[18 February 2072, 6:16 PM, Golden Apple Teahouse, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | SIN = Dr Yang

Dr Yang folded his arms and nodded. "I will be delighted to accompany you Dante. Let us be off to this 'Party World'. Will I have to how do you say 'boogie'?" Chatting amiably, Dr Yang heads out of the room, pausing only to refresh his spells as he leaves the room.

[18 February 2072, 6:22 PM Golden Apple Teahouse, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | SIN = Yuki Kondo

Hope checks his commlink and says: “Pleased to meet you Xiao Ling. I thought the others had been hiding you from me, but it seems I’m not the only one who didn’t have the pleasure to meet you before. Here’s my number.” He leaves the room and waits for Mei to bring him his jacket.

Riding his bike south through the Cross Harbour Tunnel towards downtown and then east over the Island Eastern Corridor it doesn’t take long for him to reach the residential towers of Quarry Bay. No idea why Dante wanted to trade the teahouse for this karaoke-bar, but the sunset had been nice.

18 February 2072, 6:22 PM Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Indicating their desire to be on their way, Mei returns with the checked cloaks and items, bowing after leading the group to the exit, "Thank you for your business. Please come again." As the group trickles out of the teahouse into the cool evening air, it is clear that this area is relatively quiet, but easily within walking distance of tourist traps, as the lights and displays along the Golden Mile are beginning to truly come to life. Dante and Dr. Yang have no trouble locating the locker at the small but still fairly busy bus station. Inside is a simple black case, slightly larger than a messenger bag, with an attached shoulder strap.

Fractal is working his way towards the agreed upon location as the searches he began on the troll and Mr. Lee's jewelry begin to show some fruits. It appears that the troll currently goes by Yao Pen, almost certainly a pseudonym, but his face is a close match to a former member of Lone Star's PPD. Mr. Lee's pin is a little easier to track down, as it appears to be identical to the corporate logo for Monobe, only its size and relative lack of detail causing any difficulty with the search.

18 February 2072, 7:00 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
PAN = Passive | SIN = Liu Zi Ang

Momentarily broadcasting his comm information to the group, Dante and Dr. Yang departed for the KTV shop. After cautiously exiting the tea house, they walked the block to Dante's truck, still being looked after by a local street thug. Helping Dr. Yang load his bicycle into the back of the truck, the two set off, discussing anything but the recent meet. Dante assured Dr. Yang that he won't have to 'boogie', unless he really wants to or the spirit moves him.

On the way there, Dante sent a message to Sun Qi, the owner of BEST KTV and an acquaintance of Dante's, asking him to reserve a room for a party of 6. Dante also requested refreshments, in the form of tea, beer, liquor, and small snacks.

Arriving at the shop along the heavily crowded street, Dante pulled the truck into the underground parking level, querying the KTV mainframe system for his assigned spot.

[18 February 2072, 7:00 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | Fake SIN(4) = Zhao Shang | no-name street performer

Max quietly followed the others, lost in thought. Without really thinking about it, he sent his contact information to the others. He also absently sent the contact information for a bunraku parlor to the concierge with a short, flirtatious message as he left. With that done, his mind traveled back to his musings on the possible consequences of this run.

A short while later, Max hopped off a bus and entered Best KTV. He meandered through the place, eventually reaching the party. "Anyone able to summon Watchers?" he asks, bypassing greetings to get right to business.

[18 February 2072,7:00 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | SIN = Dr Yang

Dr Yang ponders. "I have some limited skill with watchers. I feel that if I send the watchers to study the target, their existing watchers will notice mine. This I feel will announce our presence. As you aware it is possible to study watchers and locate their summoner. It may be possible however to gain some value from them. Do you have a specific plan?"

[18 February 2072, 7:00 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | Fake SIN(4) = Zhao Shang | no-name street performer

"I haven't really taken the time to test spells on them before, so I was curious which spells would work and which would cause them to sound an alert. Unfortunately, casting on my own spirits is less than effective in terms of experimentation." Max responded, helping himself to some tea and snacks.

[18 February 2072,7:01 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | SIN = Dr Yang

"Your thinking is perspicuous. I will set two watchers to guard the lamp post outside. They will be instructed to notify me if they see any astral forms. I too have not undertaken such experimentation, or indeed read much on the subject."

