To put it nicely, this was nothing more than a mutually beneficial exchange.
Arthur, however, had no desire to get involved in this matter. If he did, it would undoubtedly draw unwanted attention from certain powerful individuals. The risks far outweighed the benefits, and for a mere profit from a chip, there was no reason to take such a gamble.
"I'm just joking. The Internet Monitoring Company is famous. It's just a few hackers who don't know their limits. You just need to pick up your magic wand and cast the Unforgivable Curse on them. Isn't that the end of it?"
Arthur's casual remark made the Animal Gang's boss fall silent for a moment. He chose not to respond. Instead, from a small room next door, a man with a body that showed a high level of cybernetic transformation stepped out.
He sat beside the Animal Gang boss and spoke in a calm, measured tone.
"As a cyberpunk relic, you should understand that we focus more on defense. Those bastards are like cockroaches in Night City. If you crush them in one place, they just crawl out from another. I need someone to get something inside for me—only then can I wipe them out completely."
The reasoning was simple. If this were a direct fight, even a hundred Voodoo Gangs wouldn't stand a chance against the Internet Monitoring Company.
These companies had been around for so long and had even resolved the initial network collapse incident left behind by the so-called God of the Internet. They didn't survive just because they had some skills—they had extraordinary capabilities.
But the Voodoo Gang wasn't stupid either. They knew better than to engage in a head-on battle.
Instead, their strategy was hit-and-run. It was like tunneling through the Black Wall—if they were discovered, they would log off immediately and disappear. Then, when the opportunity arose, they'd return to dig again.
This cycle had forced the Internet Monitoring Company to create a special task force to deal with the Voodoo Gang's sabotage. But even that wasn't enough.
After all, the biggest strength of a hacker was their mobility.
Arthur scratched the back of his head. He had done this type of work before. It was nothing more than planting "poison."
With technological advancements, sabotage methods had become increasingly cyberpunk.
In ancient times, poisoning meant slipping toxic substances into food or drinks. But in the cyberpunk era, "poisoning" referred to the deployment of viruses.
Due to the initial network collapse, the world was now fragmented into localized networks. It wasn't exactly physical isolation, but the difference was negligible.
As a result, injecting a virus directly into someone's brain wasn't feasible. Instead, someone had to implant it into a device the target would use.
For example, Arthur once sneaked into a target's home and infected their computer with a virus. When the target returned home and connected their personal terminal to it, the virus infiltrated their neural system.
Once that happened, the hacker could use the local network as a bridge to invade their brain—turning it into a scrambled mess.
Of course, not all viruses worked this way. Some were designed for surveillance, while others could completely paralyze their victims.
After all, in Night City, nearly everyone had cybernetic implants, and all these modifications required neural processors.
If a virus infected a neural processor, anything could happen.
"This is tricky. You should know that the Voodoo Gang won't just let us waltz into their core area," Arthur pointed out.
"If you wanted me to teach an Arasaka dog a lesson or leak some information to an organization, that would be doable. But getting inside the Voodoo Gang? That's a different story.
"I'd have to walk straight through the front door, and if I do that, there's no way I'm planting a virus unnoticed. Besides, apart from their core members, the rest of them are nothing but disposable pawns."
The network monitor smiled and slid a small chip across the table toward Arthur.
Arthur looked at it but didn't pick it up. Instead, he shrugged.
"Do you really think I'd insert a network monitoring chip into my own brain?"
Realizing the issue, the network monitor quickly grabbed a pen and began sketching on a piece of scrap paper.
"You don't need to go in head-on. Since I'm hiring you for this job, I won't send you to your death. We still have a reputation to uphold."
He paused before continuing.
"At your age, you should remember that Night City once had a maglev rail system."
Arthur stroked his chin, recalling something vaguely familiar.
The maglev system was one of the biggest unfinished projects in Night City's history—perhaps even bigger than the abandoned Empire Mall.
Originally, the city had planned a massive transportation network connecting various locations. It was meant to be the largest infrastructure project in the Americas.
But the Fourth Corporate War threw everything into chaos.
Social unrest, armed conflict, and an economic crash halted construction abruptly. The maglev system was never completed, and the tunnels were left abandoned.
Over time, these tunnels became a haven for the homeless, criminals, and various gangs—including the Voodoo Gang, whose base was in one of the most critical transportation hubs of the old system.
This was the same hub that once brought thousands of visitors into Little China, where they spent money and indulged in the city's luxuries.
Now, the same tunnels were about to be used for something far less glamorous.
"It seems you know more about the Voodoo Gang than I expected," Arthur said.
"When you blow up one of their 837 servers, you tend to learn a few things," the network monitor replied with a grin.
Arthur shrugged. "I suppose you don't truly know someone until you've fought them."
The network monitor scratched his head.
"Can we even be friends after blowing up each other's servers?"
He clearly didn't fully grasp the chaotic nature of the cyberpunk world.
"Since you already understand the situation, things are simple. We have the full tunnel layout. You can enter through the location we provide. Once inside, you just need to cut through some old scrap metal to access their base."
He finished his drawing and slid the scrap paper across the table. It was a rough map of Night City, with key locations marked.
Arthur studied it, tapping his fingers against the table in thought.
"Plessio gave me a few kilograms of chicken a few days ago," Arthur said suddenly.
The network monitor frowned in confusion.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Arthur leaned back and smirked.
"Those chickens were my beloved family, friends, and brothers. And from now on, we'll continue working together toward a common goal—to resist this damn world!"
The network monitor looked completely lost.
Since when did cyberpunks start talking about loyalty and brotherhood?
Wasn't this the kind of world where people would sell out their own comrades for a single dollar?
As the network monitor tried to process Arthur's words, the Animal Gang boss beside him nudged his shoulder and whispered,
"He means you need to increase the payment."
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