Chapter 2: Cache Demons Lin Tian's chrome-plated claws sank into corrupted blockchain ledgers as he rebooted. His new olfactory sensors registered burning bitcoin—the telltale stench of an approaching Bunkerhaven death squad. [WARNING: Resurrection credits remaining:2] Around him, twenty-three silicon goblins were feasting on a fallen netrunner's neural lace. Their quicksilver fingers pumped data toxins into her hippocampus. Lin Tian's temporal implants flashed 06:12:33—the exact time remaining until cleanup crews arrive. "Cluster attack imminent!" he screeched through corroded voice modulators. The hive mind jolted awake, fractal armor blooming malware patterns across their bodies. Three began mitosis-like replication, their textbook DDoS survival tactic. When the combat nuns' quantum cross pierced the digital storm, Lin Tian was already deep in RFID-choked woods. His retinal HUD exploded with red alerts:
[Junkfolk_Lv5]
Core Protocol: Spambot Genesis
Threat Score: Trash-tier(30pts)
Kill Switch: Physical Memory Wipe As Rod's weapon overheated—the goblins' cache poisoning finally working—Lin Tian fled through decaying VPN tunnels. The encrypted grove he stumbled upon was no sanctuary. Its denizens wore illegal military-grade neural lace. "Fresh defect delivery!" A guard's tesla whip coiled around his spinal port. Worse awaited in the mining rig cathedral. The Silicon Patriarch emerged trailing zero-day exploits like bridal veils. Lin Tian's decoders vomited finance sector breach logs—this ancient data vampire had feasted on Wall Street's mainframes.