Thud thud thud—!!
I observed Marina’s arms as she began to make noise not by tapping the keyboard simply, but by striking it heavily or scratching it with her nails.
Though she exuded a healthy glow, I didn’t think she was particularly muscular, yet beneath that skin, perhaps she had mechanical joints, as there seemed to be no problem maintaining such an absurdly fast working speed.
In fact, she even had the leisure to throw a few jokes my way during the process.
“……What’s up, looking cool.”
For a brief moment, I recalled Ken’s explanation while appreciating the dizzying barrage that everyone found hard to look away from.
First of all, the code library. This is a repository where professionals in this field gather frequently used logic while performing coding tasks. The major category would obviously be data vault hacking.
Since I had seen this in “Even Crows Have Succeeded in Permanent Learning Cyber Engineering Basics” published as a free e-book in Elysium, I knew this part was correct.
And… the macro is indeed the macro most commonly known.
It’s that function where multiple key inputs or commands are bundled into a single shortcut. Just pressing it once can change the screen, launch a specific program, or execute a flashy uppercut in some fighting game, which is hard to perform by manual input.
I looked again at her rapidly moving fingers.
If each of those keystrokes contained a specific function, there was no way that hitting any key would progress the vault unlocking. It would be fortunate if it didn’t break and get stuck instead.
Then, shifting my perspective, how many of those “cases” registered there could there possibly be?
Ten? A hundred thousand? …In a world where even searching for unheard-of specialized terms yields results in the tens of millions, it couldn’t be that loose.
The characteristic known as eidetic memory. It’s a flashy name for a trait, but it’s not something you can get from leveling up during gameplay or through implants; it’s one of those innate characteristics that can only be chosen during character creation, much like my electrical ability.
Originally famous in the subculture scene, it provides only vague benefits like intelligence stat boosts and experience bonuses, so any serious user probably wouldn’t consider it unless they were going for a concept play.
Thud thud thud thud thud thud—…!
“Simply learning a bit faster doesn’t mean a human can become a sewing machine.”
…Seeing her like that, it didn’t seem like such a disappointing performance.
After all, there were parts where traits or skills intuitively connected, just like the mercenary siblings I had seen before.
Considering that I could enjoy the brain freely completing intricate calculations with a bit of trust in the emitted electrical signals… there was no reason to believe that eidetic memory wouldn’t actually live up to its name.
What if one could indeed remember everything they saw and recall it instantly, and had physical capabilities to apply it through advanced procedures?
Ultimately, the question circles back to the starting point.
That flood of random numbers on the screen, the deluge of crazy code.
Even system messages were popping up as if a nuclear attack had been detected. There’s no way ordinary brainpower could manage to activate just the right macros for each of those.
Really… what does it mean to have a bit better memory?
And everyone is acquiring computational devices or allocated auxiliary memory to handle those in virtual spaces, yet here we are hitting the keyboard from the outside without making a proper connection?
A combination of the tight rhythm of a rhythm game, where you have to hit the right key before it’s too late, and the brutal aspect of a tycoon game where orders get increasingly complicated as you progress, was sequentially unraveling the security labyrinth of the vault.
Knowing that she was an eccentric woman who hid a small jammer in her humorous hairstyle, I suspected she had some hidden talents, but if it was this, then I had to admit it.
But if she had such abilities, why would she bother forming a team…?
“Are you shy?! Packets are getting scrambled and some can’t be processed! Could you help a bit?!”
“…Huh?”
It’s true.
Just as she said, until a moment ago, the verification process of the vault that couldn’t even pass half the screen was now stacking up like a jumbled Tetris block.
Come to think of it, she must have been extremely flustered when the random virus was injected, right…?
…Could it be she can’t respond at all to problems that don’t exist in the library or that she’s never seen an answer for?
Seeing her ask for help while sweating profusely despite moving her arms in the same way made it seem very likely.
“Hey!!”
“Don’t… don’t rush me. For a first collaborative task where only names or nicknames are known, this is pretty quick.”
