The morning arrives too quickly, but one of the nice things about being 'treasure hunters' is that the Lehtonen siblings can sleep in as long as they want to. When they were finally ready to face the day they would find that Thomas has sent them a message.
It'll take me a while but I figure that you'll want an advance to help prepare. If things go well I'll send the remaining amount.
Clearly he must think that the urn is worth something since attached is
7500 zenny. Of course that has to be split between two people and three navis, purchase needed chips and programs for the task ahead.
Of course first they had to figure out what was needed for the task ahead. Being a public institution, they could always travel to the Papadopoulos District and scout the Kythera University out on foot or on the net before committing to a plan. Passes are required to enter the buildings proper but wandering outside to have a look wouldn't be remarkable as long as they blended in with all of the students, staff and visitors going about their business.
Alternatively the group does have access to the Undernet as part of their 'work'. It would be a short trip through the Beach Square to reach it and check its BBS for information or ask around for any weaknesses in the university's network. Of course the denizens of the Undernet are unlikely to give up important information for free, but they probably know more in-depth information about the network. Some students might have left holes in security to exploit, or forgotten their passes or something of the sort. It wouldn't hurt to ask around.
Of course they could always look at something else or check the local BBSs for anything interesting. There is no pressing need to get that data decrypted after all.
Shopping:
Since Kythera is the current headquarters of VDP, the megacorp has made several massive pushes for local shops and businesses to stock their products. The contracts give the company significant oversight over what is allowed to be stocked, preventing competing products from being sold at all. The products sold are cheap chips and programs churned out by VDPsoft in the thousands, so that the megacorp can boast of its low prices.
Given the number of VDP affliates and the number of chips and programs being produced, they can be purchased in functionally infinite quantities.
Battlechips
DAILY SPECIAL: DashAttack (500z) 2 Damage, Near [Rush]
Fly through the air Close to the target!
Bubbler (1000z) 2 Damage, Near [Shot]
Creates a cloud of soaking, vision-obscuring bubbles around the target.
Repair (1000z) Near [Support]
Fix a broken structure.
RockCube (1000z) Close [Summon]
Summons a large cube of stone in front of the Navi.
Sword (1000z) 2 Damage, Close, Piercing [Blade]
Slash with a bright, razor-sharp blade. It lights up Near surroundings for a few seconds.
AirShot (500z) 1 Damage, Near [Shot]
Pushes the target back one range band.
Attack+1 (500z) Simple [Support]
Add one hit to your next non-BattleChip attack.
ZapRing (500z) 1 Damage, Near [Shot]
Stuns the target for one second.
NaviCust Programs
ContentAware [1] (500z)
You can get a 3-word description of anyone’s social media profile (if it’s public).
Harmonizer [1] (500z)
When you roll 3+ hits to make your element, a bonded ally can roll to make theirs.
Megaphone [1] (500z)
Your voice projects; you can be clearly understood at Far range.
ProgRadar [1] (500z)
Beeps depending on proximity to nearest Prog.
ThemeSong [1] (500z)
On your first critical success per jack-in, a celebratory fanfare blares around you.
A family-run shop in the Port Proóthisi district that refuses to sign any deals with VDP. As such its products are refurbished battlechips purchased from virus busters, and margins must be tight given the ramshackle appearance of the store. However it is clean, the staff are friendly, and it has a wide and eclectic selection of products that changes constantly.
Each battlechip or navicust program can only be purchased once due to limited stock.
Battlechips
MysticMist (2000z) 1 Damage, Near
Pick 2: the mist doesn’t go away; upshift target’s next Sense roll; you’re invisible in the mist.
Nullifier (2000z) 2 Damage, Close
Target is temporarily unable to use their element.
SystemScan (2000z) Far, Slow
Pick a single location in range - the GM will tell you five words about the biggest threat inside.
ElecReel (1000z) 2 Damage, Close
Summons a hidden electric tripwire that shocks the next thing that touches it.
Kunai (1000z) 2 Damage, Near, Piercing
Toss a volley of stealthy knives! They fly silently through the air.
IceSlasher (1000z) 2 Damage, Near
Enemies deleted by this turn into frozen blocks shortly afterwards.
Recharger (1000z) 2 Damage, Near
Dash into Close range. If this deletes the target, clear 1 point of stat/skill reduction you have.
Wind (500z) Near
Summons a gust of wind to blow targets towards or away from you.
NaviCust Programs
DataMine [2] (1500z)
Can turn Thrown chips into mines! They target whoever touches or attacks them.
RocketFist [2] (1500z)
You can use Impact chips at Near. Makes chips Dangerous. Cannot parry at range.
Trailblazer [2] (1500z)
When you move range bands with a chip or roll, your element trails behind you.
Affinity +1 [2] (1000z)
Bravery +1 [2] (1000z)
Coding +1 [2] (1000z)
Info +1 [2] (1000z)
The back-end of the Undernet has plenty of shops for the locals who visit it. The prices are high but the chips and programs are rare and worth the price. Given the nature of the Undernet, there's no way to know who is selling or what they are offering without going in to check. The regular vendors keep irregular hours and most of the stock is traded for or taken from busted viruses.