1) Floating in a vast ocean of nothingness... It's only by experiencing it yourself that such feeling can be apprehended.
2) This one moment approaches rapidly, when you completely lose awareness of your own body.
3) To fight this ominous feeling off, I use my hand to verify the body's presence. Relief which follows suit is a remedy for me.
4) Yet, even these very sensations are nothing but a hoax.
5) "Cyberspace" (virtual network space of information)...
6) A penultimate creation of humanity, heaven digitalized...
7) And now my "body" drifts among skillfully forged particles which comprise a body of "Cyberspace".
8) Tsukina: "Tooru, hey. Bachelor and Yuuya have already arrived at the designated point"
9) As Tsukina transmit those words, I finally open my virtual eyes.
10) Protruding from the structure's ground are the rows of skyscrapers, clinging to the sky as if willing to pierce the Vault of this Heaven itself. Inbetween those ungodly spikes, pods of neon-light fireflies rummage through miniscule yet ubiquitous roads.
11) One of those fireflies is me.
12) Tsukina: "Bachelor's viruses are approaching target without being noticed by an enemy. Operation starts in approximately 120 seconds"
13) Nothing what I percieve right now is real, just a mere illusion given a comparatively real appearance by an infinite number of terabytes of data. That's "this world"'s magic for you.
14) Hence, my body right now is an illusion too, this being possible by "jacking-in" every nerve of the real body.
15) The latter is currently residing in downtown's hideout, lying atop the console. Corpse with intestines still functioning, completely defenseless.
16) Tsukina: "Hey, Tooru! Are you even paying any attention?"
17) Tooru: "Oh... Yeah, I'm all ears here, Tsukina"
18) It's clear that Tsukina is a bit annoyed right now. Thankfully, this is what woke me up from that fit of melancholic ruminations. I can't help it: when it comes to wandering in this reality, such thoughts immediately cling to my mind.
19) Tsukina: "Earth to Tooru! A countdown is about to get started! We can't deviate from "hacking" protocol any longer!
20) Tooru: "Tsukina, do I really need to remind you that this "protocol" is devised by me and Yuuya? I know perfectly what I must do. Even then, this is not our first time, is it?"
21) Yuuya: "She only wants to be sure that her dear childhood friend doesn't end up "flatlining" must he go out his way"
22) Communication link with Tsukina is suddenly interfered by Yuuya, my closest partner and a leader of Steppenwolf.
23) Bachelor: "It's common knowledge that agitated humans are more susceptible to making mistakes, so, you two, stop quarelling lest to screw the operation up."
24) And then it's robotic voice that is interfering. Bachelor... This Hot-Dogga of a hacker has proven to be of a great help to us, yet we don't know his true identity.
25) ...Hmm, can't see Bachelor and Yuuya from here, but they must be somewhere close.
26) Tsukina: "Who is "quarreling" here? I don't get it, why are you so calm? Current target is far from some petty small enterprise!"
27) She is right, our target today is practically a Moby Dick.
28) W&D Entertainment - a corporate entity located in Pacific Ocean Bay area, it's main activity - disctribution of all sorts of entertainment goods and services. With billions of clients serviced annually, this company considerded gargantuan even on a scale with other corporate giants.
29) One of it's main branch offices stretches high into an upper frontier of the "sky" right in front of me... Why else would anyone build skyscraper so high if not for boasting about his company sizes?
30) Tsukina: "You sure it will be alright to tackle on such an important structure?"
31) Bachelor: "Relax, I have just finished analysing their "firewall" system. Piece of cake."
32) Somehow, Bachelor is always abiding by anonymous mode when communicating with the others, always concealing their face and voice.
33) Even after a year of cooperation, Bachelor hasn't so much as appeared in form of virtual body in front of us.
34) I can see reason for this, though: one can't conceal or change his true voice and appearance when being in "virtual body" mode, that is this Net's logic, and no one can breach the Net's laws.
35) Yuuya: "Moreover, we've already penetrated a myriad of security systems, haven't we? Nothing to be afraid of, Tsukina."
36) Tooru: "Yeah, it's our style - slipping through "firewall" unnoticed"
37) It's easy when you are a staff member - just show your ID and proceed through "Port". However, for non-employees it means undergoing several legal procedures in order to obtain a right to "login" and enter the structure...
38) As for us, we enter structures by exploiting holes in "firewall", for we are hackers after all.
39) That's right, we are hackers, and our hacking team is called "Steppenwolf".
40) To achieve our goals, we exploit security holes, and this method is what every team member is proud of.
41) Bachelor: "The first set of viruses is commencing operation!"
42) Just when Bachelor finished excerting those words upon us, virtual buildings start to twinkle like stars everywhere, and communication channel fills with stochastic flow of messages.
43) As expected, the viruses should cause some ruckus in a matter of seconds.
44) And while havoc is wrecking here and there, we'are going to carry out our plan.
45) Yuuua: "They have begun, it seems. Let's move out!"
46) Tooru: "Alright, Tsukina, shifting into Sumikram!"
47) Tsukina: "Got it, be careful!"