She seemed well aware of her shortcomings, unabashedly asking for help as things fell apart. …It was somewhat pitiful. Even I, who had been told I could watch, almost felt like extending a hand.
Well, there was no need for that.
Since we said we’d try to solve it together, if the other person had difficulty handling it, they’d surely signal me.
Swoosh.
It seemed Ken the small one was annoyed by bangs that fell low enough to cover the upper part of his face, so he took out a headband and swept his curly hair back.
How much of a person’s impression is made up of their eyes? Regardless, when his soft voice matched with those sharply defined eyes, his aura drastically changed.
“…File modification authority can only be acquired after the vault is opened, so don’t come beyond the area I’m responsible for, since I can’t delete any of the malicious code that’s already in place.”
“I can’t do anything else anyway!”
It didn’t sound like a boast at all, but anyway, Marina answered cheerfully.
Ken busily worked his hands to analyze the signal traces detected on the oscilloscope and handle his delayed assignments.
While working, I wanted to advise him to tidy up his hair for a bit, but….
That was hellishly expensive ocular prosthetics; how frustrating it would be if he flashed them around and then ran into a robber, huh? It might actually be a form of safety measure.
Creak… creak!
Somehow, the screen laid out widely enough to be called a portable control room had many small gauges, all seemingly customized for the user.
Typically, when people in this area have the means, the first body part they change is not their arms or legs or internal organs, but their eyes. That’s the part that most depends on information acquisition yet has so many malfunctions.
It’s impressive that twins or Marina can compete at a higher level using only visual aids with the naked eye. Usually, surpassing the advantages of seeing farther, more, and more accurately than others is tough.
Creak!
It seemed impossible to tell how many extra features it possessed as finely detailed as some microscope-like eyes rotated.
Sometimes staring at the screen, occasionally at the virtual space, most of the time perhaps gauging the throbbing of the vault itself.
…Those lenses rotating in threes remind me of Zero’s old model.
– If possible, during the next modification, I’d prefer to switch to a proper combat android rather than attachments like additional scanners. –
“Shut up, you brat. You’re practically my whole fortune right now!”
I had this strange expectation.
I mocked someone treating me like a tree that periodically opens up credits while watching the two’s teamwork.
An unwavering guide who chose only the correct answers to dash forward recklessly, without brakes.
An overseer who detects the ever-changing structures and fake walls—manipulated data—and coordinates the overall flow.
While both may look like classic rear operators from the viewpoint of a physical combatant, who else but a fellow roguish operative could evaluate these subtly different tendencies and skills blending together to create synergy?
…I’m simply praising efficiency! Evaluations are up to others.
I want to clarify here that I’m not a shameless human pretending to know something in front of the real ones.
“……What was the record for first place? Wasn’t it around 14 minutes?”
“Ugh, no way it’ll turn over at the last minute.”
Look, others who initially seemed indifferent, wasting time on whatever, were now sensing something amiss and peeking at the vault and monitor.
Anyway, how far along are we? It seems pretty fast.
Since this exam was deliberately designed to be unfair, you won’t pass purely based on the time spent. But if need be, I’m willing to pitch in to seal the deal. No, I’ve been overflowing with it.
The issue now comes down to how neatly we organize what spills out once the vault opens like Pandora’s box.
I want to avoid the result of passing the exam but ending up with crappy equipment and people coming out as wrecks~ so it would be fantastic if the virus countermeasures were at a level similar to hacking skills.
The previously overworked gauge gradually stabilizes, and the screen that had been spitting out letters and numbers painfully starts to quiet down. The countdown, which I can’t see, is getting shorter…
…Clang.
The dammed data vault bursts open, like a can filled with foul smells.
But how do we stop what’s about to overflow from now on? That’s the real fight…!
“…Let’s do it!!”
“Hey.”
– Innovative but effective. I’ll lower her trust level for now. –
Just as I thought that, Marina yanked out her wire, leaving Ken and me in utter disbelief. Shouldn’t we be collaborating to tackle something here?!
“I can only drill as instructed, you know?”
Ah, yes. That was indeed the case.
