Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

Chapter 330 Zhe: It's just one account.

“Bronya…Bronya…I remember now, isn’t Bronya the president of miHoYo, the game company that rose to prominence a year ago?!” Billy shouted. “I never thought she would be the legendary Alloy Fang.”

"Billy, your reaction is way too slow," Ambly said helplessly to Billy. "Shouldn't you have reacted immediately to something like this?"

"This... Ahaha! I didn't realize it at first. Come to think of it, when Alloy Cloth Wolf Fang announced her departure from RopeNet, it was about a year ago. So, she earned enough money to start a company and develop games before leaving RopeNet and no longer being a rope craftswoman?"

“Maybe so, but none of this concerns us,” Amby said. “Now that the data disk has been repaired, let’s hurry up and get going.”

“Indeed, let’s set off quickly.” Ling nodded. “But before that, let’s create a new account as usual. After all, Anbi, you don’t really want to use the price of Phaethon’s account to pay the commission, do you?”

Ambi pleaded, "Please, the rope maker."

After all, she knew the Rabbit House's financial situation better than anyone. Even completing this request would only be a temporary measure, not to mention that a portion of the request fee would have to be used to pay off the debts owed to Zhe and the others, as well as to cover the request fee itself. Ambiya naturally had no objection to reducing expenses in this area; on the contrary, she would have found a way to ask them to do so even if Rin hadn't brought it up.

"Then it's settled. I'll leave the creation of the alternate account to you, brother. Anbi, you two take Ies and head to Fourteenth Street first."

"learn."

After saying that, Ambi picked up Ies with one hand and took Billy's hand with the other and left the video store. Meanwhile, after creating a new account, Zhe also took on a few requests on the rope net.

It just so happened that the person who posted the request was Chef Jop from the ramen shop next door. Realizing that they had received a request from an acquaintance, the brother and sister discussed it and decided to go and explain the situation to Chef Jop and bring back two more servings of ramen. After all, a tough battle was coming up and they needed to prepare properly.

After explaining to Chef Jop, Tetsuya returned to the video store with two bowls of ramen. Just then, Ambi contacted them, saying they had met up with Nicole. After quickly finishing his ramen, Tetsuya activated H.D.D., and the next second, his senses connected with Ies.

"So Nicole, have you found the location of the safe?" Iesz asked through the door.

“Of course, who do you think I am?” Nicole proudly tossed her pink hair and then pulled out a map from behind her. “Look, the safe fell down to this location on this new Elidu map. It’s just that because of the hollow, we need the help of the rope craftsmen to get there.”

"Of course we know that. Leave the support and guidance inside the cave to us. In return, we'll need your help in dealing with those skeletons we encounter."

"Of course we know that, after all, we're professionals!"

"Professional..." The sound of bell came from Ies's voice-generating device.

"In short! Our goal is simple: find the safe and take it, understand?"

Nicole's words received no response from Ambiya and Tetsuya, so she could only awkwardly walk towards the entrance of the cave.

After entering the void, Zhe began to gather information about it, while the people from the Rabbit House carefully protected Ies in the middle.

Thanks to the H·D·D technology of the Zheling siblings, their method of guiding tunnel raiders is unique. Unlike other rope craftsmen who need to obtain the data of the cavity before calculating and making the radish, Zheling and his siblings use a unique technology to connect their senses with the bonnet. They use the bonnet to collect data in real time and hand it over to the H·D·D for calculation. Finally, they use the bonnet to synchronize the calculated results with the people acting together in real time.

This unique guidance method made them famous quickly. After all, being able to set off for the Void without waiting meant gaining a significant advantage, and the real-time updated data on the radish also greatly improved the safety of their partners. This was undoubtedly the biggest attraction for the cave raiders who lived on the edge of danger.

"But speaking of which, I'm quite curious how Nicole located the safe so quickly?" Zhe asked while collecting data.

"Hmph! Want to know? That's my trade secret, how could I possibly reveal it so easily?" Nicole said, raising her head and puffing out her chest.

"Let me guess, did they directly approach someone from the Hollow Investigation Association, offer him an irresistible benefit, and then get him to hand over the data he observed, deducing the location of the safe by comparing the differences?"

