin pulled at his afro in frustration, his voice filled with despair. "Do you know what a five-star wanted level means? It means tanks will roll over from the streets, and helicopter bullets will turn us into sieves! We are like three rats stuck in an iron barrel, waiting to be wiped out in one go!"

Lin Fan gave a bitter smile and buried his face in his knees. How could he not know the terror of a five-star wanted level? When he played "GTA5" in his past life, he would want to find a place to hide as soon as he saw a four-star wanted level, let alone this deadly five-star one. And the culprit behind all this was that damn Snake Fang Gang boss, Victor.

Three days ago, he was just an ordinary transmigrator who wanted to earn some pocket money at an underground racetrack by relying on the Driving Mastery skill rewarded by the system. But who could have imagined that the old fox Victor would set a trap, getting him muddled into a bank robbery. Surveillance cameras clearly captured his face, and police wanted posters were plastered all over the streets of Los Santos like snowflakes, with five glaring stars prominently displayed after his name.

"Alright, Franklin, complaining won't solve the problem." Michael leaned against the damp wall and took out a cigarette, but found that his lighter had long been soaked by water, so he could only throw it aside in frustration. "The most important thing now is to find a way to lower the wanted level, otherwise we'll have to stay in this hellhole for the rest of our lives."

"Lower it? How?" Franklin rolled his eyes. "Surrender to the police station? I don't want to rot in prison!"

Just as the two were arguing incessantly, a crisp prompt suddenly rang in Lin Fan's mind, like a ray of light in the darkness, instantly illuminating his desperate state of mind.

[Ding! Detected that the host has completed the "Sewer Survival" mission. Reward: Primary Hacking Skill x1, Gold Coins x5000]

[Primary Hacking Skill: Can hack low-level electronic devices, such as surveillance cameras, traffic lights, internal unencrypted systems of police stations, etc. Skill cooldown: 24 hours]

Lin Fan suddenly raised his head, his eyes flashing with excitement. Hacking skill! This was truly timely help!

"I have a way!" Lin Fan stood up excitedly, almost hitting the water pipe above his head, making a loud "clang" sound.

Michael and Franklin stopped arguing at the same time and looked at him in unison, their eyes filled with confusion.

"What way do you have? Don't tell me you want to storm the police station alone." Michael looked him up and down, his tone filled with suspicion.

"Not storm the police station, but hack into the police station's system!" Lin Fan took a deep breath, trying to calm his excited mood. "I just unlocked the Hacking Skill, I can invade their computers and delete my wanted record!"

"Hacking Skill?" Franklin frowned. "Are you sure this stuff is reliable? Don't end up not deleting the wanted record, but instead attracting more police."

"Reliable! Absolutely reliable!" Lin Fan patted his chest to guarantee, though he was also a bit nervous inside. After all, this was his first time using this skill, and no one knew what would happen.

Michael was silent for a moment, seemingly weighing the pros and cons. He stared at Lin Fan for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth: "Fine, we'll trust you this once. But remember, if anything goes wrong, all three of us are finished!"

"Don't worry!" Lin Fan grinned, sat cross-legged on the ground, closed his eyes, and concentrated.

[Ding! Use Primary Hacking Skill?]

[Yes / No]

"Yes!"

As Lin Fan's intent fell, a large amount of information surged into his mind, like countless data streams rushing endlessly. He felt his consciousness seem to detach from his body, float into the air, pass through the thick concrete walls, and arrive inside the Los Santos Police Department.

The police station's surveillance footage, employees' personal information, unprocessed case files... everything was clearly presented before his eyes. Lin Fan's gaze quickly swept over this information and finally locked onto his target—the wanted list database.

He cautiously manipulated the data stream, trying to find his name. However, although the police station's system could not be considered high-level, it still had certain defensive measures. Layers of firewalls stood before him like copper walls and iron bastions.

"Damn it, there's a firewall!" Lin Fan cursed in a low voice, beads of sweat seeping from his forehead. He gritted his teeth, focused all his attention, and cracked the firewall bit by bit.

Time passed minute by minute, and the sewer was terrifyingly quiet; only the breathing of the three and the sound of water dripping onto the ground could be heard. Michael and Franklin stared nervously at Lin Fan, not daring to take a deep breath.

Suddenly, Lin Fan's eyes lit up; the firewall had been successfully breached! He was so excited he almost cried out, and hurriedly searched for the name "Lin Fan" in the database.

Found it!

The screen clearly displayed his photo, Name: Lin Fan, Wanted Level: Five-star, Crime: Bank robbery, assaulting police, endangering public safety.

Lin Fan took a deep breath and extended his mental hand, wanting to click the "Delete" button. But just then, his hand suddenly shook, and he accidentally clicked on a folder next to it.

The name of that folder was—Coffee Orders.

Lin Fan's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself, "Oh no." He hurriedly tried to close this folder, but it was too late. Countless pieces of coffee order information surged out like a tide, his consciousness dizzy from being washed by this information, and in his panic, he accidentally triggered the Select All and Delete button.

