eurekapd Chapter 66
Chapter 66
Chapter 66: Voodoo Gang
“Now that I’m here, why should I leave?”
“Don’t worry, Master Lucy, I will definitely protect you! I won’t let you get hurt in the slightest!”
Ali stretched out his hand, revealing a firm and confident smile.
Lucy seemed to be infected by Ali’s statement. She stared at Ali blankly, looking at his outstretched hand, Lucy’s red lips trembled slightly, and then she actually laughed out loud.
“Phew～Hahaha～”
“Stop bragging, you stupid disciple who doesn’t even have any implants!”
“The master will teach you the secret of becoming a”cyberpunk”. If you are in danger, run quickly and keep running. Staying alive is the most important thing!”
Lucy smiled, a sweet and lonely smile:”After all, if you die, you will lose everything.”
“I won’t run away!”
“There is no need for me to run!”
Ali’s expression was still as firm as before, and his words were decisive. His eyes were straight and hot as he looked at Lucy who was a little sad in front of him.
“Uh-huh~ are you serious?”
“Are you really not afraid of death?”
Lucy was silent. She looked at the young man in front of her, looking at his white and clean face, as if he had never experienced the vicissitudes of life. Maybe he didn’t know the horror of the”Voodoo Gang”.
“I am serious, solemn, and sure”
“Just do what you want to do, and leave the rest to me.”
“After all, you are my”master”, right?”
Ali’s words were like the warm sun in winter shining through the window into Lucy’s heart. She was a little moved, but she didn’t show it.
“Hmm~ It seems that I have accepted a good apprentice”
“It’s settled then, the safety of the master is entirely in your hands.”
Lucy held Ali’s hand, which meant that the bond between them became even deeper. Lucy looked up at Ali and said,”Do your best, the master will not treat you unfairly~”
“Okay, Master, no problem, Master!”
Then Lucy lowered her head and took out a box of cigarettes from the bag around her waist:”My dear disciple, do you want one?”
“Forget about smoking. It’s better to smoke me. Smoking hurts the lungs and liver. Smoking me can regulate your endocrine system.”
“Haha, I’ll suck your big head ghost!”
“Master, this mission is so dangerous, can I give you two points?”
“I’ll give you a big slap in the face!”
Then, under the leadership of Lucy, the two of them began to look for the middleman who would assign the work. Although they didn’t know why the”Voodoo Gang”, as a big hacker gang, needed to hire hackers from outside, it didn’t matter. As long as they gave money, that was enough.
Ali knew a lot about the”Voodoo Gang”. They were a mysterious gang entrenched in Taiping Island. They usually hid in the crowd. They might be butchers cutting meat or hot dog vendors.
But in fact, this is a gang composed of a group of mysterious hackers, mainly active in”Taiping Island”. The”Voodoo Gang” maintains the independence of the region and is also the leader of the most important Haitian community in the area.
They are not only top network hackers who are devoted to exploring the infinite mysteries under the old network and behind the black wall; they are also freelancers who break every rule and are terrible beings who can write viruses that are enough to freeze neural networks.
“The Voodoo Gang is notorious for its cunning cyber hacking techniques and mysterious voodoo practices. They are almost entirely composed of Haitians. They are a secret gang that is always vigilant against outsiders.
The gang was originally founded by voodoo priests and priestesses, who are immigrants from Haiti and the upper caste in Creole culture.
“The origin of the Voodoo Gang can be traced back to 2062, when Haiti was flooded due to climate change. This also opened a new chapter in the history of the Voodoo Gang. They proclaimed themselves as the guardians of Haitian refugees and were responsible for the interests and safety of Haitians.
Most of the members of their entire gang are networkers, and their”hacking technology” is unique. Cooling suits and neural implants are the equipment they rely on for survival.
“The Voodoo Gang often wears voodoo-style clothing, such as dreadlocks, tattoos, and ornaments made of bird and rodent bones, which is why they are often called the”Voodoo Gang”. It is unclear to what extent (or if) the Voodoo Gang is related to the voodoo religion of the Haitian immigrant community in the Pacific Ocean, but they themselves do not like the name”Voodoo Gang”.
There are many terrible rumors about this gang, and the ones who know them best are the hackers of Night City (at least they can recognize the Voodoo Gang when they attack their systems)
“The”Voodoo Gang” has illegally hacked into the databases and accounts of many companies and stolen top secrets. They constantly violate the regulations of network monitors, especially in the field of AI systems.
