Chapter 38 Behavioral Eigenfaces and Self-ICE

Lin Yue instinctively caught the wrist of the approaching person.

"Damn it! Go easy on me!"

Lin Yue paused, realizing only then that it was the ripperdoc from the Long Beach scrapyard.

"Shit... Kostin! You scared the hell out of me."

Kostin rubbed his wrist. Doing the butchery business in the Long Beach scrapyard, he frequently came to the black market to source supplies, never expecting to run into a regular client in a place like this.

The ripperdoc cast his gaze downward, landing on Lin Yue's arm.

"Getting used to it?"

Lin Yue nodded. "Not bad, quite a kick."

"Your immunosuppressants should be running out soon, right? How's it holding up?"

Immunosuppressants?!

Lin Yue slapped his forehead. He hadn't used that stuff at all. Who in their right mind would inject a tube of unknown green liquid into their body? That tube was thicker than a veterinary syringe for cattle, and Lin Yue hated needles—especially ones of that magnitude.

Perhaps this was the benefit of being able to see his own cyberware capacity. In any case, Lin Yue was certain his cyberware wouldn't malfunction.

"Pretty good, the effects are fantastic," Lin Yue lied smoothly to get through it. If he admitted it had no effect, the doc would probably hound him to buy more immunosuppressants.

Kostin seemed to be observing Lin Yue's complexion and physical state, making Lin Yue feel a bit uneasy.

That was the one thing wrong with this doc—he carried the reek of a slaughterhouse, making people rather uncomfortable.

"I went to the address you left me last time, but you didn't seem to be there."

"I can't exactly talk about this kind of thing over the comms. Since we ran into each other, I'll just tell you now."

Lin Yue perked up. Could it be...

Kostin walked with him toward the shabby gates of the stadium black market not far away. Kostin refused the cigarette Lin Yue offered. "There's news on that item."

Lin Yue was curious. He had asked around the stadium black market for so long without results; how had Kostin managed to find a lead?

"Who's selling?" Once the behavioral mimicry faceplate was fully utilized, Hands would truly cease to be a threat.

He could completely use this cyberware that could transform him into someone else's appearance to move freely through Dogtown, and likewise muddy the waters to pull off major moves.

If anyone claimed Lin Yue slept soundly every night, even he wouldn't believe it. Hands was always out there waiting to strike—how could he possibly rest easy?

"Don't be so impatient. You can't get your hands on that thing overnight. After all, you've asked around the black market plenty yourself, haven't you? Next time, don't be so blunt. You won't get anywhere just walking up and asking—"

"Word from the other side is that this batch of cargo is New United States military surplus, smuggled in through a lot of connected channels. I don't know the specifics; you'll have to contact Sammy, one of Slider's people."

Upon hearing the name Slider, Lin Yue kept his expression neutral and nodded. "Got it. Thanks."

"Slider? You know him?"

Lin Yue smiled. "The one who defected from the Voodoo Boys."

Kostin's expression shifted drastically. "Damn, you look way too dangerous, buddy. You know way too much—man, I can't figure out what crew you're running with."

"Never mind about that. Finding Slider is something I can handle myself... By the way, pal, did you dig up anything on that personal ICE I asked you about last time?"

Kostin shook his head. "That stuff is way too rare in Dogtown. Not many netrunners hang out here... Would you bring a computer into a primitive society? Wherever the netrunners are, that stuff is common. You'll have to leave Dogtown to find it."

"Or, you could just ask Slider."

A very fruitful trip.

Lin Yue rejoiced inwardly, never expecting to run into this guy while scouting for information, let alone have him bring such good news.

Yet problems remained, chief among them being that Slider wasn't easy to approach.

Judging by Kostin's reaction, Slider had already broken away from the Voodoo Boys.

This blind netrunner led a crew that ran a black-market braindance workshop in Dogtown, and his ties to the New US Joint Logistics Agency were far from simple.

As they spoke, Kostin departed. The doc had a terribly eccentric temper, turning and leaving the moment he finished speaking.

Lin Yue had half a mind to wave goodbye.

Sammy's contact info had appeared in his comms list, but Lin Yue had no intention of calling directly. A netrunner whose screen time was so long it had blinded him—going to see a guy like that directly, surrounded by heavily armed thugs who weren't to be trifled with, was no different from seeking death.

Better start by finding someone selling tracking software.

Lin Yue searched around for a vendor selling netrunner daemons and plugins.

Mentioning netrunners and the Voodoo Boys reminded Lin Yue of a specific plugin vendor in the Dogtown stadium black market.