Focusing hard Dr Yang opened a portal to the Cellestial Beaurocracy. His eyes roll back as he begins to commune with the Spiritual Resources (minor) department. "I wish to requisition 2 observers for a period of time not exceeding..." although to an observer it only took a few moments, Dr Yang's spiritual hand was aching from all the spiritual forms that had to be filled in, and the Cellestial Beaurocracy haven't even developed carbon paper yet. At least the Spiritual Resources (minor) department rarely required the signatures in blood.

Quicksilver monkeys...why did it have to be Monkeys

Go now my minions, guard the lamp post outside, and tell me if you see any astral forms...and DON'T pick any pockets...is that understood?

"It is done"

18 February 2072, 7:01 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
PAN = Passive | SIN = Liu Zi Ang
DragonFly 1 autosofts: Weapon Watcher, Clearsight, Covert Ops

Feeling his skin prickle slightly in the presence of magic being done, Dante took a second to reflect on whether he could actually sense the magic, or if it was just his subconscious, as he knew there was magic being worked near him. Shaking his head, he plopped down on the sofa and popped the top on a can of Qingdao beer. Taking a deep swig, he sighed appreciatively.

Briefly accessing the rooms ARO feed, he turned the volume up and selected a few songs to be played, queueing up some of the latest hits. With the background noise of all of the other rooms and the enhanced volume in this room, it would be nearly impossible to listen in. Mechanically, anyway. Dante trusted that Dr. Yang and Max had the magical side covered. He set one of his dragonflies on the wall outside the room, keeping watch on the hallway.

Addressing Ting-Ting, he said,

"Ok, I know most of the people here, and what they're good for. I don't know you. What role can we expect you to play in our group?"

[18 February 2072,7:02 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | SIN = Dr Yang

Dr Yang opened a second portal to the Cellestial Beaurocracy. His eyes roll back as he begins to commune with the Magical Guardian (temporary loan) department. "I wish to requisition a Stone Lion. Said Lion is to... and...in so far as...except when...limited liability...triplicate..."The Cellestial Beaurocracy can be awkward, and unlike the Spiritual Resources (minor) department, blood was often required

Stone Lion: this task I have for you. Guard this place. Inform me at once if we are spied upon

18 February 2072, 7:02 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
Ting-Ting | PAN = Passive | SIN = Xiao Ling

Ting-Ting took her bike and followed the others to the new place.

Once there, she looked for a comfortable seat and a drink before replying to Dante's question.

"Well, I'm quite stealthy, I'm good with people, and I know how to knock them out, if it comes to that. I'm also a decent shot with a pistol, but prefer to go unarmed usually. What role I would best fill... we will see about that, when we have a plan, I guess. But I'm sure there will be some opportunities to make use of my talents."

"So, you guys know each other already?"

[18 February 2072, 7:02 PM Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kon]
PAN = Passive | Fake SIN(3) = Johnny Cash | Wuxing Corporate Citizen

Fractal had to use public transportation to get to the Best KTV, but that wasn't a big deal. It was in a part of town easily accessible by bus and taxi. He got out in front of the Club and just shook his head. It would be perfect, but still a kareoke bar? that's just tacky.


Settling down in a chair next to the others, he listened to them go on about this and that, what they could or could not do.
"I'll get working on trying to figure out what kind of matrix security they have, and if it's going to be viable to hack in from the outside. But first we probably need to figure out how to make sure this geomancer of theirs isn't around to notice what we've done. I don't know about the rest of you, but I could use the bonus." Fractal flashes his big auzzie grin. "Nice choice of planning spot by the way, hard to get noticed with this much noise around."

[18 February 2072,7:02 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | SIN = Dr Yang

"I think that Max needs apply his powers of observation to study this 'Li Shen Chang'" Dr Yang begins. "Is this honorable gardener magically aware? If not that I am confident that we could 'influence' him using spirits or spells. If however he is, I think it more likely that he needs to have a minor medical emergency that will keep him away from his place of employment, while not engendering a sense of concern among his colleagues. I feel however that further planing should wait until we have delved into the depths of that machine that guards. The personnel records will be interesting, as will the existence or otherwise of monitoring daemons" Dr Yang looks at Fractal "Is this a suitable place to begin that task?"

"As our esteemed comrade in arms Fractal has indicated a desire to spend some hours 'probing' this machine, should some of the more observant and stealth of us assay the task of examining the target location from the outside? I will stay with Mr Fractal and ensure that he maintains his current good health"

18 February 2072, 7:03 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
PAN = Passive | SIN = Liu Zi Ang
DragonFly 1 autosofts: Weapon Watcher, Clearsight, Covert Ops

Nodding at what Ting-Ting and Dr. Yang had to say, Dante turned and addressed the group.

