Clockwork Bride

Page 39

Regarding the protest and riot that occurred two hours ago, which caused us significant damage, I would like to hear from Smoke Mirror Life Construction Company.

The first cadre said.

So the second executive immediately replied: "First, Smoke Mirror Company has repeatedly stated that this protest and riot has nothing to do with them; it is the work of the anti-corporate terrorist organization 'Bo Xun.' Second, what we should be discussing now is not the protest and riot, but the serious issue of the stolen skills education chip data!"

He spoke with conviction and force, his words resonating in the online community. And clearly, many of those present sided with him, uttering quiet murmurs of agreement.

So the second manager continued: "We must hold the security department accountable for this! Not only that, the representative from Smoke Mirror Company also claimed that they had discovered the terrorists' whereabouts through informants within 'Bo Xun'! Why are we unable to pinpoint 'Bo Xun's' location even on our own turf? The information security department needs to review this! If this continues, the skills training chip data will definitely leak to other companies!"

The third executive, clearly from the same faction as the second, spoke up: "In that case, let's cooperate with Smoke Mirror Corporation first. Although this means accepting their conditions, we're already cooperating with Smoke Mirror on personality correction chips. Of course, I'm referring to their customized android business."

Their reasons and logic are all perfectly reasonable.

However, it is clear that not every cadre is on their side.

[Nonsense! Our information security department has been monitoring all information inflows and outflows throughout New Seattle. The skills education chip data has definitely not leaked out of the city! There's no need for the Smoke Mirror to interfere and forcibly take away our newly developed technology!]

Led by the first cadre to speak, the other participants also began to hurl insults in the online forum.

[How much did you guys who spearheaded the custom android project with Smoke Mirror Corporation get paid? Were you all bribed?]

They even started launching ruthless personal attacks against each other.

This scenario mirrors what Abigail, the Dark Witch, had previously described. The larger the company, the less it functions as a unified entity, a single consciousness or individual, lacking shared interests. The Mithra Group possesses massive amounts of data, a vast array of intelligence sources, and various forms of informational magic, knowing almost everything in the world—yet their processes are often incredibly slow. There are too many reports to pass through, too many executives to approve, and too many conflicting ideas and interests.

The company executives present were all new-age gods, even connected by a mental network, yet they still lacked a peaceful and carefree state of mind. Namo Sanskrit! How tragic and lamentable this is!

In terms of Mitra Group's internal corporate culture, they are, after all, just a group of "gods" or "celestial beings" with their minds full of distractions.

Therefore, they need a more reliable "god" to guide them.

With a loud bang, the conference room door was forcefully pushed open. Light flooded the dark room, drawing everyone's attention to the source of the sound.

“I am now adjourning this meeting, directly under the direction of the Chairman and CEO.”

Most of the attendees were high-ranking executives of the Mitra Group. In other words, they were almost all managers who had served for over a century, practically immortal members of the new era's divine race. However, upon hearing these words, everyone swallowed hard, and all voices in the mental network abruptly ceased. Everyone wore tense expressions, awaiting the speaker's next words.

He was a tall, robust man with purple hair. His attire was impeccable; his white business suit exuded a powerful aura, effortlessly placing him above everyone else. His face conveyed the same impression—handsome and imposing, with piercing eyes.

Who exactly is this man who can even make the gods of the new era feel so oppressed?

The answer is obvious. Because on the left breast of his suit jacket hung a nameplate with powerful, gilded lettering:

[Tidorozha, Vice President of Marketing, Americas, Mitra Information Group]

If Hayden were here now and saw this line of text, he would probably be greatly surprised: isn't this Deputy Marketing Director for the Americas of the Mitra Group the father-in-law of his good friend Adam, and Alicia Apsara's father?

In other words, he was one of the true senior executives of the Mitra Group, and one of the shareholders who held equity.

