177: Change of plans (use of symbols)

Mad Flower's threatening voice echoed in the rainy night, but Fang Yun and the other two didn't hesitate for a moment.

Fang Yun raised his hand and shot the loudspeaker on the eaves, sending sparks flying in a brief arc through the rain.

"Combat plan changed," Fang Yun said through the comms.

"The prototype is coming around from the front door, expected here in 47 seconds. We need to avoid it," Fang Yun said through the comms.

"The Mantis Blade Prototype was already 'out of control,' so I can affect its actions by interfering with Mad Flower's signal data," Fang Yun said through the comms.

"How much time will that buy us?" Valentine asked through the comms.

"Five minutes," Fang Yun replied through the comms.

"Worth a shot. Push into the depths of the clinic within five minutes, drag Mad Flower out, and kill her," Toke said through the comms.

"Let's do it then," Fang Yun said through the comms.

"I'll fake the signal so the Mantis Blade Prototype still heads this way. Toke, use the remaining EMP bomb to set a trap and hit the prototype hard when it arrives. Valentine, get ready to breach the door," Fang Yun instructed through the comms.

"OK," came the reply through the comms from two people.

The division of labor was complete.

Toke quickly modified two EMP grenades into tripwire traps. The metal wires, already as thin as hair, became even harder to spot hidden by the rain.

Valentine, meanwhile, took out several micro-detonation sheets from his tactical pouch and attached them to the rusty back door lock.

"3, 2, 1—"

"Boom!"

"I've interfered with the prototype's internal system, and the resulting 'Data Disorder - Computing Power Occupation' has been transferred to Mad Flower," Fang Yun reported through the comms.

"While the maddened prototype is occupying most of Mad Flower's computing power, let's push forward quickly," Fang Yun urged through the comms.

"I'll lead the way," Valentine said through the comms.

The moment Fang Yun and the other two rushed into the abandoned clinic, the computer screen on the table suddenly lit up with a dazzling red light.

"Damn invaders! How dare you break the data connection between me and the prototype! I will kill you all!"

"Beep, Hacker intrusion detected. Anti-intrusion program initiated."

Mad Flower, with her computing power temporarily greatly reduced, used all her might to attack Fang Yun's ICE and firewalls, but ultimately failed to breach his defenses.

[Image: laugh.jpg]

While Mad Flower was struggling to attack, Fang Yun sent her several meme images like "pat head.jpg," "you're so awesome.jpg," and "happy.jpg."

And then Mad Flower's defenses were broken.

The Hacker from 2075 was ultimately broken and overheated by early 20th-century sarcastic meme images that came with detailed explanations.

Mad Flower had previously been trying to regain control of the Mantis Blade Prototype. When Fang Yun and the others attacked the clinic, Mad Flower didn't take them seriously and still invested most of her computing power in controlling the prototype.

However, what she didn't expect was that Fang Yun was a cheat-like player using Fifth Order data structures and programming concepts and techniques.

So, at the critical moment when she was about to regain control of the prototype, she was blindsided by Fang Yun with a "left jab."

Most importantly, when Mad Flower gathered her remaining computing power to retaliate against Fang Yun, she was mercilessly mocked by the other party.

Mad Flower punched and shattered her manifested data desktop, turning into a bright red shrimp, steam "whooshing" out of her whole being.

(Mad Flower: You came to deceive, to sneak attack me, a weak and powerless 2075 middle-level player. Is this good? This is not good! Feed me peanuts, feed me peanuts!)

Fang Yun didn't pay much attention to Mad Flower's impotent rage.

Let her be red, I just want to speedrun.

Once he entered the state of undertaking a commissioned task, Fang Yun felt as if he had returned to the time he spent playing games at his computer desk, becoming focused and absorbed.

The mist of neurotoxin permeated the corridor, and the fluorescent green toxic light illuminated the mottled bloodstains on the walls.

Fang Yun and the other two quickly passed through the collapsed wall and advanced towards the depths of the clinic along the narrow passage.

"The concentration of toxins in the air is gradually rising. The gas masks will last ten more minutes at most," Valentine reported through the comms.

"That's enough," Fang Yun replied through the comms.

"Mad Flower is hidden in the secret room deep inside the clinic. As a Hacker, her direct combat ability is very weak. As long as we can break in, we can take her down easily," Fang Yun explained through the comms.

"She chose to hide in the secret room because she wanted to avoid the rampaging prototype. What was a wise move then has now turned into a 'dagger' to take her life," Valentine commented through the comms.

"The door to the secret room has an electronic lock, Fang Yun. Can you unlock it?" Toke asked through the comms.

"No," Fang Yun replied through the comms.

"But the secret room door can be forced open using a safety switch located outside the room," Fang Yun added through the comms.

"The people who came to kill Mad Flower before didn't know this information. I stumbled upon it accidentally in the clinic's database depths," Fang Yun revealed through the comms.

"Stumbled upon it accidentally? Is it reliable?" Valentine asked through the comms.

"It should be quite reliable. This information was encrypted, so it shouldn't be false information," Fang Yun replied through the comms.

"Besides, even if this method fails, I'm confident I can interfere with the prototype's signal again to buy us time to retreat," Fang Yun added through the comms.

"..." came the reply through the comms from two people.

[Thought: Since Fang Yun, who is fully immersed in his current identity, said so, it means there shouldn't be a big problem.] x2

"Let's do it," came the reply from two people.

Fang Yun, Valentine, and Toke continued to advance towards the secret room where Mad Flower was located, communicating on their team channel.

During the advance, they would occasionally encounter automatic machine gun turrets controlled by Mad Flower.

Whenever this happened, Fang Yun would allocate a small amount of computing power to hack into the turret's friend-or-foe identification program.

As long as the turrets didn't open fire immediately, the incredibly accurate Valentine and Toke wouldn't give them another chance to fire.

On the tactical HUD shared in the three people's vision, the 3D structural map of the clinic was constantly updated.

One hundred meters, two hundred meters, three hundred meters...

After passing through another dilapidated abandoned room, Fang Yun and the other two stopped in perfect sync.

"Those Vortex Gang lunatics are up ahead," Fang Yun said through the comms.

"Because I sent the prototype to the back door, these people who were avoiding the prototype had the chance to ambush us here," Fang Yun explained through the comms.

"Let's finish this quickly," Valentine said through the comms.

"I'll take the lead," Toke said through the comms.

The sound from around the corner ahead grew louder.

A large wave of Vortex Gang lunatics was rushing towards them.