I'd phrase the C / C++ rift a little more carefully --
To do low-level C++ you'll have to learn low-level C anyway and learning C in and out is a far easier endeavor than learning C++ in and out. So if you're wanting to dip into low-level stuff, you need to learn at least C and may want to learn C++ as well.
(More generally the above does not hold -- the way you approach and solve problems in C and C++ does vary a good deal in higher-level stuff, but if you're doing bit-wrangling, you do tend to end up with something that approximates C bunched into classes.)
To do low-level C++ you'll have to learn low-level C anyway and learning C in and out is a far easier endeavor than learning C++ in and out. So if you're wanting to dip into low-level stuff, you need to learn at least C and may want to learn C++ as well.
(More generally the above does not hold -- the way you approach and solve problems in C and C++ does vary a good deal in higher-level stuff, but if you're doing bit-wrangling, you do tend to end up with something that approximates C bunched into classes.)