The kid, Sammy Taylor.

Lin Yue's memory of this prodigy netrunner kid was profound, and his viciously sarcastic review still echoed in his ears: The Voodoo Boys are a bunch of zero-brains who haven't even figured out basic networking yet still swagger around in leather pants thinking they're hot shots.

It was now 2075, and Lin Yue wasn't entirely sure if the kid had set up shop around here yet.

As Lin Yue searched about, his eyes suddenly lit up. The familiar bulletproof glass storefront counter, the pale yellow worn-out electric doorbell...

No way?

At this rate, the kid could only be about five years old... Was he even weaned yet?

The electric doorbell emitted a muffled chime, and Lin Yue waited for a long time, only to find no one coming out.

Just as he was about to ask people nearby where the owner was, a little brat behind the bulletproof glass folded his arms and stared straight at him through a pair of glasses.

Kindergarten senior class, tops.

"Where are your folks?"

Sammy sneered. "Ma! Ma! A customer wants to buy stuff~"

"Hey, are you a new moron or something? I own this place. Pick whatever you want—access ports, RAM—"

Lin Yue interrupted, "Uh, do you know where the Dogtown Voodoo Boys are hanging out?"

The kid gave him a speechless look. "The Voodoo Boys? Colonel Barghest can't stand those talentless dolts. If you really want to know, there's one runner who broke away from the Voodoo Boys, selling braindances in Dogtown, leading a big bunch of second-rate mercs with modified chrome brains."

Lin Yue was dumbfounded.

The kid was younger by two years, but his tongue was just as venomous!

"Right, that's the one I'm talking about. Can you drop me an address or something?"

Sammy's eyes lit up. "Seeing as you actually know how to talk, pay up and the address is yours."

Lin Yue honestly transferred the money.

The kid's info came through the very next second.

"How did you get my contact info?" Lin Yue broke into a cold sweat looking at Sammy's text.

"Do me a favor," the kid sighed. Communicating with someone who didn't understand netrunning was such a pain. "Hacking a comms system is child's play."

It's infuriating to compare people; a kid this young was already doing business this smoothly in Dogtown.

Lin Yue expressed his thanks.

Then, looking over the selection of plugins and realizing he didn't recognize most of them, he had to ask again: "By the way, do you have any tracking software or anything like that? Trying to tail someone and investigate their whereabouts."

Sammy pushed a small chip forward. "Right here, home-brewed, top-tier—I guarantee you, eighty percent of self-diagnostic programs won't catch it. If you want more vicious gear, I've got it all, including custom override daemons for MaxTac and Trauma Team."

Lin Yue picked up the chip. "So, you were involved in that Scavenger-Biotechnica incident?"

He remembered the Biotechnica suit—his Trauma Team response program had seemingly crashed hard.

"If we're talking about Dogtown, then yeah, that was me."

Lin Yue shook his head. Dogtown, oh Dogtown, where moral bottom lines no longer existed.

Even kids were collaborating with Scavengers...

"How much for the total?"

Sammy quoted a price.

Lin Yue cheerfully forked over the cash. One-shot deal.

"Say, Boss, do you know where a guy could buy... personal ICE?"

Lin Yue asked on a whim, not holding out much hope.

After all, the kid only sold netrunner plugins and similar software.

Yet, to his utter surprise, Sammy held up five fingers.

"Five hundred eddies for the channel—pre-installed hardware, I'll hook you up with a ripperdoc."

"How's that, fair price, moron?"

"If you want something even badder, I can stack another layer of custom ICE on top for you. Guaranteed to turn whoever tries hacking you into a total idiot."

Huh???

Lin Yue stared, eyes wide:

Holy shit! The kid's a genius!

---

[Slider]: In Phantom Liberty, Myers has V establish a comms link with Reed. To re-establish contact with Songbird, they locate Slider, who had ideological disagreements with the Voodoo Boys. This netrunner runs a braindance workshop in Dogtown and has deep ties to the Joint Logistics Agency, considering he was willing to hold his nose and deal with the Blackwall.

[Sammy Taylor]: A netrunner plugin vendor in the Dogtown stadium black market. A genius prodigy around six or seven years old, wearing thick-framed glasses and headphones around his neck. He was involved in the mission from the original 2077 game where V and Jackie rescue Sandra Dorsett—specifically, hacking the Trauma Team response program for the Scavengers. You can't judge a book by its cover; surviving in Dogtown at that age takes serious skill.