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"Well? What's your decision?"
David's cold voice echoed across the cyberspace like the sharp edge of a blade. The members of the Voodoo Gang, still reeling from shock, felt a chill run down their spines as he continued, "You have five seconds to decide. Will you accept our terms… or reject them?"
"Five…"
"Four…"
"Three—"
"Okay!"
Before David could even finish counting down, a decisive voice cut through the digital fog. Bridget, the leader of the Voodoo Gang, had spoken.
Her sudden and unwavering agreement sent a ripple of astonishment through the rest of the gang.
"Boss… are you sure about this?" one of the members whispered hesitantly.
"Yeah, isn't this decision a bit… rushed?" another added, confused and alarmed. "Why should we just go along with whatever they say? What if this 'David' and his so-called team are bluffing?"
"Exactly! Since when did the Voodoo Gang let outsiders boss us around?"
"Enough!"
Bridget's scolding voice cracked like a whip, silencing the dissent instantly.
"Do I look like someone who needs advice on how to run this organization?" she snapped, eyes narrowing dangerously.
The room fell silent. No one dared question her further.
Bridget turned back toward the empty digital void that surrounded them and raised her voice confidently, "Fine! The Voodoo Gang accepts your terms. We will cooperate with your team."
A low chuckle echoed from all directions, smooth and mocking.
"Heh… I must say, you live up to your reputation, Bridget. Quick and decisive. That's the kind of leader who earns respect."
David's voice was calm, unfazed. There wasn't a hint of fear despite the fact he was speaking from within enemy territory—or more precisely, their home turf in cyberspace.
"Now that we've reached an agreement," he continued coolly, "I expect your gang to honor the deal with the proper etiquette and sincerity. As for revealing myself… I don't think that's necessary right now."
A small smirk tugged at the corner of David's lips. "After all, we're all hackers here. What's the point of physical appearances in cyberspace? Or wait—Bridget… were you trying to trace my IP through my virtual signal?"
Bridget's eyes twitched involuntarily.
Damn it.
He saw right through me.
Indeed, that had been her plan all along. She had agreed so readily to the terms not out of trust, but to bait David into materializing within their system. With the Voodoo Gang's hacking prowess, they could've locked onto his IP signal source and executed a devastating counterattack.
But he had seen through it effortlessly and even called her out on it—so casually that it stung.
This guy's dangerous… way more dangerous than we imagined, Bridget thought grimly.
"Let me make something crystal clear," David's voice returned, now colder. "If you're serious about cooperation, act like it. But if you're still toying with the idea of betrayal…"
He paused.
"Then I'll have no problem wiping your entire Voodoo Gang off the face of cyberspace."
Without warning, David's tone sharpened: "[Source Plan: United] – Thousand Arrows Barrage!"
Within an instant, the entire Voodoo Gang's cyberspace headquarters was flooded with cascading streams of data. Each stream struck like an arrow, converging on Bridget and her hackers in blinding waves.
The velocity was overwhelming. The density, monstrous.
Before they could even react, the digital avatars of the Voodoo Gang were bombarded. Every member was caught off guard.
"What the hell's happening?!"
"My—my avatar can't move!"
"I'm lagging out! The control systems are freezing!"
"This… this is insane!"
Panic spread like wildfire as the gang's elite hackers realized they were completely powerless. Their digital forms moved at a crawl, their reflexes dulled to a near standstill. It was like surfing on a lightning-fast 200 Mbps connection one moment—and being throttled to a torturous 200 KB/s the next.
Glitches began appearing in their virtual avatars—snowflake-like mosaics flickering across their faces and limbs, as if they were being torn apart pixel by pixel.
Bridget, however, felt the weight of it all more than anyone else.
She stood frozen, wide-eyed, heart pounding. This was her domain, her cyberspace stronghold—a base fortified with layers of firewalls and encryption. It was supposed to be impenetrable.
Yet David had launched a massive-scale data flow attack… inside her base.
And the most terrifying part?
She didn't even realize the attack had begun until it was too late.
"This can't be… this is supposed to be a secure system. How…?" she whispered in disbelief.
David's hacking skills weren't just powerful. They were godlike.
All the doubt Bridget once had about David and his team had now vanished. If there was even a sliver of resistance left in her mind before—now, only raw fear remained.
If he had wanted, David could've deleted every one of them from cyberspace without even breaking a sweat.
He chose to let them live.
And that was far more chilling than if he had gone through with it.
Just then, a tall, imposing figure emerged from the center of the virtual chaos.
It was David.
But this time, he wasn't just a voice.
He appeared fully armored in sleek black and crimson combatware—an advanced cybernetic suit marked with glowing lines of blue code. His helmet shielded most of his face, revealing only a pair of piercing eyes that stared into the soul.
He looked like a specter born of code and vengeance.
David's gaze swept across the trembling members of the Voodoo Gang.
"If I truly wanted to eliminate you," he said in a flat tone, "I would've done so already."
Bridget gulped, unable to meet his eyes.
"Now do you understand the difference between you and me?"
"Y-Yes! Absolutely!" she stammered. "Crystal clear!"
"Good."
David nodded slightly, his voice regaining its calm tone. "Let's be clear about something. From this moment on, your Voodoo Gang is under an alliance with our team. You take your orders from me. If I hear even a whisper of betrayal or backstabbing, I will not hesitate to reduce your network to ashes."
He raised his hand—and with a flick of his fingers, ten sleek black cards materialized, each pulsing with subtle code streams.
With a flick of his wrist, he threw them downward.
Clang—!
The cards landed with a metallic echo, embedding themselves into the virtual floor of the Voodoo Gang's cyberspace base.
"These contain a single-use jumping IP byte. It allows you to contact me directly—only once," he explained.
"If it's not an emergency… don't waste it."
The implication was clear.
David turned, the weight of authority radiating from his every step. His armored figure strode toward the edge of the cyberspace realm like a specter retreating into the void.
"Should anything critical arise, I'll contact you," he added casually, glancing over his shoulder one final time. "But until then—stay useful."
And with that, his digital form blurred and faded, vanishing from sight.
For a moment, silence reigned.
No one spoke.
Not Bridget. Not the elite hackers beside her.
They were all still in shock.
The air in the cyberspace base was thick with awe, fear, and something else—respect.
David had come alone. He had made no threats, no negotiations. He had simply shown what he was capable of.
And they had understood.
This was no ordinary hacker.
He was the god of cyberspace.