"Fractal, can you get us residence information for Li Shen Chang? Once we have that, we can start gathering some intel. Ting-Ting and Max can try following our gardener, find out his shoe-size, what he eats for breakfast, that kind of stuff. Maybe talk to his neighbors or something. Hope and I can head over to the target location and do a visual observation of the area. Fractal, with Dr. Yang assisting, can do whatever it is he does to the target's network."

Looking at each person in turn to try to gauge their reactions, Dante continued,

"How's that for a start? We gather some intel, then regroup to figure out our angles."

18 February 2072, 7:04 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
Ting-Ting | PAN = Passive | SIN = Xiao Ling

"Yes, we should first gather as much information as we can. This won't be as easy as it might look right now for sure. We should figure out the problems, that can arise, so we have a solution ready, when they do."

[18 February 2072, 7:06 PM Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kon]
PAN = Passive | Fake SIN(3) = Johnny Cash | Wuxing Corporate Citizen

"I'm already working on getting us more information." Fractal's hands are in his lap, but his fingers are making quick gestures and his eyes seem a little distant. "Dr Yang. If you would be so kind as to order me a blueberry Tapioca drink. I would be most appreciative. This could take a while, and this is as nice a place to use as any."


Fractal has already fallen into virtual reality, slumping just slightly against his chair.

Routing the video and sound feeds from his commlink into a pair of windows he began to float through his system, pulling data in from several sources as he tried to find information on the elusive Li Shen Chang, and trying to ascertain the level of matrix security surrounding the House and Garden.

18 February 2072, 7:06 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
PAN = Passive | SIN = Yuki Kondo

Hope listened to what everyone had to say; it’s not that he isn’t much of a planner himself, but with watchers present he thought the job was almost impossible. If he didn’t know the others, he would doubt they were going to be successful. He’s amazed the woman who calls herself Ting-Ting thinks it looks easy. She doesn’t look that strong, but she must be good at what she does.

"Ok, we’d better hurry "Hope says to Dante, "I think it’s about a 45 minute drive with your pickup."

[18 February 2072, 7:05 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | Fake SIN(4) = Zhao Shang | no-name street performer

"Well, I'll be right back, then." Max responded. He calmly walked out to the front door before peaking around the corner. Spotting the monkeys, he smiles to himself before throwing an influence spell at one, whispering to it that he is allowed to be there. With a grin, he throws a second spell at the other, whispering that it's companion needs to learn that arrogant complacency should be punished. He winces slightly when the backlash from the spells smacks him.

Having finished his test, he makes his way back to the room. "So, did it work?"

18 February 2072, 7:32 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
The trip across the city to the KTV bar takes a little longer than normal due to the number of people out partying, as tomorrow is a holiday. Even so, it's generally uneventful, and the group is soon ensconsed in the room reserved for them by Dante's friend Sun Qi. The bar itself is fairly packed, and quite noisy, with people coming and going at regular intervals.

On the way there, while collecting the case from the bus station, Dr. Yang sends a message to a few people to see if they can help with background information.

It doesn't take Fractal long to settle in and begin digging for information on the elusive Li Shen Chang, quickly finding that Mr. Lee wasn't kidding about the general lack of information on him. The easy part is finding that he exists, as he has a few advertisements out listing his services as "Luck Consolidation and Specialty Gardening Services". The short bio attached lists a small monastery in Tibet where he grew up and gathered most of his training, but it's impossible to verify, as he indicates leaving before the creation of the storm that cut Tibet off from the rest of the world in the early 10's. One particularly interesting post on a well hidden shadow node dealing with magical services says <Older than dirt and lives in the walled city? You can bet your hoop he's got more than a few tricks up his sleeve. Wolf said he smelled of sulfur. The hell is that supposed to mean?>. Unfortunately that post is several months old, and doesn't appear to have been followed up.

Coming to a dead end on that front, he moves into locating and analyzing the main node for the house on the property. It takes several minutes, which feels like an eternity in the VR world, but eventually he locates it and notes that it's a reasonably advanced node. The door doesn't appear to be bombed, but the alert hacker catches a glimpse of a single icon hidden in the apparent 'corner' of the node. Its icon appears like a color-shifting fly, blending in well with the background data on the node.

