Chapter 62: Unlocking the Black Box || Ghost Runners

Jason placed the boxes on the table and finally got himself a seat.

“Here they are.”

“So you were after these?” Angel grabbed one box and played with the locking system. “They are old and reliable, but they aren’t used nowadays.”

“What are they exactly?” Xavier asked curiously. “Are they storage boxes?”

“Umm, not really. They can be used for anything. They were invented a few hundred years ago for the space military, but they were soon discarded as they were too secure. The encryption on them is one of the best till date, and the military messed up the encryption keys because there were hundreds of thousands of them. In the end, they disposed of them.”

Xavier checked the boxes, but he could no longer tell which one was the one he needed.

“I have the encryption key so how long will it take you to open the box?”

“If you have the key then it shouldn’t take long. Let me set up my stuff. In the meantime, send me the encryption key, so I can start right away.”

Angel got herself a desk and connected the black boxes to her device. She was checking the encryption details to find the real one.

“Four of them are encrypted. If we are lucky, we may find something valuable inside them. Do you know the encryption details of the one you are looking for?” She glanced over at Xavier and waited for the response.

But Xavier was busy typing the encryption key on his phone.

“Wait, what are you doing?” She leaned over to check his phone. “Are you… typing the encryption key?” She asked with a baffled look on her face.

“Hmm. Didn’t you ask me to send it?” Xavier responded without stopping his fingers.

“No… I mean, I asked you to send a file, not type it out. Uhh… is it 2048 bit encryption? Still, it would be impossible for anyone to type it out like that.”

“It’s 2,62,144 bits.”

“What?!” Angel was shocked. Even Oliver, who wasn’t following the conversation and had no idea what was going on, was also shocked to see Angel speechless.

“You are kidding, right?” She asked. “No human can remember a key that long.”

“I am writing it. Please don’t disturb me, or I will have to write from the start again.”

“No, wait, wait. There is no need to type it on the phone then.” She passed the device to Xavier and said, “Just type it here. It will be easier.”

“And take this.” She tossed her keyboard. “Physical keyboard feels better to write on than holo one. Your fingers will love it.”

Previously, Xavier was typing 1000 characters per minute on his phone, but now, on a high grade mechanical keyboard, his characters per minute were nearly 5000. And that only increased as he got used to it.

In the next five minutes, his cpm hit 12000, and his maximum cpm was 32000.

No one in the room could believe their eyes. Especially Angel, who was one of the smartest people in the room. She had spent her life in front of a screen, playing with technology. But now, after seeing Xavier, she felt humiliated. However, she was impressed too. To the limit that she wanted to make him hers.

’Is he even human? With that kind of speed… no, why am I even surprised? He remembers the encryption key, that alone is a feat impossible for a human to achieve. His brain’s computing power is beyond human comprehension. If someone like him were to become a ghost runner…’

Once Xavier finished, he handed the device back to Angel.

“Did you find which one is our box?”

“Yeah.”

Angel then focused on the task at hand, and within a few minutes, she was done.

“Open it. There should be longitude and altitude of a location. Find the place for me. I might leave for the place tonight since I want it done before Monday.”

Angel began working again and, after inputting the numbers they had extracted from the black box, they got their location.

“Uhh…” Angel turned to Xavier and others with a troubled look on her face and asked, “Are you sure this is the place?”

“As long as the numbers are right, this should be the place. Why? It should be on earth itself, so it should be easy to find, right?”

’Since Bull was arrested here, he should have hidden the fragment nearby.’

“The place itself is not that far, but it’s… dangerous.”

“Explain please.”

Angel activated her holo device, and a map appeared in the air. She zoomed in and showed the location to Xavier.

“This place is filled with beast species. They are mostly war refugees who were left here after their planet was destroyed. The United solar system had proposed an idea to take the refugees in, and the 10 planets were supposed to take in 10% each. However, at the end time, earth bailed out because of the civil war. But some of them had already migrated.

Needless to say, it didn’t end well for them or us. After the civil war ended, they were given land, but nothing else. Some of them, who were capable, left earth, while some spread out to other countries. However, those who couldn’t are stuck there. They hate humans, understandably.”

“It is also a lawless zone,” Jason added. “Even I wouldn’t try to go there, Xavier. And you shouldn’t either.”

“No, I have to go there. It’s necessary.”

“If you really have to go there, then hire a bodyguard of a beast race. The risk of your life will drastically decrease by 50%.”

“Oh! That’s easy. Does Lykaois count?”

“Yes. But they are very rare to find. They have exceptional combat ability and their physical abilities far surpasses even the fighter bots that are used in wars. They are also called a noble lineage.”

Angel searched for something on her device and said. “The last official record of Lykaios on earth is 12.”

“Uhh… I guess there is a thirteenth one back at the apartment.”

“What?!” Angel exclaimed. “Oh, come on. You have been surprising me again and again. Is there something else you want to tell me before I lose my mind?”

“I think Xavier also has an ability to perform deep-dive.” Jason murmured. “But it’s dangerous.”

“What’s deep-dive?” Oliver asked with a curious look on his face. “Is it related to VR games?”

“It is related to the virtual world but the dark side of it. The black market was just the first step. There are some exceptional individuals who can freely travel between the universe with deep-dive. They aren’t physically present there, but they use data streams and signals to travel between the worlds.

It’s like living in a fourth dimension where you can see and hear everything. There is no sense of space and time. Basically, a pseudo-god.

Not only that, but they also possess the power to interact with the physical world despite not being there. They are called ghosts. Many people have tried to become one, but only 1 in a million can. Most of them die within a minute.”

“Wait, are you talking about ghost runners?!” Oliver almost got up in excitement. “Angel is trying to become one too, right?!”

“Mmm.” Angel nodded with a flushed face. “I shouldn’t have told you that.”

“Why?! It’s so cool.”

Angel raised her hands up and took off her jacket, revealing the back of her head and her spine, updated with cyberware.

“Last time I tried it, I almost died. I was paralyzed for three months.” She let out a weary sigh and muttered, “Honestly, I am surprised I am still alive. But I know for sure, that if I try again, the other ghost runner will hunt me down and kill me.”

Xavier listened to them attentively.

’Being able to become a ghost… a pseudo-god. It comes with the risk of life. But I… I can become an actual god. So what would be the consequences of that power?’

Xavier couldn’t help but wonder if the power he possessed would cost him something. But he knew that if he doesn’t obtain that power, someone else will, and they will use them to hunt him down.

“Xavier.” Angel called out to Xavier with a serious look on her face. “You are not considering becoming a ghost runner, right?”

“No. I am not interested in that.” Xavier got up and let out a sigh. “Alright, I guess, I will meet you guys tomorrow. I will leave for the beast land now.”

“I have no right to stop you, but come back safe. You are too valuable to die so young. If it’s you, I am sure you can pull it off. But, be careful.” Angel tossed a card-like device to Xavier. “Take this with you. It won’t run out of power and help you navigate better. It will also work as a jammer if you tap the side twice.”

Jason handed a gun to Xavier. “Here. Don’t hesitate to shoot if you think your life is in danger.”

“Xavier…” Oliver called out. “I don’t have anything to give you, but please come back safe. If I could, I would go with you, but I would be a burden to you.”

Xavier suddenly recalled the prophecy Cassian had told him.

“Don’t worry, Oliver. I will just go and come back.”

“Oh, by the way, I will arrange the fake report you asked me to make. So unless Dominic sends the copy to the classified data centre, he wouldn’t be able to tell if it’s real or fake. And, he would need a warrant to get it inspected, which will take him a week.”

“A week is more than enough. I am going to finish him as soon as I return from the beast land.”

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