-Dream City, Golden Splendor Hotel.
After returning from the Night Charm Bar in District 13, Renji, who had just gotten out of the car with Keyji, stopped the young man as he was about to head to his room.
“What’s up, Brother Renji?”
“Give it to me.”
The young man suddenly became nervous. “Give what?”
“The two Black Dreams you bought.” Renji pointed at the cassettes that Keyji was trying to hide behind his back.
While speaking, Renji had already completed the transfer, sending one million to Keyji’s account for the purchase of the device and Black Dreams.
“Ah, Brother Renji, you see, we…”
“If you don’t give them to me, I won’t help you when your sister comes asking.”
Keyji, initially hesitant and reluctant, quickly became anxious at the mention of his sister. He gloomily handed over the two Black Dreams to Renji.
Renji was merely utilizing Keyji’s connections, and naturally, he would confiscate the Black Dreams the young man had intended to keep for himself.
“You said you were buying them for a friend, and that’s what we’ll do. I don’t know your sister, but since I promised you, we must keep our word. You’ll be able to stand tall when your sister holds you accountable, and if your sister comes to me, I’ll be able to explain it to her.”
“Okay, okay.”
“Can I ask one last favor, Brother Renji?”
“What is it?”
“Can you… not tell my sister that I also bought Black Dreams? Especially… especially don’t tell her the names of these dreams! Please!”
Keyji clasped his hands together, looking almost ready to kneel before Renji.
Seeing how scared the young man was, Renji curiously glanced at the Black Dreams Keyji had bought.
[-Born as a Dog, I Am Happy-]
Renji: “…”
“Alright, I promise you.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much, Brother Renji! From now on, you’re like my real bro!”
After repeatedly thanking him, Keyji’s face turned red, unable to withstand the strange looks from Renji and Eileen. He quickly made an excuse and hurried back to his room. 𝑖𝘦.𝒸𝘰𝘮
“So, Doctor, are all rich people this twisted?” Eileen watched Keyji’s retreating figure, then looked at the Black Dreams in her hand.
“Let’s just say human potential is infinite”
After this brief interlude, Renji and Eileen returned to their room. Like before in the Night Charm Bar’s private room, Renji had 86 deploy the shielding system to ensure privacy. He then set aside the Black Dreams and took out the eyepiece-like terminal that could access “Dream Zero” handing it to 86 for inspection.
Soon after…
[Scan complete. Found twenty-three code vulnerabilities, five invasive viruses, one monitoring virus, three spreading Trojan viruses. Eighty-six reporting in activation of the eradication mode] reported 86.
Eileen clicked her tongue in response.
“What the heck! So many viruses? These gangsters really don’t have good intentions. If that rich kid had put it on directly, he would have become a virus repository.”
Eileen was exclaiming, while Renji wasn’t too surprised. From the actions of the gang members in the private room, it was clear that they intended to achieve more than just selling Black Dreams to Keyji.
[Master, 86 has restored the data and found a video that may contain relevant information. Would you like me to project it now?] 86 suggested.
“Go ahead.”
Following Renji’s command, the maid activated the gang’s Dream terminal. The virtual forms of those gang members from the bar’s private room reappeared.
They were gathered together as if in a meeting, and the burly leader asked:
-“Is the virus program in place?”-
-“Yes, boss. Even the strongest antivirus software won’t be able to detect it!”- A gang member dressed like a hacker confidently tapped on his keyboard.
-“Don’t be careless. This virus is meant to deal with Kael Technology’s security system. Check it several more times to see if there’s any room for improvement.”-
-“Sure thing, boss!”-
As the hacker continued working on the computer, the rest of the gang seemed to be reflecting.
-“Boss, it’s such a coincidence. We were just worrying about how to hack into Kael Technology, and then this opportunity just walks in. It’s true what they say, when luck comes, you can’t stop it!”-
-“Don’t get too excited yet. Let’s wait until we actually use that rich kid to infiltrate Kael Technology.”-
-“No problem. As a member of the scholar group, as long as he uses our terminal, if we can’t hack Kael Technology, can’t we hack those from Sin City?”-
-“At the product launch, as long as these scholars attend, they’ll essentially become our eyes. Then… we’ll see if we can’t take down the launch. Once we snatch that ‘brand’ from the launch and hand it over to the Ganna Group, we’ll have made enough money for a lifetime”-
The words of the gang member clearly excited many present, making them more eager for the lucrative future. Still, the burly leader brought everyone back from their dreams of immense wealth.
-“Alright, it’s almost time. We should get going. First, we need to make sure that rich kid buys our terminal. I’ll use Dream Zero to lure him in. You guys just need to play along.”-
-“Dream Zero, huh? The new technology Kael Technology is unveiling at their launch in three days is said to have been derived from Dream Zero, right? No wonder the Ganna Group is so desperate to stop and seize it.”-
-“How nice it would be to enter Dream Zero.”-
The gang member’s lament was met with a cold snort from the burly leader.
-“Forget it. That hellish place is fine to deceive newcomers, but anyone who’s been there once would never want to go a second time. It’s one thing to obtain something from there, but quite another to live long enough to enjoy it.”-
-“But boss, what if that rich kid really does something foolish and enters Dream Zero? If he dies in there, won’t we be…”-
-“Don’t worry, how could I possibly give him a real Dream Zero terminal? This terminal has long been broken, it’s a discarded item. I just told him Dream Zero was a ruse; he can’t actually access it.”-
-“Heh, boss always thinks of everything.”-
-“Boss, I’ve finished the adjustments here.”-
-“Let’s go.”-
The video recording ended there, but the many pieces of unexpected information gathered were enough to make Renji ponder.
“Doctor, it seems they already knew the rich kid was part of the scholar group and even knew about the ‘brand.’ Looks like they’re planning to use him to sabotage Kael Technology, targeting… the launch?”
“It seems so. There must be a mole inside Kael Technology who’s been selling information to rival companies.”
Renji nodded and continued:
“Kael Technology has put so much effort into preparing for the launch, staking their comeback on it. If I were a rival company, I would definitely try to disrupt this event.”
“So, Doctor, what should we do? Should we inform Kael Technology about this intelligence?”
“Let’s not rush into that.”
Setting aside this unexpected intelligence for the moment, Renji was more concerned about something else. .
“86, they said this terminal is a discarded item?”
[Answering Master; Indeed, this terminal cannot access Dream Zero, but 86 has found a usable, partially damaged coordinate anchor point in the residual data. Using this anchor point, 86 can facilitate a one-time round trip for master into Dream Zero]
“So, it can only be used once? That’s fine.”
Dream Zero is like the dark web, and the anchor point is the equivalent of a web address. Renji didn’t need to use someone else’s terminal; his maid’s terminal could use this anchor point to “infiltrate” Dream Zero.
However, since there was only one anchor point, Eileen would have to wait outside. Fortunately, as 86 was in terminal form, it could accompany Renji into Dream Zero.
Equipped with the terminal, and under Eileen’s somewhat worried gaze, 86 connected to the anchor point. Renji’s vision instantly turned pitch black, enveloped by the familiar sinking sensation of entering a dream.
Renji had been waiting for this day for a long time.
Hearing about Dream Zero from others is nothing compared to seeing it for oneself. To see the world of ‘Zero,’ to see what this dream hidden deep within the heart of ‘Zero’… is truly about.
This content is taken from 𝑖𝘦.𝒸𝘰𝑚