Meanwhile, while Dr. Yang is ordering drinks and testing out his command of the spirit world, he receives a short message. <@Dr. Yang: Dao seems to have come down with a cough. I'll send him by your office first thing in the morning. Rest well tonight. --Shen Li>

18 February 2072, 7:35 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
PAN = Passive | SIN = Liu Zi Ang
DragonFly 1 autosofts: Covert Ops, Facial Recog
DragonFly 2 autosofts: Adaptability, Visual Spotter
iBall: Weapon Watcher, Clearsight

Dante and Hope headed out into the night. Dante decided to leave the iBall behind to watch over the room occupied by Fractal and Dr. Yang, leaving them user accounts for the drone. He commanded it to roll up the wall just outside the door and into an unobtrusive corner, concealing itself in the process. He then gave user accounts to Max and Ting-Ting for dragonfly 1, to use if they needed it when they were attempting to gather data on Li Shen Chang. He decided to take dragonfly 2 with him to possibly help out with a visual surveillance of the area.

As they exited the building the events of the New Years festivities enveloped them in noise, firecrackers pop-popping causing miniature battlefields on every corner. Inputting the destination coordinates to the truck's Pilot using his mapsoft, Dante had to hit the center console a few times as the display fuzzed in and out of view. Muttering an apology, he leaned back and considered the job. He hoped they could find a suitable spot from which to observe the target.

18 February 2072, 7:35 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
PAN = Passive | SIN = Yuki Kondo

It soon became clear that the initial three quarters of an hour was a very optimistic estimate. Hope was getting worried they wouldn’t have time to drive back and Dante’s apologies didn’t help to make him more talkative either. They were taking the same road back to Tsim Sha Tsui where the lights of and above Victoria Harbour helped lift his spirits. “Can you take the Tsing Sha Highway, maybe we can see some more fireworks above the water from the Stonecutters Bridge.”, was the first thing he said. The rest of the way over the Lantau Link and Highway were a lot more enjoyable.

[18 February 2072, 7:35 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | Fake SIN(4) = Zhao Shang | no-name street performer

"Ting-Ting, I have an idea for how we can learn more about our mysterious gardener." Max commented as he sips at a cup of tea. "What if we approach him for some freelance work? Perhaps one of us recently came into some property and wish to ensure that it's used to it's ultimate potential. Of course, we want to know everything we can about a specialist like this..."

18 February 2072, 7:35 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
After leaving the others with a few watching drones, Dante and Hope head out to gather some physical data, looking to find a place to look around the garden location. The grid quickly lets them know that traffic means the journey will likely take about an hour, and there shouldn't be any excessive delays. Looking at the map, it appears that the last leg of the road leading to the house and garden are marked as private, but there's a public overlook of the sea close enough that parking shouldn't be an issue.

Based on the map, it will be difficult to observe the entire target area from a single location, as there is a fair amount of land that is still undeveloped from its days as protected parks. It does at least mean that the approach from off-road should be easy to remain hidden on though.

18 February 2072, 7:35 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
Ting-Ting | PAN = Passive | SIN = Xiao Ling

Ting-Ting nods to the mage.

"Yes, I was pondering the very same thing. But what are we going to do to have him not appear in the garden this week? I have the feeling, that bribes won't get us very far with that one. And depending on what we will do, we might not want him to know who we are."

Turning to Fractal, she adds: "Also, Fractal, can you find out who owns the garden we are supposed to mess up? Might be interesting..."

18 February 2072, 8:40 PM, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
PAN = Passive | SIN = Liu Zi Ang
DragonFly 1 autosofts: Covert Ops, Facial Recog
DragonFly 2 autosofts: Adaptability, Visual Spotter
iBall: Weapon Watcher, Clearsight

Arriving at the scenic overlook, Dante pulled the truck into a parking spot and accessed the parking's AR feed to purchase parking for a few hours. The area was fairly crowded with people who had come to watch fireworks being launched out over the dark sea, but finding a spot wasn't too difficult.

Having worked with Hope one time before, Dante knew him to be a deadly, silent killer, and he also knew that part of this was due to Hope's magical abilities. But could his magical powers help out here too? Addressing Hope, he said,

"Seems like we'll have to take a look in person, or as near as we can do. I'm worried about the magical security - they'll be able to see us, we won't see them. Unless you can do something about that?"