Most of the new-era "gods," despite their nobility, are still essentially high-level employees. However, shareholders who enjoy stock dividends are a completely different story. At that level, you are no longer simply a "god," but a "deity" with a separate "name" and "position."

Names are power. And in an ancient language that even Hayden doesn't fully understand, the name "Tidorata" has another meaning.

Its meaning is: [Dhritarashtra, the Heavenly King]

...That being said, Titrata was, after all, only a deputy marketing director in charge of American affairs, a mere deputy, and not a member of the Mithra board of directors. The title of "deputy" marketing director was rather ordinary among modern "gods," not enough to overpower the celestial beings in a meeting of several department heads.

What truly made the other cadres nervous at this moment was not entirely him.

“I have already reported to the chairman, and he has given instructions.”

The cadres were nervous about what Deputy Director Tidorata was about to say.

"New Yatu is our home turf. Even if we need to cooperate with Smoke Mirror Company, we have plenty of conditions to discuss."

Tidorata did not use the StarNet, but spoke directly.

"The chairman instructed us to offer some more concessions to Smoke Mirror Company on the artificial human project, and to tell them that we cannot relinquish our control over the educational chip project. They will accept this condition. Time is of the essence, so let's get started now."

Therefore, the other company executives present immediately turned pale and rushed out of the meeting room to carry out the instructions from the company's chairman and CEO.

What truly instilled tension and awe in them was the chairman of the Mitra Group, represented by Tidorata.

“Deputy Director Tidorata, the regular company security has been proven to be ineffective in combating [Mar].”

A security chief approached Dhritarashtra and asked somewhat nervously,

"Does the board of directors permit us to use tactical reaction forces?"

These words made Tidorozha look at him with a very strange expression, as if asking how the head of the security department could ask such a stupid question.

"This is utter nonsense and a waste of time."

The god of this new era answered solemnly.

"Once the [Bo Xun] organization is discovered, immediately dispatch a [Vajrapani] tactical squad, assisted by regular security forces, to capture them and recover the stolen development data!"

042: The people suffer

After ending his call with the dark witch Abigail, Hayden realized that things might be getting a little complicated.

Well, this was already a complicated situation. But now things might become even more difficult than Alastor's already crazy plan.

But then again, Hayden didn't really want to put himself completely in the line of duty.

So what should Hayden do in this situation?

First of all, he didn't intend to go directly to Alastor.

Because that would be tantamount to voluntarily and without compensation jumping into the mess between the evil super-corporation and [Mar].

That's not courage, that's suicide.

So Hayden simply set up a few intermediaries to relay what Abigail had told him to Alastor in encrypted form.

A moment later, Alastor replied simply: "Got it. Be careful too."

careful?

What does he need to be careful about?

Hayden initially couldn't understand what Alastor meant. After all, he had no intention of getting involved in the mess that was about to unfold, so what business was it of his?

Events quickly proved that Hayden was too naive.

That evening, just before midnight, the New Atlanta City Council issued an emergency notice.

The online terrorist organization calling itself "Bo Xun" is currently hiding in downtown New Seattle.

In the live news broadcast of the emergency press conference, the mayor of New Seattle, with a serious expression, addressed the reporters below.

Furthermore, we have obtained credible evidence that they possess an older, disruptive information weapon called "Taslan." Therefore, we must implement a complete cyber and physical lockdown of the Neo-Israel metropolitan area. On one hand, all physical entry and exit from the city must undergo rigorous and comprehensive security screening to ensure that terrorists have no opportunity to cause damage. On the other hand, to prevent the terrorist organization from smuggling the information weapon out of the city, or even detonating it within the city, if they are unable to physically escape, we must prohibit all network information transmissions from leaving the Neo-Israel local network domain during this period.

The information-disrupting weapon "Tathlum"

Hayden had also read this name in a book.