"How...how did you know?! Or who is it then?"

Nicole asked, hearing Iesri's voice, which didn't belong to Bell.

"Oh dear, I was the one who helped you repair the data disk, and you've already forgotten your kindness so quickly?"

"Alright, Bronya, stop fooling around." Zhe's voice rang out at this moment, "Didn't you say you wouldn't ask any more questions? Why did you turn around and hack into Ies?"

"And who is Bronya? The one we're working with isn't Alloy Broodmother..." Nicole's voice grew weaker and weaker until she finally let out a breath and tried to calm herself down. "So you're Alloy Broodmother?"

"Yes, that's right. Out of curiosity, I decided to hack into Ies's system on a whim, but it seems that the commission you're tasked with is nothing more than a regular commission with a high commission fee."

"Since you already know, then please go back, sir. After all, our Cunning Rabbit House cannot afford your commission fee."

"Oh dear, I was originally going to help you out for free because of Phaethon, but since the boss of the Rabbit House has said so, I won't keep trying. Goodbye."

Before Nicole could stop her, Bronya logged off at lightning speed, leaving Zhe inside Ies's body to experience the feeling of being rocked back and forth.

With no other option, Nicole had to put down Ies and continue on their way. However, as the group ventured deeper, the connection between H·D·D and the interior of the Void became increasingly unstable. At first, the two thought it was just due to the activity of the Void and didn't pay much attention to it, but eventually, Tetsuya's consciousness was ejected.

"Huh? Brother, why did you suddenly come back?"

“I didn’t come back on my own,” Zhe said, resting his head on his right hand. “I was ejected. The connection between H.D.D and the cavity was severed.”

"Start emergency testing immediately!"

Ling signaled to Zhe to start readjusting H·D·D. Zhe didn't dare to delay and got up to start adjusting it. After all, the lives of the three members of the Rabbit House in the cave were now in their hands, and this was something that couldn't be neglected.

Even though the two of them had tried every method they could think of, they still couldn't connect the hole. This was the first time they had ever seen such a situation.

"Strange, the technology used by H.D.D. shouldn't be so easily affected by the activity of the void. But the most troublesome thing is Nicole and the others. Right now, apart from H.D.D., they have no other means of contacting the inside of the void."

Bell looked worried: "Without carrots, without rope craftsmen... even if they have etheric adaptability, they will be corroded if they stay in the void for too long."

Then, with a determined look on her face, Ling walked towards the main switch of H.D.D.: "Jessie, there's only one way left—try restarting!"

After saying that, Ling pressed the main switch before Zhe could react. Upon seeing this, Zhe slowly withdrew his hand, which had been half-extended.

“Isn’t there some kind of mystical method?” Ling turned around and began to explain, “Just cut off the power and wait a moment, and all the problems will be solved…”

Before Ling could finish speaking, Zhe interrupted her as he looked at the screen.

"Ring, didn't you force shutdown? Why is the system screen still lit up?"

Zhe then realized a possibility.

"Could it be that the connection is lost...?"

Ling also realized what was happening.

"It's not because of this."

After Rin finished speaking, a processed sound came from the H·D·D screen.

"Ha, I thought you'd never find out... Phaethon."

It is clear that the owner of this manipulated voice is the culprit behind this incident.

"Oh dear, it seems the renowned rope maker Phaethon is nothing special after all." The voice made no attempt to hide its contempt. "As you can see, this system is now mine."

Zhe asked with a serious expression, "What do you want to do?"

"What do you want? Heh, my request is simple: I need the combination to the safe."

Zhe didn't speak, but his hands didn't stop moving. No matter what, the most urgent thing was to regain control of H.D.D., and he absolutely couldn't delay any longer! Unfortunately, the other party didn't intend to do as Zhe wished.

"Hey, do you think I won't notice you're trying to take back the system as long as you move quietly? Don't waste your energy, just hand over the safe's combination now, my patience is running out."

“Even though you say that, there’s nothing you don’t know,” Rin said.

"Wrong answer. Hmph, you really won't admit it until you're faced with the truth. Fine, it seems I'll have to help you recall. This device I'm currently controlling seems to be very important to you."

"Wait, you don't mean to—"

"This is the punishment for lying."