[Ding! Detected that the host has deleted the police station's coffee order database, triggering a chain reaction!]

Lin Fan: "..."

He was dumbfounded, his whole body frozen in place.

No way? I just wanted to delete a wanted record, how did I delete the coffee orders?

Meanwhile, inside the Los Santos Police Department building.

The morning sun shone through the window onto the desk, making the documents on the desk sparkle. The police officers yawned and walked into the office one after another, their faces showing sleepy expressions.

For these police officers who had to face various strange cases every day, a hot cup of coffee in the morning was their life-saving medicine.

"Hey, Tom, help me get a latte, extra sugar!"

"Jerry, where is my Americano? I need a double shot today!"

"Hurry up, hurry up, the coffee truck should be arriving soon, right? I'm almost dead from sleepiness!"

The office was noisy, everyone was excitedly discussing the coffee flavors they wanted.

Just then, Officer Xiao Li, who was responsible for managing the coffee orders, suddenly let out a terrified scream.

"Oh no! Oh no! The coffee order database... the database is gone!"

This sentence was like a bomb, instantly exploding in the office.

"What? What did you say?"

"The coffee orders are gone? How is that possible?"

"My latte! My double shot Americano!"

The police officers instantly exploded, jumping up from their chairs like cats whose tails had been stepped on, and crowded around Xiao Li's computer.

The screen was blank, and the originally dense coffee orders had disappeared without a trace.

"How could this happen?" Xiao Li was sweating profusely, constantly refreshing the page. "I clearly saw it yesterday, how could it be gone overnight?"

"Was it hacked?" someone guessed.

"Hacker? Attacking our coffee order database?" An old policeman sneered, "Which hacker is so bored?"

Regardless of the reason, the coffee orders were gone, this was a hard fact.

Without coffee, for these police officers, it was simply a catastrophe.

"Damn it! How am I supposed to work without coffee!" A young policeman grabbed his hair in frustration and kicked the trash can next to him.

"My head hurts so much, without coffee I feel like I can't even hold my gun steady!" Another policeman clutched his head, his face full of pain.

"Stop making noise!" The police chief walked out of his office with a dark face. "Isn't it just no coffee? Is it worth making such a fuss?"

"Chief! You don't understand!" A policeman said with a bitter face. "Without coffee, our work efficiency will drop by 50%!"

"50%? I think it's 100%!"

The police chief's face grew darker and darker. Watching his subordinates arguing in a chaotic mess, he felt a massive headache coming on.

"Enough!" The chief slammed his hand on the table. "Everyone back to work! It's just a cup of coffee, isn't it? If nothing else, we just won't have any today!"

"No coffee?" the police officers shrieked in unison, as if they had just heard some terrible news.

"Chief, you're making things difficult for us!"

"Exactly! Without coffee, I can't focus on investigating cases at all!"

The office was in complete chaos. The officers were blaming each other, and some were even on the verge of fighting over who the cup of coffee belonged to.

The once orderly police station had become a scene of utter turmoil due to this sudden "coffee crisis."

Down in the sewer, Lin Fan finally recovered from his dizziness. He opened his eyes, looking at Michael De Santa and Franklin with a face full of despair.

"Um... I think... I messed up," Lin Fan stammered.

"Messed up? What do you mean?" Michael De Santa's heart sank, a bad premonition washing over him.

"I originally wanted to delete my wanted record, but my hand slipped... and I deleted the police station's coffee order." Lin Fan's voice grew quieter and quieter, becoming almost inaudible.

Michael De Santa: "..."

Franklin: "..."

The two looked at each other, seeing deep speechlessness in each other's eyes.

After a full half minute, Franklin seemed to snap out of it. He jumped up, pointed at Lin Fan's nose, his voice trembling: "What did you say? You hacked into the police station's system just to delete their coffee order?! Lin Fan, are you crazy?!"

"I didn't do it on purpose! My hand slipped!" Lin Fan said, feeling aggrieved. "Who knew their coffee order database and wanted list database were right next to each other!"

"Hand slipped?" Franklin was on the verge of madness. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've brought us with that?!"

Just then, Michael De Santa's phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the caller ID, his expression changed, and he quickly answered.

An anxious voice came from the other end of the line: "Michael De Santa! It's bad! The police station is in complete chaos! I heard the coffee order database was hacked, and all the cops are going crazy! They can't even be bothered to patrol anymore; they're all just arguing in the office!"

Michael De Santa's eyes lit up suddenly.

He hung up the phone and turned to look at Lin Fan, his expression complex.

"You kid..." Michael De Santa patted Lin Fan on the shoulder, his tone a mix of amusement and frustration. "You stumbled into a success."

"Huh?" Lin Fan and Franklin were both stunned.

"Because the coffee order was deleted, the police station is in chaos," Michael De Santa explained. "The police have no heart for work, the number of patrols has been cut by more than half, and their defenses are full of holes!"

Lin Fan's eyes lit up instantly.

That's right! The police are all busy arguing; who has the time to catch them?

