Why will my K9 core not power the lab?

Check its name. The door needs four working cores; Destroyed K9 Battery Cores do not count.

DMZ Shopping Hacks guide: working K9 cores and lab computers

Operation Shopping Hacks takes you from an encampment into the laboratory beneath NuriGO Mall. The common stopping points are the security code, working robot cores and computers that stop during the breach.

Select Story Missions → Operation Shopping Hacks at Deploy. If its Underground Order is active, check that tracker as well.

If you are stuck

Blocker	Next action
Security code rejected	Wait for the laptop analysis and read your current objective’s code
Core terminal will not accept salvage	Check for K9 Battery Core, not Destroyed K9 Battery Core
Lab breach stops	Find the computer showing ERROR DETECTED and restart it
Breach finished	Wait for the server reboot, loot the vault and follow the rooftop extraction objective

Reach mall security

If you are comparing different mission locks, the keypad-code guide separates laptop codes, armory keycode parts and named key doors.

Hack the laptop at the encampment and wait for the analysis. Read the resulting code in your own objective tracker, then enter it at mall security. A code shown in somebody else’s run is an example, not a universal solution.

Explore the Security Annex, start its generator and decrypt the note at the workbench laptop. Follow the updated objective toward the laboratory.

Collect four working K9 cores

The door needs four working K9 Battery Cores. Take each core from a disabled robot dog before it explodes. A Destroyed K9 Battery Core will not substitute. Check the item name before carrying it back to the terminal.

For your squad, separate collection from defence: call out working cores as you find them, and check the total before returning. This avoids everyone making the same trip with unusable salvage.

Rare K9 Battery Core item tooltip during Shopping Hacks — Check the full item name: the working core is labelled K9 Battery Core.

K9 Core Terminal with four core slots beside the laboratory door — The terminal and its four-core objective. Check the counter before leaving this stage.

Keep five computers running

After opening the lab, hack all five computers. Watch for ERROR DETECTED and restart failed machines so the network breach can progress. Assign each player a part of the room to check while covering entrances; starting the computers once is not enough.

Shopping Hacks lab computer showing ERROR DETECTED and a restart interaction — A stopped computer needs attention during the breach, even after the initial hacks.

Collect the sample and activate the rooftop Fulton

Wait for the servers to reboot, then enter the lab vault and collect the Bio-agent Sample from the bench. Follow the rooftop exit markers to the extraction crate. Use Activate Fulton, then follow its extraction prompts until you leave Hajin. Finishing the computer breach alone does not finish the route.

Equipment and rewards

The briefing recommends a 2-Plate Armor Vest, Medkit and NVGs. NVGs were optional in the documented run.

Listed rewards are NVGs, the Coin Mining Den Key and 25,000 Cash. Early-access after-action reports also show a 5,000 Story Mission Payout; the listed amount is not a guaranteed repeat payout.