Czuch arrives at Shapersky Bridge and gets out of his bus, before calling up Cybr.
"So, what exactly did you want me to do here? The only thing here is this, like, weird machine." Czuch says, holding up the live video camera so that Cybr can see.
"Yeah, it seems to just be a glorified fog machine of sorts that was used to make this place hard to find. Go ahead and take it; might as well." Cybr says, and Czuch loads the machine onto the bus.
"Is that all?" asks Czuch.
"Yeah, I think...wait, what's that?" Cybr says, and Czuch looks around in confusion until he sees some kind of weird computer that he somehow didn't notice earlier, seemingly embedded directly into the bridge itself.
"Uh, looks like a computer. Don't know how I didn't see that before. Should I get that too?" Czuch approaches the computer and wipes the dust off the screen, revealing it to be in surprisingly good condition.
"Yes." Cybr says, and Czuch grabs the computer, and finds that it slides out from the bridge with remarkable ease. Czuch looks over the computer and finds that it has no discernable ports of any kind, and that the keyboard only seems to come out when he gets close to it. Czuch ignores these oddities and loads the computer into a seat on his bus, before driving off back towards the World Crime League.
"How long does that thing take to set up?" asks Water Woo, staring at Wash Woo, who still hasn't finished setting up his cleaning apparatus.
"I'm almost done." grunts Wash Woo.
"Wait, why don't you just get that repair guy to help you out if it takes you so long to set this up all the time?" Water Woo stares at Wash Woo, who glares back.
"I work alone. Mostly." Wash Woo states, and Water Woo rolls his eyes.
Back at the Beaten Meat Deli, Albany Kid kicks down the door and surveys the area for any signs of Flag Boy. Albany Kid sets his sights on Flagboy, who is currently chewing on some homemade hummus, and proceeds to jump across several tables before delivering a meaty kick to the side of Flagboy's head. Albany Kid's foot enters Flagboy's head like it's made of putty, but it hits only cloth. Flagboy uses his big meaty grabby hands to put down his hummus, before punching Albany Kid with all of his might. Albany Kid hisses as he's knocked down to the ground, and then scrambles to his feet.
"Don't make me call up the big man himself." warns Albany Kid, entering a staredown with Flagboy.
Czuch arrives back at the World Crime League and brings the computer up to Cybr, who thanks him and then waits for him to head back downstairs before investigating the computer himself. As Cybr gets close to the computer, the keyboard appears, and the screen lights up, displaying only the text "Greetings, resident" at the top, with a blinking cursor underneath, clearly awaiting input.
help
What do you need help with?
open command prompt
Command prompt not found.
help commands
No help available for commands.
Cybr thinks for a moment, as this computer seems to be responding to his inputs in a pretty unusual way.
help Shapersky
You seem to be new to this. Try 'info'.
Cybr narrows his eyes as this text appears, as it seems almost as though somebody is talking to him directly, yet the response time seems far too fast for that.
info 3457
After Cybr inputs this command, the computer screen blinks and all of the text disappears, and then some kind of file appears on the screen instead, seemingly drawn from some sort of database.
Target Number 3457, A.K.A. "EAST". Last sighted: Shapersky Bridge, Greater Minneapolan Area. Reason for Target status: Known to have strong ties to E.V. Exact role is unknown, but the connection is undeniable. Documented elimination attempts: 2. Life status: Unknown, most likely alive. Note: Very difficult to track or approach; seems to exist in multiple realities at the same time.
Cybr reads over this, and then looks at the associated image file, and finds it to be that same difficult to make out humanoid from the picture he found earlier.
info spearmint
Access denied; invalid credentials. Log added to transcript.
Cybr is somewhat confused by this, as there seems to be no place to input any form of credentials, but he's already deduced that this computer is different from the technology he's worked with in the past, so he doesn't dwell on it for too long.
info fog machine
FOG MACHINE: A machine that produces fog; can also refer to one of many machines designed for concealment purposes.
info user
Info for USER not found.
info computer
COMPUTER: Refers to any instance of the type of computer that you're using right now. Can be used to access various files in the database.
info Cybr
File in progress.
For a brief second, Cybr seems to notice a ";)" flicker on the screen underneath this message, but it vanishes just as fast as it seemed to appear.
Eject USB
The computer opens up a slot directly in its screen, and a thumb drive prints out of it. Cybr takes the thumb drive and looks at what it contains, and finds that it seems to have a transcript of all of his interactions with the computer, including the files he accessed. Oddly enough, it even seems to include the two files it didn't show him, and they don't appear to be censored in any way. Cybr opens up the "Spearmint" file, and reads the information to himself.
Name: Pyarce. Codename: SPEARMINT. Position: High Eliminator Scout. Active Assignments: 1. Successful Eliminations: 46. Purpose: Investigate potential Targets to determine risk levels and other important information. In particular, keep an eye on anybody who seems to be looking into or associating with E.V. Specialty: Disruption; Stealth.
After looking over this file, Cybr returns to the computer.
info E.V.
Goodbye.
The computer immediately begins fizzling, and the screen starts glitching out and corrupting, before shutting off entirely, as well as causing a power outage in a six mile radius. Mugsy rushes into the basement and turns on the emergency generator, but the computer continues smoking and refusing to turn back on. Cybr goes onto his regular computer and searches up the name "Pyarce", but most of the results he finds are just profiles on various video game forums, which don't seem to be related to what he's looking for. Eventually, though, Cybr manages to find one result which states that Pyarce is a member of a shadowy organization, but doesn't give any further details, because apparently anybody who tries to look into this organization ends up going missing. Cybr tells Mugsy to activate the fog machine that Czuch retrieved, and Mugsy heads outside and turns it on, which causes the World Crime League to be surrounded by a strange otherworldly fog, which makes it nearly invisible from the outside. Cybr starts looking over the computer to see if he can find a way to fix it, but it's unlike anything he's ever worked with before. Cybr checks for some kind of manufacturer, but can't seem to find that, either. Just before Cybr can attempt to take apart the computer and attach it to his own, he detects the presence of somebody else in the room, and takes a slow breath before turning around to see the tall reptilian figure of Pyarce standing right there, having somehow entered the building and gone upstairs without anybody noticing.