"Quick! Now's our chance!" Lin Fan stood up excitedly. "Let's hack into the wanted list database right now and lower my wanted level!"

Michael De Santa and Franklin looked at each other and nodded. There was no time to lose; the opportunity could not be missed.

Lin Fan closed his eyes again and activated his Beginner Hacking Skill.

This time, he was extra careful. He avoided the flashy folders and locked directly onto the wanted list database.

Without the firewall blocking him (he had already pretty much destroyed it while hacking in earlier), Lin Fan's operation went much more smoothly. He quickly found his wanted information, took a deep breath, and clicked the edit button.

Five-star... Four-star... Three-star...

Lin Fan didn't hesitate to change his wanted level to a three-star wanted level.

The moment he clicked confirm, the system prompt rang in his mind again.

[Ding! Detected that the host has illegally modified the wanted level, triggering a hidden alarm!]

[Warning! Warning! The police station system has detected an anomaly and is tracking the host's location!]

[Beginner Hacking Skill cooldown period has started: 24 hours]

Lin Fan was shocked and quickly exited the police station's system.

He opened his eyes suddenly and shouted: "Bad news! Retreat! They've detected an anomaly! They're tracking our location!"

Michael De Santa and Franklin's expressions changed. Without a moment's hesitation, they stood up immediately and ran after Lin Fan toward the sewer exit.

The three of them had just run out of the sewer when they heard a piercing siren from behind.

Lin Fan looked back and saw several police cars speeding toward the sewer, their roof lights flashing with blinding intensity.

"Damn it! They got here fast!" Franklin cursed and picked up his pace.

"Don't panic! It's just a three-star wanted level, much easier to handle than a five-star wanted level!" Michael De Santa ran while pulling a pistol from his coat. "Get in! My car is right up ahead!"

The three of them quickly dove into an old pickup truck. Michael De Santa slammed his foot on the gas pedal, and the pickup truck shot forward like a wild horse off its leash, splashing water everywhere.

The police cars were in hot pursuit behind them, the sound of sirens getting closer and closer.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Franklin looked back at the pursuing police cars, then at Lin Fan, who looked terrified, beside him. He couldn't help but complain: "You're something else, kid! Hacking into the police station just to cancel their coffee order? Next time, can you just delete the wanted warrant? Stop with all this fancy nonsense!"

Lin Fan smiled awkwardly and rubbed his nose: "An accident, purely an accident."

Michael De Santa drove while occasionally glancing at the rearview mirror, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly.

Although the process was thrilling and somewhat absurd, at least... they had successfully lowered the wanted level.

This could be considered... a blessing in disguise, right?

However, Lin Fan didn't know that his hacking operation this time hadn't just caused a coffee crisis at the police station; it had also stirred up a ripple in the underworld of Los Santos.

Inside the headquarters of the Snake Fang Gang, Victor was sitting on a leather sofa, holding a document with a cold sneer on his lips.

Standing in front of him was a man in a black suit, the number two figure of the Snake Fang Gang, an assassin known as "Ghost."

"Boss, Lin Fan's wanted level has dropped from a five-star wanted level to a three-star wanted level." Ghost's voice was icy cold. "It's said that someone hacked into the police station's system and modified the wanted record."

Victor raised an eyebrow and put down the document in his hand: "Oh? Interesting. This Lin Fan is actually much more interesting than I imagined."

"Should I go take him out now?" A flash of killing intent crossed Ghost's eyes.

"No rush." Victor waved his hand, his smile becoming increasingly playful. "You have to cast a long line to catch a big fish. I want to see what other tricks this Lin Fan can come up with."

He paused and added: "Oh, right, send someone to investigate who exactly hacked into the police station's system. I want to know if there are any other helpers behind Lin Fan."

"Yes, Boss." Ghost responded respectfully and turned to leave.

Victor stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the brightly lit Los Santos outside, his eyes deep.

"Lin Fan..." He murmured the name, a cold arc forming at the corner of his mouth, "The game has only just begun."

In the pickup truck, Lin Fan watched the streetscape flying by outside the window, a complex mix of emotions in his heart.

The power of the Beginner Hacking Skill exceeded his imagination. But at the same time, it had also brought him even bigger trouble.

Hidden alarm, location tracking...

This meant that the police would not let him go. And Victor of the Snake Fang Gang would certainly not let the matter rest.

The night in Los Santos was still brilliantly lit. But behind this prosperity, countless dangers and conspiracies were hidden.

Lin Fan took a deep breath and clenched his fists.

He knew that from the moment he transmigrated into this world, there was no turning back.

Either he would carve out a bloody path in this city of sin and become the king of the underworld.

Or, like countless nobodies, he would silently disappear into the darkness.

He, Lin Fan, would never choose the latter!

The siren outside the car window gradually faded away. But in Lin Fan's heart, there was not the slightest sense of relief.

He knew this was just the beginning.

The real contest was still to come.

And his first hacking experience had also taught him a profound lesson—

In Los Santos, a slip of the hand can cost you your life!