The moment all non-staff members of the Voodoo Gang were instantly wiped out, an eerie silence fell over the base's digital network.
But it didn't last long.
The sudden and massive wave of deaths sent ripples through the Voodoo Gang's secure virtual base, alarming its core operatives. The previously calm sea of data streams began to ripple violently, as if the cyberspace itself had sensed an intruder.
Qi Wei's pupils contracted sharply.
With her advanced hacker intuition and her constant monitoring tools, she immediately picked up on the sudden data turbulence. Her fingers twitched at the readouts on her internal interface.
"They're coming," she whispered.
But instead of feeling panic, Qi Wei's lips curled into a subtle, satisfied grin.
This was exactly what she had been waiting for.
She muttered to herself, activating a function within her cyberarmor, "[Source Plan: United] – Cloak!"
Instantly, her virtual body began to dissolve into scattered streams of binary, like a hologram losing focus. The flow of light and code shimmered around her, and within seconds, her form became fully transparent—blending in with the digital space surrounding her.
It was as if she had vanished from existence.
The cyberspace now showed nothing but ambient streams of data, as though Qi Wei had never been there at all.
Her eyes gleamed.
"This [Source Plan: United] armor," she murmured in awe, "wasn't even designed for cyberspace warfare, but with my hacking techniques, it becomes a perfect tool for infiltration."
Indeed, the armor had been a gift—one that David had casually handed over, as if it were nothing special. But Qi Wei had quickly discovered its potential. When combined with her own expertise, it allowed her to achieve true invisibility within cyberspace.
While it didn't inherently come with a cloaking function—unlike Pyrrha's [Source Plan: Destruction], which boasted genuine stealth capabilities—even a basic framework like United could become terrifying in the right hands.
Qi Wei's hands.
The stealth wasn't just a visual trick. It masked her data signature, eliminated traceable code emissions, and camouflaged her neural presence. Even the most sophisticated surveillance programs, including those used by megacorporations like Arasaka, would struggle to detect her.
Of course, she reminded herself, the invisibility only applied within cyberspace. Once back in the real world, she'd be as visible as anyone else.
But that didn't matter right now.
Here, in the digital battlefield where hackers reigned supreme, she was untouchable.
"This level of stealth, combined with the armor's overwhelming data flow attack module…" she smirked, almost giddy with excitement. "Who in the Voodoo Gang could possibly stand against me?"
Her grin widened. "David really is something else… Just handing me this kind of power without hesitation. He's either a genius—or completely insane."
While she indulged in that thought, her HUD blinked.
A tremor ran through the cyberspace again. The data streams flickered unnaturally.
Then—twelve figures appeared.
They entered like shadows, forming from static particles before solidifying into humanoid forms. Each wore a sleek black cloak or a heavily modified punk-style coat, covered in neon glyphs and pulsing circuitry.
The newcomers weren't random. Anyone who knew the Voodoo Gang would recognize them instantly.
These were the core members.
"That data shockwave definitely originated from inside our own base," one of them muttered, glancing around with narrowed eyes.
"What the hell happened here?" another demanded. "Where's Brother Placid?"
"I tried pinging his neural link. No response. Nothing. It's like he just... vanished."
"Vanished?" someone snapped. "Placid was our best cyberspace tactician! Who the hell has the balls to mess with us on our own turf?"
"This is no ordinary breach. We've been attacked." Another clenched their fist. "Whoever it is, they're sending a message."
"Should we alert Big Sis?"
"Already did."
The Voodoo Gang agents remained tense, their avatars poised for battle. Defensive protocols flared to life around them, shimmering barriers and alert pings scanning for intrusions.
Yet, unknown to them, Qi Wei was already there—standing silently in a corner of their own base.
Invisible.
Untraceable.
She watched them like a predator observing prey. Her arms crossed as she leaned against a wall of raw data, letting the fools talk themselves in circles.
These weren't her targets.
They were just pawns.
The real game hadn't begun yet.
Qi Wei could feel it—something big was approaching. The kind of presence that distorted the virtual realm itself.
And then… it happened.
The cyberspace quaked again.
Only this time, it wasn't a ripple.
It was a rupture.
The smooth flow of code began to bend, warp, and twist in impossible ways. Like a storm approaching across a still ocean, the very structure of the Voodoo Gang's base shivered at the arrival of something—someone—powerful.
A single figure emerged from the swirling digital winds.
She wore a dark hooded robe that masked most of her form. The coding that made up her body was denser than anyone else in the room. Every step she took left a ripple in the digital ether. Firewalls bent in her presence. Subroutines bowed to her will.
The air turned cold—figuratively and literally—as she entered.
All the gathered members of the Voodoo Gang fell silent.
"Big Sis…" one of them whispered, voice filled with reverence and fear.
This was Kali, the undisputed boss of the Voodoo Gang's cyberspace division. In Night City, her real-world name was unknown—rumors ranged from a former NetWatch defector to a rogue AI given flesh.
In cyberspace, though, she was a legend.
Her avatar turned toward the center of the room. With a flick of her fingers, she summoned holographic traces of recent activity. Glowing pathways, access logs, intrusion marks—everything.
Placid's last moments. His abrupt loss of signal. A silent record of his deletion.
Kali didn't speak for a long time.
Then, her eyes—glowing red sockets hidden under her hood—locked onto the data.
"No traces," she muttered. "Whoever did this… erased even the echoes."
The room tensed.
A hacker that could kill Placid and hide from Kali's direct scan?
Unheard of.
"We are not dealing with a normal opponent," Kali said, finally turning toward her subordinates. "This is an elite-level intruder—possibly black-market AI-assisted, or someone using bleeding-edge architecture that exceeds city regulations."
"Could it be Arasaka?" someone asked hesitantly.
Kali shook her head. "No. This wasn't a corporate sweep. This was personal."
Qi Wei couldn't help but smile to herself from her hidden corner.
She hadn't just killed Placid.
She had humiliated him.
And now, the Voodoo Gang was scrambling.
Exactly as planned.
Just then, one of the lower-ranked operatives activated a recovery protocol—attempting to reconstruct corrupted memory fragments from the code residue.
Lines of error-filled text appeared, jumbled and redacted.
But one word stood out.
A name: "David."
Kali's eyes narrowed.
"…David?" she echoed.
It was only a whisper, but her tone was like a knife across stone.
She clenched her fist, and the digital air twisted violently around her.
"Find the connection. I want to know who David is. I want everything. I want blood."
A pause.
"And if this 'David' has sent someone into my house… then I will return the favor."
In the shadows of the code, Qi Wei's smile widened.
The game had officially begun.
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