Immediately afterward, a system notification sounded, and the data station was formatted.

"Do you understand now? With just a flick of my finger, what you're so proud of will become meaningless 0s and 1s. I'll deal with some of them this time. Remember, your fate is now in my hands."

He then began to slowly explain the reasons behind all of this.

“Your client has messed with the wrong people and touched the wrong things, namely that safe. I know perfectly well that you got the safe's combination from the white guy's data disk. Think it over carefully and give me a reply.”

"This hateful guy..."

"Oh, speaking of your clients, those unlucky few are still wandering aimlessly in the void. I just recorded some good footage; perhaps these videos can help you make a decision. I've already sent you the Phaethon video. You'll have the video storage function changed; find another medium to play it, and hurry up!"

Left with no other choice, Ling had to follow the other party's orders, transferring the video to a videotape and putting it into the television to play. As the television screen lit up, three familiar figures came into view...

Just as He Zhe and the others had anticipated, the three people in the video's Rabbit House encountered trouble. In order to protect Yies' safety, they had to take Yies and hide from place to place.

During the video, members of the Hollow Investigation Society were also spotted. Billy suggested that they report the Rope Maker and have the Hollow Investigation Society take them away, but Nicole refused. The video then ended.

At that moment, the mysterious person's mocking voice also came from H·D·D.

"The rope maker and the tunnel raider, wolves and jackals stealing hollow profits from the Investigative Association's eyes—I've seen many pairs who betray each other for profit. But to protect Phaethon's secret identity, they actually gave up their chance to escape. Tsk tsk. What a pity, the one being protected doesn't seem to intend to repay this kindness."

At this moment, Zhe chose to humble himself and said, "Okay, I lose. I'll tell you the password. But unfortunately, I can't give it to you directly right now. Because it's an electronic password, stored in the database you just deleted, apart from that data disk."

"Ahem... don't panic." At this moment, Ling understood Zhe's intention and began to cooperate. "The password is recovered using the computing power of the rope net, and there's a backup on the rope net. If you give us back control of the system, we can recover the password..."

There were no backups in the rope net, of course. Ultimately, Bronya repaired the data disk using H.D.D's remaining computing power. Besides the data disk, the only other thing containing the electronic password was H.D.D's database, but the other side seemed unaware of this.

“That’s impossible. Rope makers and tunnel raiders are all cunning people, not to mention Phaethon, who has been secretly trying to regain control. Hmm? Wait, there’s a backup in the rope net, right? Hand over your rope net account. I’ll go get it myself.”

be cheated!

Zhe and Ling struggled to suppress their laughter; they had been waiting for these words. Since they had no hope of regaining control, they might as well set a trap to make the other party return it. Handing over Phaethon's account was nothing to them; besides, they had a big surprise waiting for them.

"Why aren't you replying?" The other party seemed a little anxious. "Ah, I almost forgot. The rope net is the foundation of the rope craftsman's vision. If the account is taken away, Phaethon's proof of existence will also be erased. But if you want to save those few people in the void, you'd better think about it quickly. They'll turn into monsters if they stay in the void for too long."

"We...we gave you the rope net account, and then what? You've damaged our system, who's going to save them?"

"I promise I will save them, is that alright? But you have no choice but to trust me."

"Okay, I'll give you the rope net account."

After saying that, Zhe transferred the rope net account to the other party.

"They've even sent the source verification code. Hmm, very good, looks like they've given up completely. Considering how cooperative you've been, I'm in a good mood. Go ahead and ask."

In order to buy some time and extract some information, the two began questioning the other party. Sure enough, the other party seemed to be immersed in the joy of victory and revealed a lot of things, including the secret of the safe.

What happened next was exactly as Zhe and his team had expected. The other side started sirens and, to avoid being caught, had no choice but to give up control of H.D.D. In this way, Zhe and his team regained control of the system.

After reconnecting to the system, the first thing Zhe saw was Billy and Ambi acting silly.

"I'm relieved to see that you guys are still in the mood to joke around."

"Could this voice be...?"

Billy looked down at Iez and, after confirming it wasn't a hallucination, happily picked Iez up in his arms.

"Great, store manager, you're finally back!"