The gang also participates in network hacking work for private contractors. They are interested in”action and retreat” hacking operations and the adventure of exploring the remains of the old network.
The rest of the sources of income are many and varied, most of which come from the Internet. They have stolen network currency, tried to hack into the bank system (unfortunately failed), and the digital currency and data circulating within the company to trade illegal information.
Because the”Voodoo Gang” often hacks into the network and destroys the network environment, this has aroused the hostility of network monitoring agents. For so many years, network monitoring agents have always wanted to eliminate the Voodoo Gang, but of course they have never succeeded. After all, the
Voodoo Gang has its own”Poseidon System”, which has extremely strong network protection and intelligence capabilities, and often makes the”network monitoring agents” miserable.
“The Voodoo Gang’s camp locations include churches in Night City, J Edgar Hoover Elementary School, Seaview District, Skinny Frank’s Titties”N”Bars, and of course”cyberspace”.
But to be honest, the”Voodoo Gang” is just a small gang from Night City, hiding in the”Pacific State”, and is not very dangerous.
Most of the territory is located in the Creole immigrant area of “Pacific State”. The area is not under the jurisdiction of the police, so it is difficult to know the specific number of gang members, organization and their intentions.
Ali knows that the gang is very ambitious and keen to expose the secrets of the old network. They are constantly investigating the black wall and want to get in touch with the rebellious AI outside the barrier. They dream of becoming the king of the cyber world.
Although their individual strength is good and there are many high-level hackers inside, the overall number of gang members is not large. Ali estimated the scale based on the number of contacts with them in the game. The”Voodoo Gang” is estimated to have only about 50-250 members. In short, looking at all the gangs in Night City, the”Voodoo Gang” has the least number of people.
“There are not many implants in the members of the”Voodoo Gang”, but most of them are brain prostheses related to hacking, such as: microcomputers (Cyberdecks), neural connectors, brain active systems, etc.
Of course, their fighters will also implant some other combat weapons, such as: subcutaneous armor, metal sheaths, gorilla arms, etc.
If Ali were to rate their threat level, he would rate them as”low” in the real world, because in their entire gang, only Placid, the second-in-command and thug, can handle it a little.
But if they are placed in”cyberspace” or on the Internet, their threat level is:”extremely high”. Except for the”Network Monitoring” guys, there is no other gang in the entire Night City that can play the Internet so”smoothly”. According to incomplete statistics, the”Voodoo Gang” is full of large and small gangs. hackers, among which the number of”senior hackers” is as high as”dozens”.
With the help of the”Poseidon System”, their leader Maman-Bridget has even reached the level of [epic hacker] in the virtual network. This is why they can occupy a place in Night City with only hundreds of members.
No one dares to provoke the”Voodoo Gang” composed of a large number of hackers, at least not in this technological era, unless you want to walk on the street and suddenly have your brain burned out!
Its famous members include”Maman-Bridget”, one of the leaders of the Voodoo Gang, and”Placid”, the second-in-command of the Voodoo Gang and a part-time thug, who is as strong as a black bear.
At this time, Lucy is going to take Ali to meet the second-in-command of the Voodoo Gang, the extraordinary fighting”Placid”. Under the introduction of the middleman Hans, Lucy quickly brought Ali to the door of a butcher shop.
“Is the meat you sell here real or synthetic?”
“We have them all! Would you like to buy some to take away? You can make soup with them at home to cure impotence.”
“Does your mother know that you are so eloquent?”
“Mom! Speak for me.”
The two walked into the butcher shop together. Ali chatted with the young man at the front desk who looked like a vendor. An old lady in a wheelchair beside him nodded and said,”I can testify that my child’s mouth is as sweet as honey since he was young.”
“”Okay, Ali, stop it!”
Lucy went straight to the vendor and stated her purpose:”We are not buying meat, we are looking for Placide!”
“Placide?”
The vendor’s smile faded when he heard the name, and his expression instantly became alert. He frowned and looked at Lucy and Ali, then pointed to the surveillance camera hanging on the wall:”Look here, let’s scan it first.”
The camera emitted a scanning light, and after a while of scanning, the vendor looked at Lucy:”You have a visitor registration, the hacker we need can come in, but the guy next to you without an implant can’t”
“Are you sure? There aren’t many high-level hackers in Night City willing to help your”Voodoo Gang”. Your”reputation” is not good either. Is it okay for me to bring a bodyguard?”
