Upon his return, he was surprised to find that Vantz was wide awake. “S’up man? Where did you run off to, you sly dog, you?” Vantz asked with one eyebrow raised.
“Felt like taking a ride. Been in front of my computer screens for too long,” Caiden replied.
“At two in the morning, bro? Yeah, you getting tired of working on your computer? All of your enthusiasm and time dedicated to CWR? Oh, what has this world come to?” Vantz said with a dramatic flair.
Vantz was Caiden’s best friend; someone he considered family. As much as he wanted to tell him everything that had happened, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“What’s so wrong with that? Look at you! You’re up studying at two in the morning! When’s the last time you even opened a book, genius?” Caiden responded with a smirk on his face.
“Touché, my friend, touché, ” Vantz conceded.
Vantz was extraordinarily intuitive by nature. In another life, he would have been an outstanding detective. But in this life, it's a good thing he wasn't. The malfeasance of the political and judicial institutions of Zonos Inc and Psi- Corp respectively would have put Vantz' strong moral code to the test. And that test would surely cost him his life.
“Anyway, I’m off to my room. Finally got tired. See you in the morning, dumbass,” Caiden said in jest.
“Whatever, loser,” Vantz smiled as the two bumped fists.
Caiden entered his room and a great relief overtook him; he was back in his sanctuary. Satisfied that he pulled off the mission successfully and dodge a dangerous bullet, he logged back onto CWR under ‘VseR’ and waited for a chat with Slavo.
“VseR, receiving an audio request from a private secure channel, username KingSleaze11, will you accept?” asked Xandra.
“Yes, please connect me,” Caiden replied.
“My, my, VseR. I must say, I am thoroughly impressed. I have confirmed the seventy-five million Creds in my requested Enzen Bank account. And, as promised, I have now sent you the other one million Creds as payment.” Slavo stated.
“No biggie,” Caiden coldly replied, “Are we done now?”
“Of course, but rest assured that you will be hearing from me again. You’ve turned out to be more useful than I anticipated, VseR.”
“Whatever, man,” Caiden nonchalantly replied as he cut the transmission.
Caiden shook his head in disbelief at his client’s lack of appreciation for all he was made to endure. He then remembered that his payback plan was nowhere near done. While Caiden was transferring the Creds from Prime-1 Bank to Slavo’s Enzen Banking account during the job, he also installed a hidden trigger function. This undetectable trigger function would prevent Slavo from withdrawing any money from the account. It would force him to go to a physical bank location to do anything about it. When the Enzen account specialist would attempt to open Slavo’s bank file, it would automatically set off a built in DDoS attack. The attack would cause the bank’s entire network to shut down completely and it has been designed to send the seventy-five million Creds in Slavo’s account to millions of people across the megacity at random. Satisfied with how everything turned out, Caiden decided to rest until further notice.
CHAPTER 4
---usr/systems/server-x/THE LOVEMAARS---
Caiden used the same money he earned from the Prime-1 job and uploaded the Creds onto a blank Cred Codec. Cred codecs were used to provide people instant access to their funds without the need for it to be attached to a bank account. The tradeoff was security. If a person was to lose that codec, they would have no insurance or record to prove they had any money on it to begin with. The codecs were as small as a flash drive, but had an octagonal shape. Each codec had a unique barcode resting atop of it, which allowed a person to scan it for transactions, as well as load more money onto it. Cred codecs were popular within the city, almost entirely replacing paper cash altogether. They were also commonly used by those who were engaged in illegal activities as it was harder to track codec-based Creds than Creds attached to an actual bank account.
During his initial hack of The LoveMaars, Caiden got a hold of the elaborate security systems in the building. It sported a rather robust security protocol, most likely to prevent the women from communicating too much with the outside world and, most importantly, from escaping from the building. The brothel was a dead-end sex and drug filled hellhole. Caiden took the time to prep for yet another wild task, this time of his own choosing. There were things he needed to confirm, not to mention the fact that the infamous Zonos Inc. has significant ties to the brothel. His anti-establishment disposition compelled him to embark on this dangerous task and he was determined to fulfill it. There was no turning back.
Vantz’s apartment was the place that Caiden called home. They had been best friends since they were fifteen. Vantz’s mother, Layne Marling, was a prominent member of the board of administration for the company, Cytoplasmic Evolutionary Leveling Logistics, otherwise known as ‘C.E.L.L.’. The company had become powerful within Neon District. Not much was known about them, other than their acclaimed revolutionizing of reaching peak human potential without cybernetic augmentations via the