48) After data transmission, I feel a bare moment of dizziness, and with it all I see in front of me are arms, but now they are chunks of steel incarnated.
49) Along with apperance changed the size: my body has become 3 times as large as it was a moment ago. I tightly grasp the virtual arm's wrist, and pulsating sensation can be felt even in this state of mine.
50) It's Sumikram, or what we use instead of normal bodies when it comes to armed conflicts. Normal body would be torn apart immediately on a battlefield, so Sumikrams fulfill the need of providing people with means of carrying out battles.
51) Tooru: "Let's start!"
52) I free fall under the pressure of 1G of virtual gravity, trying to control thrusters in a way to safely decelerate and land on the designated area.
53) Physics laws of reality work here too, meaning that everything will be pulled by gravity to the ground.
54) Tooru: "I'm in front of gates. He-he, seems like there are no visitors except for us today."
55) Yuuya: "The less we attract - the better".
56) Bachelor: "My viruses were perfect. Next time it is your turn, though."
57) Tooru: "Oh, that is great. I'll show my best"
58) When we are approaching the gates, a mechanical voice tells us to input the password.
59) Tooru: "Tsukina, transfer a "pass-cracker" to me"
60) I lay my Sumikram's terminal onto the password input device, and pass-cracker starts working.
61) Tsukina: "Got it. Organiation code database scanning - complete. Starting analysis of logic"
62) Her voice has tinges of both anxiety and anticipation... No matter how many times we penetrated security systems, this very moment remains virtually unbearable every time.
63) Tsukina: "Logic analysis - complete, data transfer - complete! Everything is up to you now, Tooru!"
64) ID-authentication is in progress. Please, wait.
65) If it eats up a code now, then mountains of clandestine treasures await for us. If it fails... Well, the security won't hesitate a moment to fight with us.
66) The latter might lead to arrest or, if your luck is bad enough, to flatline.
67) Authentication - complete.
68) Tsukina: "We did it! We are recognized as VSS' reinforcement unit!.
69) The security system is hacked, and now we are can enjoy full capacity of rights followed from legally "logging"-in into the structure.
70) Yuuya: "It's good that we entered so easily, but does this entertainment company really have valuable data here?"
71) Tooru: "Exactly, we came here for something more intricated and skillfully hidden, so let's not rush ourselves like some newbies?"
72) Bachelor: "Trust me, there are treasures hidden in piles of information trash. Look what I got, this scanner will guide us"
73) Tooru: "Oh, and then he rushed exactly like a newbie. So, Yuuya, what do you think?"
74) Yuuya: "Alright, let's collect everything valuable real quick and finally bid farewell to this place"
75) There is a room inside main database, where 3D-icons are aligned in a grid-like pattern.
76) This is where all the data is stored. 3D-icons themselves represent the data which is held by a single part of the grid. Judging by symbols, there are all sorts of information, both valuable and not.
77) Tooru: "Well, where to start from?"
78) Tsukina: "Wait, there are viruses incoming. Why, I thought we successfully hacked the security system?"
79) This database can not be accessed by unauthorised personnel. Please, leave immediately.
80) After a warning, three viruses approach us steadily while aiming their guns at us. The logic is, this place will become a living hell shouldn't we obey the directive.
81) Bachelor: "No less from a large enterprise. Besides internal security system, there is also an independent set of defense mechanisms"
82) Yuuya: "Damn, security system itself will be active in a matter of seconds too"
83) Tsukina: "How can you even admire it, Bachelor? You said there would be no battles, that's why I agreed to participate in this operation!"
84) Tooru: "No need to worry, we have all the "crude" equipment tehre is to fight them off"
85) Normally, no hacker would stand such violent methods, but time has changed, and so has approach to how hacking should be performed.
86) With weapons ready, we encounter the Viruses.
87) Tooru: "Ha, don't ever use these shitty viruses in large enterprises"
88) Yuuya: "This place is a prime example of "high risk & low return". Damn, only newbies and fools would aim on it"
89) Tooru: "That makes us?.."
90) Yuuya: "The latter of course!"
91) We briefly exchange self-derisive sneers via communication link.
92) When Sumikram is destroyed, it overloads user's real body and nervous system, which immitently leads to flatline.
93) Yuuya is right. This much danger for mere cracking we are performing right now... Fools, nothing less!
94) Stop chatting! One virus is coming this way!
95) Tooru: "Leave it to me! You two, go and collect data."
96) Yuuya: "Be careful".
97) If I had to say so, then Yuuya is definitely miles better at data collection than me. In my turn, I excell more at battling.
98) Tsukina: "Careful, Tooru, that virus is the same type you fought before!"
99) Tooru: "Alright. Now, provide support for Yuuya and Bachelor!"
100) After destruction, there are no traces of viruses left.
101) According to the Net's logic, destruction is as malignantl as it would be in the real world.
102) However, no traces of destroyed bodies are left, as the Net doesn't have this much of free space.
103) You may say that with "deletion" of Sumicram, real brains are deleted too.
104) Yuuya: "Let's move out! Bachelor found something interesting"
105) Tooru: "Huh?"