[18 February 2072, 8:30 PM Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kon]
PAN = Passive | Fake SIN(3) = Johnny Cash | Wuxing Corporate Citizen

<<Oy, Chummers. Got some information for you. Li Shen Chang runs a "Luck Consolidation and Specialty Gardening Services" business. Man is seriously hard to find drek about. He says he was raised and trained in a small tibetan monastery, but he got out before the storms. If that's true, man's frag'old. Any of you magic types have an idea why a Shaman or maybe a spirit would say he smells like 'sulfur'? That make any sense? Messing with him might seriously suck. >>

Speaking from the commlink's speaker on the table. "Sure, Ting-Ting, sweets.. I'll get right on that."

[18 February 2072,8:30 PM Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | SIN = Dr Yang

<< Sulphur is of course mainly associated with volcanoes, rotting (as in eggs), gunpowder and hence fireworks. I believe that there are Caucasians myths associating hell with "lakes of brimstone (sulphur) and fire". Sulphur is also mythologically a method to kill dragons: interesting since Li Shen Chang also known as "smooth dragon smith". The sulphur is perhaps something innocuous: he makes firecrackers to scare away ghosts and evil spirits, but perhaps its more unpleasant.

I must say that the omens around this little adventure of ours are not positive, so I am more motivated to accepting an unpleasant reason.>>

[18 February 2072, 7:35 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | Fake SIN(4) = Zhao Shang | no-name street performer

"Bribes, maybe not, but there are other ways to gain compliance..." Max replied. "The chance to study him in person would be most helpful. Luck consolidation and Gardening implies that it really is a Geomancy technique, given what we've discovered so far. I'd like to know just how much initiate levels he has attained. Additionally, knowing his aura would allow us to identify him later and learn his habits."

18 February 2072, 7:35 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
Ting-Ting | PAN = Passive | SIN = Xiao Ling

"Just remember, these things work both ways..."

18 February 2072, 8:40 PM, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
PAN = Passive | SIN = Yuki Kondo

“Just one thing, but it’s not an option now. Besides, I thought we were just here to take a look if it was accessible to guests. Not sure if we should go there if it is, but we’re not dressed for a stroll through the park.” Hope noticed the troubled look forming on Dante’s face, so he adds: “Don’t worry; the others will come up with a plan to circumvent any magical obstacles soon enough. We should focus on the mundane part.”

18 February 2072, 8:40 PM, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
PAN = Passive | SIN = Liu Zi Ang
DragonFly 1 autosofts: Covert Ops, Facial Recog
DragonFly 2 autosofts: Adaptability, Visual Spotter
iBall: Weapon Watcher, Clearsight

"Ok. We don't want to alert the target, so we definitely shouldn't take any risks in approaching it, if we're not sure of the magical security. I'll send a drone to the end of the road where the private property starts, to see if we can get some intel on who comes and goes. I guess all we can do in the meanwhile is wait for the team to report in."

[18 February 2072, 7:37 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | Fake SIN(4) = Zhao Shang | no-name street performer

"True..." Max said, sipping at his tea. "We'd just have to make sure that whoever is there studying his aura is not magically involved in the final mission. Nothing links that individual to the act, and it shouldn't be a problem..."

18 February 2072, 8:45 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
As the conversation ranges over various approaches to the task at hand, interspersed with breaks to partake of a bit of karaoke to maintain their cover, Ting-Ting reminds Fractal to check up on the ownership of the property. Turning his attention from probing the property's node, he begins a search for this information. It doesn't take long for him to find out that the owner really is a local corporation, Zhuóyuè Shēngwù Jìshù, a small but successful biotech research group. Most of the investments associated with the company lead back to various lawyers' offices within Hong Kong, but if there are any ties to Wuxing or the Triads, they are exceptionally well hidden. One unusual set of investments stick out from the rest, as they seems to dead end in a group of drops in Vladivostok that appear to have a sort of circular ownership of each other and represents a near 15% ownership of ZSJ.

18 February 2072, 8:45 PM, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Sending his drone up the road to check out the visible portions of the property, Dante and Hope discuss the mundane approaches while watching some fireworks over the sea from the overlook. After a several minutes, the drone returns with an affirmation that Mr. Lee's overall maps look correct. A large security wall surrounds the property, which contains a well maintained lawn and a few trees. It appears that the outer section of the wall has a dead zone of about 5 meters of cleared space surrounding the entire thing, as well as quite a few camera emplacements that are easily visible.