It is a special weapon developed hundreds of years ago by pioneers during the early days of modern arcane magic to combat demons. After detonation, it travels along the sympathetic pathway, directly attacking all astral consciousnesses connected through the sympathetic link. The arcane pioneers invented this to attack powerful demons who commanded armies via sympathetic magic. Detonating a "Taslan" around lower-ranking demons could even leave the general half-dead through the sympathetic link that commanded the army.

Ironically, this weapon, once used to combat demons, has now become a major enemy of the modern astral network. This is because the astral network is essentially a network system interconnected through massive amounts of sympathetic magic. In other words, if terrorists were to bomb a network host with a "Taslan," all users accessing that host, regardless of their physical location, would suffer severe biofeedback damage. Nerve damage would be inevitable, and some might even become vegetative.

What's more troublesome is that "Taslan" doesn't need to have a physical form. In ancient times, it could be written on scrolls or amulets and carried around; in modern times, it can be stored in a data chip and even transported directly across the internet. It has to be admitted, it is indeed terrifying.

If cyber terrorists possess such dangerous weapons, it's not incomprehensible that the mayor would announce a dual blockade of the new Seattle, both online and offline.

The only question is... does [Bo Xun] really have such a thing?

"So, this city actually has a 'mayor'?"

Angela stood next to Hayden, watching the news channel, and asked curiously.

"It's just a puppet that doesn't issue orders beyond the city hall."

Hayden frowned as he answered.

"Large corporations don't need to pay taxes, and the federal government, having lost its fiscal revenue, has shrunk into a small bureaucracy that can do nothing but serve as a target for large corporations and perform paperwork that is incomprehensible to humans. I heard that city halls are so poor that civil servants even have to count the sheets of toilet paper they use one by one."

That's why Hayden didn't even bother mentioning the mayor's name. Because in this story, he doesn't even qualify as a standalone character. At this point in time, the mayor of New Seattle is just part of the scenery and wallpaper.

Ange tilted her head: "But the mayor has now announced a city-wide lockdown. Even by my standards, this shouldn't be a small matter, right?"

God knows what Angela's standards are. But she's not wrong, especially in modern times, this is no small matter.

What's more, they even intend to isolate the star network both inside and outside the city. Many people would probably faint upon hearing this.

“This is absolutely not something a modern puppet government can decide. Seven years ago, when the great plague broke out, very few places in the entire Federation were willing to lock down. Why did they decide on a double lockdown so quickly this time? It must be the Mitra Group behind this.” Hayden frowned and said, “Angela, do you have enough food at home?”

Angela nodded, but her expression was somewhat puzzled: "I just bought a week's worth of groceries during the day. Is something wrong?"

"Lockdown, what else can we do?"

Hayden sighed.

"We're definitely in big trouble now."

His words proved prophetic.

Before dawn the next day, the entire city of New Asia was completely sealed off. No one was allowed to enter or leave; at the very least, strict checks were required. Mitra Corporation's corporate police patrolled the streets 24 hours a day, searching slums, abandoned buildings, and homeless enclaves. The outskirts of New Asia's metropolitan area were filled with decaying areas, scattered with the shells of abandoned communities and buildings no longer serving their original purpose. Many homeless people who had illegally occupied and lived in these abandoned buildings were now being evicted by the police.

So where can they go? They can only wander around the city.

And it's not just the homeless who are unlucky.

Unlike a pandemic, lockdowns implemented to search for terrorists don't prevent most jobs from functioning normally. Instead, local internet censorship has blocked the work of many working professionals. Many small and medium-sized companies whose operations require online communication with other regions, unwilling to voice any concerns about the Mitra Group, have simply suspended all operations.

As a result, it is naturally the ordinary employees who suffer.

Two days after the lockdown, although no one should have starved to death yet (no one really knows for sure), many people were already dissatisfied. Hundreds, even tens of thousands, of demonstrators gathered to protest, and some even smashed the windows of roadside shops and houses and started setting fires.