“Think it over carefully. Either let us go in together, or we will turn around and leave!”
“Well, let me ask……”
The vendor showed a distressed look, his eyes flickered, as if he was communicating with someone.……
“In that case, let’s go.”
“”Wait, okay, Placide said you can go in together.”
Seeing that Lucy was about to turn around and leave, the vendor hurriedly called the two of them. He opened the secret door in the inner room, and Lucy went in with Ali.
Behind the secret door was a small meat-cutting room, with many tables, a lot of meat and shiny butcher knives, and several workers responsible for cutting meat were working inside.
The color of the meat was cooked brown, and it was obvious that these were not real meat. After all, it was rare to see animals in Night City at this time.
But it was not like this before. There was still an interesting reason for this. In the past years, there were still many animals in Night City.
You can hear the cry of seagulls at the dock, shoo away swarms of flies in the market, and of course the best thing is to step into dog shit in the park.
Unfortunately, in the second half of the 21st century, an animal-borne plague almost stopped the city, and this plague changed everything in Night City.
2051: 7,000 people died, 2059: 10,000 people, 2061: 12,000 people. The panicked Night City Council decided to eliminate all animals in the city, including common cats and dogs, and even birds flying in the sky! The former rat extermination team even used military equipment to set traps and smoke them out. Only some private pets escaped, but their owners had to pay high taxes.
All this has continued to this day and may continue into the future. It is precisely because of this that real meat in Night City is so expensive. If you add a little real meat to the food, the price will double several times, but this is also normal. After all, things are rare and expensive.
Looking at the cooked brown synthetic meat on the chopping board, the smell is fragrant and there is no smell of blood. Ali couldn’t help but sigh that technology really changes life. People eat all technology and hard work.
Soon Lucy and Ali met a big and strong man like a black bear, the second in command of the”Voodoo Gang” named”Placid”!
“Placide?”
“”Hmm!”
Lucy asked, and he just said”Hmm” indifferently, and then he was cutting meat by himself. However, Ali found that the meat he was cutting was actually a real”chicken”, and it was a bloody and smelly rooster!
“Ouch, what are you doing~”
Seeing the cock comb on the rooster’s forehead slightly parted in the middle, Ali couldn’t help but look at Placid:”Tsk tsk, this is real Kun meat, I haven’t seen it for a long time.”
“But I remember that selling poultry meat was illegal because poultry carried infectious diseases. It has been so many years, so why can it suddenly be sold now?”
“This is not for sale, we keep it for ourselves”
“What, are you guys okay?”
Placide was sharpening his knife while talking. With his huge stature and fierce face, he really looked a bit like a butcher, which was creepy.
“Mr. Hands introduced me here, saying that you need to find a high-level hacker.”
Lucy frowned, and she crossed her arms over her chest in a self-protective gesture. It was obvious that the dark and narrow environment here, as well as the bloody smell on the chicken, made her feel uncomfortable.
“That’s true, but it’s not convenient here, come with me.”
Placide packed the chicken, and then took Lucy and Ali out of the narrow slaughterhouse with the chicken, walked outside and faced the sunlight. After leaving the butcher shop, the streets were bustling with people coming and going. Under the protection of the”Voodoo Gang”, this area can be said to be the most peaceful place in”Taiping State”.
“Welcome to Taiping State”
“Are you familiar with Taipingzhou?”
Placid said as he led the way. Although he was aloof, he knew that guests were welcome. As the second in command of the gang, he would still follow the proper etiquette and introductions.
“I don’t know you. Besides, aren’t you guys too hospitable? You all want to reach into my pocket even though you don’t know me yet.”
Ali shook his head, obviously referring to the incident when he was robbed by”hooligans” right after getting off the bus.
“That’s definitely not from our”Voodoo Gang””
“I am quite familiar with Taiping Prefecture. Apart from being poor, there is nothing special about it.”
Lucy said as she walked slowly side by side with Ali.
“There are reasons for all this.”
De Laship said, and then he introduced the local customs and some of the history of the place to the two people:”This should have been an independent city, a den for the upper class to spend money, a closed loop, enclosing land to raise sheep, and then collecting wool from the sheep. The buildings you see now were all built by the company.”
“In fact, anyone with a discerning eye can see that Taiping Island has unlimited potential. With proper investment and strong demolition, it is possible for it to once again become Night City’s top holiday resort.”
“Unfortunately, they all withdrew their investment later.”