[18 February 2072,8:45 PM Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | SIN = Dr Yang

"I see you say 15% owned by companies in Vladivostok. I am unfamiliar with the Vory, but perhaps it is incumbent upon us to see if they have an interest in this place. Is there any chance I can see the pictures from the drone as I would like to see if there is anywhere that I can overview the plant that we can move."

<<Shen Li, A thousand apologies for disturbing this most auspicious day. May the heavenly blessing rain down upon you in this coming year. I have heard a disturbing hint, it is perhaps nothing, but I felt your sage advice and august guidance would add to the matter at hand. What are the Red Poles thoughts about the Vory, and are you aware of any of their operations near here? .... >>

18 February 2072, 7:38 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
Ting-Ting | PAN = Passive | SIN = Xiao Ling

Thinking about the answer, Max gave her, Ting-Ting replies after a moment of thought.

"This would limit our options during the actual run considerably, don't you think? I really am not sure, whether it is a good idea to meet him directly, in order to gather information about him."

[18 February 2072, 7:39 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | Fake SIN(4) = Zhao Shang | no-name street performer

"It's an option we shouldn't dismiss out of hand, but also one we shouldn't use right away" Max said, setting down his cup of tea as he settles back into his chair and starts thinking.

[18 February 2072, 8:45 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | Fake SIN(4) = Zhao Shang | no-name street performer

Several half formed ideas later, Max yawns. "Have we found this guy's home yet? If not, I think it's time for me to go to bed and see what we can find tomorrow..."

18 February 2072, 8:55 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
It doesn't take long for Shen Li to return a quick response, brief and to the point. <@Dr. Yang: The Vory? Dishonorable and mercenary, but they are an eminently practical bunch. They'll deal with you with one hand while preparing to slit your throat with the other. There's no love lost between them and us, but they know better than to be too open about it in this city. To date they've mostly confined themselves to the port and Evo's holdings, but I wouldn't be surprised if they have presences outside those areas. If you're to have dealings with them, try to watch your back. --Shen Li>

18 February 2072, 10:15 PM, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
PAN = Passive | SIN = Liu Zi Ang
DragonFly 1 autosofts: Covert Ops, Facial Recog
DragonFly 2 autosofts: Adaptability, Visual Spotter
iBall: Weapon Watcher, Clearsight

Dante reclined back in his seat and pulled up an AR window for his book, Journey to the West. Keeping a second AR window open showing him the feed from his dragonfly, he kicked back and popped the top on a beer. Offering one to Hope, he settled in to wait.

18 February 2072, 10:15 PM, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
PAN = Passive | SIN = Yuki Kondo

Hope wasn’t sure about the offered beer. “If we’re going to do this tonight, shouldn’t we keep our heads clear? I’m not sure what the plan is, but if we don’t want to look like guests we might as well change into something less perceptible.”

[18 February 2072, 10:30 PM Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kon]
PAN = Passive | Fake SIN(3) = Johnny Cash | Wuxing Corporate Citizen

Fractal looked about the node, and double checked everything. He was satisfied with his findings, the exploit would work to get him inside. <<Alright Chummers, lets see how serious them bad boys are.>> Fractal double checked his biofeedback, and slid into the node using his exploit. The first thing he did once inside was activate his Analytic program suite to get a better feel for the node. One virtual eye kept on the IC running discreetly in the background, waiting to see if it would notice him.

18 February 2072, 10:23 PM, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
As Dante and Hope spend some time discreetly watching the roadway to the property while trying to blend in with the people at the overlook watching fireworks, a dark SUV with tinted windows drives past, obviously on the way to the house. Dante's drone catches a final glimpse as the vehicle disappears behind the security wall of the compound.

18 February 2072, 10:30 PM Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
Finally finding a small security hole he can exploit, Fractal enters the node he has found. No alerts appear to have been issued, and the small fly hiding on a tree doesn't seem to notice his intrusion, so it looks like he has gotten in safely for the time being. It doesn't look like anyone else is currently active on the system, as the only programs currently running are the system's analysis and the IC.

Looking around, the area has been sculpted to resemble a large park area, with footpaths leading to 3 buildings. One appears to be a small shack, resembling a toolshed. The second looks to be a squat tower with several spotlights arrayed on its upper reaches. The final building is reminiscent of a single-story office building.

[18 February 2072, 10:30:31 PM Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kon]
PAN = Passive | Fake SIN(3) = Johnny Cash | Wuxing Corporate Citizen

Making a snap decision, Fractal heads to the shack, as he does so he mentally activates his Reality Filters, hoping to change the scenery into something a bit more conducive to hackery, and shenanigans.