Needless to say, the company police quickly arrived at the scene, unleashing riot control spells [Stinky Cloud] and [Thunder] to quell the unrest. Most people fled, hundreds were killed or injured, and over a hundred were arrested. The company's intelligence department will now interrogate them thoroughly to determine if they were bait set up by [Marsh]. Many other civilian shops and houses suffered heavy losses as a result of the riots.

Hayden had seen all of this. He had never liked seeing such things, especially after recently meeting Alastor and his group of young people.

He was, after all, just an ordinary person.

Ironically, this situation actually increased Hayden's job opportunities as an urban mercenary.

On the afternoon of the second day of the lockdown, a Thai noodle stall in the Bay Area urgently called Hayden for help, without even going through an intermediary as usual. This was a bit of a rule-breaking move, but Hayden wasn't exactly rule-abiding anyway, and besides, this noodle stall had always taken good care of him before Angela came into his life.

So he rushed over with Angela, only to find that it was a gang of street thugs who used to live in abandoned buildings, making a living by smuggling drugs, but had now been driven out of the slums by the police, causing trouble. They had run away from the slums to the Bay Area, a slightly better place than the slums, probably intending to switch to collecting protection money.

So Hayden quickly shooed them away.

The details of the battle are obviously unnecessary to recount, otherwise it would seem like padding. However, despite the ease of the fight, Hayden still felt particularly agitated afterward.

The noodle stall owner kept thanking him and even wanted to give him five hundred yuan as a reward, but Hayden waved his hand and refused.

"No need to pay, Basser. After all, we didn't even discuss the price, and you didn't go through any middlemen. Just consider it an unfair situation."

The owner shook his head: "You're a good man, Hayden. How about coming over once in a while to have a meal with us and the kids? We've all heard you finally found a girlfriend and are living together, but you haven't been here for over three months."

As Boss Basser finished speaking, he secretly glanced at Angela, who was throwing the unconscious thugs one by one into the garbage heap.

Clearly, because Angela had been going out shopping happily from time to time over the past three months, and occasionally even shooing away some clueless people, her existence had become known to Hayden's neighbors. Not to mention, if Hayden hadn't explained, very few people would have immediately realized that Angela was actually a wind-up doll.

So Hayden opened his mouth, but decided to give up on correcting the problem for now.

"Anyway, you really don't have to pay me this time, okay? I'm fine, I've made quite a bit of money lately. Also, don't say I'm a good person, I'm blushing."

It took him several minutes to return the five banknotes to the shopkeeper in Basel. However, the proprietress insisted on giving Hayden a bag of frozen dumplings: "No matter how much money you make, Hayden, we don't know how long this lockdown will last. It's always good to have extra food at home."

So Hayden could only sigh and accept the gift. The landlady was right. However, Angela would probably still check the dumplings later, or perhaps reinforce them, depending on her whim.

The boss in Basel said he was a good man.

But in Hayden's view, these were the good people—well, not quite. To say they were good people in this way would be a bit of an exaggeration.

They are ordinary people.

Therefore, ordinary people who run small shops to make a living should not suffer unnecessary losses because of petty disputes between large companies over profits, which could lead to their shops being vandalized by thugs.

However, Hayden was only human. He could easily take down a group of street thugs, but he couldn't create a world where ordinary people wouldn't get hurt by such messy things.

So as Hayden walked home carrying the frozen dumplings, his gaze drifted almost absentmindedly to the Mitra New Seattle branch office building in the city center. That building was so tall and large that it was easily visible from different parts of the city.

Ordinary people in New Jersey are suffering because of the lockdown, and because of the petty squabbles between large corporations. So what are those who started this, those high-ranking figures living in the Tower of Babel, doing now? Are they drinking and eating caviar, looking down on the suffering of the poor with smug smiles?

Hayden had never actually seen such a sight, but his imagination was vivid, and his imagination only made him angrier.

"It shouldn't exist."

Thinking of this, he subconsciously said,

"They are the festering wounds of this world."

He did not say what it or they specifically refer to.