18 February 2072, 10:23 PM, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
PAN = Passive | SIN = Liu Zi Ang
DragonFly 1 autosofts: Facial Recog
DragonFly 2 autosofts: Adaptability, Clearsight, Covert Ops
iBall: Weapon Watcher, Visual Spotter

Shrugging his shoulders at the rejected beer offer, Dante took another sip. Typical Japanese, never could hold their liquor.

He wasn't sure what Hope was talking about when he mentioned what the plan was for tonight. Dante was pretty sure that tonight was surveillance only, since they didn't want to tip their hand too soon. Easing down into his seat, he tried to ignore it and maybe get back to reading his book.

He startled up when the feed from his drone sent him the images of the dark SUV. Cursing under his breath at missing a chance to send the drone in attached to the vehicle, he quickly reconfigured the software loadout and sent new instructions.

<<Dragon2@Dante: If another vehicle approaches, secret yourself on it and enter the compound. Stay hidden. Maintain silence. Gather as much information as possible. Report to me only when you have left the compound.>>

Filling Hope in on the goings-on, Dante decided that maybe tonight wouldn't be a wasted effort after all. And if the SUV left while they were still doing surveillance, maybe a little tailing of the vehicle would be in order...

[18 February 2072, 10:30 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | Fake SIN(4) = Zhao Shang | no-name street performer

Max yawns again and sends a message to Fractal. <<@Fractal [Max] Yo! Were you able to find addresses for either our Honorable Guardener's home or his place of business?>>

18 February 2072, 10:30 PM, Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
Ting-Ting | PAN = Passive | SIN = Xiao Ling

< [Ting-Ting] As it looks like, the gardener will be the main obstacle for making this happen, right? Maybe we should consider another option here, that is, scrap the bonus and do the whole thing on short notice, after the gardener has been doing his weekly duties. That, of course, fully depends on whether we find a good way to deal with him for the next few days, or not. >

18 February 2072, 10:30 PM, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
PAN = Passive | SIN = Yuki Kondo

Hope was sure their employer thought this was a pretty tough assignment, which was only possible or at least easier during the celebrations. The plans he was thinking about didn’t include this at all, so was he missing something or did Mr. Lee fail to mention the reason. In the passing car could be one of the first guests arriving. If they were going to celebrate in the garden, there would be no dogs, watchers, drones and maybe guards to worry about and the guests could even be blocking the plants from the view of the cameras.

[18 February 2072,10:30 PM Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong]
PAN = Passive | SIN = Dr Yang

"Well Fractal that seems to have worked well. An auspicious beginning to our mission, in that my services were not required. May this humble one enquire as to whether there are any dedicated programs watching the plants, and further is there an electronic dossier on our esteemed potential adversary Li Shen Chang ."

18 February 2072, 10:30 PM Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
Heading towards the shack, Fractal enables his reality filter, hoping to override the local metaphor with something a bit more familiar. The system's own programming seems to be very heavily ingrained and offers significant resistance to this action. Even so, as he approaches the building it becomes clear that it is a portal to another node within the system, and an image of a heavy padlock securing the door to the shed indicates that this probably isn't going to be a stroll in the metaphorical park.

18 February 2072, 10:29 PM, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Several minutes pass after the SUV enters the private property, and then it reappears, exiting from the gate in the security wall, and heading back down the road that leads to the main roadway.

18 February 2072, 10:29 PM, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
PAN = Passive | SIN = Liu Zi Ang
DragonFly 1 autosofts: Facial Recog
DragonFly 2 autosofts: Adaptability, Clearsight, Covert Ops
iBall: Weapon Watcher, Visual Spotter

Dante quickly tossed his empty can out the window. Starting the engine, he turned to Hope and grinned.

"Looks like we've got some action."

18 February 2072, 10:30 PM Best KTV, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
With a bit of luck and sheer determination, Fractal manages to override the node's sculpting with his own reality filter, giving him a clearer idea of what's actually there. It appears that this node contains a few data files, but is mostly intended as a chokepoint for access to the other nodes that were represented by the buildings he saw. Scanning his initial target it becomes clear that it is something the creator of this network considers important, as it is encrypted and has even stronger security than the node he's currently on. Two icons that look like soldiers appear to be patrolling the node, while a third appearing as a small van bristling with antennas sits in the center of the area.